Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

In the top of the second inning, Shonan High School was on the offensive.

"Fourth Batter, catcher, Noma-kun!"

Senzo Shiki, who had played a practice match against Seidou High School before, had once expressed such feelings after seeing Seidou's starting lineup.

Seidou's main lineup configuration is very similar to their Kanagawa champion team. In baseball, this kind of thing is actually not uncommon. What type of player is suitable for which position? The Superintendents of high school baseball clubs are well aware of these things.

For example, the players in the leadoff position are generally the fastest type. The positions that fast players most commonly play are either outfielders or shortstops.

A fast player guarding these two positions can make the best use of his speed.

Therefore, the probability of the leadoff batter being a shortstop or outfielder is relatively high.

Of course, it's not very common for a team like Shonan High School to have almost all positions align so closely with Seidou High School.

The leadoff batter is a shortstop, the third batter is the pitcher, and the fourth batter is the catcher...

The same arrangement also reflects the similar strengths of the players. The strategies derived from this are probably quite similar as well.

This presents a big challenge for Seidou High School, and naturally, it is the same for their opponents, Shonan.

Noma is a very sturdy person. After stepping into the Batter's Box, he exudes tremendous pressure.

It's like standing face to face with someone where one is 1.6 meters tall and the other is 1.9 meters tall.

When the taller player, at 1.9 meters, looks down at the 1.6-meter player, the shorter player inevitably feels pressure.

In baseball, this kind of situation is very common. Some batters can exert a lot of pressure on their opponents just by standing in the Batter's Box.

Noma is just like that.

He is 1.85 meters tall and weighs 90 kilograms. He has a beard on his face—not too much, but enough to make him look mature.

He doesn't seem like a high school player at all; rather, he looks like an adult man.

Facing such an opponent, any average pitcher would feel some pressure.

Fortunately, Sawamura is no ordinary pitcher.

The tall Noma couldn't bring pressure to Sawamura; instead, it made him feel nostalgic.

It's a feeling you only get when playing against Pros. Although it's not as passionate as high school, the level is undoubtedly much higher.

A warm glint flashed in Sawamura Eijun's eyes as he opened his stance and pitched the ball.

He was still sticking to his usual style, using the fishing pitch to lure the batter into swinging.

Of course, such a pitch couldn't be a fastball. Throwing a normal fastball would be an error.

Sawamura's first pitch was a Moving one.

He was hoping for the batter to swing and for the defense to get the out. From Sawamura's perspective, there was no reason Noma wouldn't swing at such an easy pitch.

But Noma seemed to be on guard. Despite such a hittable pitch, he didn't swing.

He let the ball pass by.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

As soon as the umpire spoke, the supporters of Seidou and the fans brought by Sawamura got excited.

They thought Sawamura was responding to his earlier Out.

On the other hand, Sawamura and Miyuki, on the field, didn't look too pleased.

Especially Miyuki, who was behind the plate, his eyelids drooping as he squinted at the batter in front of him.

Miyuki could absolutely not believe that Shonan's fourth batter couldn't make a swing on the pitch that Sawamura Eijun had just thrown!

So the reason the batter didn't swing must be something else.

'He's waiting...'

'The opponent's strategy has changed!'

Before, Sawamura and Miyuki had worked together to take down many opponents.

But never had an opponent reacted so quickly and changed their strategy so swiftly.

This made Miyuki feel a storm was coming.

To be honest, Miyuki didn't dislike challenges.

Whether in the past or present, Miyuki had never been opposed to competing with powerful opponents. In fact, he saw it as a very fortunate thing to face strong opponents.

It was precisely because of experiences like these that his own strength had grown. When he chose to join Seidou High School, it wasn't because of a weaker team.

Wasn't it because in a powerhouse like Seidou, the challenges are more severe?

Back then, Narumiya invited him to join Inajitsu and proudly told Miyuki that if the two of them teamed up, they would win it all.

Miyuki had never doubted the truth of that statement. He knew Narumiya Mei's strength very well, and he had full confidence in his own abilities.

If the two of them joined forces, their combined strength would be much more than just a simple sum.

For someone else, there would be no reason to refuse.

But Miyuki refused.

The reason he gave Narumiya was that, rather than staying in such a team, he wanted to face Mei as an opponent!

What kind of resolve and courage is that?

Miyuki's choice back then might have led to him being relatively obscure during his three years of high school.

But to face stronger opponents, he made that decision resolutely.

In addition, the existence of Chris and Takashima Rei's invitation was a secondary reason...

