Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

'No more substitutions!'

The pitcher and catcher of Kasugaichi looked at the still and silent dugout of Seidou, feeling a huge sigh of relief in their hearts.

In the dugout of Seidou, there were also Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya.

These two super star players were exceptionally prominent even among the main lineup of Seidou.

Not having to face them in a direct duel, the battery duo of Kasugaichi felt relieved in their hearts.

Although they knew deep down that thinking this way was quite lacking in ambition.

But the reality was clear; when they saw that Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya did not take the field as substitutes, they genuinely felt relieved.

'Whether the opponent is overconfident or not, they have finally given us a chance to breathe. Let's not waste it.'

Seeing the signal from the catcher, the Ace pitcher of Kasugaichi nodded repeatedly.

Although they hadn't actually faced Sawamura or Miyuki in a one-on-one battle yet, just by their reputation, they understood that the strength of these two was definitely formidable.

Not to mention, they had already witnessed the abilities of other substitute players from Seidou.

Even those substitutes were not to be taken lightly, let alone the conspicuously strong Sawamura and Miyuki.

Compared to those two, the current Kanemaru was not a difficult opponent at all.

Their eyes were filled with a strong drive as they looked at Kanemaru.

With this conviction, the entire momentum of the battery duo of Kasugaichi began to rise.

Kanemaru noticed this change.

'I was indeed underestimated!'

'Where did the opponents' sense of inevitable victory come from?' Kanemaru couldn't tell.

But he had never considered giving up this attacking opportunity.

With no Outs and a runner on first base.

The chance to take the initiative in the game was right in front of him.

No matter what, Kanemaru didn't want to give up.

Thinking this, he turned to glance at the dugout of Seidou.

There, Sawamura, Toujou, and others were watching him with great attention.

There were also Higasa-senpai, Asou-senpai, Kominato, and Furuya Satoru...

They were both close teammates and competitive rivals.

If he didn't have the confidence to beat those in the dugout, he wouldn't be able to stand tall in the main position at Seidou.

Looking back to when he first came to Seidou.

He never thought he would end up as the ninth batter on the team!

Whoosh!

Before Kanemaru could think further, the small ball flew towards him.

Even after throwing nearly a hundred pitches, the Ace pitcher of Kasugaichi still threw with precision.

'He wasn't an explosive pitcher like Furuya; comparatively, his endurance was much better.'

'However!'

'After nearly a hundred pitches, even if the speed and power looked unchanged, both had actually diminished.'

Originally, a head-on clash meant a 50-50 chance.

Now, if he could predict the pitch and engage in a head-on clash, his odds would definitely exceed 50%.

All of this naturally appeared in Kanemaru's mind as he watched the ball come flying toward him.

Taking a deep breath, he focused all his strength in his arms to swing the bat.

'Now!'

With a loud shout in his mind, Kanemaru put all his strength into this swing.

Ping!

The moment the bat connected with the ball, Kanemaru felt his arms sink.

The powerful rebound force clearly reminded him that he hadn't hit the sweet spot.

A fleeting disappointment crossed his mind but was quickly replaced by his inner strength.

Having been at Seidou for a whole year, Kanemaru had transformed immensely compared to a year ago.

If it had been a year prior, not hitting the sweet spot would have meant Kanemaru could only watch the baseball becoming a pop fly.

But now.

Countless images flashed through Kanemaru's mind, like a movie playing.

During his time in the second team, how did he work hard step by step? In places where the light couldn't shine, he swung again and again...

Sweat doesn't lie; through his relentless efforts, he eventually secured a spot in the main lineup after the previous year's seniors retired.

This spot was earned through his own strength, never given as charity.

Kanemaru was very confident; he felt like a different person compared to before. Just like this ball, his former self would have given up.

But now, he had confidence in driving the ball far.

Realizing he hadn't hit the sweet spot, Kanemaru forcefully pulled the bat forward.

He used a contacting technique to pull the baseball by about ten centimeters.

This slight difference added extra spin to the ball.

The ball was rebounded and successfully passed through the defense!

"Base hit!"

"Seidou Has Made Consecutive Hits!!!!"

The commentator at Jingu Stadium was so excited he was almost incoherent.

