Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The game between Seidou High School and the strongest Dream Team has begun!

In the top of the first inning, the New York team attacks.

The players of the Seidou baseball team each take their positions on the field.

Under the gaze of more than 60,000 pairs of eyes, people's emotions are inevitably affected.

Fortunately, the players of the Seidou High School baseball team, having grown through the Koshien, are no strangers to such large-scale events.

The only difference from before is that, in front of them, it seems like none of the spectators are cheering for the Seidou High School baseball team.

They are all here to see the Dream Team.

From a certain perspective, these spectators are also enemies of the Seidou High School team.

"Hyaa-ha-haa! This is really thrilling!"

For Kuramochi, it's quite exciting to be up against so many people at once.

It's like he's become the world's most formidable villain!

If anyone else felt this way, they would likely feel uncomfortable. But not Kuramochi. As long as he can attract attention, he doesn't care whether the crowd sees him as a hero or a villain.

To think of it… in front of tens of thousands of people, he gets to mercilessly trample on the Dream Team they revere.

Just thinking about this sends a shiver through Kuramochi's entire body.

'It's so exhilarating. Truly exhilarating.'

"Let the game start already!" His blood is practically boiling with excitement.

Without making the Seidou High School players wait much longer, as soon as they had taken their positions, the game had already begun.

The first batter for the New York Manhattan Academy team is a very cute, small player.

He's smiling gently, looking harmless.

Compared to the other flashy players from the New York Manhattan Academy team, his looks are much tame.

"He doesn't even look like a professional baseball player!"

Looking at this figure, Miyuki mumbles to himself.

If they hadn't seen this opponent's stunning performance on video earlier, Miyuki might have subconsciously underestimated him in this moment.

The fact is, this opponent looks far too harmless.

It's difficult for most people to feel wary of him.

With his superb batting skills and lightning-fast speed, he's very likely to attempt a stolen base on the first pitch!

Miyuki, after hesitating for a moment, quickly signals to the pitcher, Sawamura, on the mound.

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura stands opposite Andy, taking a deep breath.

As he inhales, Sawamura's expression changes.

The Dream Team!

Although Sawamura has never faced their entire team, he's quite familiar with the players of the Dream Team.

There are two players who were once his teammates, and five were his previous opponents...

The remaining two, Sawamura aren't too familiar with.

They might be minor league players, or maybe they dropped out of baseball for some reason.

The other seven are all key players from major league teams!

This is the legendary aspect of the Dream Team.

No other youth team can possibly have such a high success rate in player development.

Only the New York Manhattan Academy team has achieved this.

Without a doubt, every one of their players is a star whose abilities far surpass those of players from the same age group.

The current batter, Andy, looks harmless at first glance.

But if you think that means he poses no threat, you might not live to regret it.

Andy, the first batter of the White Sox team and the starting outfielder, was a teammate of Sawamura for nearly two years.

Because Andy's personality is similar to that of Kominato Haruichi, Sawamura got along well with him.

Andy was one of Sawamura's friends from before his regression.

After exchanging glances and signals with Miyuki, Sawamura decisively takes action.

The weakness in Andy's physique is always there.

If no particularly good opening can be found, attacking this weakness continuously is the right approach.

So, Sawamura throws a fastball on the outside corner for the first pitch.

Seeing this pitch, Andy doesn't even hesitate.

He quickly and decisively swings his bat.

Paak!

The bat strikes the baseball, sending it bouncing forward.

Miyuki, crouching behind the plate, raises an eyebrow slightly.

The players of the New York Manhattan Academy team gave him a huge surprise from the very first pitch.

'They actually made contact with Sawamura's pitch on their very first attempt!'

It's worth noting that due to Sawamura's unique pitching form, his fastballs appear much faster than they actually are.

The speed difference, combined with such a fast pace, means that most opponents, when facing Sawamura's full-speed pitch, struggle to make contact.

Only after adjusting to his pitching style and rhythm can they possibly make contact and hit the ball.

This requires a process!

For most opponents, even in their second or third encounter with Sawamura, it's hard to make contact.

This is the first time Miyuki has seen someone make contact on the first pitch.

This moment is a wake-up call for Miyuki.

Their current opponents are at the pinnacle of the world!

For Sawamura on the pitcher's mound, the outcome is not surprising at all.

He's well aware of Andy's skill level.

With his exceptional batting technique, it's no surprise he made contact with the ball.

'However!'

After making contact with the ball, hitting it properly isn't so easy.

Sawamura had prepared for this and added a variation to his pitch. He intentionally lowered the ball's spin during the pitch. This is nearly impossible for most people to achieve.

But not for Sawamura. By slightly adjusting his grip, the ball naturally changes its spin.

Sawamura did this intentionally so that Andy would hit the ball.

This way, the ball would surely bounce after hitting the ground.

The players from Seidou High School would have no reason not to catch it.

In fact, the development of the situation unfolded exactly as Sawamura had anticipated.

The baseball, after being hit, bounced toward third base.

