Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 140: Coach Kataoka's High Expectations for Furuya!

Ota, the team manager, had shed his previously relaxed demeanor over the past few days. His eyes were now filled with worry.

"Has he never experienced it before?"

Coach Kataoka's expression turned serious.

It was clear that this leader of Seidou High's baseball team had also realized the gravity of the situation.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

This issue was something others wouldn't have considered due to their assumptions.

None of their previous players had been recruited from Hokkaido, so such a problem had never arisen.

Moreover, for a first-year player to grow into a core member of the team takes considerable time. From enrollment in April to the start of the summer tournament in July, there were only three months at most.

In that short time, it was already rare for a first-year player to be selected for the first string, let alone take on the role of a key player.

Under these circumstances, it wasn't entirely the coaching staff's fault for overlooking this critical issue.

"Because it wasn't hot enough before!"

At the end of June, the summer heat hadn't fully set in, let alone the peak temperatures of the season.

Furuya's response left everyone unable to argue.

Before, the weather hadn't been hot enough, and even Furuya himself might not have realized the issue back then.

But now the situation was different.

As late June approached, temperatures continued to rise day by day.

Born and raised in Hokkaido, Furuya had likely started to feel the effects of the Tokyo heat and understood how serious this problem could be.

Coach Kataoka nodded in approval.

"Then we'll add it to your training, but you won't do it alone. I'll be there as well."

Coach Kataoka decided to personally oversee the training.

It was evident that this coach placed great importance on the issue raised by Furuya.

The team could not afford to let their ace pitcher face any setbacks.

"Understood!"

Furuya readily agreed to his coach's arrangement.

The reason he reported this issue was largely because he genuinely needed the team's support.

Pitching 60 balls under the blazing sun was something Furuya had done before.

However, even in the summer, Hokkaido's temperatures only reached the low teens (°C).

The intense heat of Tokyo was an entirely new challenge.

If he were to undergo similar training in Tokyo, he would have to consider his body's capacity to endure it.

With the summer tournament fast approaching, Furuya, as Seidou's ace, knew that if he suffered heatstroke during this special training, he would become the team's greatest liability.

If Furuya's memory served him correctly, Seidou High's summer tournament games hadn't been smooth at all.

They faced several incredibly tough opponents in succession.

Although Seidou ultimately managed to escape unscathed in those matches, it was largely due to the extraordinary performances of their two first-year pitchers.

If anything had gone wrong during that stretch, the results could have been shocking.

It was possible they wouldn't have even made it to the finals to face Inashiro Industrial High.

This was precisely why Furuya urgently needed help from the coaching staff.

Coach Kataoka was renowned for his decisiveness within the team.

On the very day Furuya proposed extra training, the special program began.

The weather was incredibly cooperative: clear skies and a blazing sun.

The temperature soared to 27°C!

While this wasn't an extreme summer heatwave, it was enough to make Furuya uncomfortable.

Before he even threw a pitch, Furuya felt like he might pass out on the field.

"Is the pressure really this intense?"

Furuya couldn't believe it.

To be honest, this was far beyond what he had imagined.

He had thought that no matter how high Tokyo's temperatures climbed, he'd be able to adapt.

But now, it was clear that he had overestimated his ability to adjust.

By the end of the first day of training, Furuya felt dizzy and lightheaded.

After dinner, he didn't go for his usual extra practice. Instead, he sat alone on the school's stairway, slowly recovering his strength.

Initially, a few teammates stayed with him.

But when Sawamura brought over the training tires, the others couldn't resist joining in the running drills, leaving Furuya by himself, quietly watching their silhouettes race across the field.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when a stern voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Feeling the pressure, aren't you?"

The tone was firm and confident.

Furuya wanted to shake his head but ultimately chose to remain silent.

Earlier, he had been optimistic, but after pitching under the scorching sun today, he was startled to realize that the situation was far worse than he had anticipated.

This summer, he felt like he couldn't fully unleash his abilities.

Could he really lead the team to victory in such a state?

"There's no need to feel lost. I understand how you feel," Coach Kataoka said, his expression softening slightly as if he was reminiscing about something pleasant.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"When I first became the team's ace, I also realized there were significant flaws in my pitching."

Furuya turned around in surprise.

He hadn't expected Coach Kataoka to describe his current struggles so accurately.

"When I was young, it was the same. As soon as I became the ace, I felt the weight of the team's expectations crushing me, to the point where I could barely breathe…"

Looking at the stern figure in front of him, Furuya found it hard to imagine what his coach had gone through in his youth to gain such profound understanding.

"I understand you, and I'm aware of the potential issues you might face during the summer tournament. But even so, I still believe you are the most suitable ace for Seidou High right now. And that's not just my opinion; it's a consensus among the entire coaching staff."

"I…"

Coach Kataoka's sudden words left Furuya stunned.

He wanted to respond, to argue perhaps, but Coach Kataoka didn't give him the chance.

With a grand wave of his hand, the coach declared with conviction:

"Don't let the challenges in front of you defeat you. Our only opponent is ourselves! Give it your all, and the results will surely reward our hard work and sweat!"

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