Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Two Outs, a runner on second base!

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

Kuramochi, who had reached second base, was almost glowing. His presence caught the attention of everyone in the stadium.

'Impossible to stop!'

From the catcher's position, the inner thoughts of Noma were filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

He hadn't expected that they would be completely outmatched.

As a pitcher, Kawaki, despite his considerable talent, still appeared quite immature in terms of fielding skills.

He was a far cry from Aota.

Moreover, considering the previous situation, even if his old partner Aota had been on the mound, Noma didn't think they would have been able to stop Kuramochi's steal of second base.

This guy's speed was simply too fast, too deceptive.

'In the blink of an eye, he had already reached second base, and even if it had been Aota…'

Noma mentally replayed the situation several times in his mind, and the result was rather depressing.

'He probably still wouldn't have been able to stop Kuramochi's steal.'

This was the stark reality of the gap in ability.

In the face of such a gap, everything else seemed trivial.

The score on the field was 2-0, with the game in the eighth inning. They had already secured two Outs.

Looking at the current situation, Shonan didn't seem too far behind Seidou High School.

But how much of their true skills had the King Seidou actually shown?

Was it one hundred percent, ninety percent? Or even eighty percent, or less?

To Noma, the Seidou High School baseball team had become a mysterious, and dangerous monster.

Kuramochi on second base and Kominato Haruichi, who was preparing to bat, seemed to have grown immensely in stature.

The whole team exuded an aura of unknown strength.

As the game neared its end, their momentum became even more overwhelming.

So much so that Noma felt as though he couldn't breathe.

He was only the catcher, and yet the pressure was already suffocating. What kind of pressure was the pitcher on the mound, Kawaki, facing?

Noma cast a concerned glance at Kawaki on the mound.

Then he saw Kawaki, annoyed but okay.

Facing the intense pressure from Seidou High School's strong offense, it seemed like Kawaki wasn't even aware of it.

'This must be what they call ignorance is bliss.'

'Sometimes, not knowing anything can indeed be quite pleasant.'

Noma let out a bitter smile but quickly regained his fighting spirit.

His Kohai, the young batter, was full of determination, so there was no need for him, the core catcher of the team, to back down.

Captain, fourth batter!

Although Noma's performance in this game wasn't particularly outstanding, he was the true soul of Shonan High School.

As long as he didn't break, Shonan High School's offense would never stop.

'Come on!!!'

'What's so special about Seidou?'

A team with a soul behaves like this, easily finding their fighting spirit again.

That relentless spirit would put tremendous pressure on their opponents.

Just like Shonan High School now, in the face of Seidou High School's relentless attack, they had shown great resilience.

"This is nice!"

On second base, Kuramochi's eyes scanned his surroundings cautiously.

He could feel that the opposing team was wary of him, and their defense had made slight adjustments.

All the opponents seemed like disguised ninjas, like a dangerous hidden knife.

To be honest, although Shonan High School's overall strength wasn't bad, it was still difficult for them to hold down Seidou High School to this extent.

The reason they had come this far was their Coach and their unity.

Shonan High School was indeed a tricky opponent.

'Very good, very impressive.'

'But to think that this is enough to take us down was a bit too naive.'

'They made it look like they didn't care about my stealing, but they had still focused a lot of attention on me, hadn't they?'

'The purpose of the stolen base was already achieved. The next task was now in your hands.'

With that thought, Kuramochi shifted his gaze to the Batter's Box, where Kominato Haruichi stood.

Kominato wasn't short, standing nearly 165 cm tall. (5'4)

For a second-year high school Japanese boy, this height wasn't remarkable, but it was certainly average.

The reason his height had always seemed unimpressive was that he often hung around with players like Sawamura and Furuya.

Sawamura was a little over 175 cm (5' 9") tall, and Furuya was even taller at 183 cm (6' 0").

With that comparison, his height naturally appeared small.

However, right now, standing in the Batter's Box, he didn't seem short at all.

Kominato exuded a sharp presence, perfectly in sync with Kuramochi on second base.

He, too, was putting pressure on the opposing pitcher and catcher by using his opportunity in the Batter's Box to divert their attention.

If Shonan High's battery chose to fully focus on him, then Kuramochi on second base would have the opportunity to steal.

Of course, if the opponents divided their attention too much onto Kuramochi, Haruichi wouldn't mind delivering the final blow.

