Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 169: Two Troublemakers and an Unexpected Slip-Up

"We now see Seidou's seventh batter, Sendo!

It's incredibly rare to see a first-year starting for such a prestigious school at this stage of the game! We don't have any data on him—no records from middle school, nothing. Let's see what kind of performance Sendo will deliver!" Despite Sendo being an unknown first-year, the commentator diligently did his job.

"This is great luck! A batter here just to gain experience! It's the perfect opportunity to test Manaka's condition!"

Miyuki's recent home run had dealt a serious blow to both the pitcher and catcher.

As Kuramochi had noted, Manaka's expression had visibly changed, and even catcher Shimizu seemed momentarily stunned.

But being a third-year catcher meant Shimizu quickly regained his composure, not needing to face the batter directly.

He hoped that using this first-year rookie's at-bat would help Manaka settle down and end Seidou's offensive streak.

The score was already 4–0!

"The battery is ready. The first pitch... here it comes!"

Pop!

"Ball!"

The first pitch was an outside ball that was so far off-target that Sendo didn't even consider swinging.

The miss was significant.

"That home run definitely rattled him!" In that moment, Shimizu and Sendo shared the same thought.

"Luckily, it's just a first-year, no need to worry too much!" thought Shimizu optimistically.

"This is the chance! Exploit his shaky condition. If he recovers, his fastball-slider combination is no joke!

I really owe this opportunity to that scheming glasses-wearer's home run!" Sendo smirked to himself, even giving Miyuki a new nickname in his mind, though the nickname was almost too ridiculous to mention.

Whoosh!

The second pitch came.

"Outside corner? Ball or strike? Doesn't matter—I can hit this!"

As the ball left Manaka's hand, Sendo quickly made a judgment.

His right foot shifted half a step forward, almost in sync with the pitch, creating the illusion of perfect timing.

"Alright! This pitch is low and outside, and the batter swung at it! No way he can hit this well!" Shimizu caught a glimpse of Sendo's swing but didn't notice any details, relying instead on his experience to judge the outcome.

His instincts told him that the pitch would naturally lead the batter to hit the ball poorly—a weak grounder at best.

However, he underestimated Sendo's unusually long bat, overlooked his impressive reach, and failed to notice the angle of his swing.

The American-style fly ball technique thrives on low pitches like this!

"Wait, is that…?" Coach Tahara saw Sendo's scooping swing clearly.

Ping!

"An American-style swing!" By the time Coach Tahara finished his thought, the ball was already flying.

When the ball soared into the air instead of rolling on the ground as expected, Shimizu was stunned.

Manaka, even more panicked, turned to look. It was déjà vu, except this time, the ball's trajectory was even higher than Miyuki's earlier home run.

...

"Got it! The timing and feel were perfect! A flawless debut!" Sendo watched the ball's flight with satisfaction.

Clang!

The ball slammed into the protective netting, flying over five meters above the ground.

If the field were bigger, it would have gone even farther!

"It's in! A home run to center field!!!"

"The second home run of the game!"

"Seidou High's first-year, Sendo Akira!

His first high school at-bat, his first swing, and his first home run! What an incredible debut!"

"What an amazing hit! Is that kid a bakemono?!"

"Seidou's powerhouse batting lineup has a successor! They won't have to worry about a cleanup hitter for the next three years!" The crowd erupted in excitement.

"No way! This has to be a joke, right?!"

The first to doubt reality was Shimizu, the catcher.

Twice now, he had been left grinning in triumph, only to be humiliated immediately by home runs.

The contrast was too much.

In Seidou's cheering section, even the players who didn't make the bench and the managers joined in the celebration with megaphones and toasts.

Sendo casually dropped his bat and began his slow trot around the bases.

Unlike Miyuki, he saw no reason to rush, saving his energy—or slacking off, depending on your perspective.

"Ahahaha! Back-to-back home runs—Manaka-senpai must be losing it! That pitch was definitely targeted!" Kuramochi laughed heartily.

"That little punk really delivered the finishing blow!" Miyuki grinned, clearly enjoying the moment despite his sarcastic tone.

"Nice home run!" The eighth batter, Shirasu, surprisingly spoke up, even extending a hand toward Sendo.

"Thank you!" Sendo graciously accepted the praise and returned the gesture with a handshake.

"How about it? Were you aiming for that pitch?" Miyuki wasted no time pestering Sendo once he returned to the dugout.

"Well, you'd already crushed his go-to pitch, so I figured he wouldn't throw a slider easily. A fastball to reset his rhythm seemed likely," Sendo admitted freely.

Coach Kataoka overheard and nodded approvingly. Sendo's composure impressed him.

Despite consecutive hits and two home runs shaking Manaka's confidence, the inning ended with Shirasu hitting a single before Tanba was robbed of a hit by spectacular catch over third base.

In the bottom of the first, Ichidaisan's attacking lineup managed to score two runs, rattling Tanba.

Sendo sighed inwardly at the senior pitcher's fragile mindset.

Tanba's pitching at this stage was solid, with excellent control of his fastball and a nasty signature curveball.

But his mental game was his Achilles' heel—once hit, he often self-destructed. Even Narumiya had pointed this out during practice games.

Fortunately, thanks to strong defensive plays, Ichidaisan's powerful middle lineup only managed two runs.

The score at the end of the first inning: 5–2.

In the top of the second, Seidou's lineup began again with Kuramochi, who executed a perfect bunt to get on base.

"Yahahaha!" Kuramochi was ecstatic.

"Wow, he's so fast!" Haruno exclaimed, seeing his speed for the first time.

"If it's about speed, Sendo's even faster!" Fumino quickly added, emphasizing the fact.

