Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 132: The Demon Arrives!

"Strikeout! Three outs! Inning over!"

The top half of the first inning concluded with Osaka Kiryuu High School, a team known as the "Cosmic Team," unable to even get a single player on base.

Their first three batters were quickly dispatched, going down in order.

The players from Seidou High School and their fans erupted in cheers, celebrating the perfect start. However, the Osaka Kiryuu players looked puzzled.

Given Furuya's pitching talent, it wasn't unusual for him to strike out a few batters.

This happened before, even in the Kanto Tournament finals against Inashiro Industrial High.

Furuya had set a new single-game strikeout record in that tournament.

The Osaka Kiryuu players weren't entirely wrong in their assessment.

But what they didn't realize was what the Seidou team had just been through.

The loyal Seidou supporters surrounding the field knew exactly why Furuya's performance was so impressive.

"Unbelievable!"

Even the casual spectators in the stands were starting to understand the significance of what they were witnessing. And Seidou's own players felt it even more intensely.

They had endured the same grueling training as Furuya.

Their bodies were screaming in pain and exhaustion, just like his.

Because they could feel the intense physical strain, they looked at Furuya with deep admiration.

"If we were in his shoes, standing on the mound as the ace of the team, would we be able to maintain our pitching as well as Furuya is right now?" the Seidou players wondered.

"He's truly a remarkable guy!"

In the Seidou dugout, the players barely had time to celebrate. They were slumped on the bench, trying to catch their breath. They could feel the exhaustion deep in their bones.

And this was just the top half of the first inning.

With eight more innings ahead of them, every Seidou player knew they had to seize every second they could to rest and recover.

Meanwhile, even the usually arrogant players from Osaka Kiryuu were frowning.

They were confident in their ability to hit Furuya's blazing fastballs and deceptive off-speed pitches individually.

But when Furuya combined these pitches, the situation changed entirely.

With Furuya's lightning-fast pitches, his changeups appeared almost mystical, making it extremely difficult for the batters to anticipate.

Moreover, the presence of his changeup made his fastball even harder to handle.

"This guy... He's not at all like we expected."

"Doesn't he get tired?"

This was the question that puzzled the Osaka Kiryuu batters the most. Even if Seidou's pitcher-catcher duo, Miyuki and Furuya, had seen through their strategy, why weren't they holding back on using the changeup?

While the Osaka Kiryuu players were bewildered, their coach, Matsumoto, was already scrutinizing their opponents more closely.

"Something's not right."

Watching Seidou's players on the field, Matsumoto had noticed a hint of something unusual.

But because Seidou's players hadn't made any errors, he brushed aside his suspicions.

However, now he realized he might have dismissed them too soon.

There was indeed something off about Seidou. When their players returned to the dugout, they were exhausted, as if they had just run a marathon.

This wasn't normal for the beginning of a game. Why were Seidou's players so drained this early?

"If I calculate the timing correctly, they must have just finished their infamous 'Hell Week' at Seidou," Matsumoto thought.

As part of a rival program familiar with Seidou, Matsumoto knew a bit about their rigorous training regimen. He quickly connected the dots and realized why things seemed amiss.

"Coach Kataoka, you've certainly made a bold move," muttered Coach Matsumoto with a smirk. Unlike Seidou's confused players, Matsumoto, one of the nation's top coaches, quickly grasped the strategy behind Kataoka's decisions.

Kataoka was testing the limits of Furuya's pitching, pushing him to his absolute edge. At the same time, he was gauging the endurance of the entire Seidou team.

"What a ruthless strategy," Matsumoto thought, his smile turning almost sinister. "Even if these guys can hold on through sheer willpower at the beginning, they'll inevitably break down by the later innings. This game is designed to be an unwinnable battle for them."

Understanding Kataoka's intentions brought a menacing grin to Matsumoto's face. He turned to his players and said, "Don't hold back at the plate. Swing freely."

Matsumoto didn't bother explaining his thought process to his team.

He believed that the Osaka Kiryuu players, known for their high baseball IQ, could figure it out on their own.

However, these talented players had grown accustomed to their coach feeding them direct answers during practice.

Given a clear directive from their coach, why waste their mental energy trying to piece it together themselves?

They preferred to conserve their brainpower and focus on sharpening their physical skills instead.

As for adjusting their mindset during the game?

The Osaka Kiryuu players figured they'd deal with it when the time came.

As elite athletes, they trusted their natural talent and instincts on the field.

The game continued with Seidou High School coming up to bat.

First in the lineup was Kuramochi, but he quickly found himself facing a daunting challenge.

The ace pitcher for Osaka Kiryuu was Hiromi Tachi, a powerhouse known for his ferocious pitching style. His menacing smile alone was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Kuramochi could feel his nerves being tested repeatedly. "Why does this guy smile like a demon?" he wondered.

Though Kuramochi wasn't easily intimidated, he had to admit that Tachi's unsettling grin was getting on his nerves.

But it wasn't just Tachi's eerie demeanor that bothered him—the real problem was his pitches.

Tachi's throws were sharp and tricky, making it difficult for Kuramochi to make solid contact.

He barely managed to foul the ball off, sending it into the infield.

