Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 202: Shocked — Geniuses Never Play by the Rules!

"Thud!!"

With the sound of the baseball hitting the ground, the field fell into complete silence.

It took a full two or three seconds before a player muttered in disbelief.

"That ball... it flew out, right?"

From the player's angle, given the position, if this had been an official game, Furuya would most likely have hit a home run!

"No, the ball landed outside the foul line. It should be a foul ball..."

Though it was unfortunate that the ball didn't land in fair territory, the members of Seidou High's baseball team were still deeply shaken.

They had always known that Furuya had a powerful swing.

But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine he'd be this powerful!

His performance was even more impressive than that of the third-year seniors!

The Seidou High players whispered among themselves.

They were careful not to unintentionally bruise their coach's ego.

After all, everyone understood their coach's strategy.

At the beginning, he clearly intended to go all out and give his players a harsh reality check.

Only afterward would he ease up based on the situation.

They'd experienced this routine many times under their coach's guidance.

It was precisely because of that experience that they knew one thing for sure — their coach was absolutely not holding back now.

Yet even without any concessions, Furuya had still managed to hit the ball.

"Does that mean... Coach already lost?"

"In a real match? Probably not yet."

"But if we're talking just about hitting performance, then maybe..."

The Seidou players couldn't help but marvel.

As for their comments, Coach Kataoka paid them no mind.

He was never the type to get upset just because a student outperformed him on the field.

After graduating from university, Kataoka had immediately turned down offers from professional teams to coach at Seidou.

He had even started from the position of assistant coach.

His career path made it clear—he genuinely loved the atmosphere of high school baseball and had a deep passion for coaching.

A coach is also a teacher.

And what teacher wouldn't hope for their students to excel?

For Kataoka, the better his players performed, the more thrilled he was.

Furuya's performance, without a doubt, filled him with excitement.

"Good job, kid! Well done!"

From Kataoka's perspective, Furuya's performance had far exceeded his expectations.

But to say Furuya was unbeatable?

Kataoka clearly couldn't accept that.

Everyone believed that during his face-off with the players, Coach Kataoka had given it his all.

Both sides had fought with everything they had.

But that wasn't entirely true.

Against certain players, Kataoka did go all out.

He understood exactly what level of strength his players had.

If he didn't take them seriously, there was a real chance he'd embarrass himself right at the start of the match.

And that was something Coach Kataoka neither wanted nor was willing to accept.

So he had no choice but to give it his best!

For instance, when facing off against Yuuki or Ryousuke...

Those were the times he went all in.

When facing other players, Coach Kataoka couldn't fully unleash his strength without concerns.

A key reason for this was the differing abilities and mental resilience of each batter.

Although the players trained under Kataoka were unlikely to be fragile by any normal standard, there was always that slim chance—what if?

What if something unexpected happened?

Now, with the semifinals just around the corner, if Coach Kataoka pitched at an overwhelming level that completely crushed his own players, causing their confidence to shatter and leading to a mental collapse, it could affect their performance in the upcoming match.

If that happened, there wouldn't even be time to regret it.

Of course, players lacking in strength needed to be pushed harder. But the purpose of pushing them was to motivate them to strive harder and perform better on the field—not to break them entirely.

Otherwise, what future would there be?

During his face-off against Furuya, Coach Kataoka deliberately held back.

Even though this kid had consistently delivered remarkable performances in previous matches—especially drawing attention for his exceptional batting—Kataoka, with his professional experience, didn't believe that Furuya was on par with players like Yuuki yet.

To avoid discouraging his team's budding ace, Kataoka chose to restrain himself.

But now, it seemed his initial thinking was wrong.

Even when holding back, he found himself unable to compete against Furuya.

This first-year ace's rapid improvement was beyond what even Kataoka could have imagined.

"So, let's see just how much you've got, kid," Kataoka thought as he narrowed his eyes, fully determined.

His pitching posture became noticeably sharper and more focused.

The Seidou players watching the duel held their breaths, barely daring to exhale.

"Is Coach about to lose it?"

As that thought crept into their minds, Kataoka completed his windup and decisively released the pitch.

"Whoosh!"

The white baseball shot through the air like a deadly bullet, straight into the strike zone.

Standing in the batter's box, Furuya instinctively squinted as the ball flew toward him.

He had already watched countless of Kataoka's pitches as a spectator.

Now, standing in the batter's box, he could feel it even more clearly—the coach's pitches were undoubtedly powerful.

But as long as he gave it his all, they weren't completely unmanageable.

With that thought in mind, Furuya didn't hesitate in the slightest.

He stepped forward and shifted his body weight, swinging the bat forcefully.

"Boom!"

The sound of the bat cutting through the air was deafening, like a thunderclap.

The Seidou players watching were all deeply shaken.

"The sound of his swing is even more terrifying than before!"

"It's like thunder!"

They were filled with awe and anticipation.

A swing that powerful—if it connected with the ball—would undoubtedly have devastating consequences.

