Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 148: West Tokyo's Top 16!

After defeating the public high school Maimon West, Seidou High School's baseball team smoothly advanced to the top 32 of the West Tokyo tournament.

The game concluded, and the dust settled.

The players of Seidou High School's baseball team and their supporters in the stands were all in high spirits.

Although the game itself was uneventful, Seidou's victory was expected.

Still, it was their first match, and both first-year pitchers had remarkable performances.

Such a strong start was undoubtedly worth celebrating for both the team and the players.

On the other hand, their opponents, especially the third-year players from Maimon West, were left in tears.

Sawamura stood silently, watching his opponents.

During the game, the Maimon West players had desperately tried to score against him.

Sawamura vividly remembered their fierce fighting spirit, as if they were starving wolves ready to pounce.

Yet now, these once-determined warriors were reduced to tears.

This thought lingered briefly in Sawamura's mind before he dismissed it.

"Of course! They're third-year players!"

With this game, the third-year players of Maimon West had reached the end of their high school baseball careers.

To have their final year end in a crushing defeat at the hands of Seidou must have been devastating.

"It must feel awful, right?"

This thought made Sawamura glance back at his team's dugout, focusing on his third-year seniors, particularly his mentor, Chris.

It didn't take much imagination—just one loss, and the baseball careers of their own third-years would also come to an end.

The thought sent chills down Sawamura's spine despite the 29-degree sun.

"No, I don't want that!"

Seeing Sawamura's expression, Miyuki instantly understood what was going through his younger teammate's mind.

"It's hard to let go, isn't it?"

Hearing Miyuki's question, Sawamura instinctively wanted to deny it.

But the words got stuck in his throat—he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Of course, he didn't want to part with them.

"There's no helping it. All things must come to an end. If we lose even one game, our third-year seniors will have to leave high school baseball with regrets."

Sawamura already felt a lump in his throat.

With Miyuki's words, the feeling of sorrow intensified, and tears glistened in his eyes.

"Go ahead and cry, let it out!"

Miyuki stared at him expectantly, hoping for the tears to fall.

But Sawamura was no longer the naive boy who had just left his hometown. Even though he felt terrible, he didn't let himself break down.

"You're so devious, bullying our dorm's youngest," Kuramochi interjected, having overheard their conversation. He ran up to Miyuki, ready to stand up for Sawamura.

"I know he's doing it on purpose, but it's still the truth, isn't it?" Sawamura muttered to himself.

He truly couldn't bear the thought of parting with the third-year seniors at Seidou.

If only they could stay together and continue playing baseball forever.

Watching Sawamura, a bright and sunny boy, sink into gloom because of Miyuki's words, Kuramochi's anger boiled over.

"Look at the mess you've caused, you scheming jerk!"

It was one thing for Miyuki to tease their dorm's youngest member, but no one else was allowed to bully their juniors.

Without hesitation, the two second-years broke into a full-on scuffle.

Meanwhile, Sawamura was still lost in his thoughts, wrestling with the questions swirling in his mind.

Furuya had quietly walked over to Sawamura's side, though he showed no intention of joining the chaos.

"I know what's bothering you," Furuya began, his tone calm. "But that's just how life is. We're all only destined to accompany each other for part of the journey, just like you and your teammates from middle school."

Middle school teammates.

The mention of those words caused a shift in Sawamura's expression.

He raised his head and looked at Furuya in disbelief, his gaze silently asking, How do you know?

"I've heard some of your stories from Miss Takashima," Furuya explained. "I know about your bond with your old teammates. But did joining Seidou mean your friendship with them disappeared?"

"Of course not!" Sawamura replied firmly.

He had absolute confidence in the strength of his bond with his friends back home.

"It'll be the same for us in the future, so there's no need to be sad about parting ways," Furuya added, though his voice betrayed a hint of doubt.

Whether Sawamura could maintain the same kind of friendship with his hometown teammates over time, Furuya didn't know.

But in reality, most people couldn't.

In life, having two or three truly good friends was already a great achievement.

Anything beyond that was an unrealistic expectation, not a fault of the world itself.

"If you truly care about the third-years and want the best for them, then fulfill their wish," Furuya continued. "Take them to Koshien and dominate the nation together!"

His words weren't loud, but they resonated deeply with everyone on the Seidou baseball team, including the third-years.

When Furuya finished, the third-years' expressions changed.

For the first time, they realized that Furuya had the potential to be a captain.

His ability to inspire the team was almost on par with their coach!

Though compared to their current captain, Yuuki, Furuya was still far behind.

"Your literature grades must be excellent," one of the seniors teased, causing Furuya to smile awkwardly.

He knew that with Sawamura's personality, this problem wouldn't weigh on him for long.

But Seidou didn't have much time left to hesitate.

As the players from Maimon West bid farewell through their tears, they looked at Seidou's players with unwavering hope in their eyes.

"Keep winning all the way!"

"Defeat Inashiro Industrial High and make it to Nationals!!"

"As long as you can reach Koshien, losing to you won't leave us with regrets!"

The players of Maimon West High were deeply emotional.

Even though they lost to Seidou, they still sincerely hoped Seidou could go far in the tournament.

