Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 142: One Hit!!!

In Coach Sakaki's eyes, for this team to reach such a level was already impressive. But technically, they were nearing their physical limits.

At this point, his focus was solely on Sendo.

Yet, while his shock lingered, Sakaki also noticed it—Kanda's eyes had changed.

'This is going to be interesting,' he thought with a sly smile.

"Fifth batter, center fielder, Omura!"

"Fifth batter, center fielder, Omura!"

"Hit it, Omura!"

"Turn this around!"

"Omura! Omura! Omura!"

As Omura walked to the batter's box, the cheers rose again.

The voices came together in perfect unison, with some fans leading the rhythm.

Even Wakana's close friends, Rika and Reiko, joined in for the first time, swaying to the rhythm and chanting Omura's name.

Though it was their first game, the electric atmosphere had already swept them away.

For the spectators who remembered the painful walk-off loss in summer, this moment felt like fate's revenge.

The entire crowd hoped Omura could seal the comeback.

Yet, while almost everyone was focused on Omura, two people noticed something different—Coach Sakaki and Sendo.

Kanda's eyes burned with a sharp, newfound intensity.

Sakaki watched with amusement, while Hori, Tokugawa's catcher, felt a jolt of unease at his partner's fighting spirit.

Sendo, however, could only sigh inwardly.

Tactics are designed by the coach, but execution comes down to the players.

Asking Omura to hit Kanda's slider consistently?

Unrealistic.

If Kanda suddenly exploded into top form, their margin of error was gone.

Sendo could only focus on his part—guessing pitches and waiting for the right opportunity.

'He really is an ace! Fine, let's stir up some chaos!' Hori thought, preparing his glove with confidence.

"You guys think you can beat us? You're ten years too early!"

Kanda's footsteps echoed ominously in Omura's ears.

In reality, the distance was too far to hear a sound, but in Omura's mind, it thundered.

Smack!

"Strike!"

"A fastball inside! It's a pitch fueled by the pitcher's fiery resolve!"

"That's right! That's what made our loss in the summer so bittersweet! But still… I can't let this stand!"

Pop!

"Strike!"

"This is bad! The curveball is landing in the zone too! This pitcher's condition is insane!" The crowd started murmuring, sensing something unusual.

"Next pitch—look for the fastball. This is it; let's decide it now!" Sendo signaled to Omura.

Whoosh!

Ping!

All eyes followed the ball. Akagi's players, especially those who saw Sendo's sign, held their breath.

"Foul!"

But just as quickly, the ball veered out of bounds.

"Damn… not good enough?" Sendo muttered under his breath.

"We're the kings—Tokugawa Junior High! You won't stand in our way!!!"

Pop!

"Strike! Batter out!"

"Ahhh!!"

"Kanda, Tokugawa's ace, just roared!

Is this him defending his territory?!"

Once again, the momentum shifted.

One run. Only one run away.

But now, that single run felt impossibly far.

Two outs.

The crowd fell silent.

Pitching such high-quality fastballs and sliders under this pressure… it almost felt inevitable that Tokugawa might strike out the next batter.

Even Rika and Reiko, though baseball novices, could sense the atmosphere darkening. Another out, and the game would be over.

"It ends here. Akagi is still just a little short," someone in the stands muttered.

"Both teams are evenly matched, but Akagi lacks a consistent hitter," another added.

"Well, isn't Tokugawa the same?" a nearby fan argued.

"Maybe, but Tokugawa's batting lineup is more stable. Akagi's done all they can."

"Is it really over?" Sawamura clenched his fists tightly on first base, frustration etched across his face.

The other runners, too, seemed to droop in spirit.

Despair is contagious.

How many times had they fallen to this same team? At such a crucial moment, their confidence wavered.

"Enjoy… huh?" Sendo softly repeated Sano's words to himself.

Then he stood up.

Sendo waved to Oyama, catching everyone's attention.

All eyes turned to Sendo—the one person who still hadn't given up.

Akagi's supporters, including the principal, Rika, and Reiko, began to pray silently. Reiko even clasped her hands together, whispering words of hope.

The Tokugawa fans, their players, and the bench all stared curiously at Sendo, waiting to see what he had planned.

Under the intense scrutiny of the crowd, Sendo whispered into Oyama's ear.

Oyama listened intently, his expression shifting from confusion to shock.

Moments later, he nodded, jogging toward the batter's box.

But instead of stepping into the box, Oyama turned to the umpire, exchanging words.

The umpire's stunned expression only added to the mystery.

"What's happening? Is he injured? Did they call for a timeout?" the crowd buzzed with confusion.

Curiosity grew as the umpire spoke into his radio, followed by an announcement over the stadium speakers:

"Akagi Junior High has requested a substitution.

Third baseman Oyama will be replaced. Pinch hitter—Sendo! Batting sixth, third baseman, Sendo!"

"What?! A pinch hitter?!"

The stadium erupted in shock.

In Sendo's case, everyone had already assumed he was a coach, not a player, so the sudden substitution sent the entire stadium into an uproar.

'Wait, isn't Sendo the coach? He's a player too?'

'He's on the roster, but he's never stepped onto the field before, right?'

'Was he injured? But he never looked like it!'

'He didn't play in the summer either, did he?'

The spectators erupted into a storm of murmurs and speculation.

Everyone recognized Sendo's brilliance as a strategist and had unconsciously accepted him as the team's "coach." Now, suddenly, he was stepping up to play?

"Why replace a player now? He let a girl play earlier, and he's just been sitting there—what can he do?"

Doubts, curiosity, and even a touch of gossip swirled through the crowd.

