Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 125: Ace?

No matter how noisy the outside world became, it had no effect on the players of Seidou High School's baseball team.

Aside from that one interview, the school protected the players with the utmost care.

To prepare for the upcoming summer tournament, the school's leadership at all levels and teachers across all subjects gave their full support.

As for the baseball team players, they were completely focused on training.

Days like these passed quickly.

Before they knew it, a week had gone by.

If nothing unexpected happened, the players like Furuya might have only remembered the baseball field and the gym during this period…

But on this particular day, a week later, the unexpected happened.

"Did you hear? Tanba-senpai is back!!"

Koichiro Tanba had shaved his head, reportedly for a certain examination that required it.

With the change in hairstyle, his entire demeanor had transformed drastically.

Even the baseball team players couldn't believe their eyes when they first saw Tanba-senpai.

Could they have mistaken him for someone else?

Furuya breathed a huge sigh of relief upon hearing the news.

Lately, the team's manager and coaches had been laser-focused on him.

This pressure weighed heavily on Furuya.

It felt as though the team's chances of reaching Koshien depended entirely on him.

Though he was confident in his pitching, the thought of carrying the whole Seidou High School baseball team against a national powerhouse like Inashiro Industrial High School…

It felt like an unbearable weight on his shoulders.

Tanba's return was undoubtedly a huge relief for him.

Yet before Furuya could fully enjoy this, he heard an unbelievable piece of news from a teammate.

"Did you hear that Tanba-senpai injured his brain?"

"What?"

Before Furuya could even process his shock, he heard another version of the story from a classmate.

"I heard that Tanba-senpai on your team won't be able to pitch for the rest of his life?"

Furuya thought this was wild enough.

But to his surprise, even more outlandish rumors were waiting for him.

It happened during his second meeting with the girl he was technically dating.

Furuya told her that he'd be dedicating himself completely to preparing for the upcoming summer tournament over the next two months.

"I'm really sorry. I'd love to go on normal dates like other couples…"

Furuya felt genuinely apologetic about it.

He expected her to be angry, or at least disappointed.

But to his surprise, Reiko Minami nodded in agreement. "No need to apologize, Furuya-san. I've already heard that your team's former ace, Tanba-senpai, lost his memory after getting hit in the head with a ball. So now the entire team is depending on you! I'll be here to support you!"

Huh?

Hearing her explanation, Furuya was utterly stunned.

Tanba-senpai was already back on the team. Furuya had already seen him, so where did this memory-loss story come from?

"Senpai didn't…"

"Oh, I get it. The team must have told everyone to keep it a secret to confuse the opponents, right? Don't worry; I won't breathe a word!"

Reiko covered her mouth, as if to show she'd never spill anything.

Furuya could only give her a thumbs up, speechless.

Meanwhile, in Seidou High's baseball club manager's office…

Club Director Ota answered the manager's questions cautiously.

"That's how it is."

"He fractured a bone, and it will take 1–3 months to heal?"

Rei Takashima's voice was strained as she repeated this.

For an athlete, such an injury wasn't serious.

They had other players in the team who had sustained worse injuries.

But at this particular time, it was a tough blow.

"If it's only a month, then that's manageable. Although it's tight, Tanba should be able to recover before the summer tournament."

For the current Seidou High baseball team, whether Koichiro Tanba could fully return or not… would directly determine their upcoming strategies.

"But if it's three months…"

Rei Takashima didn't finish her sentence.

But among the three people present, who didn't know the ins and outs of the tournament rules by heart? They understood better than anyone else what three months would mean.

By the end of the Kanto Tournament, it was already late May.

Now, it was almost June.

The Tokyo Summer Tournament would begin by mid-July.

Three months from now would be late August.

By then, not only would the Tokyo Regional Tournament be over, but even the Koshien Tournament would have ended.

For Seidou High's baseball team, even if Tanba returned fully recovered and his pitching skills were better than ever, it would no longer matter to the team.

And for Tanba himself, this outcome would be something he could never accept.

He wasn't a first- or second-year player—he was Seidou High's third-year ace pitcher.

To put it more bluntly, this was the last summer for Tanba and his peers.

If Tanba couldn't participate in this summer's tournament, it would be a lifelong regret.

Moreover, with the limited achievements Tanba had reached so far, it wouldn't be enough to break into the professional leagues or secure a recommendation to a university based on his record.

Far from it!

"What should we do?"

Though Director Ota and Assistant Director Rei Takashima were deeply troubled, this was a significant matter beyond their authority to decide.

Both of them instinctively turned their gaze to their head coach.

Coach Kataoka's original strategy had now completely fallen through.

According to his initial plan, he intended to rely on Tanba as their ace and use Furuya as a secret weapon.

Combining the strength of these two, with Kawakami as a backup, Seidou's pitching rotation might not have been perfect, but it certainly would've been highly competitive.

It would have been enough to go toe-to-toe with any team.

But now that Tanba's situation was uncertain, they had to prepare for both outcomes.

On one hand, they would wait for Tanba's return, but on the other, they also had to plan for the possibility that he might not be able to come back to the team.

What would they do then?

"Promote Sawamura and the others to the first string!"

Coach Kataoka's eyes opened, and his gaze was resolute and unwavering.

Previously, the pitching lineup was adequate.

Even though that young pitcher, Eijun Sawamura, had shown exceptional performance on the second-string mound, he wouldn't have had a chance to play this summer.

But now the situation was different. Without Tanba, their core pillar, Seidou's pitching staff needed reinforcement.

