Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

No Outs, one runner on first base!

Seeing Sawamura unleashing his power, Yui Kaoru couldn't keep up at all.

Seto Takuma, who had already reached first base, realized that he could no longer just watch from the sidelines.

So, he decided to take the initiative and put pressure on Sawamura on the mound.

He was well aware that stealing second base would be extremely difficult!

Sawamura-senpai had the 'Last Moment Adjustment' talent.

Trying to steal against him would be like digging your own grave.

Seto knew this. But that didn't stop him from acting. He just needed to apply pressure on Sawamura and didn't actually intend to steal the base.

He quietly left the first base bag and began to move toward the second.

During this process, Seto was extremely cautious. He feared that if he wasn't careful, Sawamura's pickoff move would catch him.

So, his eyes never left Sawamura. If he saw any slight movement, he would immediately dash back to first base.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all!!!

Perhaps seeing through his intentions, Sawamura remained unfazed on the mound. He positioned himself as if he were preparing to pitch again.

"Tsk!"

Takuma clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. His goal was to distract Sawamura, but it seemed like he had failed to achieve it.

'No good!'

It was clear that staying in this position wouldn't pressure Sawamura at all.

If he wanted to distract Sawamura's attention, he had to move further forward.

With this decision, Seto took another step forward.

As he did, he was very cautious, his eyes never leaving Sawamura!

Their Coach back in junior high, while not the best person, was a skilled coach.

He had once advised Takuma to trust his eyes when attempting a steal.

'Before making a move, the body would always give off a sign.'

'As a runner, one must observe the pitcher's movements closely. When a sign appears, act a step ahead.'

"By constantly practicing, make this habit a part of your body. That way, when a crisis comes, your body will act before your mind."

Based on this principle, Seto Takuma had practiced a lot back in middle school.

He was confident enough to attempt a steal in front of Sawamura-senpai.

It was because he believed he wouldn't be caught that he was willing to do it.

In the freshman's dugout, Okumura, who was always by Seto Takuma's side, looked on with a bit of disappointment.

"This idiot!"

He was of course not talking about Sawamura but his friend, Seto Takuma.

Seto Takuma's current actions, to Okumura, were no different from those of an idiot.

In the Tokyo regional tournaments, the Koshien National tournaments.

What kind of opponents had Seidou faced?

Has anyone ever successfully stolen a base against Sawamura?

Never.

Because, when Sawamura was on the mound, not many batters could even get a hit.

Let alone steal a base.

This kind of thing rarely happened.

But the few times it had, they had proven just how terrifying Sawamura's pickoff ability was.

Seto Takuma's current approach was no different from charging straight into the muzzle of a gun.

Would Sawamura, the great pitcher, not react?

Okumura didn't need to think twice—he knew that Seto Takuma's actions would accomplish nothing.

In fact, the consequences would be even worse than just accomplishing nothing.

Sure enough, Sawamura on the mound finally broke his silence. He shifted some of his attention to Seto Takuma.

He shot a glance at Seto Takuma from the corner of his eye.

Staring into Sawamura's eyes, Seto Takuma had a brief moment where he almost dashed back to first base.

No!

His firm resolve held him back from such a cowardly move.

It was not the right time to act. He couldn't make a move yet.

'If I returned to first base now, Sawamura-senpai would likely throw a fast pitch immediately.'

Then, the purpose of distracting him would be lost.

So, before Sawamura made any move to pick him off, he couldn't just return to first base.

A simple gaze wouldn't be enough to distract him.

Seto Takuma gritted his teeth and stayed put.

The distance between him and the first base bag was still safe.

As long as Sawamura made a pickoff move, he could return to first base safely.

The mere gaze of Sawamura didn't mean much.

It was just that Sawamura's gaze was so sharp that Seto Takuma had to divert his attention.

'It's fine, it will be fine.'

Takuma's eyes remained locked on Sawamura's.

The moment Sawamura moved, he would react.

At the Batter's Box, Yui Kaoru lifted his bat high.

He glanced toward first base at Takuma and a flash of gratitude appeared in his eyes.

'He had really been a big help!'

Without Seto Takuma distracting Sawamura's attention, Yui wouldn't have known how to handle the situation in front of him.