"Really? That's amazing!" Haruno, ever trusting, believed her right away.

"Well, I'll have to keep an eye on him!" Takako, overhearing their conversation, joined in enthusiastically.

"But wait, Fumino, you didn't go to the same middle school as Sendo-kun, right? How are you so sure?" Takako teased, her curiosity leading to some lighthearted gossip among the girls.

"In middle school, I often watched their games!

Akagi's opponents giving up walks was basically routine. At that time, Akagi's consistent scoring relied on stealing bases and Eijun's bunts!"

"Even if the opponents knew they would steal, no one could stop them!" Fumino answered calmly.

"That sounds amazing! I wonder who's faster, Sendo or Kuramochi-kun?" Takako asked curiously.

It had been a week since school started, and every evening, it was Sendo's job to walk the female managers home.

Jun, being straightforward and overly focused on finding a girlfriend, completely missed the opportunity to make use of walking girls home, even considering it an annoyance.

When Sendo offered to walk Fumino home, Jun quickly handed over the responsibility to him!

Back on the field, Kominato, who had irritated the pitcher in his last at-bat, kept things simple this time with a hit-and-run, allowing Kuramochi to reach third base effortlessly.

Seeing Kuramochi's bunt single and his dash from first to third, Sendo raised an eyebrow.

"How about it? Our leadoff hitter's speed, huh? Impressive, right?" Miyuki chimed in right away.

"Are you glued to me or something?" Sendo, clearly annoyed by Miyuki's constant presence, didn't voice his complaint directly but gave off an unmistakable "don't talk to me" vibe. It had no effect—Miyuki ignored it completely.

Sendo silently prayed for Eijun to be promoted to the first-string team quickly, so Miyuki could focus on their "friendly rivalry" instead of him.

But with Miyuki ignoring all signals and initiating the conversation, Sendo had no choice but to respond.

"Yeah, his speed is impressive."

Seeing that Sendo clearly didn't want to talk, Miyuki finally left him alone.

During recent practices, Sendo had mostly focused on batting and fielding.

He rarely participated in running drills, claiming he needed to conserve energy.

The others assumed his speed wasn't exceptional, except for Coach Kataoka and Rei, who had seen his elementary school testing data.

Even so, neither of them knew exactly how fast he had become.

Sendo was notorious for slacking off.

Even during base-running drills, he often held back, which meant few had seen his true speed.

Rei, who had witnessed his base-running in middle school, knew he wasn't slower than Kuramochi back then.

However, she didn't know that Sendo had deliberately restrained himself even then.

Sendo's philosophy was to use just enough effort to get the job done, always keeping a little in reserve—and, of course, always thinking about saving energy.

Now, ten months had passed since those middle school days, and for a growing teenager, that could mean a dramatic change—or none at all.

Coach Kataoka glanced at Sendo from the dugout, his mind filled with mixed feelings.

As a responsible coach, he had to keep an eye on both the game and the bench players, almost like a multitasking parent.

"Let's go, you idiot!" Jun's loud voice snapped everyone's attention back to the field.

Jun stepped up with great momentum... only to hit a modest single.

Kuramochi jogged home with ease, eliciting laughter from the spectators.

Right after, Yuuki delivered a powerful double, bringing in another run and leaving runners on second and third.

As Miyuki entered the on-deck circle, Sendo's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.

"That idiot… stealing all the glory again!" Sendo grumbled. Being the batter behind Miyuki was always frustrating, as Miyuki had a knack for finishing plays himself.

Throughout the summer tournament, this pattern would repeat.

Sendo recalled the original storyline where Miyuki's knack for "stealing the spotlight" even led opponents to overestimate his difficulty.

"Forget hitting grand slams or three-run homers—thanks to him, I'll be lucky to get a solo home run!" Sendo ground his teeth at the thought of his summer being filled with missed opportunities.

But unexpectedly, Manaka snapped out of his slump, delivering a double play that wiped out the runners on second and third.

Sendo couldn't help but feel a bit happy.

"Serves you right, you conniving glasses-wearer!" he thought gleefully as Miyuki's chance was ruined.

Sendo's carefree attitude off the field was evident, but on the field, he performed steadily, using his skills effectively.

However, his lack of enthusiasm during practice made him a constant headache for the coaches.

Despite Miyuki and Sendo being polar opposites in some ways, the coaching staff often grouped them together as equally troublesome players, much to their dismay.

Because of the double play, Seidou only managed to score two runs in that inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Tanba struggled, giving up three runs and letting Ichidaisan cycle through their batting order.

Tanba walked the fifth batter, Hoshida, and allowed a single to the sixth batter, giving up another run.

Coach Kataoka's frown deepened, not just because of Tanba's performance but also because he noticed the placement of the last hit—a gap between center field and right field, slightly closer to right.

Isashiki reached the ball first and threw it in, but Kataoka noticed that Sendo, playing left field, was surprisingly close to the ball's landing spot as well.

Only those closely observing Sendo, like Kataoka, Fumino, and Rei, realized how remarkable his defensive range was.

"Did you fly over there?" Rei thought, mimicking Sendo's tone as she resisted the urge to blurt it out.

Even Kataoka couldn't help but crack a small smile despite the frustrating situation on the field.

Sendo's positioning showed his incredible range, but it also confirmed Kataoka's suspicions about his slacking during training.

"That kid… barely tries during practice!" Kataoka fumed internally, realizing that Sendo intentionally held back even during simple drills.

Meanwhile, Sendo remained oblivious to the glare Kataoka was shooting his way, focused entirely on the game.

His carefree attitude would surely land him in hot water soon enough.