Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 94: Furuya Satoru Returns to the Mound!

Tanba's injury was an accident.

Even as he left the field, the stubborn ace mumbled that he could still play.

But not even he believed those words.

And of course, neither did anyone else present.

"Focus on healing first. The most important thing is to recover in time for the summer tournament. There are still two months before it starts, and we need your strength!"

Coach Kataoka, with the eloquence of a language teacher, delivered these simple words, but when they came out of his mouth, it felt like they carried some kind of magic.

As the ace of Seidou High School's baseball team went to the hospital with Director Ota, tears welled up in his eyes.

Tanba repeatedly promised the coach and his teammates that he would definitely come back!

Tanba was gone.

After watching him leave, Seidou's baseball team fell into a prolonged silence.

Everyone knew very well what Tanba's early exit meant for the team.

First, their original plan of rotating pitchers had completely fallen apart.

Perhaps Kawakami could manage three innings, but expecting him to carry the team all the way to the end?

The Seidou players understood better than anyone how unreasonable that was.

There was no way Kawakami could last.

As for Furuya...

Up until now, this monstrous first-year had been playing as if he were on cheat mode.

But his teammates knew the risks that came with Furuya's violent pitching style.

The longer he pitched, the more likely something would go wrong.

Not to mention, Seidou didn't want to expose too much of Furuya's potential before future matches, especially not against Inashiro Industrial High.

This left Seidou's team in a tough spot.

And that's only considering the perspective of the supporters and Seidou's players.

From Coach Kataoka's point of view, there were even more factors to consider.

He had to think about the team's atmosphere, the players' current mindset, and the impact this game would have moving forward.

Since the start of the Kanto Tournament, or more precisely, since Furuya started integrating into the team, Seidou High School's baseball team had undergone a complete transformation.

Their recent games had all been impressive.

It felt like the mighty Seidou was fully revived.

Many diehard fans, and even casual observers, were convinced that Seidou was no longer the same as before.

People's attitudes towards Seidou had changed, and naturally, their views of the players had shifted too.

In the end, the players on Seidou's team were just a bunch of teenagers.

They were incredibly sensitive to this change.

The feedback from the outside world had greatly influenced the mindset of Seidou's players.

Although their current pitching lineup wasn't perfect, it was visibly better than before.

Their biggest weakness had been addressed, which gave the players a huge boost in confidence, making them feel ready to face any challenge.

If no accident had befallen Tanba, everything would have continued to improve in a positive cycle, allowing Seidou High School's baseball team to undergo a complete transformation.

But now, this unexpected incident had occurred.

The players might not realize it yet because they were worried about Tanba, but Coach Kataoka had already sensed the danger ahead.

The Seidou team needed to send a clear signal through their actions to everyone present:

Seidou High School's baseball team had truly risen, regaining its former glory.

They wouldn't let their strength be diminished just because they were missing one pitcher, even if that pitcher had been performing exceptionally well since taking the field.

Even if that pitcher was their ace.

That fact wouldn't change.

Coach Kataoka made up his mind. In this situation, sending Kawakami to the mound was clearly inappropriate.

In the end, his gaze landed on Furuya.

"The situation has changed. We're canceling the rotating pitcher strategy. Furuya…"

As soon as Coach Kataoka spoke, everyone knew what he was thinking.

It was clear that their coach had no intention of giving up on this game.

This wasn't just about the honor of winning the Kanto Tournament. There were other reasons as well.

Even though Coach Kataoka hadn't spelled it out, the Seidou players could more or less guess what those reasons were.

Athletes often fight for their pride.

As long as they held onto that pride, they could maintain their fighting spirit.

For several years now, Seidou High hadn't made it to Koshien, but they'd still managed to maintain such a high level of competitiveness. This was largely because of that pride.

What Coach Kataoka wanted to protect now was exactly that spirit.

Even if they lost the game, they couldn't lose that fighting spirit.

"Yes, sir!"

Not only the other players, but Furuya himself understood Coach Kataoka's intentions.

He even anticipated what his coach would ask him to do next.

"The remaining five innings, fifteen outs in total!"

Coach Kataoka spoke in a deep voice.

This meant that in the Kanto Tournament final, Coach Kataoka was planning to have Furuya pitch eight innings.

For a first-year rookie pitcher, this was an almost impossible task.

Considering Furuya's explosive pitching style, the energy he expended was far greater than that of a typical pitcher.

Kataoka's request, if not impossible, was certainly close to it.

Seidou's players couldn't help but turn their gazes towards Furuya.

"I've had a good rest—over an inning. Tanba-senpai didn't let them hit anything my way. I'm ready to go!"

Furuya shook his arm, proving to Coach Kataoka that he was physically prepared.

Pitching eight innings in a single game was undoubtedly a huge challenge for Furuya.

His stamina wasn't enough yet, and the constant strain of explosive pitching would be tough on him.

Fortunately, those eight innings were split into two sections, and more importantly, Furuya shared the same determination as his coach.

Seidou High had finally risen again, even making it to the final of the Kanto Tournament.

Both the team's players and the supporters in the stands felt completely different than before. Their morale had been transformed.

This wasn't something that could be built up overnight. Now that it had been cultivated, they couldn't afford to lose it.

"Seidou High School is changing pitchers. Outfielder Furuya Satoru is coming to the mound!"

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