Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"In The Finals Of The Kanto Tournament, Seidou High School From West Tokyo Faced Hakuryu High School From Gunma Prefecture. The Final Score Was 6-2, And The Winner Was Seidou High School!!!"

Gunma Prefectural Stadium.

As the commentator announced the result, the scene immediately turned into a sea of joy.

Although the match took place in Gunma Prefecture, nearly half of the fans in the stadium were supporters of Seidou High School.

Moreover, they were all hardcore fans.

These people had gathered together to witness Seidou High School win the championship with their own eyes.

At this moment, it would be impossible to expect them to stay quiet or not cause a stir.

It would be absolutely impossible.

That they were able to stay in their seats without rushing onto the field to celebrate with the players was already a remarkable display of restraint!

Obayashi and Kobayashi hugged each other excitedly.

They could be considered the earliest fans of Sawamura Eijun, having witnessed his growth firsthand.

When Sawamura Eijun first joined high school baseball, there were many rumors surrounding him. People said that the Maou of the soft baseball world would surely fade into the background once he switched to hardball.

The trolls who spread such rumors never took responsibility for their words.

The Brotherhood of Red Heart, Sawamura's first fan club, was severely impacted by these malicious rumors.

Obayashi and Kobayashi did their best to support the Brotherhood of Red Heart.

The Brotherhood of Red Heart had managed to grow steadily up to this point, but the two friends had faced numerous obstacles and challenges along the way.

Now, they could finally feel a sense of triumph.

Just before today's game, some internet trolls irresponsibly started discrediting Sawamura Eijun.

They claimed that the miracle of Seidou's first-year championship was solely because Sawamura was a dark horse.

Since opponents across the country had little knowledge of Sawamura, he managed to stand out. However, by the second year, all opponents would be well aware of him. Seidou High School's path to victory would not be as smooth as last year.

Originally, Obayashi and Kobayashi didn't pay much attention to these trolls.

But the troubling part was that the trolls made some plausible points.

In fact, during the previous spring Koshien, there had already been signs that teams were starting to target Sawamura's weakness.

At that time, it wasn't as obvious.

But by the time of this Kanto Tournament, all the signs had emerged. Hakuryu High School especially magnified these signs to the extreme during today's match.

As die-hard fans of Sawamura, Obayashi, and Kobayashi had also felt a lot of pressure in private.

On one hand, they were worried about Sawamura, and on the other hand, they feared that he might be blocked. If that happened, maintaining the Brotherhood of Red Heart would likely become much harder.

After all, once the Maou's 'invincibility' was shattered, even Obayashi and Kobayashi wouldn't know how to continue supporting Sawamura Eijun.

Fortunately, none of this happened.

Sawamura Eijun, whom they supported, had never let them down.

In today's game, despite the opponent's various attempts to contain him,

Sawamura Eijun still showcased his strength tenaciously and led the team to victory.

Although the process was a bit more thrilling than usual,

Obayashi and Kobayashi could accept that.

The thrilling process highlighted the value of Sawamura Eijun.

Just like how scars are the best medals on the battlefield, the same logic is applied here.

Fans and supporters were ecstatic, and even neutral fans were swept up in the excitement.

It truly felt like a final-level game—exciting and satisfying to watch.

Seidou High School, the King, was well-deserving of their title.

For many fans and supporters, it seemed only natural that Seidou High School would win the Kanto Tournament championship.

After all, they had demonstrated the strength of a King.

In Seidou High School's dugout, cheers echoed throughout.

On one hand, it was because they had won the game and secured the championship.

On the other hand, it was also because today's victory was hard-earned.

Hakuryu High School, being one of the top teams in the country, had caused Seidou High School significant trouble during the match.

At one point, the game's momentum even shifted in favor of Hakuryu.

Fortunately, Seidou managed to stay on top and claim the final victory.

Because it wasn't easy to win, the cheers were even more exuberant.

They truly deserved to celebrate this victory.

On the other side, in Hakuryu High School's rest area.

