Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 192: I'll Do My Best

The adorable third-years managed to lift Sendo's mood, even though laughing brought some pain.

After catching his breath, Sendo noticed Chris talking to Sawamura and decided to approach them.

...

"Yo, Chris-senpai!" Sendo greeted, just as Chris was marveling at Sawamura's new stance.

"Are you okay? You looked half-dead earlier!" Chris gave a small smile as he spoke.

True to Sendo's reputation, even though he hadn't interacted much with Chris before, the presence of the other third-years gave Chris a positive impression of him. Their conversation flowed as naturally as if they were longtime friends.

This level of familiarity was something the sly Miyuki could never achieve.

Despite his lighthearted attitude toward his seniors, Miyuki still held a deep sense of reverence for Chris, which made it difficult for him to strike up casual conversations.

"Yeah! That sunglasses-wearing old man was on some kind of rampage today! He almost killed me!"

"The coach must have his reasons. Besides, you really need to work on your stamina. Otherwise, you won't survive the summer training camp. The training intensity during summer and winter camps at our school is no joke. Without sufficient stamina, it's impossible to endure."

"You're right about that."

"What about that…?" Chris glanced at Sawamura's direction curiously.

"Oh, that's something the sunglasses old man taught Sawamura last night during extra practice," Sendo explained, subtly seeking Chris's opinion.

Chris, being an expert in these matters, would be the best judge of whether Sawamura's training was safe.

"Good grief, that kid… But with you keeping an eye on him, I feel reassured."

"Huh? Are you sure about the intensity of that training?"

"Hmm… It's not completely fine, but I trust you to stop him if things get dangerous."

"Alright!" Sendo understood that Chris was subtly asking him to look out for Sawamura.

"Still, I didn't expect this!"

"What?"

"Back in middle school in Nagano, I'd heard of you, Chris-senpai. I never thought I'd actually meet you like this!"

"In Nagano?"

"Yeah, our middle school team played against some Tokyo teams, and I heard people talking about two bakemono (monsters) from the same year." Sendo, of course, refrained from saying anything arrogant like "your talent is inferior to mine."

"Is that so? That's quite an honor. I would've loved to see the middle school version of you! Your skills back then must have been overwhelming. Playing against you would've been an amazing experience!"

"Senpai isn't curious about who the other bakemono was?"

Chris shook his head. In his middle school days, the only genius who matched his reputation was Zaizen Naruyuki.

Mentioning these past events made Chris a little nostalgic.

"Calling me a bakemono is too much of a compliment. Compared to you, I'm really nothing."

"You're joking…" Sendo replied with a neutral expression.

"I'm not joking! I've heard about you from Miss Rei. To be able to perform at this level purely relying on physical ability—it's something I never even dared to imagine before!" Chris rarely interrupted others, but he did this time to stop Sendo's modesty.

"Is that so? Well, I'm honored to hear that!"

"Our final summer as third-years depends entirely on you guys," Chris said, his tone serious.

"Huh?" Sendo was a bit taken aback by Chris's words.

"I've told Sawamura before—I don't want to entrust our three years of high school to him yet. He's still too inexperienced…" Chris trailed off, giving Sawamura a deep, thoughtful look.

"Could it be that Sawamura hasn't been asking you to catch for him lately, and you feel a bit lonely, Chris-senpai?"

"Ahem… of course not."

"Then why are you blushing?" Sendo silently teased in his mind but chose not to say it out loud. Instead, he softened his words.

"You've just gotten used to his constant noise. It's normal to feel a bit off when it's suddenly gone." (Isn't that the same thing?)

Although it was essentially the same, Chris understood the meaning and wasn't overly embarrassed, only coughing lightly with a slightly red face.

"Anyway, if it's you, we all believe in you. Please, make our summer a little longer!"

"Yes! I'll do my best!" All the teasing and lightheartedness faded into these gentle words, spoken with sincerity.

"Well, I'll be heading back now."

"Thank you for your hard work!" Sendo slightly bowed, showing respect as a junior seeing off a senior.

Though this was a Japanese tradition, Sendo didn't do this for just anyone. For Chris, it was different—Sendo genuinely wanted to do something for him.

...

The warm conversation concluded, and Sendo felt rested enough. His training for the day was technically over, so he started doing some cooldown exercises to relieve the soreness from his intense training.

...

That night.

During the rest (self-practice) period, Sendo was ready to relax, but Sawamura burst in, dragging him to the field.

