Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"Kanemaru, you dimwit! Don't stand in my position and embarrass yourself!!"

"Move these legs more!!!"

Kuramochi didn't know when he had gotten up from the rest bench, roaring at Kanemaru, who was in the shortstop position.

At this moment, Kanemaru couldn't feel any more wronged.

The previous criticisms in the rest area were mainly directed at those players who had made mistakes. Whether they missed opportunities or didn't perform well defensively...

In short, judging them by the standards of the main team, they were still lacking just a bit.

Under such circumstances, the main team players could certainly criticize them freely.

After all, if you don't perform well, how can you complain about being criticized?

Seidou High School was never the type of grassroots team where everyone was good to each other; it was a true powerhouse. In this team, the relationship between players was important, but strength came first.

Only those with ability had the right to play.

If substitute players replaced the main players and performed excellently, the main players couldn't say anything.

But if they performed poorly, the main players could naturally criticize them.

In that case, the substitutes had nothing to say.

However, Kanemaru hadn't even had a chance to catch the ball or step up to bat.

Even if he wanted to show his skill, there was no opportunity!

Being criticized in such a situation made him feel incredibly frustrated.

But that wasn't even the most infuriating thing; what really bothered Kanemaru today was the batting order.

He gradually replaced Higasa-senpai and became the team's main third baseman.

He thought his high school baseball career was finally off to a brilliant start. Unexpectedly, this time the main and substitute players were completely rotated, and he ended up among the substitutes!!

That wasn't the most humiliating part; the most humiliating part was that he hadn't even kept the third baseman position and instead had to step in as a shortstop!!!

'It was utterly ridiculous.'

Not to mention the batting order.

In today's game, Kanemaru had not only fallen into the substitute lineup but even among the substitutes, his batting order was very low.

'Damn it! Damn it!!!'

Let's take a look at Seidou High School's batting arrangement this time.

Previously, the outstanding Nishiyama, who had a very high hit rate and great speed, was assigned to the leadoff position.

Following him was the well-rounded Kijima-senpai as the second batter.

Next was the third batter, first baseman Yamaguchi-senpai.

The fourth was the super rookie, the former captain Yuuki Tetsuya's little brother, Yuuki Masashi.

The fifth was Asou-senpai.

He was originally one of the nine core players of Seidou High School.

Now in the substitute lineup, he was still a core hitter. One couldn't say his ranking had dropped at all, but the decrease was acceptable.

After all, his original position was about the same.

Next was the sixth batter, catcher Ono-senpai.

The seventh batter was third baseman Higasa-senpai.

The eighth was pitcher Kawakami.

And him, Kanemaru-sama, was the Ninth Motherf*cking Batter!

If his ability clearly surpassed those ahead of him, even being placed here by Superintendent Kataoka wouldn't be completely unacceptable for Kanemaru.

After all, that way he would still feel a bit of confidence.

But now, he had no confidence at all. Although he was confident he wasn't weaker than the batters in front of him, he also didn't feel he was significantly stronger.

In short, the position was extremely awkward.

In such a situation, hearing Kuramochi-senpai's harsh criticism was unbearable.

Kanemaru now just wanted to buy a block of marshmallows to smash his head against.

He looked up in the direction of the rest area.

Sawamura Eijun, Kominato Haruichi, Furuya Satoru, Toujou Hideaki.

A few second-year players were firmly in their spots.

Despite the strong abilities of the newcomers, it seemed like their main positions hadn't been significantly affected.

Unknowingly, they had grown increasingly distant from him.

Not just Sawamura and Furuya, but even Kominato and Toujou were getting further away.

So much so that now, he could barely see their backs.

'No, I absolutely cannot be the last one left behind.'

This, Kanemaru found hard to accept.

With one Out and no one on base.

When the third inning rolled, it was Kanemaru's turn to bat.

"Wait for your pitch!"

"Don't let them dictate the pace!"

"Keep your eyes on the ball, swing decisively."

Cheers rang from Seidou High School's bench.

But to Kanemaru, the encouraging words felt awkward in his ears.

Frowning, Kanemaru's mind kept flashing back to scenes from his training.

Over the past year, his progress had been significant, especially after the Senpai graduated. His ability had skyrocketed.

But now that his potential had been fully tapped, his improvement seemed to have stalled.

So much so that compared to the current third-year Senpais, he had no advantages at all.

'No, it can't go on like this!'

Those players in the same year hadn't stopped improving; he couldn't be the only one left behind.

'Hit it!'

Every cell in his body urged him forward.

