Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The first batter is Mima Soichiro!

From just this arrangement, one can tell how much effort Hakuryu High School has put into today's match.

In comparison, Seidou High School truly didn't put in as much thought. They simply followed their usual habits and formulated the strategy for today's game.

When comparing the two, the gap is quite obvious.

"The other side is sharpening their knives!"

Miyuki sighed bitterly.

"Let them come at us! It's no big deal."

Sawamura stated resolutely.

The game was about to start. You can't let the opponent boost their morale and extinguish yours. Even if the situation is as described, you can't say it out loud.

"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!"

"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!!"

The players from both teams saluted each other, and after their Coachs announced the tactics, the match officially began.

These two teams were not unfamiliar with each other, so there should have been a lot to talk about.

However, before the game, no one spoke a word.

The atmosphere was intensely tense.

The Final!

The tension was palpable. As soon as the match started, it elevated the already tense atmosphere to its peak.

In the top half of the first inning, Hakuryu High School was up to bat.

The first batter to step into the Batter's Box was none other than Hakuryu High School's star hitter, Mima Soichiro.

A national top-tier star player! One of the top five hitters in high school!

His showdown with Sawamura was the biggest highlight of today's match.

Originally, everyone thought this kind of showdown would take some time to occur.

But to their surprise, the moment the game started, this duel began right away!

Though it was a bit sudden, for the audience, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

They could feel their adrenaline kicking in, surging rapidly.

In Hakuryu High School's dugout,

Coach Sasaki held his stopwatch, his eyes glued to Sawamura.

The Great Demon King, Sawamura Eijun!

Among all the opponents Hakuryu High School had faced before, Sawamura's position was unique.

His strength, his aura, his rhythm...

Everything embodied what an Ace pitcher should be like.

Many even say that Sawamura is now the benchmark for Ace pitchers.

Precise control, unique form, terrifying velocity, excellent rhythm, sharp breaking balls, an unyielding will, superb defensive skills...

And most importantly, that matchless spirit of being unrivaled.

The name 'Great Demon King' wasn't all just praise from others. Sawamura earned that title through countless battles, proving it over and over.

'To take down such a pitcher is no easy task.'

'Especially at the start of the game, Sawamura was known as one of the most stable pitchers in the opening innings.'

'In the first three innings, he almost never gives up hits or runs.'

'In other words, it was almost impossible to get a hit or score off Sawamura in the first three innings.'

But can this rule really be followed if they want to defeat the Demon King? Would it still lead to victory?

Thinking about this, Sasaki's expression turned grim.

'The answer is no.'

If they follow the Demon King's tempo, they'll never be able to defeat him.

'Thus, we can draw this conclusion:

If we want to defeat the Demon King, we absolutely cannot play by his tempo.'

'Soichiro, it's up to you!'

No matter how steady a pitcher is, at the start of the game, they can never be at their peak.

Even Sawamura needs time to adjust.

It may be a short time, but there is a process.

'During that time, hit the ball!'

Break the Demon King's rule, and you'll have a chance to win.

In the Batter's Box, Mima Soichiro took his standard stance, which resembled the legendary Suzuki Ichiro's stance.

Originally, because his stance was so similar to Suzuki's, Mima had sealed it off. He didn't want his name to overlap with anyone else, even if that person was Suzuki.

He wanted to be unique, the one and only Mima Soichiro.

But now, he threw that pride away.

He no longer cared about the little emotional issues. His only thought now was to hit that flying baseball.

To hit Sawamura's pitch.

Before today, Mima didn't have this kind of confidence.

It wasn't that he belittled himself or looked down on his own abilities. He had fought Sawamura before and was very aware of his strength.

In his mind, if Sawamura was determined to get someone Out, he never failed.

Even if Mima was confident, he wasn't sure he could get a hit off Sawamura.

Of course, this doesn't mean he lacked fighting spirit. He was highly motivated, but his opponent was just too strong.

In other places, Mima had never met anyone like Sawamura. Naturally, he couldn't make a comparison.

Until recently, when he faced Narumiya Mei, the Tokyo Prince.

In that game, Mima had built up tremendous confidence.

That gave him a new understanding of his own abilities.

In his view, Narumiya Mei and Sawamura Eijun were of the same caliber.

Since he could hit Narumiya Mei's pitches, he surely could hit Sawamura Eijun's.

Without a doubt, the game against Inashiro Industrial High School had given Mima unprecedented confidence.

