Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"SAFE!"

When Carlos reached first base, everything seemed to be going as planned.

Next, the second batter, Shirakawa, kept engaging with the pitcher.

"FOUL!"

"FOUL!!"

"FOUL!!"

It seemed like he wasn't in a hurry to get on base and kept hitting the ball Foul repeatedly.

'Isn't your favorite thing is to use Foul balls to get Strikes? Well, I'll help you with that!'

Shirakawa had transformed into the representative of a demon.

The American players looked at him with fear in their eyes.

Conrad's pitching speed reached 96 mph (155 km/h), and combined with his long arms and legs, the angle he threw from made it extremely difficult for any batter to even make contact with his pitches.

'This little guy, though, was able to keep hitting these extremely difficult balls Foul over and over again.'

'Is he even human?'

In the dugout, Sawamura and Miyuki were also feeling a bit of a chill.

Shirakawa reminded them of a very troublesome person.

It was the Legendary Devil Brother, Kominato Ryosuke.

If they met the Inashiro Industrial High School team later on, and Shirakawa faced off with him the same way, that would probably be enough to give the battery a headache.

Miyuki scratched his head in frustration, thinking of the best way to deal with the situation.

The skill Shirakawa was demonstrating was definitely something to be cautious of.

The pitcher and batter continued to battle for over ten pitches.

Speaking of which, Conrad was quite persistent too. Despite throwing many pitches, he didn't give up many Balls outside the strike zone.

In the end, with great persistence, Conrad managed to suppress Shirakawa, who hit a ground ball that bounced up.

Snap!

"OUT!"

Inevitably, Shirakawa was Out.

But Carlos used this opportunity to sprint to second base.

He didn't stop at second base, either.

As the fielders were occupied with getting Shirakawa Out, Carlos rushed straight for third base.

Carlisle, the catcher, who had clearly seen this from his position, shouted in a voice filled with rage:

"Throw To Third!"

His shout was loud enough, but unfortunately, it was too late!

Carlos, who had been running at full speed, was like a panther.

In an anime-like scene, one could almost imagine a phantom effect trailing behind him.

"SAFE!"

Before the ball could make it to third base, Carlos had already stepped on the base.

The situation now was one Out, with a runner on third.

The third batter for the Tokyo representative team, the catcher, Miyuki, stepped up to bat.

Previously, when the Tokyo representative team defeated Weede, it all started with Miyuki.

Now that it was his turn again, the American players couldn't afford to be careless.

They threw tricky pitches at him.

Miyuki, realizing this, knew that the opposing team wasn't going to give him any easy balls to hit.

'Since that was the case, then I will...'

Miyuki immediately adopted a bunt stance.

No one had expected that, with a six-run lead, the Tokyo representative team would opt for a forced-run strategy.

Paak!

The baseball was hit and bounced toward first base.

Carlos took the opportunity to run back to home plate!

"SAFE!!"

This helped the Tokyo team secure their seventh run.

At the same time, Miyuki was inevitably Out.

Two Outs, no one on base.

Now, it was Sawamura Eijun's turn to bat.

Previously, he had embarrassed himself in front of everyone.

Although no one knew exactly why, Sawamura couldn't get over the mental hurdle.

So this time, he was determined to make contact with the ball no matter what.

ROAAR!!

The roaring baseball came at him like a laser.

Sawamura took a big step forward, fully extending his batting stance.

He tightly gripped the bat with both hands and swung it hard.

The pitch coming at him was one that Sawamura was extremely familiar with.

Of course, he couldn't afford to be careless.

This pitch was slightly different from the ones he remembered from his Major League time.

He had to adjust accordingly.

'Adapt and overcome.'

For Sawamura, the lesson learned from his previous failure was worth the effort.

Not because he knows these people means that they will be the same as when he remembered them.

With every swing, with every throw, these people change grow and evolve.

'Past experience couldn't be relied on entirely; if I don't adapt, I could end up crippling myself.'

If he lets his guard down for a moment, anyone can overtake him and take him down.

'Learning that before entering the pro league is a blessing!'

PAAAAKKK!!!!

It seemed like everything was perfectly coordinated. The bat made precise contact with the baseball, sending it flying far out of the park.

"Home run!!!"

In the Batter's Box, Sawamura looked extremely excited.

Perhaps saying excited isn't quite accurate; a more precise term would be relieved.

At last, he hit it!

Now, Sawamura's heart was finally at ease.

Conrad, with his long hair flowing, stared at Sawamura with shock-filled eyes.

'Given Conrad's pitching abilities, he probably didn't have many experiences of being hit with a home run.'

'This could be considered a lesson for him.'

As a former teammate and friend, Sawamura felt it was necessary to do this.

He returned a smile to Conrad, then jogged past first base, second base, third base, and back to home plate.

When he got back he received the welcome of the heroes!

The players around him hugged him and rubbed his hair.

Out of everyone here, he was the youngest but also the most dazzling!

Inashiro's baseball team had just scored a run with their coordinated play, but they hadn't had a chance to catch their breath yet.

And then Sawamura hit another home run.

"This kid is completely on fire today!" murmured Narumiya.

