Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

This year's Kanto Tournament is being hosted by Gunma Prefecture.

Generally speaking, as the host, the representatives from Gunma Prefecture should have a significant home-field advantage.

Even if the spectators at the scene are not fans of a particular school from Gunma Prefecture, as people from Gunma themselves, would naturally support the schools from Gunma Prefecture.

This happens everywhere.

In previous years, when the Kanto Tournament was held, the host location would inevitably receive significant, invisible support.

There is a high chance that they would make it all the way to the end.

In the first round of the first game of the Kanto Tournament, in this opening match, there is a representative from Gunma Prefecture.

And this game is attracting a lot of attention.

Several of Kanto's giants, who do not have games of their own, came to the scene to watch the match.

Including Inashiro Industrial from West Tokyo and the reigning champion, Hakuryu High School from Gunma Prefecture.

There are many other schools as well!

These players naturally exude an immense presence.

Anyone who isn't a baseball player may not feel it, but anyone who plays baseball can certainly sense the powerful energy coming from them.

Coupled with their unique uniforms, a suffocating atmosphere condensed in the stands.

Under this kind of scrutiny, the representatives from Senku High School, who are playing as the hosts, can't feel happy at all.

"It's so lively!"

"Narumiya, Carlos, Mima, Matsushita, Yukimura…"

"I've never seen so many star players before!"

The players from Senku High School were all incredibly nervous.

In front of these prodigies, how should they show their own strength?

"Don't be discouraged, this is our home field. Even if the opponent is a strong team, they can only play within our rules right now."

Coach Oda said coldly.

Although many well-known players had arrived, in a stadium that could hold 30,000 people, they seemed like a small stream lost in the ocean.

Insignificant.

The majority of the audience was from Gunma Prefecture.

No matter from which angle the spectators watch the game, they would naturally support Senku.

Will the tsunami of tens of thousands of people affect the players of Seidou High School's baseball team?

This, Oda dared not assert.

After all, Seidou High School managed to secure the national champion position, and they must have experienced all kinds of large-scale situations. Tens of thousands of people cheering against them may not even affect their spirit.

But with such a huge backing, at least their cheerleading momentum is no worse than that of Seidou High School.

Their cheerleading force is on par with Seidou High School, the King.

This is enough to make the players of Senku High School feel content!

After all, if the competition were not held in Gunma Prefecture, they would never be able to compete with Seidou High School in terms of momentum.

That would be on a completely different level.

With the mindset of not letting down their supporting fans, the players of Senku High School regained some confidence.

Actually, it's not so much confidence as it is a mindset of giving up.

They know they can't win anyway, so it's better to just let go and play!

With such a plan in mind, Senku High School even displayed a bit of a "do or die" spirit.

In the stands.

Kitaooji from Hakuryu High School asked Mima Soichiro beside him with confusion.

"There's nothing interesting about this game, right?"

From their perspective, if Senku High School were placed in Seidou High School's hands, they probably wouldn't even be able to make a ripple, being easily crushed to death.

What's there to see in such a one-sided game?

"Well, I'm just killing time. Aside from today's game, most of our matches will be at the same time as Seidou, so we probably won't be able to watch any more games live…"

Mima said calmly.

Though there are many strong competitors in this year's Kanto Tournament, the team Hakuryu High School fears the most is Seidou High School.

To be blunt, they are the biggest obstacle on their path to the championship.

To remove this obstacle, there's no such thing as preparing too early.

At least, that's what Mima thinks.

Kitaooji helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

He wanted to see what's so interesting about today's game.

From the standpoint of knowing the situation, no one thought Senku High School could make any waves in this game.

But from Seidou High School's perspective, the feeling is completely different.

You know, during the practice games earlier, Seidou High School specifically came to Gunma Prefecture to play two practice games.

They once played against a team from Gunma Prefecture.

That game had a huge impact on Seidou High School.

Throughout the entire practice match, Seidou High School only managed to score five points.

You have to know, that this was not a team that represented Gunma Prefecture, but a team that had already been eliminated.

If an eliminated team had such terrifying strength, what kind of terrifying strength must the teams that haven't been eliminated have?

With a cautious mindset, in the first round of the first game of the Kanto Tournament.

Coach Kataoka decided to bring out all of Seidou High School's strengths.

When Senku High School saw the crowd from Seidou High School, they were about to cry.

"This is too much!"

"This is so unfair!"

"You guys are going too far!"

They had already backed down in this game, okay? They had already decided to take it easy.

Why did Seidou High School need to send such a lineup to trample them?

As Kings, don't they feel guilty about this?

Clearly, not a single player, from the coach to the team members, in Seidou High School's baseball club, felt the slightest bit of heartache.

Facing the runner-up from Gunma Prefecture, they were being extremely cautious.

The Demon King, Sawamura, stood on the pitcher's mound from the beginning.

Originally, Coach Oda thought they could at least match Seidou High School in momentum.

But as soon as it started, he was dumbfounded!

He had been a bit too naive!!!

He saw large flags waving in the stands, with the name of the Demon King's Guards written on them.

The dense crowd took up almost one-third of the stands.

On the other side, a group of people surrounded Kobayashi and Obayashi.

They too were holding a banner for the Brotherhood of Red Heart, with a large drum under it.

For such an important game in the Kanto Tournament, how could they not take out their gear?

Under the leadership of these two groups, the whole stadium seemed to become Seidou High School's fan base.