Sawamura's pitches were too sharp, not giving him any chance to breathe. With Kariba's little surprise, Yui didn't even know what Sawamura was planning.

Yui didn't even know which type of pitch to prepare for.

But now, thanks to Seto Takuma's actions, Sawamura, who had seemed perfect, now showed a flaw.

Although this flaw wasn't enough to break Sawamura, it was enough to give Yui a glimmer of hope.

'In this situation, the ball Sawamura-senpai might throw could only be...'

Sawamura on the mound might have realized that continuing to watch Seto Takuma was futile.

He shook his head and took his gaze off him.

Seeing Sawamura turn his head, Seto Takuma on first base let out a huge sigh of relief.

'It looked like he had given up.'

This couldn't be more perfect.

With Sawamura giving up on him, his target was surely back on Yui.

However, with Takuma having caused this distraction, Sawamura-senpai couldn't possibly fully focus on Yui now.

'Comparatively, the number of pitches he could throw was reduced.'

This meant the burden on Yui was also significantly lighter.

Now, as long as he could make contact with the ball, he would be ready to run.

These thoughts swirled in Seto Takuma's mind.

This was their routine during the game. They would rehearse all possible situations in their minds.

That way, they could choose the most advantageous way to act.

'Wait, what is that?'

While thinking all this, Takuma suddenly noticed something incredibly strange.

A white streak appeared out of nowhere.

Seto Takuma clearly saw it. A white streak was coming straight toward him.

'A ball, a baseball!!!'

'How could this be?'

Seto's eyes widened as if they were about to leap out of his glasses.

He had clearly seen Sawamura turn his head away, so how could the ball come back at this moment?

'This was impossible! It didn't make sense!'

'Could someone really throw a ball without looking at the mitt?!'

His mind raced, but his body instinctively reacted.

Back in his Junior League days, Seto Takuma had trained his body thoroughly.

He had practiced so much that now his body acted before his mind.

So, even though this pitch came as a surprise, he quickly reacted.

However, what was strange was that Seto Takuma felt as though some kind of magic had been cast on him.

His movements slowed down.

A dive normally took less than a second, but now it felt unusually slow.

'No, I couldn't let this happen. I had to be faster, I had to be faster!'

Seto Takuma pushed his adrenaline, trying to increase his speed.

But strangely, his speed couldn't increase. Compared to the flying ball, his movements were too slow.

Slow like a turtle.

Snap!

It wasn't until the ball entered the first baseman's mitt that Seto Takuma realized what had happened.

The first baseman had already caught the ball and was perfectly positioned to tag Takuma as he dove.

"OUT!!!"

Seto Takuma, sprawled on the ground, got up awkwardly, staring in disbelief at the mound.

He still didn't understand how Sawamura had thrown that ball.

'What had just happened?'

In the freshmen's dugout, Okumura muttered one word.

"Magic!"

With the rest of the first string who are watching the game, Miyuki and Kuramochi wore expressions of amusement.

Sawamura's performance had really surprised them.

"This guy is as sly as ever on the mound."

"He turned his head back while throwing a pickoff pitch! That takes great skill. He has to have both precise control and enough acting ability."

Demon King's Magic.

In the future, this move would become quite famous in the Major Leagues.

In essence, magic is about misdirecting the audience's eyes and completing the action in places where they can't see.

Sawamura's pickoff technique captured this essence.

If you don't want to steal, then it's fine. But if you do try to steal, you'll easily fall into Sawamura's carefully crafted trap.

That's his magic.

"Wow!!!!"

"Did I just see that?"

"That guy who was on base was so careless!"

"That kind of pickoff isn't something you can dodge just by being careful, is it?"

Sawamura's pickoff move caused a huge uproar in the stands.

Sawamura waved at Seto Takuma.

Actually, the younger student performed well but just wasn't fully mentally prepared.

When stealing, how could you focus only on the eyes?

It's the throwing hand that's key, isn't it?

"Still a long way to go."

Muttering to himself, Sawamura refocused on the opponents on the field.

Yui Kaoru.

Next, he was going to deal with these two world-class Kohais properly.

"My fault!!"

When Takuma returned to the dugout, he sincerely apologized to everyone, looking quite embarrassed.