Sendo was reluctant since Sawamura's current training didn't require his presence, but after getting Sawamura's assurance that he just needed him to watch, he reluctantly followed.

"Isn't that my tire?" As soon as they arrived, Sawamura noticed Furuya using his aibo (partner) and immediately abandoned Sendo to confront him.

Meanwhile, Sendo, feeling drowsy, lazily wandered behind them.

"It was lying around here," Furuya responded in his usual soft (and introverted) tone.

"Don't use it without permission! Give it back! And that's my posture, too!" Sawamura exclaimed, referring to how the tire was strapped around Furuya's waist.

"So you wanted to try it all along, huh?"

"Yeah," Furuya admitted candidly.

"What?"

"Give me back my tire!"

"No!"

...

"These two always start arguing the moment they see each other," Sendo thought. He knew that deep down, Furuya admired Sawamura like an idol, which was why he tried to mimic him so much.

What an adorable pair!

"Looks like they'll be at it for a while. I'll head back!" Realizing Sawamura's focus wasn't on him, Sendo decided to slip away.

On his way back, he unexpectedly ran into Tanba and Chris chatting. Not wanting to interrupt their moment, he quietly left.

Tomorrow would be the final chance to become one of the last two First String members—a practice match between the Second String and East Tokyo powerhouse Kokushikan.

Sendo had accidentally seen the match schedule while talking to Rei earlier.

He hadn't expected to meet the second bakemono Chris had mentioned so soon after their conversation.

Seeing the practice match details, Sendo suddenly realized—summer was almost here.

"The seniors' final summer… where will it come to an abrupt end?" This thought crossed Sendo's mind.

But no matter what, Sendo resolved to perform as he always did, leaving the rest to fate. That was all he could do.

This was why, when he answered Chris earlier, he said he would "do his best" instead of making absolute promises.

He wasn't naive enough to think that his presence alone could dictate the outcome of a match.

Since entering high school, whether due to the pace or other reasons, Sendo hadn't encountered a pitcher who could completely suppress him, but neither had he dominated like he had in middle school. Every at-bat required careful thought and effort.

After all, the First String's practice match opponents weren't pushovers.

Against Second String teams, however, it would be a different story.

Playing against weaker opponents would simply be an opportunity for him to rack up home runs.

But practice matches weren't about crushing weaker teams—they were about honing the players' skills.

Coach Kataoka would never waste such opportunities by pulling First String players to pad their stats against weaker opponents.

...

"Yo, Sendo! You're actually training seriously today?" The next day, while the entire First String was supposed to be resting, most of them had gathered for self-practice instead.

"Not much else to do. Staying alone in the room gets boring, especially with the practice game going on outside. Thought I'd take a look!"

"Huh? What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!" Jun-san put on his "villain face" and demanded answers.

"Nothing much! Just planning to wander around for a bit and then head to the practice field to watch the game."

"...!"

"You lazy bum! With your stamina being so bad, why don't you stay here and train instead of watching a game?" Jun-san grabbed Sendo by the neck, speaking menacingly.

"Jun... Jun-san! You... can hold... my body, but not... my heart! Give it up!" Sendo's words sounded more like a challenge to fate, as if saying, "My mom hasn't scolded me in three days; I need to cause some trouble."

"Nani?"

Under Jun-san's threats, Sendo reluctantly practiced some lower-body drills for a while.

"The game is about to start, aren't you going to watch it? You better get going! We're heading to the indoor training field anyway." Jun-san, oddly enough, was the first to remind Sendo about the game.

"Got it!"

...

When Sendo arrived at the practice field, the game had just started.

"That guy's full of energy today, huh? He's going to surprise the Second String seniors big time—Sawamura!"

Sawamura's newly refined pitching form left everyone in Seidou amazed, with Ono being the most shocked.

Sawamura's delivery, which previously only hid the release point, had evolved to the point where his entire arm disappeared, making the ball seem to materialize out of thin air.

His first pitch was a wild one, and while he couldn't control the ball into the strike zone, even Ono struggled to adapt to Sawamura's pitches.

Sawamura's current velocity was around 130 km/h, but the illusion created by his form made it feel like a 140–145 km/h pitch to the catcher. That's a difference of 10–15 km/h!

The ball's sudden appearance left the catcher reacting a split-second slower, making it even harder to catch.

No one, except Sendo, could foresee that the faster Sawamura's pitch became, the greater this illusionary gap would feel to both catchers and batters.

