Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Despite having just been hit with a three-run home run earlier, with the help of Miyuki Kazuya, Umemiya showcased extraordinary brilliance in the final moments.

The All-Tokyo team also managed to get through the crisis.

In the All-Tokyo team's dugout, seeing his players perform so excellently in a critical moment, Kunitomo, as the Coach, should have been very pleased. But his face was deeply solemn.

There wasn't a hint of a smile on Kunitomo's face.

His gaze was fixed on Miyuki Kazuya, who had just returned.

Miyuki happened to notice his gaze as he walked toward him.

"Coach, is there anything you need?"

Kunitomo's displeased expression didn't seem to faze Miyuki at all. Instead, he politely asked.

"No, you have all done well!"

Kunitomo's expression began to relax, and at the same time, he gave Miyuki a nod in approval.

To be honest, Kunitomo really felt that Miyuki was a huge threat—more difficult than he had originally imagined.

Leading the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team to reach Koshien several times over the past ten years, they had been one of Tokyo's famous powerhouses in the previous era.

Kunitomo's coaching ability was undoubtedly outstanding.

Moreover, his eye for talent was also exceptional. Over the past decade, he had nurtured numerous excellent catchers, many of whom were now thriving in professional baseball.

But none of them had shown such impressive performance in high school as Miyuki Kazuya had.

Back when Narumiya and his generation graduated from middle school, they had failed to invite Miyuki to Inashiro Industrial High School.

'It was truly a mistake.'

For the first time, Kunitomo felt regret.

If only Narumiya and Miyuki had been paired up as a battery.

Even with the Seidou High School baseball team having a legend like Sawamura Eijun, the Inashiro team would have absolutely had no fear of them.

Kunitomo was confident that, with the ebb and flow of talent, his team could even defeat the previous Seidou High School at their height.

If that happened, Inashiro might reach unprecedented heights and become the true champion.

Right now, the position held by Seidou High School would have belonged to Inashiro.

It was truly a great regret…

On the surface, Kunitomo didn't show any signs of it, but inwardly, he was a bit bitter.

'If only I had personally invited Miyuki back then.'

Money can buy many things in this world, but it can never buy a cure for regret.

No matter how much Kunitomo was feeling inside, he had to face the reality that the lineup he had envisioned could never come together.

He glanced back at the players practicing on field B.

Because the match had become so intense, the Inashiro players, who had originally been practicing on their own, had now stopped and were all leaning on the ball fence, watching the game on field A.

Looking at those familiar faces, Kunitomo suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Although the lineup he had dreamed of hadn't come together, the current Inashiro High School baseball team still had strength comparable to what he had envisioned.

This summer, they absolutely would not lose to their old rivals, the Seidou High School baseball team.

Kunitomo silently made up his mind.

In the bottom of the 7th inning, the All-Tokyo team's offense went down without a score. They were quickly retired in three up, three down.

"Even now, the firepower's still strong!"

Facing off against these monsters from the All-Tokyo team, Fumei seemed to be in total control, as if he were bullying a group of kids.

There was absolutely no pressure.

He swiftly finished the defense of this inning, three up, three down.

On the All-Tokyo team's side, the players exchanged glances. Having gathered these monsters and selected nine players, each of them was undoubtedly top-tier in ability. Even the lower-ranked batters were impressive.

With this level of skill, they should at least be able to give Fumei some trouble, even if they weren't the final opponent.

But to their surprise, they posed no threat at all and were quickly dispatched.

Miyuki and Sawamura exchanged a glance and saw deep wariness in each other's eyes!

Both of them clearly understood that if the game continued in this direction, the Tokyo team would likely never have a chance to come back.

And the two of them also knew it was unlikely they could turn things around on their own.

During their last match, they had already felt powerless.

Once Fumei really got into his groove, they would have to rely on luck to even hope to get a hit.

There was no certainty.

They glanced at Carlos and Shirakawa, who was mumbling with his head lowered.

Miyuki and Sawamura knew that if they wanted to complete a comeback, they would need the strength of these two players.

Immediately, Miyuki exchanged a glance with Sawamura.

Sawamura frowned slightly but nodded.

"Damn, this game is so frustrating!"

"This should have been a good win, so how did it end up like this?"

As Shirakawa and Carlos kept muttering, Sawamura moved to sit beside them.

In this game, as the team's first and second batters, they hadn't had much of a chance to perform.

Naturally, both of them were frustrated.

Sawamura swaggered over and sat down in the dugout chair.

"This game ending like this isn't too bad. On one hand, we got a look at what we can do. On the other hand, it won't make our Senpais from both schools look too bad," said Sawamura with a strong and confident tone.

When these words came out of his mouth, they sounded very considerate and understanding.

But when they reached the ears of Carlos and Shirakawa, they felt extremely awkward—awkward to the extreme.

The two of them, who were already holding a lot of frustration due to their lack of contribution in this game, now had their anger practically boiling over after hearing Sawamura's indirect jab.

The truth is, the two of them weren't foolish. They could tell exactly what Sawamura was trying to do with his words.

It was just a form of provocation—pushing them not to follow the Coach's orders but instead to focus on playing to their full abilities.

The technique was so childish that Shirakawa couldn't help but feel he Could Do It Better As A Child.