If it hadn't been for him earlier, the freshman team wouldn't have lost a base so easily.

The surrounding teammates quickly comforted him.

In their eyes, Takuma's performance had been flawless. It wouldn't be appropriate to criticize him at this point.

After all, that base was something Takuma had earned himself, and it had nothing to do with anyone else.

Under these circumstances, even if Takuma had lost that base, everyone thought it was understandable.

Not to mention, their opponent was the formidable Sawamura Eijun.

Any tactic carries the risk of failure, and if they allowed this failure to hold them back, it would be the last thing the freshmen wanted to see.

Takuma exchanged a few words with his teammates and sat down next to Okumura.

"No need to hold back. If you have something to say, just say it."

"Stupid!"

Okumura, not at all polite, directly voiced his opinion.

In his view, what Taku had done was indeed a bit foolish.

He had really been naive enough to think he could play tricks in front of Sawamura Eijun—talk about not knowing his own limits.

How many fast runners had they encountered among the teams that faced Seidou?

But how many dared to steal a base directly?

"I think so too."

Self-deprecation is a strength, and when Seto Takuma said this, his teammates didn't know what else to say.

At that moment, the game on the field also reached its conclusion.

Ping!

Yui-kun was quite capable, managing to hit Sawamura's pitch under extremely unfavorable conditions.

However, while the ball made contact, hitting it well was not easy. The ball flew high, heading toward the second baseman's position.

The Senpai second baseman effortlessly caught the ball.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

This scene was uncomfortable for both the freshmen and the Senpais.

For the freshmen, the Senpais in front of them were just too difficult to deal with. Especially Sawamura—he seemed to rack up Outs with ease.

Now, there were already two Outs.

Two Outs, no one on base.

For the Senpais, facing the freshmen wasn't easy either.

Sawamura's pitches had been met with contact from the freshmen in the first round.

Remember, Sawamura had fully shown his pitching Form and velocity.

Hadn't the freshmen who had previously stepped onto the field been completely stunned?

They were now very confused, thinking back to when they had watched Sawamura pitch before—the speed didn't seem to be this fast.

Why did it look so fast now?

"He was afraid we couldn't hit it!"

Some astute people immediately gave the answer.

Although this wasn't flattering, it was the truth.

Why did Sawamura reduce his pitching velocity earlier? He was afraid that if he threw at full speed, the freshmen wouldn't be able to hit the ball.

Then, he wouldn't be able to use his Moving balls to adjust the pace.

'So, he had been holding back.'

But now, Sawamura Eijun had returned to his 147 km/h pitching speed, and his variety of pitches wasn't limited to just fastballs and Moving balls.

For the freshmen to have made contact with the ball was no small feat.

Yui Kaoru.

Previously, Coach Kataoka had promoted this young player to the second team for training.

Now it seemed, there was a reason for that.

Considering that Seidou's current main catcher was in the third year, Yui Kaoru's position had become even more important.

After this simple exchange, both freshmen and Senpais now harbored considerable respect for each other.

Next up to bat was Nishiyama.

He was also called the best of the freshmen, the representative of all the rookies.

As he stepped into the Batter's Box, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Everyone held their breath, focused entirely on watching his duel with Sawamura.

Whether it was the freshmen, the Senpais, or the supporters watching from the sidelines, they all shared the same attitude—fully absorbed in watching Sawamura face off against Nishiyama.

What was supposed to be a clash of titans seemed almost nonexistent in Sawamura's hands.

His pitching remained as casual as ever.

Whrroosh!

Nishiyama, standing on the mound, simulated in his mind the types of pitches Sawamura might throw.

'The catcher couldn't catch every pitch, so Sawamura-senpai's pitches must be limited in some way.'

For these star rookies, the biggest dilemma they faced was knowing exactly which pitches Sawamura could use.

If they knew this information, they could better target their attacks.

The opponent was Sawamura, the "King of Trick Pitches," plus his terrifying 147 km/h fastballs.

The freshmen were self-aware. In this situation, if they couldn't focus on one type of pitch to hit, they had no way of dealing with Sawamura.

The pitches they had seen before:

Fastballs! Ordinary Moving balls! Straight-Fastballs!