At this moment, Kanemaru gradually stopped hearing the cheers from the bench.

His eyes turned bloodshot, and all he could see was the pitcher on the mound.

'Come on!'

'Come on!!!'

The terrifying pressure was felt even by the Ace of Kasugaichi.

'Even the lower-order substitute has such terrifying fighting spirit?'

This scene greatly shocked the pitcher.

Fortunately, before facing Seidou, he had adequately prepared mentally. No matter the situation, he managed to stay calm.

At this moment, he performed excellently.

He threw the white ball with remarkable composure!

Whoosh!

The white ball flew like an arrow, hitting the edge of the strike zone.

'Good!'

This pitch was clearly predicted by Kanemaru.

As soon as he saw the white ball flying towards him, he hesitated not at all, stepping forward and swinging his bat.

Ping!

The white ball struck, soaring away like a bird chased by a vulture.

The baseball wobbled over the shortstop's head and landed in the outfield.

"YOSHAAA!!!"

Kanemaru excitedly let go of his bat and clenched his fist.

At that moment, his determination grew stronger.

He and the others who entered the first team of Seidou must not be left behind.

'Even if I had to destroy myself, even if I had to crawl, he would remain in the first team, holding onto a starting position.'

"SAFE!"

"Yeah! That's how you do it!"

"Well done you showoff!!"

"Nice Batting!"

"But don't let it get into your head!"

When they saw a good play, the players in the dugout cheered for their teammates.

Though they still keep their sharp tongues...

One Out, with a runner on second base.

This situation presented a good scoring opportunity for Seidou High School.

Now standing in the Batter's Box was Nishiyama, who had previously secured a hit in the first inning.

As he stepped into the Batter's Box, he exuded confidence.

The pitcher-catcher duo seemed somewhat wary of facing him, constantly throwing balls outside the strike zone.

They hoped to lure him into swinging at bad pitches.

But it wasn't that easy.

Nishiyama, calm and composed, didn't act at all like a first-year student, completely ignoring the pitches that flew outside the strike zone.

"Walk To Base!!"

After a few balls, Nishiyama surprisingly got a Walk.

When this happened, the rest area of Seidou High School suddenly fell silent.

Although Sawamura occasionally teased Nishiyama before, his current performance left no room for criticism.

He forced Kasugaichi's battery to resort to four Balls.

'This guy's skill was clearly not at the level expected of a first-year student.'

The game continued.

Although Kanemaru successfully reached base and Nishiyama was Walked, Seidou High School failed to score in this inning.

The reason? The opponent's attitude!

Unbeknownst to them, Kasugaichi's approach to the game had completely changed.

Initially, they underestimated the substitute players from Seidou High School.

They hadn't expected their true strength to be so formidable during actual play.

As a result, the opponents had already scored runs, while Seidou hadn't even found a chance to score.

In this situation, Kasugaichi had to put forth their utmost effort to compete fiercely against Seidou High.

Kijima, who initially wanted to make a stand, was suppressed by the opponent's pitching and hit a ground ball.

He was regrettably Out.

Yamaguchi once again hit a high fly ball to the outfield.

His two at-bats were very impressive, showcasing his powerful hitting.

The only regret was that he failed to secure a hit both times, leaving him empty-handed.

Luck is sometimes part of the skill.

Today, although the substitutes for Seidou High had enough talent, their luck seemed just a bit off.

Three Outs and the teams switched sides.

In the fourth inning, Seidou High finally seized an opportunity to extend their lead.

The one leading the attack was Yuuki Masashi.

PAANG!!!

The small white ball was struck and flew high into the air.

Kasugaichi's outfielders, anticipating that the ball would be hit far, had already retreated to the back of the field, ready to catch it.

However, the ball seemed to have been hit with tremendous force, soaring above the outfielder's head and still not coming down.

The Kasugaichi outfielder had to back up even further.

At this point, he could only hope the ball would fall soon.

Of course, there was still a chance.

When the white ball flew overhead, it seemed to have expended most of its energy, appearing to slow down frighteningly, ready to drop.

If he could just take four or five more steps back...

Paak!

"Wha…!"

At that moment, his body suddenly stopped.

A solid wall was behind him.

The outfielder had to halt.

Then he could only watch helplessly as the white ball fell from above his head.

Pak!

Ultimately, the ball landed on the outfield stands.

"Home run!!"

Yuuki Masaki, batting fourth for the team, hit a clean home run.

This helped the team extend their lead to 2-0.

…

T/N: Well, That's it for now.

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