Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

Bottom of the fourth inning.

Gogen High School's baseball team was up to bat.

It was clear that the Gogen players had gone mad.

Earlier, they had played against the powerhouse Inashiro Industrial High and ended the game with a 7–3 score.

Although they had scoffed at the result, dismissing it as just one loss and nothing worth mentioning, deep down, they were incredibly proud.

That was the reigning king of West Tokyo, after all.

Even on the stage of Koshien, Inashiro Industrial had an overwhelmingly dominant presence.

To play a game against such a team and end with just a four-run difference felt like a huge achievement.

Didn't that mean they were already pretty strong themselves?

Now, facing Seidou—

And after just four innings, they had been utterly blasted apart.

The current score on the field was already 10–0.

Even in the full nine innings against Inashiro, they hadn't given up that many runs.

But now, Seidou had done it.

In contrast, Gogen hadn't scored a single run.

The gap between the two teams was so vast, it couldn't even be described with words.

Though the players of Gogen were already numb, as the game neared its end, something within them snapped.

They didn't expect to pull off a miracle comeback.

In this game, they had already lost—there was no saving it.

Even if they barely made it past the fifth inning, they'd be eliminated by the seventh.

They just didn't want their final high school game to end like this.

So, they wanted to do something—anything.

Even if it was just scoring one run.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gogen's batters gave it everything they had.

And these weren't just any batters—it was the core of their lineup.

But it was no use.

Yoshida's pitching was like a violent storm.

Gogen's batters couldn't keep calm. At the very moment they saw the pitch, they were forced to swing.

Clink!

The ball was hit—but quickly caught by a Seidou fielder.

It was only then that Gogen's players truly realized…

Just who it was they were up against.

A national-level powerhouse like Seidou—

Their strength wasn't just in their batting lineup. Their fielding was top-tier as well.

Defense isn't just about the pitcher; it's about the entire team working as one.

And in that area, Seidou had a natural, overwhelming advantage.

Three outs in hand—Seidou entered the fifth inning with a commanding 10-run lead.

In high school baseball, especially in the regional qualifiers, there are certain rules.

Normally, a game is played over nine innings.

If the score is tied after nine, extra innings are added.

But if the difference in scores becomes too large—making a comeback impossible—

Then the game can be ended early.

This saves the players' stamina and prevents unnecessary embarrassment for the losing team.

According to the rules, if one team leads by 10 or more runs after the fifth inning, the game ends.

The same applies if the difference is 7 or more runs after the seventh inning.

Currently, Seidou was ahead by exactly 10 runs—meaning if they could just hold that lead through the fifth, the game would be over early.

Of course, Seidou's players were never the type to just play it safe.

If there was a chance to expand their lead, they wouldn't hold back.

And that's exactly what they did.

Even with such a huge lead, they scored one more run in the fifth inning.

The score became 11–0.

And the game moved into the bottom of the fifth.

The Gogen players, desperate to at least reclaim a run and salvage some pride, still hadn't given up.

They gritted their teeth, doing everything they could to make solid contact.

From their perspective, it was the only thing they could still do.

Seidou's players deeply respected their opponent's attitude.

Every team had its own style.

And Seidou's motto had always been: "A sharpened blade is forged through countless trials."

That's why they trained harder than anyone.

That's why they proudly said: "No one sheds more tears, no one sweats more than us."

So when they saw an opponent fighting so hard—even if it was their rival—they couldn't help but admire them.

And in the face of a worthy adversary, Seidou gave it their all.

As for whether this was what Gogen wanted?

Seidou didn't care in the slightest.

They pitched with full power.

And when the ball came flying, they immediately shut it down.

In the end, Yoshida threw a complete game shutout.

He didn't allow his opponents even a sliver of a scoring chance.

"In the game between Seidou High and Gogen High, after five innings of play, the final score is 11–0."

"West Tokyo's Seidou High School wins!!"

When the final result was announced—

Even though the Seidou players had expected it,

They were still thrilled beyond words.

"We won!"

"We won!!!"

For Seidou, winning today's game wasn't exactly a surprise.

Fuyuan had only been lucky to put up a good fight against Inashiro.

That didn't mean they were actually that strong.

Otherwise, Seidou wouldn't have won so easily.

Still, the Seidou players had gone into the match ready for a tough battle.

After all, Gogen had put up solid performances both against Inashiro and in their earlier rounds.

The Seidou team had mentally prepared for a war.

But what they hadn't expected was—

Zhou Hao's sudden rise.

The score he was directly involved in amounted to five runs.

He personally drove in two RBIs.

Even though Zhou Hao didn't hit a home run,

As a first-year rookie—even setting aside the fact that he's also a pitcher—

The Seidou players couldn't find a single flaw in him.

In fact, inspired by Zhou Hao,

Even their own batting had improved compared to before.

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POWER STONE!!??

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