Without additional intel, focusing on these three types of pitches was the best option.

Though Nishiyama felt some reluctance inside, he knew there was no better way at the moment.

He could only focus on one of these three pitches.

Ping!

"FOUL!"

WHRROOSH!!

"STRIKE!"

The first Moving ball went Foul, and the second Straight-Fastball was missed.

Nishiyama, focusing on hitting the regular fastball, had failed twice and was now being pressured.

However, there was no confusion in his eyes.

Even if he was confused, it wouldn't solve anything. In this situation, all he could do was continue to focus on hitting the fastball.

Whoosh!

Seeing the ball coming, Nishiyama swung his bat, determined to meet it head-on.

He wasn't sure if the incoming ball was a regular fastball, so he took a gamble.

Just like Yui Kaoru before, he was gambling.

But after waiting for his swing to end, the ball still hadn't arrived.

'What was going on?'

Nishiyama's pupils dilated in shock.

'A change-up!!'

He felt like his IQ had suddenly dropped.

How could he have been so foolish? The pitch Sawamura was most famous for—his change-up—was the same pitch he used when he was in middle school!

And of course, this was a pitch that even the catcher, Kariba, couldn't miss.

'Damn it!'

How could he have excluded this pitch from his analysis? What could he do now?

Nishiyama even began to question his own intelligence.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

The game shifted so quickly, it felt like whiplash.

Everyone had thought that after the star rookie came up, the offense would surely improve.

But no, that wasn't the case at all.

Sawamura remained as heroic as ever, easily recording three Outs.

The freshmen's offense posed no threat to the Senpai team.

It was just that Sawamura had shifted from one mode to another.

This transition was completely natural for him.

The freshmen's offense was ineffective, and now it was the Senpais' turn to bat.

At this point, the freshmen had confidence in their defense.

Nishiyama proved his worth to his teammates with his unparalleled skills.

Now, the freshmen believed in his pitching. With his leadership, they were sure they could show the Senpais something.

Even if they couldn't score, they absolutely couldn't let the Senpais score anymore.

At this point, the freshmen weren't thinking about the overall score of the game anymore.

The score had reached a ridiculous 54–6!

This gap was enough to ensure that the freshmen would never be able to win at all.

What they were calculating now was the score after they took the field.

Once they thought about it this way, they felt a lot better.

They didn't have to bear such heavy pressure and could happily accept the challenges ahead.

It didn't matter that they couldn't beat Sawamura—the most important thing was to stabilize the situation.

However, the way the game progressed was still far from the freshmen's expectations.

Though they had successfully dealt with the first batter, trouble came with the second batter.

The second batter was Watanabe.

Among all the Seidou players, Watanabe's ability to analyze information was the best on the team.

But as for his personal skill level—well, it was another story.

Baseball, after all, is a sport that requires physical ability and natural talent.

Simply relying on intelligence wouldn't cut it.

And it was precisely this thing that led to their downfall.

Watanabe's physical condition wasn't particularly strong, and his swing wasn't powerful.

But his mind was sharp!

After analyzing, he concluded that Nishiyama would likely use an inside fastball to deal with him.

Knowing this, he confidently acted on his conclusion.

Ping!

The ball flew, landing in the gap in the defense.

Watanabe unexpectedly got a long hit.

After securing the hit, Watanabe stayed still at first base like a scared cat, not moving.

He knew that moving aimlessly would only increase his risk of getting tagged Out.

There was no point.

In this situation, it was better to patiently wait for the showdown between Nishiyama and Sawamura.

Two Outs, runner on first.

Now, Sawamura stepped up to bat under these circumstances.

Nishiyama, unwilling to avoid the duel with Sawamura Eijun, pitched his winning shot directly at him.

WHOOSH!

The ball came at him like a bullet.

It zipped toward him with incredible speed, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

"Slow!"

Sawamura muttered quietly.

What appeared to be an incredibly fast pitch to others didn't seem that fast in Sawamura's eyes.

He could clearly see every change in the baseball.

Then, he lightly swung his bat, sending the ball flying.

PIIINNGGG!

The ball flew high after contact.

And then it soared over the outfield fence.

A home run!

A two-run homer.

…