Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Two Outs, runner on first base!

Sawamura successfully reached first base!

He managed to secure a solid hit from the hands of the "Son of Baseball," Allen Ward.

This scene was difficult to believe for the American fans who had specifically come to watch the game.

"Wow!"

"He Actually got a hit?!"

"Amazing!"

"What is his name?"

"Eijun Sawamura."

"He is a big deal in Japan from what I know!"

"I think the last one is easy to figure out!"

In their memory, no one had ever been able to get a hit off Allen so quickly.

Does this mean the opponent's strength is indeed formidable?

In the New York Manhattan Academy team's dugout, from their manager Walter to the players, everyone exchanged looks.

It seemed like they hadn't anticipated things developing this way.

"YEEEAAH!!"

"NICE SAWAMURA!!!"

"NOTHING LESS FROM YOU!!"

In stark contrast were the players from the Seidou High School Baseball Team.

They felt as if they were about to soar!

With Sawamura's hit, the huge weight that had been pressing down on their hearts was lifted.

This hit made them realize:

It wasn't impossible to score from this pitcher.

As long as they worked hard enough, getting a hit from the other side wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

It was like an adrenaline shot for the Seidou High players.

They were full of renewed energy.

At first base, Sawamura's hands were still tingling.

'That was really close.'

He almost, just by the smallest margin, let the ball take the bat out of his hands.

If that had happened, Sawamura felt he wouldn't be able to face his teammates.

At this moment, he looked back at Allen again.

Allen was also looking at him.

Their eyes met involuntarily.

They both felt a strange sensation deep inside.

The person in front of them—this was the greatest opponent in the future!

Suddenly, Allen's lips curled into a smile as he looked at Sawamura.

It seemed like a friendly smile, like the first time two strangers met, with one being polite to the other.

But strangely enough, when Sawamura saw that smile, he didn't feel relaxed at all.

On the contrary, he felt a chill run down his spine.

It was as if he was being stared at by a predator, and it made him uneasy.

After smiling, Allen turned back to pitch.

He immediately changed his expression.

If the previous Allen seemed like a gentle breeze, this Allen now had a solemn expression like a killer preparing for his target.

Because of Sawamura's hit, the man known as the "Son of Baseball" was now serious!

The Manhattan Academy team had some prior knowledge of the Seidou High School Baseball Team.

After some research, they believed that aside from Sawamura, the Ace of Seidou High, the other players were at best decent, not even considered excellent.

They figured it wouldn't take much effort to defeat them.

Although Sawamura was exceptional, even from watching video records, it was clear that his ability was extraordinary.

But he was just one player, and baseball wasn't a game that could be won by just one person.

Not to mention, the New York Manhattan Academy team had their own legendary Ace on the mound.

In other words, even though Sawamura was excellent, the players from the New York Manhattan Academy team all firmly believed that their Ace's strength was superior!

This didn't mean they looked down on Sawamura.

It was just that the players from the New York team had a deep trust in their Ace.

Such confidence wasn't built in a day.

It was forged through many battles and victories over formidable opponents.

They believed that Allen would eventually defeat Sawamura.

And they were confident they would beat the other Seidou High players as well.

Although Sawamura had managed to get a hit, the confidence of the Manhattan Academy players remained unshaken.

They still firmly believed in their strength.

And Allen himself felt the same way.

The hit Sawamura got didn't bother him much.

However, now that a hit had been allowed, Allen couldn't afford to be careless for the rest of the game.

So when it came to facing Seidou High's fourth batter, Miyuki,

Allen gave it his all!

VRROOOOO!

A 160 km/h fastball that surpassed the speed of the Tokyo Bullet Train.

Miyuki felt a sharp pain in his eyes, the baseball before him seemed like it could fly out of nowhere.

'No, I can't let this chance go!'

From the earlier exchanges between his teammates and Allen, Miyuki had a clear understanding of the situation.

It was going to be incredibly difficult for Seidou High to get consecutive hits from this opponent and score.

But the more difficult it was, the more they couldn't give up any offensive opportunity.

It was rare for someone to get on base, so they couldn't afford to waste this chance.

With grit, Miyuki gritted his teeth and swung the bat at the incoming baseball.

No matter what, he had to make contact and send Sawamura home.

Miyuki's intentions were good, and his fighting spirit was certainly high.

But in baseball, things don't always go according to plan.

The bat missed the ball completely.

100 mph fastball!

Even without any breaks, it wasn't something you could just hit at will.

KABOOM!

"STRIKE!"

KABOOM!

"STRIKE!"

VRROOOOO!

KABOOM!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Three Strikes in a row, Miyuki didn't manage to make contact with the baseball even once.

Especially on the last pitch, Miyuki barely tracked the ball's trajectory.

But to his surprise, the ball suddenly dropped just as it neared his hands.

He couldn't react in time.

Three outs, sides exchanged.

Although Sawamura had managed to get a hit, greatly boosting the confidence of his teammates, afterward, Miyuki, Seidou High's Captain, was Struck Out.

With his overwhelming strength, Allen showed the Seidou High players his true power.

They were invincible!

In Seidou High's dugout, an eerie silence fell.

The opponent's strength was simply too overwhelming!

It crushed any thought of resistance.

It's important to remember, that Seidou wasn't some amateur team—they were the reigning champions of the Spring and Summer Koshien.

The players were also confident in their abilities.

Yet despite all of this, the New York Manhattan Academy team managed to put Seidou down.