The two of them worked together, putting pressure on Shonan from the Batter's Box and the base.

This effect was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

In the stands, Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, praised the performances of Seidou High's first and second batters highly.

"This team originally only had Sawamura and Miyuki to carry the heavy weight of the King in attack. The other players, while somewhat skillful, were still far from being true kings."

This statement wasn't at all exaggerated.

In fact, fans and spectators who had been following Seidou High's baseball team for a long time knew this very well.

Not everyone on Seidou High's team was particularly strong. Aside from Sawamura and Miyuki, the other players didn't have any particularly glaring advantages over the main players of other elite teams.

The large disparity in skill within the team was also a potential issue.

Those who truly supported Seidou High hoped that the other players would grow quickly.

So they could help share the burden with Sawamura and Miyuki.

After all, baseball wasn't a sport that could be won by just one or two players.

However, achieving the level of Sawamura and Miyuki was incredibly difficult and couldn't be accomplished overnight.

It had only taken about half a year of hard work for them to finally show some promise.

"The current first and second batters now can push the King even beyond."

That was indeed high praise.

In the second-string team.

Takuma said in surprise.

"This scene feels so familiar!"

Previously, during the rookie games, he and Okumura had used a similar offensive tactic.

It had left a deep impression on everyone present.

Next to him, Okumura didn't say anything.

It certainly seemed similar, but the core elements were completely different.

The tactics Kuramochi and Kominato were using were more complicated and more brutal.

What Takuma and Okumura were using was like a two-playing catch and the opponent was between trying to stop the ball.

But what Kominato and Kuramochi were doing was like playing tug, but the rope was around the opponent's neck.

The only way out for the opponent to forcefully cut the rope with his power.

The King Seidou High School!

Now they realized that the Senpai they hadn't paid much attention to earlier also had terrifying strength.

At this point, Okumura couldn't help but feel sorry for Shonan High School.

Facing such a monstrous opponent, it was only natural for Shonan to be defeated.

The subsequent events unfolded as expected, though with a few more twists.

Whoosh!

Kawaki once again threw his signature pitch.

Seidou's players had differing opinions on this pitch.

But the basic countermeasures had already been figured out.

Either see the ball clearly and catch the sweet spot, or use powerful swings to blast the ball away.

Either method should be enough to hit the ball.

But both were difficult for Seidou's players.

Although many of Seidou's players had long-hit capabilities, very few could truly rely on raw power to crush everything.

Only the current outfielder Furuya could do that with sheer force.

The others, without exception, relied more on technique.

Such as Miyuki and Sawamura.

When they hit for power, it was through a combination of technique and strength.

Just relying on pure power, it was hard for them to hit the ball out.

This was a big difference from when the third-years were still around.

Why hadn't Seidou been able to score against Kawaki, who didn't even have top-tier skills?

It was because their skills happened to be countered by Kawaki's approach.

That was why the current scene had unfolded.

Batting power!

Even Miyuki and Sawamura couldn't do it, let alone him.

Haruichi knew his own limits.

So his only chance was to catch the ball's sweet spot.

This, too, was extremely difficult, but Kominato was confident.

He had always used a wooden bat, which, compared to a metal bat, wasn't as easy to generate power with.

'But it was much easier to practice hitting accurately!'

After years of honing, Haruichi's confidence in his hitting accuracy had reached a very high level.

Watching the little baseball come at him, he immediately took his stance and swung the bat.

Paak!

The baseball was fast, but the bat was faster.

Before the ball could break, it was hit out with a solid thud.

'Heavy!'

This felt heavier than any hit before.

A relieved smile appeared on Kominato's face.

This real feeling clearly told him.

He had hit the sweet spot!

The more it differed from previous attempts, the more accurate his hitting was.

After the ball was hit, it flew directly behind the shortstop.

Pak!

The baseball hit the ground, earning a hit!

Haruichi let go of the bat and sprinted toward first base.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure suddenly appear in front of the ball.

For some unknown reason, the Shonan outfielder had stopped behind the shortstop.

It was as though this ball had been calculated perfectly, flying right into their hands.

Kominato couldn't help but feel regretful.

If the ball had flown out cleanly, it would have been a perfect timely hit.

'Now, with the opponent reacting so quickly, You-san would probably never make it back to home plate!'

…