Even Sendo felt relieved knowing that Sawamura would likely never throw a consistent 155 km/h fastball. If he could, no batter in the world would stand a chance—everyone would simply surrender.

As Sendo pondered this, Ono and Sawamura were struggling on the field. Ono was utterly helpless against Sawamura's pitches, his mind spiraling into confusion.

Meanwhile, Sawamura faced immense pressure, as all his pitches turned into balls.

Baseball is a cruel sport for pitchers, forcing them to shoulder not only the pressure from batters but also the weight of their entire team.

Sendo, having skimmed through baseball rules out of curiosity, knew that while catchers weren't penalized for errors, any mistakes they caused were recorded as pitcher errors.

How unfair was that?

Sawamura, being a bit of an airhead, didn't know how to adjust based on the situation, leading to a string of wild pitches.

Ono was practically terrified.

Even Chris and Rei were taken aback. Despite knowing Sawamura had learned a new pitching style, they hadn't anticipated such drastic changes.

Chris couldn't see what was happening in the catcher's zone, but Ono's visible discomfort spoke volumes.

After walking the leadoff batter, Sawamura then hit the second batter with a pitch.

"It wasn't a speed he couldn't dodge, but he still couldn't avoid it. That's Sawamura's weapon—this spatial gap is terrifying! I kind of want to see what it's like to catch his pitch at home plate!" Sendo thought as he watched from the sidelines, itching to try catching the pitch himself.

Despite his disdain for the catcher's role, even Sendo was tempted by Sawamura's pitch. That alone spoke volumes about its appeal.

With that thought, Sendo headed to the dugout.

...

"What should we do, Coach? The ball is definitely more powerful than before. But I think it's too early to use that pitching form in actual games. While there's no result yet, he's already shown the potential it has!" Rei voiced her concerns to Coach Kataoka.

"That kid is thinking about how to grasp the technique during the game. Let him keep pitching!" Chris hesitantly but firmly argued for Sawamura.

Rei looked at Chris in surprise.

"Heh." Sendo's quiet chuckle caught the attention of the "big shots" in the dugout.

"But that catcher can't handle those pitches. If you want Sawamura to continue and find a breakthrough, you'll need to switch catchers. In our team, the only ones capable of handling that level are Chris-senpai and the scheming glasses-wearer." Sendo's blunt interruption cut off whatever motivational speech Coach Kataoka had planned.

"Chris, for the next month, you'll be the one catching for him. Can you bring out his full potential?" Kataoka turned to Chris.

"What are you saying, Coach? Chris has a shoulder injury and a year-long gap from playing. How could you justify that to the other players?" Ota immediately opposed the idea.

"Chris-senpai, are you sure your shoulder can handle it? If you get injured again, it could be bad!" Sendo expressed his concern for Chris's health.

Ultimately, Kataoka left the decision to Chris himself.

By this point, Sawamura had loaded the bases. Chris's decision was already made.

Encouraged by the advice of yesterday's comedic trio and Sendo's words, "Senpai, no matter what, I hope you make a choice you won't regret," Chris chose to take the field.

...

"Good luck, Senpai! But please, take care of yourself!" Sendo could only offer his support, hoping Chris would avoid any decisions that might jeopardize his career.

Sendo's principle of living without regrets, honed over two lifetimes, was one of his core values. Now, he passed that principle on to Chris.

...

After the warm, heartfelt moment, Sendo stayed to watch Chris and Sawamura's progress, all while reflecting on the upcoming challenges.

Tomorrow's practice match against East Tokyo powerhouse Kokushikan would determine the final two First String spots.

Seeing the match schedule earlier, Sendo realized with a pang of nostalgia that summer was just around the corner.

"The seniors' last summer… where will it abruptly end?" This thought crossed Sendo's mind.

But no matter what, Sendo resolved to continue giving his all, leaving the rest to fate. That was all he could do.

This was why, when Chris placed his trust in him, Sendo said, "I'll do my best," instead of making absolute promises.

Sendo wasn't naive enough to think his presence alone could dictate the outcome of a game.

Since entering high school, he hadn't found a pitcher who completely dominated him, but neither had he experienced the effortless crushing victories he enjoyed in middle school.

Every at-bat now required sharp thinking and effort. After all, the First String practice opponents weren't weaklings.

Against Second String teams, however, it was a different story. Facing weaker teams was like being handed free home runs.

But practice matches weren't about padding stats—they were about refining players. Coach Kataoka would never waste such opportunities by sending First String players to dominate weaker teams.

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