But in stark contrast, Tokugawa's opponents—like Sakaki and the entire Tokumei team—were on high alert.

"That monster is coming up to bat?"

"No way!"

"He's never shown interest in playing before!"

"Seriously? The announcement says it's happening, so it must be real."

"If Akagi is already this strong, and that monster joins in…"

The Tokumei students recalled last year's brutal game when Sendo had obliterated Sakura Girls' team single-handedly.

It was a memory etched in their minds, a vivid reminder of how terrifying Sendo could be at bat.

Until now, everyone assumed Sendo wasn't playing because he didn't care for baseball.

Training and strategizing were already considered remarkable contributions.

So, they had simply forgotten about this lurking threat.

Moments earlier, Tokumei's students had assumed Akagi was done for, but now…

'It's still over,' they thought, though their smiles betrayed uncertainty.

If Sendo stepped onto the field in summer… that would be a nightmare.

The idea made them uneasy, turning smirks into strained grimaces.

Even so, they couldn't help casting pitying glances at Tokugawa's players.

'They don't know what they're up against,' they thought. 'Underestimating Sendo even a little is a fatal mistake.'

...

"Wait, does that guy even know how to play baseball?" Reiko, one of Wakana's friends, pointed at Sendo as he grabbed a bat.

The others shook their heads, clueless.

"Does it matter? They've already subbed him in. Oyama can't return to the game now!" Rika explained, exasperated by Reiko's overly lively questions.

"Oh? So he does know baseball? I knew he was good at sports, but baseball? That's a first!" Reiko's gaze turned dangerously predatory, like a wolf eyeing its prey.

Rika ignored her entirely.

...

Meanwhile, Akagi's bench erupted with cheers. Moments ago, they had looked hopeless. Now, they were animated, their voices echoing throughout the stadium.

Their excitement spread to the crowd, who momentarily shelved their doubts and joined the chorus of cheers.

The support for Sendo was as loud as it had been for Akagi's star hitters, like Kondou and Omura.

And there he was.

Sendo stepped out with a bat, dragging it casually behind him.

It wasn't arrogance—his expression remained blank, almost adorably vacant.

Unlike Zaizen, who strutted onto the field with a cocky grin, Sendo exuded an emotionless calm.

Upon reaching the field, Sendo twitched his fingers.

He raised the bat with just two fingers, flipping it 180 degrees by its handle before lowering it to his shoulder—a clear display of his incredible finger strength.

Sakaki's eyes lit up, practically sparkling with excitement.

Sendo began his warm-up swings before stepping into the left-handed batter's box, adopting a steady stance.

Hori, Tokugawa's catcher, couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Wait, aren't you the coach?"

Even the umpire subtly turned an ear to listen, though Sendo completely ignored the question.

Hori and the umpire awkwardly refocused on the game, with Hori deciding not to take offense. "It's probably the pressure," he reasoned. "He just doesn't want to talk right now."

...

"Cough, cough." The umpire cleared his throat to shake off his own embarrassment.

'No leg lift? A steady-type batter? And standing in the middle of the box… isn't he afraid of outside pitches?' Hori thought, already trying to analyze Sendo.

What Hori didn't realize was that his assumptions were completely wrong.

Meanwhile, Sakaki grew more focused. His excitement was palpable.

"Kanda's in great condition. He can throw any breaking ball he wants. There's nothing to worry about," Hori reassured himself, signaling the pitch.

Whoosh!

Smack!

"Strike!"

"An inside fastball, and Sendo doesn't react at all!" the commentator narrated, bewildered.

"What's Hori doing throwing such an easy pitch to that monster?!" one of Tokumei's players shouted from the sidelines.

"But he didn't swing!" another protested.

"Exactly! That's what makes it worse! He's waiting for something!"

Their words fueled the fire in the crowd, who now burned with curiosity.

The word "monster" was being tossed around with growing frequency, and everyone's focus sharpened on Sendo.

The anticipation only grew.

What was Sendo planning?

The game was at a fever pitch, and Tokugawa's pitcher and catcher, Kanda and Hori, had no time to exchange words amid the urgency.

"Second pitch!"

The ball shot toward home plate with a whistle, a second consecutive inside pitch.

This time, Sendo moved—shifting his center of gravity and preparing to swing.

"Yes! He's swinging! We've got him—" Hori thought excitedly.

But just as the ball neared the plate, it began to break sharply—Kanda's signature vertical slider, his go-to pitch for sealing the deal.

PING!!!!

The moment the bat connected with the ball, the sound of impact echoed through the stadium.

"...Out?" Hori's mind stammered, the word unfinished as reality set in.

Not even 0.2 seconds later, he realized—he couldn't see the ball anymore.

In truth, no one could.

The crowd was stunned as the ball, launched with staggering force and precision, shot through the air.

A metal bat's natural power combined with the soft baseball, Sendo's explosive swing, and his upward-scooping trajectory—everything came together.

The result? A hit that seemed impossible to measure.

A split second later—

BOOM!

A loud crash echoed from the empty stands between left and center field.

The ball struck the steps with a tremendous sound, bouncing several meters into the air.

Silence.

The stadium froze.

For a full five seconds, not a single voice broke the silence.

...

"…It… It went in…!

A… A HOME RUN!!!

Pinch hitter Sendo! A left-field GRAND SLAM HOME RUN!!!

An unbelievable walk-off homer!!!

The game is over!!!

A full-count, bases-loaded, walk-off home run! A comeback victory!!!"

...

The crowd erupted into chaos, cheers ringing out like thunder.

The impossible had happened.

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