Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

On the field, the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

At the catcher's position, Miyuki frowned slightly.

Although both teams had only faced off in a single pitch, the feedback from that pitch made him feel uneasy.

First, there was a problem on their own side. The starting pitcher, Furuya, seemed to be too eager to perform.

As a result, it had the opposite effect.

When he threw the ball, his arm wasn't fully extended. To put it simply, his arm wasn't following through properly!

He didn't fully show the speed and quality of pitching that he should have exhibited.

This was concerning because Furuya's starting performance was already known to be unstable.

He often struggled to get into his rhythm at the beginning of games...

On the other hand, the opponent's response also made Miyuki very alert.

Even though Furuya didn't display his full strength, he still managed to throw about 90% of his usual speed and power.

The ball's speed exceeded 150 km/h. Though it didn't land in the strike zone, it wasn't far off either.

Overall, it was still decent. At least the power was good.

But what alarmed Miyuki was that the batter showed no reaction to such a pitch!

'They weren't intimidated by Furuya's velocity at all.'

Either the opponent had extraordinary talent, or they had mentally prepared themselves in advance.

Both possibilities were worrying.

Miyuki looked closely at the opposing team's bench and then shifted his gaze to Coach Sakaki.

Coach Sakaki remained calm, with no signs of concern visible on his face.

This immediately raised Miyuki's level of vigilance.

'Something was definitely amiss—there must be something I hadn't considered before.'

'But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. The priority was to deal with the opponent first.'

It didn't matter if the ball was slightly off target. After all, they weren't relying on control to win.

The key was to deliver the speed and momentum of the pitch.

With that in mind, Miyuki gave Furuya a subtle signal from behind the plate.

Sawamura was very obedient to Miyuki's signals.

He put all his energy into the next pitch, throwing the ball with all his might.

Roaaar!

The fastball rocketed toward the batter as if it were going to clear everything in its path.

The batter, Hakurai, gritted his teeth, holding back and not swinging at the pitch.

Boom!

"BALL!"

The ball flew directly into Miyuki's Mitt.

After catching it, Miyuki's expression tightened.

Although it had missed the strike zone, the power behind the pitch was undeniable.

He wasn't sure if he should praise Furuya or criticize him sternly.

In any case, his feelings were complicated!

Two Balls, no Strikes.

From the count, this was quite unfavorable for them.

The most important thing now was to secure a Strike.

Miyuki adjusted his Mitt to a slightly higher position.

This was the area where Furuya typically liked to pitch.

It was the spot that best brought out Furuya's velocity and quality.

Miyuki had complete confidence in Furuya's pitching. Even if the batter guessed the pitch, it would be difficult for them to hit it.

With that speed and that kind of heavy ball... there were likely many batters across the nation who could hit it.

But in the grand scheme of things, the number was relatively small.

Hakurai wasn't the type of batter who left a strong impression with his power. So, Miyuki was certain that Hakurai wouldn't be able to hit this pitch.

Come on!

'Let your pitching make the opponent submit!'

Roaar!

It was like the earth shaking and the sky splitting. Sawamura's pitch came through with an overwhelming force, roaring as it sped toward the batter.

At that moment, Hakurai, who had remained silent until now, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He swung the bat with all his might.

But it was futile; the bat never made contact with the ball.

Hakurai's face was filled with disbelief.

It looked like he was asking, 'Why didn't I hit it?'

He probably thought he had judged the pitch perfectly and was sure he could make contact and hit the ball.

But in reality, during the swing, both his timing and positioning were off.

'Why did that happen?'

Hakurai couldn't understand it.

BOOM!

"STRIKE!"

At the catcher's position, Miyuki smiled faintly.

He had succeeded!

Although he hadn't yet helped Furuya reach his best form, Furuya's pitching was steadily improving.

'This was a good sign!'

If they kept this up and Furuya settled into his rhythm, defeating Yura Sougou would be no problem.

In the Seidou High School dugout, Sawamura felt deeply moved.

'As expected of Miyuki-senpai, he was truly a genius in these areas!'

Furuya's performance at the beginning wasn't good, and if things had kept going the way they were, it wouldn't have ended well.

But in just two pitches, Miyuki-senpai had helped adjust him.

This kind of ability was something that ordinary people couldn't have.

Only Miyuki could do this.

Outsiders might just see the spectacle, but insiders understood the true method.

Miyuki's brilliance hadn't gone unnoticed by just Sawamura.

Yura Sougou's dugout also noticed this moment.

Coach Sakaki could understand Furuya's desperate desire to win.

'Having such talent and only being a substitute for the team was a tough spot for him.'

It wasn't surprising that Furuya was anxious.

Coach Sakaki also understood why Furuya had struggled at the beginning.

The more anxious a pitcher gets, the harder it becomes to fully unleash their abilities.

Because pitching, beyond the player's skill and physical condition, is also influenced by emotions!

The more you want to perform well, the harder it becomes to do so.

This is a common issue, not just for Furuya, but for many top players who've faced similar struggles.

What Coach Sakaki didn't expect, however, was Miyuki.

After Furuya got stuck in a tough spot, Miyuki quickly helped him adjust.

"Tesshin really got himself an extraordinary player!"

Such skills in a catcher are difficult to train.

This showed that Miyuki had something beyond just hard work.

Catchers like Miyuki are, one in a million, truly a rare gem.

"But the more we see this, the more we can't let you have it your way!"

A sly grin appeared on Coach Sakaki's face.

For a catcher to help a pitcher stabilize, the opposing team would certainly try to prevent it from happening.

If Furuya was allowed to pitch at full force, the game would be over before it even started.

Even though Furuya wasn't the Ace of Seidou's team, that didn't mean his power was any less significant.

According to the data Sakaki had gathered, once Furuya's power was unleashed, he could easily match top pitchers nationwide, like Hongou from Komadai Fujimaki.

A truly top-tier pitcher!

So, no matter what, they couldn't let Furuya reach his full potential.

Coach Sakaki signaled the batter in the box.

Hakurai immediately adjusted his stance into a bunt position after receiving the signal.

Miyuki felt his heart rate spike.

Although, with Furuya's pitching style, they weren't particularly afraid of a bunt attempt.

With his speed and the strength behind his pitches, it would be incredibly hard for the batter to perfectly deflect the force of Sawamura's pitch.

The most likely outcome was that the ball would bounce high into the air.

If that happened, the Seidou players could easily catch it for an Out.

'But was it really that simple?'

Miyuki had his doubts.

He didn't believe Coach Sakaki would waste an opportunity on something useless.

Roaar!

The next pitch from Furuya wasn't thrown to the usual sweet spot.

This was the area Hakurai had set up for a bunt. It would be impossible for Furuya to aim directly at the batter's bat.

Let alone this was the ideal spot for a batter attempting a bunt.

Furuya let the ball fly.

As it came closer, Hakurai, still in position to bunt, quickly pulled his bat back.

Boom

"BALL!!!"

The pitch missed the strike zone again.

And with that, Furuya had thrown three Balls and a single Strike.

If he threw one more Ball, Hakurai would be Walked.

Miyuki's face darkened immediately.

He realized they might have been tricked.

…

T/N: Feel free to leave a Comment guys!

And Powerstones are much much welcomed!