"Sawamura! Sawamura!!! Sawamura!!!!"

"Demon King!!! Demon King!!!!!!"

The shouts, like a roaring tsunami, shook the 36,000-seat stadium.

Under this enormous pressure, the players of Senku High School became stiff one by one.

They were completely stunned.

If they remember correctly, this was supposed to be Gunma Prefecture's territory, right?

This should be their home ground, right?

Why does it seem like this place is more like the home field of Seidou High School?

It feels more like the home field of Sawamura alone.

Why is this happening?

Why????

Not only the players of Senku High School but also the players of Hakuryu High School, the overlords of Gunma Prefecture, had never seen such a grand event.

If it were just a large crowd, it wouldn't be such a big deal. In a stadium of this size, the difference between 20,000 and 30,000 people isn't significant.

What truly mattered was the state of the fans.

This wasn't just a sports game; it was like a concert held by a popular idol.

All the fans were in a frenzied state, waving everything they could hold in their hands, shouting the name of Sawamura hoarsely.

Led by the Brotherhood of Red Heart and the Demon King's Guard,

More than 30,000 people in the audience seemed to have become fans of Sawamura.

"It's no wonder he's the Demon King! His popularity is truly extraordinary."

Kitaooji's eyes had clear envy.

They had faced Seidou High School before. Though Sawamura's popularity had been high in the past, it was nothing compared to what it is now.

This wasn't just popularity anymore; it could only be described as status.

"Who knows, maybe one day this guy will truly become a legendary superstar."

Sasaki, who was holding a stopwatch, said with emotion.

Ouno Shintarou, who was beside him, exhaled coldly but didn't offer any rebuttal.

Amidst the jubilant atmosphere, the players of Seidou High School began to take the field.

In today's game, the starting players of Seidou High School were their Nos. 1 to 9.

These included pitcher Sawamura, catcher Miyuki, first baseman Maezono, second baseman Kominato, third baseman Kanemaru, shortstop Kuramochi, left fielder Nishimura, center fielder Toujou, and right fielder Shiratsu.

They were truly going all out, with their main players taking the field.

Before the game,

Miyuki had even specifically discussed with Sawamura about which strategy to adopt.

With Sawamura's increased pitching speed, his control was not as precise as before. Using a dominant pitching style from the start would carry certain risks.

But Sawamura was adamant.

"The opponent is likely hiding their strength. Right now, we must use momentum to crush them. We need to leave an indelible impression of invincibility in their minds. That way, it won't drain too much of our energy!"

The Kanto Tournament would feature four rounds from the top 16 to the finals.

However, the tournament would only take place from the 18th to the 24th.

It was only six days in total.

In the later stages, the competition would be essentially one game per day.

In such a tense schedule, timely adjustments to the team's condition became of utmost importance.

If they could finish games quickly, it would allow the players to rest sooner.

"Alright!!"

Originally, Miyuki had planned not to allow Sawamura to use his strikeout-focused breaking ball pitching until he was fully adjusted.

It wasn't that he was afraid of being countered by an opponent like Senku, but mainly worried about the teams watching.

If they knew that Sawamura was currently in a bottleneck period,

They'd probably wake up laughing from their dreams.

To prevent making the enemy too happy, Miyuki wanted to keep this secret no matter what.

But now that Sawamura insisted, Miyuki didn't want to go against the Ace's wishes.

In the end, he could only hope that Sawamura would get into a rhythm quickly and not reveal any flaws.

He also hoped that the spectators watching the game would be a little less perceptive.

Before taking the field, Miyuki's heart was full of concerns.

It wasn't that he was afraid they couldn't handle the opponent; the main worry was leaving any flaws that might be spotted by the scouts.

But once the game started, Miyuki realized his worries were unfounded.

Before the match, the players of Senku High School seemed to be in good form.

They looked full of energy, ready to fight with everything they had.

But once the game actually started, facing the deafening roar from the stands,

The first batter from Senku High School was immediately stunned.

It wasn't that his body was shaking or anything—his opponent wasn't that weak.

'It was just that his body seemed stiff.'

'The batter was nervous!'

And it wasn't just ordinary mental tension—the opponent was even physically tense.

Miyuki, who saw through this, immediately signaled to Sawamura.

'Fastball!'

'In this situation, there was no need for any breaking balls to deal with the opponent.'

'A few sharp fastballs would suffice.'

On the mound, Sawamura nodded slightly, then decisively threw the ball.

He never doubted Miyuki's judgment.

What's more, Sawamura himself could feel the opponent's nervousness.

Though his observation wasn't as sharp as Miyuki's,

His sense was clear—the opponent's movements were sluggish.

This was a huge no-no in baseball.

One step behind, and every step after that would be a mistake. In a duel, a batter only needed to be a little negligent.

The result would inevitably be disastrous.

Whrroosh!!!

The small ball, like a sharp arrow, zipped into the inside corner of the strike zone.

The batter in the Batter's Box could clearly feel he wasn't in his best form.

Seeing the small ball coming at him, he could only barely swing his bat to intercept it.

But by the time he reacted and swung his bat,

The ball had already passed through the strike zone and landed perfectly in Miyuki's Mitt.

SNAP!!

"STRIKE!"

Just one Strike and the stadium erupted into cheers.

That feeling wasn't just from a Strike; it was as if an out had already been made.

…