His sweat, and his effort, were all transformed into his strength.

Now, he was ready to challenge the top pitcher in high school.

'Bring it!!!!'

In the Batter's Box, Mima Soichiro was filled with fighting spirit.

'Very good!'

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura was also incredibly excited.

That familiar feeling came back.

The feeling of his hair standing on end.

Only when facing an opponent with enough weight did Eijun feel this way?

Listening to his heart racing and feeling his cells buzzing with energy...

Sawamura never hated such intense duels. For him, this was a rare enjoyment.

His fighting spirit surged without needing to be stimulated.

Miyuki, his partner, could clearly feel Sawamura's excitement.

Looking at the opponent beside him, Miyuki wasn't surprised at all by Sawamura's reaction.

Every time Sawamura faces a worthy opponent, he reacts this way.

This was one of the things Miyuki admired most about Sawamura.

Sawamura truly loved baseball. He enjoyed it at all times. He never complained about strong opponents; he only disliked those who weren't strong enough.

Though Sawamura didn't imply it, his partner Miyuki understood him.

Sawamura was like a hungry beast, with a desire to win stronger than anyone else.

When he faces a worthy opponent, he immediately wakes up like a fighting cock.

Mima Soichiro, even in the whole high school, was one of the top batters.

'Facing such an opponent, Sawamura was, of course, excited.'

'Come on!'

'Show me all your strength in your pitch.'

Miyuki was not a catcher who suppressed the pitcher's desires. On the contrary, he would stir up the pitcher's fighting spirit.

Just like now, Sawamura was already stirred up.

At this point, even if Miyuki told Sawamura to hold back, he wouldn't be able to.

Better to let him throw freely.

Receiving the signal, Sawamura's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

It was truly a joy to partner with Miyuki.

He lifted his right leg high, then slammed it down like a battle axe.

As his body's momentum shifted, his left arm swung like a whip, and the baseball shot out with a sharp sound.

In this motion, Sawamura's body and mitt blocked the batter's view of his release point.

The baseball seemed to appear suddenly in midair, trailing a long tail, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the strike zone.

'NOW!'

Mima in the Batter's Box didn't hesitate. He swung the bat with full force on the first pitch.

Ping!

The baseball was hit, spinning, and flying foul.

"FOUL!"

Mima's face grew serious.

Before the game, they had studied Sawamura's pitching data carefully. Even though they were very familiar with this data, they made detailed preparations again before today's match.

Sawamura's improvement was rapid, and even in a few months, his pitching style could change significantly.

Facing such an opponent, relying solely on old data wasn't enough. They had to constantly update their information to stay ahead.

But even with the data, Mima still missed on the first pitch.

'The pitch came at a speed that was frightening when viewed from the Batter's Box.'

Even with the best dynamic vision in high school, Mima found himself at a loss.

'No matter how accurately I saw the pitch, I had no time to react and hit the ball.'

It seemed like another dead-end had arrived...

After seeing Sawamura's pitch, Mima began to assess.

'Could I hit it?'

'Yes!'

As long as Sawamura didn't throw a new breaking ball, Mima believed he could at least make contact.

Their collected data always implied that Sawamura never entered the field without a new breaking ball ready to be used.

Such a ridiculous thought would be hard to believe, but the pitcher in front of him broke all the norms for pitchers long ago.

But would Sawamura throw something new?

This one was hard to predict.

No one knew how many secret weapons Sawamura still had in reserve.

However, one thing was clear from Hakuryu High School's previous experience: if Sawamura had already thrown two Strikes, his third pitch was rarely hit.

'That was Sawamura's Law. Once he got two Strikes, the chances of him finishing off the batter with the third pitch were very high.'

'I can't let it get to that point!'

Mima knew from the beginning that if he wanted to hit Sawamura's pitch, he had to swing at the first two balls.

So when the second pitch came, Mima didn't hesitate and swung.

Although he didn't hit it perfectly for a clean base hit, he managed to make contact.

Ping!

The baseball was struck and rolled into the field.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

Shortstop Kuramochi laughed as he sprinted toward the rebounding ball, scooping it up and throwing it to first base.

He was fast, but someone was even faster.

The batter was nowhere to be seen.

"SAFE!!!"

In that brief moment, Mima had already reached first base safely.

…

T/N: The game with Hakuryu starts! And apparently, they came prepared!

Anyway, Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a nice day!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +155 Chapters there.