Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Reporters are a group of people who enjoy the spectacle and don't mind stirring up trouble.

Why is Sawamura so famous? Apart from his own legendary experiences, a big reason is the result of the reporters' publicity efforts.

If it weren't for the reporters' desperate search for big news, Sawamura wouldn't have the fame he has now.

Of course, if it weren't for Sawamura's ability to live up to this fame, no matter how much the reporters touted him, they could never have turned him into a god.

If they were to call him the 'Great Demon King' or the 'Number One in the high school', it would be laughable if they were eliminated in the first round of the regional competition. What qualifications would they have to be called number one?

Sawamura Eijun was able to maintain his reputation because, after entering high school, he dominated the country twice in a row, and he was the absolute core of both teams.

Combined with the shameless promotion by the reporters, this is what made Sawamura who he is today.

The more powerful and full of potential Sawamura showed himself to be, the more extreme the reporters' hype became.

They would continue to inspire each other, feeding off one another.

Sooner or later, one of them would be the first to crack.

For reporters who have no boundaries, the chance of them cracking is minuscule.

What is more likely is that Sawamura will eventually fail to meet the reporters' insatiable hype, and things will gradually settle down.

Before the start of the game, the Seidou High School players gathered together.

The familiar cheers filled the air.

Some were for Sawamura, some for Seidou High School, and occasionally, one could hear Miyuki and the others as well.

This had become a routine now. Every time the Seidou High School players played a game, they could hear these voices.

However, this time, unlike before, there was a bit of noise mixed in with the cheers.

Looking around, they discovered that the fans were supporting Shonan High School.

In Gunma Prefecture, Shonan High School has no grassroots support.

Gunma fans would never cheer for Shonan High School unless they were out of their minds!

That is to say, the fans in front of them were either from other places or had been brought in from Kanagawa.

This made the Seidou's baseball team realize that today's game was likely to be different from the usual.

No one in the audience is a fool. If you try to deceive them, you'll soon realize that only you will end up deceived.

The fact that Shonan High School could bring so many fans shows their strength.

Before the game started, Coach Kataoka repeated the tactics he had given earlier.

"Let the game flow at our rhythm. Don't let the opponent dictate the pace. Do you understand?"

"Understood!!!"

The Seidou players, who were about to take the field, responded loudly.

For them, the opponent might have some strength, but that strength was far from enough to shake Seidou.

Coach Ochiai stroked his small beard, his eyes filled with concern.

For some reason, he felt that today's game was unusual.

He couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong, but the feeling was strong.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly turned to Miyuki and said, "It's been a long time since we shouted slogans, hasn't it? Want to try it again?"

After Coach Ochiai's reminder, the players were taken aback.

The last time they shouted the slogan was during the Spring Koshien, and it had been a long time.

Perhaps it was because the opponents they had faced after Seidou High School had never made them truly feel a sense of crisis.

Miyuki nodded and then called the nearby players to form a circle.

The Seidou's baseball team players formed a huge circle.

The fans in the stands who supported Seidou were wide-eyed.

As die-hard fans of Seidou High School, they knew exactly what was coming next.

Even the neutral fans had their eyes gleaming.

"Is it happening? Is it happening???"

"Will they do it now!"

"It had been a while!"

They had seen it several times before when watching Koshien broadcasts.

Every time they saw it, their blood would boil.

The deepest feelings came from the members of the Second and Third Teams who were now in the stands.

They all had red eyes.

They looked at the players on the field with deep longing.

In their hearts, they swore that one day, they too would be one of them.

In the circle, Captain Miyuki spoke to the players.

"Are you guys afraid?"

At his words, the player was puzzled.

"Right, you are not afraid, neither do I. In fact, I am very confident."

"But strangely, the opponent is sharing the same sentiment as us."

Some of the teammates looked at the opponent when they heard what Miyuki had said.

And indeed, they saw the other side having the confidence to almost glare at them.

"Looks like they started to forget who we are. So how about we give them a reminder?"

"REMIND THEM WHO THEIR OPPONENT IS!!! REMIND THEM THAT WE ARE NOT JUST PLAYING ANOTHER GAME!!!!!"

"WE ARE HERE TO MAKE OUR OWN LEGEND!!!!!!!"

And at this, hell exploded!

"YEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!"

The players of Seidou started roaring with their souls.

Even the opponents were affected.

The players from Shonan High School stared blankly at the Seidou High School team.

An inexplicable weight began to exert its force on their backs.

Standing in the center of the circle, Miyuki felt the weight of his responsibility increase.

He tapped his thumb on his heart and loudly asked,

"NOW, REMIND THEM!!!"

"WHO ARE WE????!!!!!!!"

It was as if it was a soul-searching question, and the eyes of all the players in the circle were filled with light.

All distracting thoughts were cast aside, and only one thought remained.

"KING SEIDOU!!!!!!!"

That was the answer they gave, and it was the truest feeling in their hearts.

Miyuki in the center of the circle grew even sharper in his gaze.

"WHO SHED SWEAT MORE THAN ANYONE???!!!!!"

"SEIDOU!!!!"

"WHO SHED TEARS MORE THAN ANYONE???!!!!!!!"

"SEIDOU!!!!!!"

"ARE YOU READY FOR THE BATTLE????!!!!!!!!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"

"WE SWEAR ON THE HONOR OF THE SCHOOL, WE HAVE ONLY ONE GOAL! THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!"

"LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At this moment, the entire stadium trembled.

Led by the 20 players, more than 30,000 fans in the stands had completely lost control.

As the Seidou High School players shouted for the final time, over 30,000 fans joined in, shouting in unison.

It was also an inspiring sight for the journalists who came to interview.

Owada Akiko, a reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, had tears glistening in her eyes.