Though Coach Kataoka didn't say it out loud, his intentions were clear: Seidou High wouldn't give up on the upcoming summer tournament for anyone.

Coach Kataoka had already prepared for the worst.

To decisively let go of the previous ace…

This was not an easy decision for most, yet Coach Kataoka managed to make it without hesitation.

Director Ota couldn't help but admire him.

But he soon thought of another issue.

"Kawakami, Furuya, Sawamura—using these three to form the pitching rotation isn't too bad. But who will lead?"

Even within a rotating pitching lineup, there is still a primary pitcher and secondary pitchers.

Previously, while the team had high hopes for Furuya's pitching, they hadn't planned to make him the lead.

The true ace role was meant for Tanba.

But with Tanba unable to compete, they could only choose a new ace from two first-years and their original backup pitcher.

To be precise, it came down to selecting a temporary ace between Furuya and Kawakami.

"What do you think?"

Coach Kataoka didn't make the decision unilaterally. He patiently sought the opinions of the other two.

"In theory, Kawakami is the more appropriate choice."

Although Kawakami wasn't exactly a dominant backup, he was at least a second-year pitcher, and that seniority alone added some weight.

Moreover, he was solid in terms of pitching ability and had good rapport with the other players.

Considering all factors, Director Ota ultimately recommended Kawakami.

"If it's purely based on skill, I think Furuya is more suitable!"

Assistant Director Rei Takashima gave her opinion as well.

She didn't particularly care about seniority.

Choosing Kawakami had its merits, of course.

However, she firmly believed that Furuya was better suited to the role of ace for the team.

Coach Kataoka nodded.

His two assistants had differing views, but that didn't make their suggestions any less valuable.

Coach Kataoka himself was also weighing the options.

"Let's go with Furuya."

Hearing the coach's decision, a bright smile appeared on Rei Takashima's face.

It was clear that she was very pleased with this outcome.

"However, he's still a first-year player. The other second- and third-year players might not fully accept him. And with his pitching style, he might not necessarily spend more time on the mound than Kawakami."

Director Ota, too, held Furuya in high regard.

He had seriously considered the idea of making Furuya the team's temporary ace.

But after weighing everything, he still felt that choosing Furuya would bring more drawbacks than advantages.

"I understand everything you're saying."

If it weren't for these considerations, Coach Kataoka wouldn't have hesitated.

According to his original plan, he would have focused on Tanba and Furuya.

Now that Tanba was injured and might not fully recover before the summer tournament, it was natural for him to turn his attention to Furuya.

"But can you imagine making Kawakami the main pitcher and reaching Koshien?"

Coach Kataoka didn't mean to disparage his pitcher. He was merely stating an objective fact.

Hearing this, Director Ota, who was about to argue, fell silent.

Was that a joke?

Making it to Koshien with Kawakami as the main pitcher?

In other regions, that might have a slim chance, but in West Tokyo, that was close to impossible.

Among the three baseball powerhouses in West Tokyo, it wasn't just Seidou that had national-level strength.

Their two rivals, Inashiro Industrial High and Ichidaisan High, were also among the nation's elite.

At Koshien, these three teams were fierce competitors.

Not to mention that there were other formidable teams like Yakushi, Sensen, and Sosei.

While Seidou was undoubtedly strong, relying on Kawakami as the ace to carve a path through West Tokyo seemed unrealistic.

But what if they switched and made the first-year Furuya the ace?

As a rookie, his weaknesses were clearly visible.

But just by having Furuya as the ace, even Director Ota felt they might have a real chance to go toe-to-toe with their two rivals.

That was what you called confidence!

Once Coach Kataoka expressed this reasoning, the issue of selecting the temporary ace was no longer a question.

It was unanimously decided.

"Next, we need to discuss how to break this news to him!"

Communicating with others is an art.

During Tanba's injury and hospitalization, the team had placed high expectations on Furuya.

The coaching staff and all the catchers had almost made him the focal point.

The first-years who trained alongside the first team had essentially become Furuya's sparring partners.

Such emphasis had clearly overwhelmed the young first-year.

The coaching staff of Seidou High School also realized that they had placed too much pressure on him.

After all, Tanba was a third-year player, and even he had struggled under the weight of being the ace since taking on the role.

Let alone someone like Furuya, who was just a first-year.

"We still need to talk to him! If he can take the initiative to shoulder this responsibility, that would be ideal."

In the coach's office, the three looked at each other, but no one stepped forward.

Though they hadn't known Furuya for long, the coaching staff felt they had developed some understanding of him.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was astonishingly mature, appearing nothing like a naïve 15-year-old boy.

Trying to manipulate him like they might with other players probably wouldn't work.

"I'll do it!"

Director Ota glanced at the team's coach and then at the assistant coach.

Since neither of them spoke, Director Ota took the initiative to volunteer.

Putting oneself in another's shoes, if Furuya were brought into the team by Takashima, would she refuse the responsibility?

From Ota's understanding of his assistant, that was absolutely out of the question.

Since Furuya was brought into the team by him, it made sense that he would be the one to handle this.

"Let's just call him into the office and discuss it together!"

After a moment of hesitation, Coach Kataoka ultimately decided he would personally speak with Furuya.

While Furuya was training, he seemed taken aback when he learned that the team's three key figures wanted to talk with him.

"What's going on?"

His training was already tough enough; did the team want to add more to his burden?

Sometimes, Furuya found himself truly admiring the senior players on the team.

Their training was already so grueling, yet they still managed to put in over an hour of extra practice every day?

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