Not disliking challenges doesn't mean letting the opponent run wild. Miyuki wasn't so obsessed that he had to force every bit of potential out of his opponent before defeating them.

He preferred to anticipate the crisis and dissolve it invisibly.

This was also a skill he was developing and honing.

Seeing that the opponent had changed their strategy, Miyuki couldn't turn a blind eye.

He glanced at Sawamura on the pitcher's mound. Without signaling, he just exchanged a look with him.

Sawamura, on the mound, immediately nodded in understanding.

As a battery, they had a certain mutual understanding. Just like now, seeing that the opponent hadn't swung at the sweet pitch, Sawamura and Miyuki had already anticipated what the opponent's next move would be.

It was nothing more than trying to delay time, wear down the pitcher's stamina, and gather more information...

It seemed that the players from Shonan High School were just like them. The information they had before the game wasn't comprehensive.

'Then I'll help refresh your database!'

Sawamura was a kind-hearted person. Realizing that the opponent was trying to spy on his pitching information, he generously began to show off his strength.

Whrroosh!

The seemingly ordinary second pitch flew out.

This pitch was right on the top edge of the strike zone, and it looked like it was about to fly out of the zone.

Noma, standing in the Batter's Box, tried hard to suppress the overwhelming desire to swing.

'This ball was too good to pass up!'

Even if there was some movement in the pitch, he was confident he could use his swing to force the ball out of the park.

'But noooooo!'

That annoying guy with the monocular in the dugout had strictly forbidden him from swinging before two Strikes.

So, he had no choice but to endure and watch helplessly as the ball flew past him.

Snap!

"STRIKE!"

The count is now two Strikes, no balls.

Behind the plate, Miyuki's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his gaze became sharper.

With his sharp eyes, he carefully examined the opponent, who was now less than two meters away from him.

'To not swing at such a pitch? And choose to let it pass?'

Miyuki was absolutely certain that the opponent was up to something.

Glancing at the batter in front of him and then quickly scanning the Shonan High School dugout with his peripheral vision, Miyuki couldn't quite figure out what trick the opponent was planning, but he was very aware that they definitely had something in mind.

What should he do?

'If you have something, let me see it!'

Before partnering with Sawamura, Miyuki would have spent a long time pondering in such a situation.

Because he knew that every move he made from here on out had to be extremely cautious and deliberate.

Otherwise, one wrong step could result in an irreversible disaster.

But now, there was no need for that!

Because his partner was Sawamura, the initiative in the game would never fall into anyone else's hands.

Miyuki was confident in his partner!

'Trying to use these little schemes against Sawamura? Aren't you guys a bit too confident?'

Not understanding the opponent's plan didn't matter, as long as they could get the batter Out!

'The next pitch...'

After receiving the signal, Sawamura nodded slightly, got into his windup, and released the ball.

WHRROOSH!!

The baseball flew out like a laser, reaching the batter in the blink of an eye.

Now with two Strikes against him, Noma had no reason to let this pitch go by.

He couldn't just stand there and watch himself get struck out, could he?

So, no matter what Noma's intentions were, he had no choice but to swing.

On the other hand, Sawamura, by watching Noma's swing, was able to pick up on something.

'Outside corner!'

The pitch was clear, and it felt just like the previous two.

Noma was very confident in his judgment.

Although he wasn't sure whether this pitch would be one of those quirky pitches that changed slightly after reaching the plate, it didn't affect his decision.

With two Strikes against him, Noma didn't have any better options.

The only thing he could do was to swing with all his might—whether the ball had any movement or not, he was going to hit it as far as he could.

As long as the impact was strong enough, even if he only grazed the ball, he could send it flying far out of the park.

Rooooooo!

Standing in the Batter's Box, Noma finally swung.

As he did, the air around him seemed to spin like a tornado.

It was an abnormally low, yet very violent sound.

Just listening to it created the illusion that as soon as that bat made contact with the ball, it would soar into the sky and disappear without a trace.

'I did it!!'

Noma felt a sense of relief as he saw his bat about to make contact with the incoming pitch.

After all, the name of the Sawamura Eijun was so famous in their generation. Any opponent directly facing him couldn't help but feel the weight of his presence.

Noma was no exception.

Before the at-bat, he looked confident. But secretly, he was very worried, afraid that the little ball might change in some unexpected way.

But now, looking at the situation in front of him, there was no sign of any change.

'Sure enough, the media are utterly unreliable. If it weren't for those media outlets spouting nonsense, Sawamura Eijun wouldn't have such a big reputation.'