This helped the Tokyo representative team secure the eighth point of the game.

By now, the Tokyo representative team had no regrets.

Although they hadn't completely defeated Conrad, given Conrad's level of skill, it would be very difficult to completely defeat him.

As the game neared its end, the Tokyo representative team was no longer expecting that.

The current result was already very satisfying.

They had managed to take two points from Conrad, who had previously not allowed any runs.

At this point, the American representative team had no excuses left.

The score was already significant enough to show the gap in strength between the two teams.

Very good, very perfect!

Now, they could call it a day.

The players of the Tokyo representative team, now satisfied, suddenly lost all their momentum.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Even the fifth batter, who was recently substituted, didn't get to show much of his abilities and was Struck Out.

It wasn't really his fault. He had been thrown into the role, replacing the injured Kengo Inui.

Though he had some skill, he clearly wasn't fit to be the fifth batter for the Tokyo representative team.

Three Outs, sides exchanged.

Unnoticed, the game reached its final inning.

Top of the 9th inning, America's Los Angeles representatives are up to bat.

The Tokyo team had already achieved everything they wanted and had little drive left.

The American players, however, were different…

They were already trailing by six points, which was embarrassing enough in itself.

To make matters worse, in the final moments, the Tokyo team suddenly shifted the gear up to push the score even further.

Now the difference was so wide that the game could end early.

It was tolerable, but not something they could endure.

At this point, all the American team had left were their offensive opportunities. They didn't even need to worry about defense anymore.

So there was nothing left to say.

The American players, as if driven mad, began to aggressively attack.

Their intensity was terrifying and savage as if they were ready to fight for their lives.

Of course, Sawamura and Miyuki wouldn't be intimidated by such force.

In fact, for them, the opponent's aggressive offense was easier to deal with.

Especially for Sawamura, the more eager the opponent was to swing, the easier it was to lead them into their rhythm.

That was the situation now.

The aggressive American players were clearly being outplayed by Sawamura and Miyuki.

At the last moment, Sawamura and Miyuki suddenly changed their rhythm.

Instead of using sharp fastballs combined with Change-ups, they threw only Moving balls.

These pitches were especially effective against batters who were eager to swing.

Paak!

"OUT!"

Paak!

"OUT!!"

Two consecutive Outs quickly cooled down the American players' impulsive thoughts.

It was then that they suddenly realized that their opponents were not just throwing fastballs and Change-ups.

In the American team's dugout, Conrad's eyes were wide open. He hadn't taken his eyes off the pitcher's mound.

"After the baseball enters the hands, it suddenly breaks."

'The sharp velocity, the unseen release point, the bizarre pitching form, and these strange breaks…'

Even without any other Change-ups or fastballs, just these features alone…

Sawamura Eijun could already demonstrate incredibly strong pitching abilities.

Had they used such a strategy from the beginning, the American players might have been in even worse shape.

"This is what you call 'there are Talents beyond Talents and Skies above Skies!'"

The American Coach looked at Conrad seriously.

"If you only focus on the small patch of ground in America, you might end up losing out."

Had Conrad heard this before the match, he would've shaken his head vehemently.

He wouldn't accept it!

But now, he didn't argue...

Before this, in America, except for the Dream Team and That Pitcher, Conrad didn't think there were other players.

But now, after seeing Sawamura's pitching strength, Conrad knew that now, the pitcher on the mound, Sawamura, was on a level way beyond him.

After two consecutive Out, the American players finally came to their senses.

They no longer blindly attacked but changed their strategy.

The batter didn't swing at the first pitch.

"STRIKE!"

This gave Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya a good ball count.

If the opponent gave them such an opening, it would be rude not to take it.

Since they wanted to wait for a fastball, Sawamura and Miyuki followed suit and threw fastballs.

Unfortunately, the batter seemed powerless against the fastballs thrown by Sawamura.

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

"GAME SET!!!"

After two swings, both missed.

A clean Strikeout.

With that, the game reached its perfect conclusion.

The Tokyo team had faced off against the American team in an intense nine-inning battle and, in the end, the American players lost.

In the afternoon, the two teams played a second game.

The core players from the first game were all substituted.

Only Miyuki and Narumiya remained on the field.

There were only two qualified catchers for the team. Now that Kengo Inui was injured, even if it was windy and rainy, Miyuki had to take the field.

Compared to the one-sided first game, the second match was much more intense.

The American team immediately launched a fierce offensive, with the score rising back and forth.

In the final moments, the Tokyo team caught up with the score.

To keep this advantage, Coach Kunitomo sent in Narumiya to pair up with Miyuki and hold off for the last two innings.

One win, one draw — the exchange match concluded.

…

(End Of This Volume)

…

T/N: Truth be told, while I am happy with the volume, there are many things I wanted to add, and many others I wanted to work more with.

But overall, while it is not the best, It didn't become the mess I feared it would be. (Thank God!)(Exhaleeee!!!)

For that, I want to thank you all for reading and supporting all of this time!! It has come a long way from the time I started this, and I hope I can go further.

Anyway, the next volume will start now!

And The Boys Will Fly To America!!!!!!!!!