Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

At the Batter's Box, Yui took a step toward the plate.

This position kept his body firmly in line with the inside corner of the strike zone. From here, hitting outside pitches would be relatively easier.

'Really determined!'

Seeing Yui Kaoru's action, Kariba was also surprised.

Yui Kaoru's response was faster than he expected.

'As expected of a player who had once captained his team in the World Series.'

'However, this move also worked in our favor.'

'The fish has taken the bait.'

Seeing the signal from Kariba, Kawashima nodded slightly.

'Let's go!'

Concentrating all his strength on the two fingers that held the ball, Kawashima threw the ball with force.

Whoosh!

Like a speeding laser, the ball shot straight toward the inside corner.

With Kaoru's current stance, there was no way he could handle an inside pitch.

In the Batter's Box, Yui watched as the ball flew toward him, a comfortable smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

This guy always had a cheerful expression on his face, as if nothing ever bothered him.

Even though the pitch came exactly as he expected, Yui's expression remained calm.

As the ball neared, Yui took a step away, shifting his body.

His position was close to the edge of the line, and after stepping away, his entire body was positioned at a 45-degree angle from the pitcher.

Originally, the hard-to-hit inside corner now became a much easier meatball right in the middle!

Ping!

The ball was struck, flying far away.

Yui Kaoru, standing at the Batter's Box, secretly sighed in relief. He quickly let go of the bat and sprinted toward first base without hesitation.

That hit had perfectly found the gap in the defense left by the Senpais.

With a bit of luck, the ball could carry him to second base.

Despite his short stature and small legs, Yui's speed was still impressive.

His entire body became a blur of blue, dashing forward nonstop.

It seemed almost inevitable that he would reach first base in the blink of an eye.

Once he reached first base, Yui had no intention of stopping.

He was going for second base.

The difference between runners at first and second is enormous.

Reaching second base essentially means entering a scoring position.

With a solid hit, they could bring him home.

However, although Yui Kaoru was fast, someone was even faster.

As Yui Kaoru took a step forward, aiming for second base, 

A flash of white appeared across the distance, covering tens of meters in an instant.

Snap!

A beautiful long throw, covering tens of meters, with almost no error!

This scene shocked Yui Kaoru.

'This fast?'

It wasn't that he didn't know the seniors' reaction speed was fast, but it was a speed he hadn't anticipated.

A drop of sweat, the size of a bean, started to trickle down Yui Kaoru's forehead.

'No wonder we had put in so much effort and only managed to score one point.'

'The defense of the Senpais was truly exceptional.'

"As expected of the Senpais!"

Despite failing the sneak attack, Yui Kaoru's expression remained calm, not angry or frustrated.

The powerful opponent didn't crush him. On the contrary, it only fueled his determination.

'You've got to show up, partner!'

Yui looked back.

After one Out, with a runner on first base, 

The batter stepping into the box for the freshmen was Nishiyama.

He was now taking the third hole in the lineup for the freshmen.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, Sawamura also batted third for the Seidou first-string team.

In other teams, the third batter's position is generally slightly inferior to the fourth batter's.

But in Seidou's baseball team, the situation is exactly the opposite.

The third batter is just as important as the fourth.

Now that Nishiyama had taken the third spot, his ambitions were clear.

His target has never changed from the start—Sawamura Eijun, the Demon King.

"Really full of fighting spirit!"

The opponent's performance also ignited the fighting spirit of the second-string battery duo.

So far, they had allowed one hit.

But they had also recorded one Out.

Now, facing the best newcomer, Nishiyama, neither Kawashima on the mound nor Kariba behind the plate would let this opponent slip away.

Especially for Kawashima, Nishiyama could be considered his biggest competitor at this moment.

How could he let it go?

'Solve him!'

'I Will Solve Him!!!'

Kawashima stared at Nishiyama in the Batter's Box, his eyes filled with determination.

Since joining the Seidou baseball team, Kawashima has always carried a dream in his heart.

He hoped that one day he could wear the Seidou High School first-string uniform, stand on the sacred pitcher's mound, and represent Seidou High School at the Koshien finale.

To stand on the pitcher's mound at Koshien requires not only sufficient skill but also a fair bit of luck.

For Kawashima, luck was no longer an issue. Despite Seidou High School facing the toughest matchups among all the powerhouse teams, they were still the most promising team from West Tokyo to reach Koshien.

The prerequisites were already in place; the rest depended on his own ability.

Coach Kataoka was not an inhumane person either. As long as the situation allowed, he would try his best to ensure every player had the chance to play and fulfill their dream.

Whether it was in the previous Summer Koshien or the recently concluded Spring Koshien, Coach Kataoka had always done so.

So for Kawashima, his task was straightforward: he needed to make it to the first string.

In terms of his personal ability, Kawashima had never had those unrealistic dreams, like making it to the NPB or joining the Minor and Major Leagues.

These were never things he had hoped for.

Although his ability was good, there were so many talented pitchers nationwide—why should it be his turn? He wasn't one of the top-tier pitchers.

In this situation, all his dreams had become concrete goals.

That goal was the Koshien finals.

And to get to the starting line, he must defeat the opponent in front of him.