In stark contrast to the laughter and cheers coming from Seidou High School's rest area, the mood in Hakuryu High School's rest area was somber.

Naturally, they couldn't be happy after losing the game.

Each player hung their head, looking bitter and sad.

However, no one seemed to pay them any attention.

It was as if they were just venting their frustration to themselves.

Losing the Kanto Tournament championship right on their home turf—it's no surprise that Hakuryu's players couldn't accept it.

But no matter how unwilling they were, they couldn't change the outcome.

The facts spoke for themselves, and the result was final.

They lost. And they lost miserably.

"This result can only mean one thing—we still have a long way to go!"

As the spiritual leader of the team, Mima Soichiro, with his hands on his hips, took heavy breaths as he looked at Seidou High School's rest area with a deep gaze.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, he had thought about mounting a counterattack.

If he could just cleanly hit Sawamura's pitch and get the team into an offensive series,

Though the chances were slim, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Of course, the premise was that he could hit Sawamura's pitch cleanly.

By now, this was already their fourth encounter.

Soichiro Mima had fully adapted to Sawamura's pitching form and speed, and he felt no pressure.

He was confident that he could hit Sawamura's ball and help Hakuryu High School connect their entire offense.

Soichiro Mima had thought of everything.

He believed he was fully prepared.

He patiently waited for Sawamura Eijun to throw the ball, ready to hit it.

During the first two pitches, Mima was still in control of the rhythm.

Although he didn't manage a perfect hit, he still made contact and sent the ball out.

Though the ball went Foul, Soichiro Mima's confidence soared to an unimaginable level.

He thought he had figured out every aspect of Sawamura Eijun's pitching.

As long as the ball came his way, he was confident he could hit it out.

Having calculated everything,

Soichiro Mima waited patiently for Sawamura Eijun's pitch.

The final ball!

With Soichiro Mima's extremely sharp dynamic vision, he noticed a slight adjustment in Sawamura's usually unchanging pitching form.

Then the baseball flew out.

For such a pitch, Soichiro Mima was naturally confident.

He swung his bat without hesitation at the incoming ball.

In Mima's view, this pitch should be an easy hit.

He patiently waited for the ball to meet the bat, expecting the usual recoil.

But it never came.

Even though Mima Soichiro was slow to realize it, he immediately knew he had been tricked.

'This had to be Sawamura's newly developed breaking ball.'

After the game, Mima sought out Sawamura, wanting to know the truth behind this breaking ball.

Mima, normally quite proud, was not the type to ask things like that.

But his curiosity was overwhelming, like noodles being fried in a pan—it was unbearably uncomfortable, and soon he had no choice but to confront it.

Seeing Mima's inquiring gaze, Sawamura smiled brightly, neither confirming nor denying.

"It's a secret!"

With that, Mima knew he could probe no further.

After all, the Kanto Tournament was over, and the Summer Tournament was about to begin.

It was only natural for opponents to keep a few tricks up their sleeves before the summer tournament.

"I really can't see any flaws in your new pitch. However, you might need to adjust your pitching form. I can clearly see some awkwardness, and I'm sure others will notice if they observe closely."

Sawamura kept tight-lipped about his new pitch.

Soichiro Mima, on the other hand, was much more open.

He directly shared his discovery with Sawamura.

This left Sawamura feeling awkward.

He wasn't an ungrateful person—he usually returned respect when shown kindness.

But how could he explain this to Mima?

"After the Summer Tournament, if you're still interested, I'll Show it to you."

In the end, Sawamura could only make such a promise.

Anything more, he simply couldn't do.

He couldn't reveal his secret to a potential future rival.

Not only would that be irresponsible to himself, but it would also be highly irresponsible to his teammates at Seidou High School.

…

(End Of This Volume)

…

T/N: I originally wanted this Volume to be around 70 Chapters, but as the great Murphy said "Everything takes longer than you think."

Nevertheless, this Volume is now over, and we finally can move on to the awaited event!

The American Games!