Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

A home run by Azuma Kiyokuni for Seidou!

The stalemate between both teams was instantly broken.

With two players returning to home plate, the score on the field became 2:0.

Seidou High School's baseball team was now ahead by two runs.

The players in the dugout erupted in cheers.

Maybe they weren't this fired up at the start of the game, but now, they clearly understood what was happening.

This home run by Azuma Kiyokuni carried a different weight now.

In contrast to Seidou's fiery momentum…

The dugout of Gogen High School's baseball team was deathly silent.

Over the past year or so, Gogen's baseball team had undergone a major transformation.

Even in tournaments, they were now able to achieve fairly decent results.

When playing against powerhouse schools before, they weren't completely powerless.

Although they eventually lost, the players never felt like the gap between them and those elite teams was insurmountable.

Until now.

The players of Gogen High felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dumped on their heads.

The chill seeped from head to toe.

They had come this far… yet the gap was still this huge?

"Clap clap!!"

Their coach, who had been taking notes, now stood up. He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on him, he finally spoke.

"Don't worry about it. What's done is done. Focus on the next batter."

The next batter up was the fifth in the lineup, Shimoji Akira.

He used to be a rather unnoticed member of the team, someone who didn't stand out.

But ever since he was sent to the second team and played a practice game against Zhou Hao…

It was like something had been unlocked. His batting average shot up.

Following Seidou's tradition of selecting the strongest, regardless of seniority…

Shimoji was promoted to bat fifth.

Of course, there was an important detail—Shimoji had always been one of the team's strongest batters. He just wasn't a starter for other reasons.

Now that he had improved not just in batting but also dramatically in defense, Coach Kataoka gave him a core spot.

Shimoji was full of motivation.

But even though he swung with full force and hit the ball…

The white baseball flew directly into the opponent's first baseman's glove.

"Pop!"

"Out!!"

Three outs. Side change.

The game moved into the bottom of the first inning.

Even though Shimoji's hit was caught for an out, Coach Kataoka wasn't angry.

He was still very satisfied with the team's overall offensive performance.

Even Shimoji's swing, filled with intensity and effort, was commendable.

Even if the result wasn't ideal.

Coach Kataoka could understand.

The players took their positions on defense—Zhou Hao among them.

His position was in the outfield, where the defensive workload is generally lighter.

The starting pitcher was the ace, Yoshida.

This senior not only spoke boldly but pitched the same way—clean and direct.

"Whoosh!"

The first batter of Gogen High School saw the ball flying in and immediately swung.

"Clang!"

At the moment the bat hit the ball—

The batter's face turned pale.

The force of the pitch far exceeded his expectations.

He nearly lost grip of the bat.

Under these circumstances, the ball he hit didn't go far.

Seidou's players easily intercepted it.

The fielder quickly threw it to first base without hesitation.

"Pop!"

"Out!!"

"Out!!!"

The first two batters of Gogen High were swiftly taken out.

The two of them combined only forced Yoshida to throw three pitches.

"Nice rhythm today, Ace!"

"One pitch per batter, no chances given!!"

Seidou's teammates, seeing their ace in such strong form, immediately praised him.

Yoshida loved compliments.

The more his teammates praised him when he was doing well, the more fired up he got.

And with his pitches being fast and heavy to begin with—

It was already hard to hit his pitches.

Let alone hit them far.

Coach Kataoka placed Zhou Hao in the outfield simply so he could feel the atmosphere of the game.

He didn't expect Zhou Hao to make any defensive plays.

Two outs, no one on base.

It was now the third batter's turn for Gogen High.

Seeing the situation, Gogen's third batter felt a flame burning in his chest.

The more they played Seidou, the more he felt the gap.

Against their previous opponents, they had controlled the game. Their ace, Ikegami, hadn't even given up a single run.

But now—

They were already down two runs in the first inning.

"I have to do something… or this game's over."

Clenching his teeth, he stared fiercely at the incoming pitch.

As the ball approached, the batter summoned all his strength.

"Get out of here!!"

"Clang!"

The ball connected and flew toward Seidou's third base.

"Leave it to me!"

As the third baseman, Azuma Kiyokuni saw the ball flying over his head and instantly leapt into the air.

He tried to jump and grab the ball with his glove.

But the ball flew more than a meter above his reach.

No matter how hard Azuma Kiyokuni tried, he could only watch helplessly as the ball soared past.

"Damn it!!"

"It got through!!"

Unlike Azuma Kiyokuni's frustration, Gogen High's players looked as if they had seen hope for the first time.

They knew this one hit wouldn't win the game—might not even score a run.

But they still had hope.

Even their coach couldn't help but stand up, ready to cheer.

Everyone's eyes followed the ball, waiting for it to bounce off the ground.

But the moment they had been praying for never came.

Just as the ball began to drop—

It landed directly in a glove.

"Pop!"

"Out!!"

The result stunned everyone from Gogen High.

They stared in disbelief at the glove—and the person wearing it.

Their hearts were filled with confusion.

Why… was that person there?

It wasn't just them—even Seidou's own players were stunned.

Why… was that person in that position?

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POWER STONE!!??

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