Hearing their words, Sawamura, who had just been comforted by Furuya, seemed to be reinvigorated as if someone had injected adrenaline into him.

"Don't worry! We'll definitely make it to Koshien!"

"You lost to this year's Koshien champions!"

Sawamura's bold reply left not only his own teammates but also the players from Maimon West utterly speechless.

They had merely offered a symbolic blessing, yet this first-year pitcher's confidence was over the top.

It almost felt as if Seidou genuinely had what it took to win the championship at Koshien.

The players from Maimon West instinctively glanced at Furuya.

Though they didn't fully believe Sawamura's claim, they couldn't help but reconsider when they thought of the pitcher's mound being in Furuya's hands.

"If it's that kid, it might actually be possible!"

Maimon West's coach, Chiba, stepped forward after the game, despite the crushing defeat.

Although his team had been soundly beaten, he believed they had still gained something from this match.

Even if they had lost spectacularly, it was undeniable that in the first inning, they had held their own against Seidou.

At that point, the score was tied at 0-0.

"We're not entirely hopeless. We just need to work harder in the coming year!"

Coach Chiba had a sudden realization.

Although their team had made significant progress recently, even keeping a few hidden tricks up their sleeves, they still lacked a true understanding of the elite high schools at the national level.

This loss was an opportunity to learn.

As Seidou secured their victory, other powerhouse teams in the tournament also began emerging one after another.

Leading the charge was Inashiro Industrial High.

With Narumiya Mei on the mound, they completely shut out their opponents, ending the game early with a 14-0 victory in just five innings.

Ichidaisan High followed suit, with their ace pitcher leading the team to a decisive win, scoring double digits and finishing the game within five innings.

It was clear that teams like these national-level powerhouses had an overwhelming advantage over ordinary high school teams.

The gap in skill was enormous and undeniable.

Two days later, Seidou faced their second opponent.

Although this team had won three consecutive games to earn the chance to challenge Seidou, their skill level was far inferior.

Despite their high spirits from their winning streak, they were no match for Seidou, a nationally-ranked powerhouse.

Seidou easily dominated the game.

This time, their ace pitcher, Furuya, didn't even make an appearance.

Instead, Seidou sent Kawakami, who hadn't pitched in the previous game, to start.

While this gave their opponents a slight sense of relief, it also left them feeling furious.

"Seidou High School Baseball Team, you're taking us too lightly!"

Against Maimon West High, Seidou sent their ace pitcher to the mound.

Against their second-round opponent, however, they deployed Kawakami, a second-year relief pitcher.

Their opponents were understandably furious at being treated so lightly, but their anger quickly gave way to shock.

Kawakami, an exceptionally rare sidearm pitcher with pinpoint accuracy and sharp breaking balls, completely dominated from the start.

The opposing players began to doubt whether Kawakami was really just a backup pitcher.

The answer, of course, was yes.

Kawakami was indeed a backup pitcher for Seidou, but that didn't mean he lacked skill.

Especially when compared to their current opponent, Kawakami was leagues ahead.

"Out!"

"Out!"

"Three outs! Change sides!"

Interestingly, the players most satisfied with Kawakami's performance weren't the loyal Seidou supporters in the stands but rather the infielders on the team.

When Furuya pitched, he struck out every batter, leaving no room for the fielders to contribute.

This left Seidou's skilled second- and third-year players with little to no involvement.

Kawakami's pitching, however, required them to stay alert and assist on many plays, giving them a greater sense of participation.

As for offense, Seidou's batting lineup left no room for concern.

They scored six runs in the first inning and another four in the second.

By the end of the second inning, Seidou was already leading 10-0.

Coach Kataoka began substituting in reserve players, even giving Sawamura some time on the mound.

It was clear that Kataoka valued Sawamura highly, seizing every opportunity to give him more game experience.

However, Sawamura's performance was a bit shaky compared to his first game.

Right after taking the mound, he gave up two hits.

As the Seidou players began to nervously sweat, he threw a walk, loading the bases with no outs.

Coach Kataoka's expression darkened like a thundercloud, while Ota anxiously rubbed his hands together and suggested, "Let's bring in Furuya!"

Even with a 10-run lead, they couldn't afford to let this drag on. Ota felt his heart condition might flare up if Sawamura continued.

Despite his grim expression, Kataoka refused to follow Ota's suggestion.

If he pulled Sawamura off the mound now, it could shatter the young pitcher's confidence for the rest of the summer tournament.

Kataoka was unwilling to give up on Sawamura, believing the boy had more potential than what he was currently showing.

At this critical moment, Sawamura suddenly found his rhythm.

He struck out the first batter with his signature quirky pitch, then induced a ground ball that led to a double play.

"Three outs! Change sides!"

The bases-loaded, no-outs crisis was resolved calmly and efficiently by Sawamura, much to everyone's relief.

This moment marked the only real twist in an otherwise one-sided game.

The final score stood at 17-0, with Seidou once again ending the game in five innings.

With back-to-back victories, Seidou, as a seeded team, smoothly advanced to the top 16 of the West Tokyo Summer Tournament.

Meanwhile, the other two powerhouse teams from West Tokyo also secured their spots, bringing their inevitable clashes closer and closer…

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