No matter how many times she watched this scene, it always filled her with excitement and passion.

Fujio, next to her, was also deeply moved.

Just a year ago, Seidou was on the verge of decline.

They were at a low point, having failed to reach Koshien for several years.

Unexpectedly, in just one year, they had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Now, they were the undisputed Kings.

'In the summer competition, many powerful teams rose up together.'

'But the team most likely to win the championship was probably still Seidou High School.'

Fujio made such a bold assertion, of course, not because of his good relationship with the Seidou's baseball team.

Given his status as a senior reporter in the country, he would never do something so unprofessional.

He genuinely believed that the current Seidou High School team had the qualifications of a champion.

This team itself carries that kind of aura.

"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!"

"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!!!"

The players from both sides salute each other, and after a brief pitching adjustment, the game officially begins.

Before Miyuki won the coin toss, he chose to let the opponent bat first.

This, of course, had been discussed.

Watanabe and Coach Kataoka believed that Shonan High School was a dark horse team and was currently on a high wave.

When facing such an opponent, one cannot rush. It's better to avoid their sharpest attacks first and let them explode for a while.

Once their explosion subsides and they fall into a weakness, they would find the right opportunity to strike the most fatal blow.

This is a tactical matter, so it didn't require all players to understand. As long as a few key players who control the rhythm of the game knew it in their hearts, it was enough.

Therefore, Sawamura and Miyuki's mission was very simple: to stop all of the opponent's attacks first.

As long as they could neutralize the opponent's offense, preventing their fierce momentum from being fully unleashed,

the balance of victory and defeat would certainly shift in Seidou's favor.

In the Shonan High School dugout.

Coach Matt held a pair of binoculars and kept scanning Sawamura on the pitcher's mound.

"What are you doing, Coach?"

The assistant coach, feeling embarrassed, stood up and tried to stop him.

But Matt ignored him, staring intently at Eijun's every move as though he could see every detail on Sawamura's face.

"First batter, shortstop, Kojima-kun."

As the game started, Sawamura noticed a familiar face.

Watanabe had introduced this guy to them from his data.

He was fast and had well-rounded skills.

It wasn't hard for Sawamura to deduce his style from his movements.

'Since he was a speed-type player, there was a possibility of stolen bases.'

Sawamura glanced at Maezono, then looked at Kanemaru.

The two immediately understood and quietly changed their positions.

Matt, holding the binoculars in the dugout, narrowed his eyes in surprise.

Sawamura's movements on the pitcher's mound were very subtle. If Matt hadn't been using the binoculars, he wouldn't have noticed.

Having noticed this detail, Matt didn't say anything, but his fingers trembled slightly, and his calm exterior belied his inner unease.

Kojima also noticed the change.

'Although the first and third basemen didn't fully move forward, their positioning was set, giving them enough buffer space to move forward at any time.'

It seemed very difficult for Kojima to attempt a bunt or steal a base.

He couldn't quite explain why it felt so difficult—just a sense, or intuition.

He trusted his intuition very much.

With this bad premonition, it meant that getting on base was going to be very hard.

His remaining options were to either try to get a Walk or hit the ball.

Kojima felt a deep sense of unease as if he were being led by an invisible rope.

The most frustrating part was realizing he had no other choice but to move forward.

Baseball players familiar with Sawamura's pitching weren't unfamiliar with the 'Maou's style.

They knew very well that waiting for Sawamura to throw a Ball outside the strike zone was a fantasy.

So the only option left for Kojima seemed to be the last one:

To hit the ball that Sawamura Eijun would throw with all his might.

As long as he hit the ball, everything could be worked out.

Kojima, forced into this situation, had no choice but to comply.

Looking at Kojima, who adopted a direct confrontation stance, Miyuki Kazuya, the catcher, couldn't help but smile coldly.

'Very good, the bait has been taken.'

Everything now was, of course, a plan devised in advance by him, Watanabe, and Sawamura, designed to force their opponent into a direct confrontation.

If the opponent had opted for a Walk, Sawamura wouldn't know how many more wasted pitches he would have to throw.

That would be inefficient; it was better to tempt the opponent into swinging.

This way, getting Outs was easier, and the rewards were greater.

Sawamura, on the pitcher's mound, saw Miyuki's signal and without hesitation, pitched the ball.

He lifted his right leg high and then dropped it like a battle axe. As his weight shifted, his left hand whipped forward, and the pitch was released.

WHRROOSH!

It was fast, like a bullet. The speed was unexpected and seemed to come out of nowhere.

Kojima in the Batter's Box pressed his lips tightly together.

Before the game, he had heard many legends about Sawamura Eijun.

He had already imagined Sawamura's pitching in his mind thousands of times.

Originally, Kojima thought he was well-prepared mentally. But when he saw Sawamura's pitch, he was still stunned.

For some reason, the pitch from the 'Maou' didn't seem as fierce as the rumors made it out to be.

'It was fast, no doubt, but not impossible to catch up with.'

If another pitcher had thrown such a pitch, Kojima might have been impressed.

He would have thought the pitcher was really good.

But from Sawamura Eijun, the Maou, it felt different.

It didn't seem as intimidating.

Of course, this was just Kojima's own feeling.

Whether it was accurate or not, he needed to test it out to find out.

Both hands gripped the bat tightly as Kojima watched the ball fly toward him.

As he swung the bat, his heart was filled with unease. He feared the Maou's pitch might unexpectedly break.

It felt like facing a poisonous snake that knew how to wait.

A chilling feeling, something very, very bad.

With that mindset, Kojima naturally approached Sawamura with extreme caution.

But it seemed like he had overthought it.

The bat struck the ball precisely, sending it flying.

Ping!

...