Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 2: The Video Tape!

"Furuya, didn't you get accepted by any schools in Tokyo?"

"It seems that way."

"So what's he going to do? Could he end up not going to high school because of this?"

At a baseball field in Hokkaido, the teammates of Furuya whispered among themselves as they watched him.

"Don't be ridiculous! How could that happen? Even though our team didn't perform as well as we could have, we were still the runners-up in Hokkaido. Furuya is a star player, and many baseball teams have extended offers to him."

"I even heard the coach say he got a call from Komadai Fujimaki High School."

"Man, I'm so jealous…"

Someone as talented as Furuya was clearly beyond the understanding of his ordinary teammates.

It's like when a top student does poorly on the college entrance exam—at worst, they don't get into the best schools, but they'll still end up at a prestigious university.

That's the kind of impression Furuya gave his teammates.

Of course, there were also those who genuinely cared about him, like Kameda, who had once vowed to catch his pitches.

When Kameda heard that Furuya hadn't been accepted, he felt a deep sense of guilt.

He sought out Furuya and, with a face full of regret, said, "It's all my fault! If only I could have caught your pitches…"

Kameda was clearly referring to a possibility.

If he had been able to catch Furuya's pitches, their team's final result wouldn't have been just the runners-up in Hokkaido. Maybe they would have won the championship.

If they had won the championship, Furuya would have gone to the national tournament.

With Furuya's skills, his fame would have skyrocketed.

Even if he wanted to study in Tokyo, he wouldn't have needed to take those school entrance exams.

He would have simply waited for prestigious schools to invite him.

But in this world, there are no "ifs."

"Wham!"

Furuya slapped Kameda hard on the back.

"Huh?"

Kameda could feel that there was probably a bright red handprint on his back.

Could this be Furuya's way of venting his frustration?

Is he about to say that what's done is done, and they're even now?

Tears welled up in Kameda's eyes.

He was about to be completely moved by himself.

"Who said I wasn't accepted?"

Huh?

Furuya's words shocked Kameda.

"Wasn't it said that you missed the passing score by just one point?"

As the star of their school's baseball team, news about Furuya spread like wildfire.

"It was one point short! But what does one point matter? The school I want to attend has to accept me! If I passed, they would accept me. Even if I didn't pass, they still have to accept me."

Furuya spoke with an air of certainty.

This left Kameda dumbfounded, looking at Furuya with a bewildered expression.

Furuya chuckled and stood up.

At the moment Furuya got up, a panting figure ran over from a distance.

"Coach!"

Seeing the frail figure, the baseball team members were surprised.

In their impression, their coach was always laid-back and unhurried.

Why was he acting so unusually today?

"Furuya, someone is looking for you!"

The coach ignored the others and went straight to Furuya.

Is it Takashima Rei coming?

"This is quite exciting!"

A few days earlier, the day after Furuya's exam failure, a videotape had been sent to the Seidou High School baseball team.

The first person to see the tape was a slightly greasy middle-aged man.

This man was the director of the Seidou High School baseball team.

"A self-recommendation?"

The moment he saw the tape, the middle-aged man understood its purpose.

Although their school hadn't made it to Koshien in years, the old camel was still bigger than the horse.

Moreover, they almost always managed to recommend outstanding players to the professional leagues each year.

For those aspiring to a professional baseball career, Seidou High School was undoubtedly a good choice.

Because of this, there were many more players hoping to join Seidou than one might imagine.

Those outstanding players who didn't receive invitations mostly chose to give up.

Of course, some unwilling ones would try to get a chance through connections or personal referrals.

Naturally, there were also those who used videotapes to self-recommend.

Such candidates were usually disregarded by the baseball department.

Truly exceptional players were always within their line of sight, and invitations would be sent out like casting a net.

However, after several years of not making it to Koshien, the team's allure had diminished significantly.

As a result, there was a noticeable talent gap in the team.

Even so, Seidou wasn't a place anyone could enter just casually.

However, as the middle-aged man prepared to set the tape aside, he was drawn in by a note attached to it.

"Satoru Furuya, third-year junior high student, fastest pitch speed 151 kilometers per hour!"

The moment he saw that number, the middle-aged man felt his heart nearly leap out of his chest.

It is well known that what Seidou High School's baseball team desperately needs right now is an exceptional pitcher. In fact, the team's performance has been impacted due to this shortage.

Their craving for an outstanding pitcher has reached near pathological levels.

Although the owner of the videotape might be playing a prank,

how could a junior high student possibly achieve a pitch speed of over 150 kilometers per hour?

But what if it's true?

The middle-aged man was like someone buying a scratch-off lottery ticket. Even though he knew the chances of winning were slim, he couldn't resist taking a look.

What if the owner of the tape wasn't lying?

Even if Seidou High School didn't urgently need a new pitcher, a pitcher of this caliber would be impossible to ignore.

"I'll just take a look!"

The middle-aged man put the videotape into the player, and it was a perfect match in model.

First came a blurry image, and then a young boy appeared on screen.

The camera zoomed out, revealing another person filming him.

The person filming even made sure to show the speed gun in his hand.

"Quite thorough in preparation!"

Although the recording seemed meticulous, the middle-aged man still had a lingering doubt.

With modern technology, many things can be faked. Even the speed gun's readings aren't always accurate.

Faking it is even easier.

"Even if the test is fake, the pitching technique cannot be deceived."

The middle-aged man was confident that he would be able to tell if the young boy was a fraud just by watching one pitch.

And then!

"BOOMM!!"

The moment the middle-aged man saw the baseball flying from the boy's hand, his mouth dropped open in astonishment.

"My God!"