He never expected that the Ace of Kasugaichi, who had performed exceptionally well before, would be broken through by Seidou's lower-order batters!

"Nice hit Kanemaru!"

"Well done!"

"I knew you had it!"

"Nice batting!"

"Kanemaru!!"

"Kanemaru!!!"

His Seidou's Teammates were so happy about his hit that they forgot to grill him for a moment.

After all, this was not just a series of hits; it represented an unending offensive.

With Seidou's usual style, it was likely to seize this opportunity and completely secure the victory.

Similarly, in the dugout of Kasugaichi, their Coach understood this but was helpless.

The strength of their Ace pitcher, while not the top in the entire Tokyo area, was still respectable; the gap with the substitute pitchers was not insignificant.

If even the Ace pitcher couldn't handle it, substituting a backup pitcher wouldn't help at all.

'We can only pray to the heavens!'

Even though their strategic goals had all been met, they still hoped to minimize the score difference.

After all, it was also about dignity and confidence.

This was something the Kasugaichi Coach thought, which the players of Seidou could not comprehend.

And didn't care about it at all!

They were still immersed in the rhythm of their fierce offense.

Kanemaru successfully reached first base. The prepared Shiratsu even advanced directly from first to third base.

The situation turned into no Outs with runners on first and third.

On the field, this situation was even easier to score from than having the bases loaded.

"First batter, outfielder, Nishiyama-kun."

Meanwhile, it was Nishiyama's turn to bat, who had already hit twice before.

Seidou was about to score big.

A strange order suddenly came from the Seidou dugout.

'A bunt.'

This strange order made Nishiyama in the Batting Box furrow his brows.

He was very confident he could hit the ball; why did Coach Kataoka give such an instruction?

Although he was puzzled, he did not defy Coach Kataoka's orders.

Resolutely, he executed the bunt.

Ping!

The ball bounced up and landed right in front of the pitcher.

Nishiyama hadn't been very good at bunting during testing, but he managed to pass. However, in the actual game, his bunting was clearly lacking.

As a once-in-a-decade super talent, he had never used a bunt in a formal match. His goal was the Major League Championship ring, and he wouldn't allow himself to have any weaknesses, so he forced himself to practice bunting in private.

The results of his practice weren't very ideal.

Although Nishiyama's bunt was quite awkward, he still completed the strategic task assigned to him.

Given the speed of Seidou's offense, as long as he successfully made contact and let the ball land and bounce...

That would be enough to meet the goal.

Although Nishiyama was unfortunately out, Shiratsu successfully returned to home plate.

"SAFE!"

When his foot touched home plate, it signified that Seidou had extended their lead again.

The overall score changed to 3:1.

Meanwhile, the running Kanemaru made it to second base just in time.

If Coach Kataoka hadn't given the signal early, Nishiyama's simple bunt wouldn't have allowed him to steal the base successfully.

In the stands, among the Seidou second and third team players.

Hirota sat with his legs crossed, continuously tapping his thigh with his fingers, chewing a piece of bubble gum.

After blowing a bubble, he popped it and splattered it all over his face.

Then he rolled it back into his mouth with his tongue.

A freshman nearby instinctively moved away.

"I thought that guy was invincible, but his bunting skills are so poor."

Hearing Hirota's comment, Matsumoto shrugged.

"You don't seem to have the right to criticize others!"

Back at Akagi Middle School's baseball team, bunting was the lifeline of the entire team.

Under Sawamura's training, the teammates had decent bunting skills. Among them, Hirota, who claimed to be Sawamura's true student, was actually the worst.

In fact, those who hit powerfully usually don't spend much time perfecting their bunting.

Consequently, their bunting skills couldn't be that impressive.

"Moreover, while the bunt was not pretty, still achieved the strategic goal, right?"

From the results, Nishiyama had completed the task assigned by Coach Kataoka quite well.

He just wasn't very pleased with himself.

Upon returning to the dugout, Nishiyama still wore a gloomy expression.

It was hard to tell what he was really thinking.

Sawamura Eijun moved closer to him and asked with a smile.

"Aren't you feeling dissatisfied?"

"No…"

…