Osaka Kiryuu's infielders pounced like a pack of rabid dogs, sprinting toward the ball with remarkable speed and precision.

Even with Kuramochi's impressive speed, he couldn't make it to first base before the throw arrived.

"Smack!"

"Out!"

One out, and no runners on base.

As Tachi gained the upper hand on the field, his grin only grew wider, an expression that was both disgusting and somewhat terrifying.

Chris took out his trusty notebook and, glancing at the notes, informed the team, "This man is none other than the ace of Osaka Kiryuu High School—Hiromi Tachi, the 'Demon.'"

There's an old saying: you can only choose the wrong name, but never a wrong nickname. For someone to be called a 'Demon'? It wasn't just because his pitches were nasty; there must be other reasons behind such a moniker.

"Be careful, don't underestimate him!" Chris warned.

The players of Seidou High immediately heightened their vigilance.

However, when Ryousuke and Jun Isashiki stepped up to bat, neither could gain any advantage against this opponent.

Tachi pitched like a true demon—each throw carried incredible weight and was delivered from tricky angles.

In terms of raw talent as a pitcher, Tachi couldn't match up to Seidou's own Furuya or even Eijun. His pitching talent wasn't extraordinary, but his level of refinement was astounding.

It's akin to comparing a young lion to a zebra. A fully grown lion can chase down a zebra with ease, but an immature lion might not even stand a chance against one.

Seidou's batters were swiftly struck out one after another.

While most spectators focused on the showdown on the field, Osaka Kiryuu's coach, Matsumoto, turned his attention towards the Seidou dugout.

If he had only speculated before, observing the performance of Seidou's lead-off batters confirmed his suspicions.

The players of Seidou High seemed to have just gone through an intense training regime; their stamina was far from fully recovered. Coach Kataoka had set up this practice match to teach his team a lesson in adversity.

Of course, for Osaka Kiryuu, this wasn't a bad situation either.

Before the summer tournament, chances to face opponents of similar caliber were extremely rare.

If their team managed to dominate this match, it would be a tremendous confidence boost for their players.

But for Matsumoto, these details were trivial compared to his interest in one specific player's growth.

That player was Seidou's first-year pitcher, Furuya Satoru.

Given that the rest of Seidou's players had recently undergone grueling training, Furuya couldn't have been an exception.

This meant that the young pitcher facing them today was not in peak condition either.

In other words, despite being in a less-than-ideal physical state, this rookie could still throw a fastball clocking in at 152 km/h?

If Matsumoto had initially spoken in jest, now he found himself drooling with anticipation.

What kind of luck had Seidou High stumbled upon to land a talent like this?

With his growing desire to witness Furuya's potential, Matsumoto became even more demanding with his own players.

"He'll definitely switch to a changeup. He can't keep throwing fastballs like that! Stick to your current strategy, focus on hitting his changeups!"

Even though the Osaka Kiryuu players didn't fully understand the reason behind their coach's instructions, they obeyed without question.

"Heh heh! Heh heh!"

In the top of the second inning, it was Osaka Kiryuu's turn to bat. The man who had just seemed like a demon on the pitcher's mound now stepped into the batter's box.

He made no effort to hide his intentions.

From the way the batter spread his legs and prepared his swing, Miyuki immediately knew what pitch the opponent was targeting.

"Are these guys really that stubborn? Even after getting fooled before, they're still aiming for the changeup?"

It seemed inconceivable. After all, the coach and players of the mighty Osaka Kiryuu High School couldn't possibly be fools, right? Miyuki himself found it hard to believe.

A respectable team like Osaka Kiryuu wouldn't be led by an incompetent coach. So why, even after being caught off guard by the changeup before, would they still aim for it?

"They must have figured something out..." Miyuki thought.

For most teams, recognizing such a subtle detail might be difficult.

But the coach of Osaka Kiryuu, Matsumoto, was different. Not only was he highly skilled, but he also had a deeper understanding of Seidou High than most other opponents.

Matsumoto likely realized that Seidou's players were exhausted, especially their pitcher, Furuya. Despite the clean strikeout of Osaka Kiryuu's third batter with a blazing fastball, Furuya was not at his peak.

Given Furuya's current condition, there was no way he could maintain that fastball velocity throughout the game. He might not even make it through two full innings.

It's not that Furuya would be completely spent after two innings; rather, his stamina would start to deteriorate, which would significantly impact his performance on the mound.

Just the thought of this scenario was enough to give Miyuki a headache.

"Whoo!" Miyuki let out a long breath.

The situation was extremely delicate. He knew exactly what kind of pitch would most effectively neutralize the opponent, but given Furuya's current stamina, they couldn't rely too much on high-speed fastballs.

They were aware that the opposing batters were waiting for a changeup. However, even if they wanted to avoid it, they had no choice but to throw the changeup and give the opponent a chance to swing at it.

Perhaps this was what Coach Kataoka intended all along. Though he hadn't said a word about it, Miyuki, familiar with their coach's methods, could sense Kataoka's underlying purpose.

The Kanto Tournament had gone too smoothly for Seidou. The victories came so easily that the team never truly felt challenged throughout the games.

"The real test is only just beginning," Miyuki thought, signaling to Furuya. "Prepare to throw the changeup!"

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