But the funny thing was, Sawamura's words actually got through to them.

Sometimes, it's not about how someone says something, but whether it resonates with the listener. No matter how the tone or content is phrased, if it strikes a chord, it hits its mark.

At least from the perspective of Shirakawa and Carlos, they had no intention of giving up on this game just yet.

After hearing Sawamura's challenge, the two exchanged a glance and saw the same fighting spirit reflected in each other's eyes.

They were determined to prove Sawamura wrong with their actions.

Not far away, Superintendent Kunitomo didn't hear the exact words they exchanged, but he knew these troublemakers weren't up to anything good.

He had the urge to say something.

But, considering his current position, he felt anything he said might not be appropriate. After some hesitation, he chose to remain silent.

He had already given them a chance, and if the players from the Tokyo University and the Pros couldn't handle it, it wasn't his fault.

After all, in direct competition on the field, no one can control what happens.

'If they embarrass themselves, that's on them.'

Once you step onto the baseball field, you need to accept that reality.

Superintendent Kunitomo didn't intervene, and that was a huge encouragement for Carlos and Shirakawa.

Since he didn't stop them, it meant he tacitly approved.

Even though Kunitomo hadn't explicitly said it, that didn't stop them from filling in the blanks.

After making sense of things in their heads, the two quickly found a justification for their actions.

Funny enough, Inashiro Industrial's Superintendent and players seemed to have reached a mutual understanding.

They were now perfectly aligned in their approach.

Ever since he hit that three-run homer, Umemiya seemed like a different pitcher. With the help of Miyuki, his pitching had become incredibly sharp, and he had quickly silenced the batters with six up, and six down.

The players from Tokyo University now faced the confusing combination of his fast and slow pitches, along with the All-Tokyo's solid defense.

They truly had no solution.

At that moment, they realized how much of a trap it was to face the All-Tokyo team! Since they were a representative team, they were naturally made up of the best players in the Tokyo area.

Whenever these pitchers rotated in, no one could withstand it.

At this level of pitching, you couldn't expect to defeat them in a single round. Unless the pitchers themselves made mistakes, there was simply no chance.

The players from Tokyo University were incredibly frustrated. They felt like crying 'I Really Can't Do This Anymore!' to their own Superintendent.

With the opponent's spec so high, even Tokyo University's best players needed at least two or three rounds to have a chance at handling this level of pitching.

And if it was Narumiya or Sawamura on the mound…

Even if they had two or three rounds, they still might not be enough. Whether or not they scored depended entirely on luck.

In this situation, it was easy to understand why the outstanding players from Tokyo University hadn't been able to show their abilities.

Meanwhile, their own pitchers had suppressed the opponents, creating a great opportunity for Carlos and the other batters to go on the offensive.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Carlos was the first to step up to the Batter's Box.

Behind the plate was his former senior, Harada.

In their previous encounters, Carlos had always been played by Harada.

This time, Harada and Fumei didn't try any new tricks.

They were sticking to their old playbook, throwing to Carlos's weakest spots.

Snap!

"STRIKE!"

Paak!

"FOUL!"

Sometimes, pitching strategies don't need to be overly complicated. As long as they work, that's enough.

Even though Miyuki's pitching wasn't anything special this time, it worked surprisingly well against Carlos.

Before long, he was being pressured.

Faced with such a dire situation, the look on Carlos's face became hard.

Carlos was fuming inside.

As his former senior, Harada didn't even give him any special consideration—on the contrary, he seemed to be targeting him.

This made Carlos extremely annoyed.

Since Harada had no shame, Carlos didn't intend to take it lying down.

'It's been almost six months since you left school, and you have no idea how much I've improved. Since you're pushing me so hard, don't blame me for not holding back!'

Whoosh!

The baseball was thrown right to Carlos's weakest spot again.

Carlos's eyes shot wide open, gleaming brightly.

'I've already overcome this weakness!'

Paak!

Carlos swung his bat decisively and hit the ball with all his might, sending it flying out of the field.

Behind the plate, Harada's expression was priceless.

He watched in disbelief as the ball soared.

Overcoming your own weaknesses is no easy task.

Carlos had done it, and he had done it perfectly. Even Harada couldn't help but admit it.

'You guys have really grown!'

The baseball flew away, and Carlos sprinted to first base.

Although he hit the ball, it wasn't the perfect hit he had hoped for.

The ball's landing wasn't exactly what he had expected.

'Fumei Tsuyoi…'

Once this pitcher fully unleashed his abilities, he gave off a sense of being unstoppable.

Carlos hadn't fully realized it before, but now he felt a chill down his spine.

Just now, that ball almost turned into an easy pop fly.

He didn't quite understand why.

This meant that he hadn't fully figured out the pitcher's pitch trajectory yet.

'But for now, this is enough!'

"SAFE!!"

No Outs, runner on first.

Carlos couldn't care about the apprehension in his heart anymore; he focused entirely on dealing with the battery.

Nothing else mattered right now—he couldn't let his pride be crushed.

'Since I had made it to first base, I am going to steal that point, no matter what.'

'He won't let it go.'

As Fumei began pitching to Shirakawa, the second batter, Carlos suddenly dashed from first base toward second.

Behind the plate, Harada's eyes flashed with cold light.

'No matter how good you are, you're still not getting past us.'

…