Such a terrifying swing—if it ever managed to hit the ball, the outcome would be unimaginable.

Everyone stared intently, their focus unwavering.

Questions occasionally surfaced in their minds.

Why?

They watched as the white baseball narrowly brushed past the bat without any contact.

Despite coming close to sending the ball flying earlier, Furuya didn't even graze it this time.

"Pop!"

"Strike!!"

Even though Furuya had left a deep impression with his previous performance, his teammates clearly doubted his chances of making a comeback at this point.

"That's incredible!"

"As expected from the coach, crushing that brat Furuya!"

Sawamura shouted excitedly, his voice filled with blatant flattery.

His obvious attempt to curry favor instantly annoyed the Seidou players.

"That's so shameless!"

Sucking up to the coach by putting down their fellow first-year ace?

Although they complained aloud, they knew deep down that Sawamura wasn't deliberately trying to suck up to the coach.

The truth was, he simply enjoyed seeing Furuya suffer.

Despite both being first-year pitchers who often trained together, their relationship was far more complex than simple friendship.

They were rivals, bound by mutual respect yet constantly irked by one another.

If one looked down on the other, sparks would fly.

And when one stumbled, the other would secretly relish it.

Of course, that was only in normal situations.

In critical matches, if one was in trouble, the other would step up without hesitation to offer support.

Their bond was a peculiar one.

At that moment, Sawamura's remarks were merely an honest expression of his feelings.

Standing on the pitcher's mound, Coach Kataoka felt a vein bulging on his forehead.

Sawamura always managed to find his weak spots and stomp all over them without restraint.

"Behave yourself!"

Hearing the coach's anger, Sawamura immediately changed his demeanor.

He transformed into a meek little lamb, silent and pitiful.

Yet none of his teammates sympathized with him.

Everyone's faces lit up with wide grins, laughing gleefully at his predicament.

"So what now? After changing your pitch strategy, you can't even touch the ball?"

Coach Kataoka retrieved the baseball and said to Furuya.

Though Furuya was undoubtedly talented compared to most players, when placed alongside the third-year veterans, the gap in skill was still noticeable.

As Kataoka mulled this over, Furuya, who had just made a mistake, suddenly tapped his own head with the bat.

Thud!

The sight left everyone on Seidou's team stunned.

"What are you doing? Just because you couldn't hit the coach's pitch doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself!"

"Come on, you're our ace—get a grip!"

Ignoring their concerns, Furuya kept his gaze fixed on his coach, his expression unusually serious.

"Again!"

The members of Seidou High's baseball team almost rolled their eyes to the sky when they heard his bold statement.

Coach Kataoka's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Two strikes!"

If this were an official game, Coach Kataoka would already have a significant advantage with two strikes.

From the batter's perspective, Furuya had been forced into a corner.

The team members, however, were all here to enjoy the spectacle and stir the pot.

Watching their ace rookie standing his ground without a hint of retreat, their spirits were lifted.

"Coach, don't hold back now!"

"Getting hit by a first-year would be embarrassing!"

Despite the teasing, Coach Kataoka remained unfazed.

He wasn't just in control because he was ahead now—he never considered backing down, even when on the defensive.

"This will be the last pitch."

He fully wound up and hurled the ball with a fierce motion.

Whoosh!

The white ball seemed even faster than any previous pitch.

The Seidou players widened their eyes, watching intently, unwilling to miss a single moment.

At that instant, Furuya's mind went completely blank.

Even though he had repeatedly told himself not to overthink when facing off against the coach, to simply trust his instincts—

It was easier said than done.

No matter how much effort Furuya put in, distracting thoughts still crept in.

Coach's pitch speed is insane...

What kind of pitch will he throw next?

These weren't conscious thoughts.

They just naturally surfaced in his mind, ingrained from over two years of training.

Even though Furuya kept reminding himself to break this habit, in crucial moments, those thoughts always emerged on their own.

Once they did, his body movements lost coordination.

By the time he noticed it, it was already too late.

This was now the third pitch.

If Furuya made another mistake, he would waste this hard-earned chance.

But at this critical juncture, his mind cleared completely.

There was no time for thinking.

As soon as the ball entered his reach, instinct kicked in—

It was coming!

Seeing the ball closing in, Furuya stopped thinking altogether.

He simply let his body take over.

As the ball approached, he swung decisively.

Boom!

The speed of Furuya's swing left everyone stunned.

Yet before they could fully register their shock, they were completely dumbfounded by what happened next — the bat struck the ball dead center once again.

Even though Coach Kataoka had given it his all, putting every ounce of skill and effort into that final pitch, it was still sent flying.

The scene was so familiar yet surreal that Seidou's players stood frozen in disbelief, their eyes fixed on the soaring ball.

This time, the ball didn't veer outside the foul line — it landed squarely inside.

"It's... it's out of here!"

"A home run!!!"

"He hit a home run on his first attempt against such a steep breaking curveball!"

The entire team was left speechless.

No one could have imagined that in such a difficult situation, Furuya would still manage to blast the ball out of the field.

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