Now, it seemed that he was probably not as great as his name suggested.

Just as this thought crossed Noma's mind, something incredible happened.

The ball that he had been so sure he was going to hit flew out of his bat and disappeared.

The ball he had anticipated was nothing more than an illusion in his memory.

And the real ball? It vanished right before his eyes!

'Where did the ball go?'

A huge question mark flashed through Noma's mind.

The question didn't last long, as the next moment, Noma heard the sound of the ball landing in the glove.

SNAP!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"

The fourth batter from Shonan High School, the Kanagawa champion, was struck Out just like that.

The fans cheering for Sawamura erupted in excitement, their faces flushed red.

"SAWAMURA!"

"SAWAMURA!"

"SEIDOU!"

"KING SEIDOU!"

"Amazing!"

"He solved the fourth batter like he was nothing!"

"No wonder he's the Demon King of Seidou; his power really is extraordinary!"

They shouted Sawamura's name with all their might, as though they couldn't express their overflowing passion any other way.

On the other side, in the Shonan High School dugout,

Matt, holding his monocular, hadn't put it down.

He was carefully observing each player from Seidou High School's baseball team.

'I have to admit, this is really a good team!'

The players were incredibly well-trained, and even in defense, their bodies moved faster than their brains could process.

They had far surpassed the level of ordinary high school students, reaching the ability of professional baseball players.

'Very good, very strong...'

'But, they're not completely invincible.'

A hint of a sly smirk appeared on his face.

Sawamura struck out Noma.

For the players of Seidou High School's baseball team, this was just another ordinary occurrence. For Seidou's supporters and fans, it wasn't a big deal either.

Their Maou, of course, is invincible.

What about Tokyo's monster batter, Raichi? Didn't he also get struck out by Sawamura several times?

But for the players of Shonan High School, it was a different experience altogether.

Shonan High is a team that has only recently risen to prominence, with most of their core players being second-year students like Sawamura and the others.

But the soul of the team is Noma, a third-year player.

Noma had been a key player for the team since his first year of high school. In his second year, he surpassed many of his seniors and became the team's man catcher and fourth batter.

In the eyes of his teammates, Noma has never missed a swing.

This was the first time, and the only time, they could remember.

Nigima Aota, the Ace pitcher, saw his partner return and couldn't help but directly ask:

"What happened?"

How could Noma possibly miss a swing?

Not just him, but all the teammates around him hesitated, eager to hear the answer from Noma himself.

Noma's mouth opened, but in the end, he didn't utter a single word.

It wasn't that he didn't want to communicate with his teammates, it was simply that he didn't know what to say.

"Did it feel like the ball disappeared?"

Coach Matt, somehow, had appeared beside them. While fiddling with his monocular, he asked with an almost gleeful tone.

As the team's Superintendent, to have the fourth batter struck out like that, it was no wonder that Matt could still maintain a sense of delight.

This, of course, made the players displeased.

Matt, however, ignored them and stared at Noma intently, waiting for his answer.

Noma's eyes widened as if he couldn't quite believe it.

"Was I right?"

"Yes, exactly! After the ball entered my hands, it suddenly disappeared…"

The players from Shonan High never expected such an answer.

"Could it be his Disappearing ball?" (Magic ball)

Kojima muttered discontentedly.

The information about Sawamura's pitching was all over the internet. And many of his pitches were discussed greatly in the online forms.

The Magic ball—Which they call the Disappearing ball on the forms— was of course one of them.

"No, it shouldn't be this one. When he pitches his Disappearing ball, Sawamura's form must deviate a little for the ball to take its effect. It should be a different ball."

Matt said, still smiling.

Although the surrounding players felt awkward, they listened carefully.

"From his shoulder moved, it should be a Cutter. But for some reason, the angle of the lateral break is much larger. From the Batter's Box, it feels like the ball just disappears…"

With the help of the monocular, Matt quickly analyzed one of Sawamura's signature pitches.

It was the Cut ball-Kai!

To be honest, even if you figured out the mechanics, hitting such a pitch wasn't easy.

"Just as expected from the Maou!"

With such a weapon in his arsenal, it's no wonder that Sawamura appeared so confident when pitching.

He definitely had the credentials to act that way.

"Does the Coach have any solutions?"

The sixth batter, who was about to step up, asked doubtfully.

"Not yet!"

Matt smiled confidently.

But his expression conveyed a different message to the players of Shonan High.

To them, it said: 'The time is not right!'

…