The strength of the New York team was undeniable.

Sawamura rubbed his neck and prepared to take the mound.

He knew that no words could change anything now.

His teammates' momentum had been shattered.

The best way to handle this was to show them through actions.

The New York Manhattan Academy team was not invincible.

Top of the second inning, it was time for the cleanup batter of the New York Manhattan Academy team to step up.

"Fourth batter, first baseman, D. Bill."

The players on the New York Manhattan Academy team were, on average, a year older than those from Seidou.

And Bill, even among these bigger players, was unique in size.

Standing at 1.9 meters tall, with a muscular build, his unconventional braided hair looked striking.

Just Bill standing in the Batter's Box was already enough to put immense pressure on the Seidou High players.

He was the fourth batter of the Dream Team.

Even if you just thought about it with your toenail, you would know that he was definitely no ordinary person.

Sawamura's feelings were naturally the deepest about this.

After all, he had seen Bill's glory in his past life.

Although this guy was known for all kinds of rumors and scandals,

He didn't give the impression of being a good person at all.

But Bill's strength was undeniable.

No matter where he transferred, he was always the fourth batter on his team.

When Sawamura faced him in his past life, he didn't have many chances to win.

According to Sawamura's own statistics, the chances were almost fifty-fifty.

And Bill's on-base rate was over 0.412.

To perform like that in the Major Leagues, it's no exaggeration to call him a super genius.

This is David Bill—the so-called "Destroyer."

Even now, when Sawamura saw this guy again, he felt an immense headache.

Bill's hitting style was completely unpredictable.

Before Sawamura's regression, many people had put in a lot of effort to study Bill's hitting strategies and weaknesses.

But after much research, they found nothing noteworthy.

It was as if this person had no weaknesses. No matter what kind of pitch, he could hit it.

And he didn't have any particular style or routine.

When reporters interviewed him, asking what he relied on to hit,

Bill simply answered with two words.

"Instinct!"

Facing such a player with no logic in his approach was undoubtedly a very frustrating thing.

The best solution was to defeat him with overwhelming strength.

Although the game had just begun, it was time to bring out their ultimate techniques.

The catcher, Miyuki, hesitated a bit.

But Sawamura's attitude was resolute.

'There's no way to avoid this.'

'If we don't show our determination and strength right here and now, we probably won't get another chance to do so later.'

The New York Manhattan Academy team, known as the Dream Team, wasn't an opponent the Seidou High Baseball Team could defeat by holding back.

If they wanted to win, the Seidou High players had to give their all—no holding back!

And this applied to both Sawamura and Miyuki.

With that in mind, Sawamura nodded!

He then threw the baseball from his hand without hesitation.

Since returning to this world, Sawamura had never once relaxed in his training.

Years of hard work, day after day!

Now, he had the confidence to challenge any player in his age group in the world, including Allen and Bill.

Although these two had seemed out of reach to the past Sawamura, now, he had the confidence to face them head-on.

And he wasn't going to back down!

WHRROOSH!

For Sawamura, it was time to show his true strength.

The opponents he faced in Japan, aside from a few, were mostly not worth him going all out against.

This wasn't an exaggeration, but simply the truth.

Sawamura's natural talent was already excellent, and before he had become famous, both Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai believed his potential could even surpass that of Furuya!

Add to that his years of hard training and the experience he had gained, and only a handful of players like Narumiya, Hongou, Akashi, Amahisa, and Raichi were worth Sawamura's attention.

But even for them, the majority wouldn't be able to handle Sawamura going all out against them.

There was still a gap between them.

The only opponent that truly made Sawamura feel he could fully let loose and engage in a fair, open battle was now—

The Dream Team.

Their strength far surpassed that of their peers. Although their path was different from Sawamura's, their abilities had reached the same level.

Only then could both sides go all out and engage in a fair match.

The baseball quickly sped toward the batter.

Bill, watching the ball approach, showed a slight look of surprise.

He was also one of the three musketeers of the New York Manhattan Academy team, with the gift of dynamic vision.

So despite Sawamura's fast and tricky pitch, he still managed to see the spin and movement of the baseball.

But even facing such a tricky pitch, Bill couldn't bring himself to swing the bat in time.

He had no choice but to let the ball pass by.

SNAP!

The baseball landed right in Miyuki's Mitt.

"STRIKE!"

It was an obvious strike, without any question.

The atmosphere in the stadium shifted because of that Strike.

"Damn Son! Where did you find this kid?"

"Even Bill didn't take a swing easily!"

"Is this Pitcher so difficult to deal with?"

The answer was clear.

WHRROOSH!!

Because the second pitch Sawamura threw was sent flying out of bounds by Bill.

PAAK!

"FOUL!!"

One Strike, one Foul ball.

In just two pitches, Sawamura had Bill on the ropes.

Two Strikes, no Balls!

Miyuki cast a probing look back at Sawamura.

'Are you really going to do this?'

Sawamura nodded decisively, then threw his third pitch.

WHRROOSH!

The baseball streaked across the air like a beam of light, covering several meters in an instant, and landing in the strike zone.

Bill wasn't about to back down either.

He swung his bat decisively.

With his terrifying dynamic vision, Bill could track even the most deceptive pitches.

But just as his bat was about to meet the ball,

The ball seemed to disappear…

'Where did it go...?'

SNAP!

The bat and the baseball missed each other, and the ball landed once again in Miyuki's Mitt.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

…