As soon as it bounced, Kanemaru immediately pounced on it.

Although the game had just started, Kanemaru's reaction was instinctive, honed through practice.

His movement was swift and showed no hesitation.

At this moment, the stands erupted with a collective sigh.

No one expected such a turn of events right at the start of the game.

The spectators were caught completely off guard.

They had expected the Dream Team to demonstrate their power and easily dominate Seidou High School from the outset.

This made the American fans fume with frustration.

It was hard for them to finally see their beloved Dream Team take the field, and of course, they hoped the Dream Team would ruthlessly trample Seidou High School.

But now, it seemed things wouldn't go as smoothly as they expected.

At this moment!

The figure in the Batter's Box spread his legs and dashed toward the first base like a missile, moving at an incredibly fast speed.

"So fast!!!"

This speed gave the American audience a great sense of confidence.

It also gave the Seidou High School baseball team a huge shock.

Especially for Kanemaru, who had caught the ball—his heart felt like it was in his throat.

'How could he be that fast?'

From the moment the ball was hit, he ran forward.

Even if you start timing from when the ball was hit, only two seconds have passed, maybe even less!

How could this guy be running so fast?

At this point, Andy was only about ten meters away from first base.

Kanemaru didn't dare waste any time.

He grabbed the baseball and threw it to first base.

But due to the long distance and the hurried throw, when the ball reached first base, it was slightly off-target.

At first base, Maezono had to temporarily leave the base and intercept the ball.

When he turned around to step back onto the base, a swift figure had already flown past.

"SAFE!!!"

There was no suspense; Andy had confidently reached first base.

The situation was now on Out, with a runner on first.

The Great Demon King, Sawamura Eijun's first pitch, was hit, and Andy made it to base.

This was the moment the Seidou High School team started to get what "world's strongest" meant.

The Dream Team's first batter gave the Seidou team a direct blow.

And that wasn't all.

The most critical issue was that it caused a disconnect among the Seidou High School players.

Sawamura and Miyuki's plan had been perfect. If there were no surprises, eliminating Andy shouldn't have been a major problem.

Sawamura's pitches were already hard to hit, and he knew Andy's play style.

It was hard to say what would happen in the later innings, but eliminating Andy in the first round shouldn't have been difficult.

However, now, Andy, who should have been eliminated, managed to reach first base because of a teammate's error.

This was undoubtedly a very dangerous sign.

It could easily lead to a lack of trust in the teammates of the pitcher.

If the New York Manhattan Academy team could apply enough pressure to the Seidou High School team at this point, then Seidou's collapse might very well be starting...

"Sorry!!!"

When Sawamura turned his gaze toward Kanemaru,

Kanemaru quickly made a gesture to apologize.

It was indeed his mistake that allowed the opponent to reach base.

Sawamura nodded slightly and gave Kanemaru a reassuring hand gesture.

On the surface, it seemed like this mistake was entirely Kanemaru's responsibility.

But Sawamura didn't think so.

Kanemaru was usually excellent in defense. Even when playing against the teams in Koshien, his performance had been noteworthy.

Though his batting wasn't a huge asset to the team, in defense, Kanemaru had always been an important part of the Seidou High School baseball team's defense.

In fact, there weren't many players on Seidou High School's baseball team who could hone their defensive skills to the point where it became second nature.

Kanemaru was one of them.

The reason he made an error here was largely due to his not yet adjusting to the opponent's rhythm.

The Dream Team!

Though both sides had just begun to play, Sawamura knew very well that their strength had already far surpassed the other teams in their class.

Facing the Dream Team was an entirely different experience from facing other American teams.

Their speed was faster, their skills were more refined, and their individual abilities were stronger!

If you weren't mentally prepared, it was troublesome to face such opponents.

After calming down Kanemaru, Seidou High School had to face their second opponent.

The second batter, a multi-arm hitter, J. Ramirez!

He looked very handsome with golden hair styled in the middle part.

Although the team had Allen, Ramirez still shone brightly.

Standing in the Batter's Box, Ramirez looked like a proud rooster.

Even after putting on his helmet in the Batter's Box, Ramirez still fixed his bangs.

Miyuki had never seen such a proud guy before.

After seeing this, he almost threw up his breakfast.

'The guy looked well-dressed, and his appearance wasn't bad.'

'But with his expression, it gave a very comical impression.'

If Miyuki hadn't learned about him beforehand, it would have been hard to believe that this guy in front of him was one of the three musketeers of the New York Manhattan Academy team.

A super player with dynamic vision!

At first base, Andy was already stirring restlessly.

In the Batter's Box, Ramirez raised his head high, drooping his eyelids, and looked down at Sawamura with a condescending look.

He had a top-level dynamic vision and exceptional batting skills.

Honestly speaking, it was unsettling to face such a guy.

And so, a crisis appeared.

From the moment Sawamura stood on the mound, the Seidou High School team was already in a crisis.

This was a major challenge for both Seidou High School and Sawamura Eijun.

Especially for Sawamura, the battle had already begun.

...