Nishiyama Kibo!

Although the opponent was just a freshman, Kawashima didn't dare to be careless.

With that thought in mind, all of Kawashima's focus was sharpened.

He lifted his leg high and then slammed it down hard.

Kawashima had never thrown a pitch so slowly.

Every second felt precious to him at that moment.

He wanted to cherish it, not wasting even a fraction of it.

Whoosh!

The ball shot through the air like a streak of white light, reaching the plate in an instant.

Kawashima threw his best pitch.

In the Batter's Box.

Nishiyama's expression was remarkably calm.

The quality of the opponent's pitching was very high, and Nishiyama was acutely aware of it.

The strength of the Seidou High School seniors was beyond doubt—Nishiyama had witnessed it firsthand.

Nishiyama respected these Senpai, who treated baseball as their life, from the bottom of his heart.

But the more he respected them, the more serious he became.

Only through serious competition could he show his greatest respect for his opponents.

Facing the flying ball, Nishiyama exuded confidence.

'Kawashima-senpai's pitch quality was high, there was no doubt about that!'

'But it was not impossible to deal with!'

Especially for Nishiyama, hitting such a ball was not difficult.

Ping!

Everything seemed to go according to plan as Nishiyama swung his bat in a straightforward manner.

It didn't look impressive at all.

But it was precisely this unadorned swing that worked surprisingly well.

The small ball was hit and flew far away.

Everything seemed to fall into place.

Nishiyama just hit the ball out.

His action brought a deep sense of despair to the upperclassmen.

In today's game, the senpais had given everything they had.

But their hard work seemed like a joke in the eyes of their opponents.

The ball was still hit the same way.

The difference in strength was glaringly obvious.

In fact, even before the two faced off head-to-head, many had already suspected the outcome.

Kawashima probably wasn't Nishiyama's opponent.

Otherwise, Coach Kataoka must have lost his mind—why would he choose a freshman to directly promote to the first string, instead of Kawashima?

The result before them spoke for itself.

The small ball was hit and landed in the gap in the defense.

'It was over...'

A trace of despair filled Kawashima's eyes.

Having already had little hope, he was now completely disheartened after this duel.

He couldn't blame Coach Kataoka for favoring Nishiyama.

There was indeed something in Nishiyama that was worth nurturing and cherishing.

In comparison, his own strength was just not enough.

Although he knew it was impossible to replace Nishiyama, Kawashima turned and prepared to signal the outfielders.

As he turned his head, he saw something incredibly unbelievable.

Yui Kaoru, who had been on first base, had already run and was close to second base.

He had been so focused on his showdown with Nishiyama that he hadn't even noticed this freshman's steal attempt.

'How is this possible?'

The situation just now didn't seem planned at all.

Nishiyama's performance in their faceoff was no act.

'So why was Yui stealing the base?'

'A player as calm as him shouldn't have been so reckless.'

He knew that stealing the base in that situation wasn't a good idea.

If the ball had been caught, both of them would have been finished.

Yui wouldn't have been able to return to first base.

That would be an easy double-play!

Kawashima could have completed the defense of this inning.

'How much foolishness must be in these two freshmen's minds to make such a reckless move?' Kawashima was puzzled.

He couldn't understand why Yui had chosen the hit-and-run tactic at that moment.

Kawashima couldn't understand, but others did.

Take Miyuki, for instance, who was watching the game.

"Yui absolutely believed that Nishiyama would hit the ball, so he started running ahead of time."

The hit-and-run tactic.

It wasn't that he had excessive confidence in his teammates—it was just the right choice.

The coordination between Nishiyama and Yui Kaoru shocked the other players watching the game.

These star freshmen, who had previously only shown their individual strengths, were now beginning to demonstrate trust and cooperation.

This was definitely not a good sign.

Based on their past experiences, whenever such a situation arose, the result of the game would be extremely surprising.

"SAFE!"

Nishiyama was the first to reach first base.

At that moment, Yui had already crossed second base and was diving for third base.

The outfielders had been trying to catch the ball directly.

When they realized it was impossible, he followed the spot where the ball would land.

He caught it right after it bounced.

Snap!

The outfielder caught the ball firmly, then with all his strength, threw it to third base.

"Stop underestimating us!"

These freshmen were too bold.

Did they really think the senpais were easy to bully?

The ball, like a falling meteor, appeared in front of the third baseman.

All the freshmen who saw this scene felt their hearts leap into their throats.

'It was so thrilling.'

If the ball fell into the third baseman's mitt, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Yui Kaoru, running at full speed, was already near third base.

He didn't look back, but judging by the reactions around him, he knew the ball was coming.

'As expected they are fast!'

'The reaction speed of these seniors was hard to believe—how could they be the second- and third-string players?'

'Incredible.'

But Yui wasn't helpless.

Since he dared to go for third base in this situation, he certainly had a plan.

As he neared third base, he slid.

Snap…!

Almost at the same time the third baseman caught the ball, Yui's hand touched the base.

"SAFE!!"

With the umpire's announcement, this classic duel finally came to an end.

The situation was now one Out, with runners on first and third.

The freshmen began to reveal their still somewhat immature but still sharp fangs.

…