Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 213: Furuya Leaves the Field

Strictly speaking, that ball landed behind third base and bounced foul after hitting the ground.

The outfield had moved back to guard against Seido's long hits, while the infield stayed closer to defend against bunts, leaving this area wide open.

"Sendo forced that ball through! The left fielder is moving in..."

Pop!

"Safe!"

"A double from Sendo! No need for a slide—it's a clean hit!"

"Nice, Sendo!"

"Great hit, Sendo!"

"Even if the form was a little rough!"

After conceding three runs in the first inning and being completely shut out in their own offense, Seido's spirits were low. But Sendo's hit was the morale boost they desperately needed.

With Sendo on base and no outs, the chances of scoring were nearly guaranteed.

All the built-up pressure found its release in this moment.

"So fast!" The players from Akikawa Academy couldn't help but swallow nervously as they watched Sendo brush the sand off himself.

Even though they knew his speed was impressive, experiencing it firsthand was a completely different story.

"That pitch was hit too?" You Shunshin turned to glance at Sendo.

Sensing his gaze, Sendo responded with a faint smile.

Then he turned his attention to the batter's box—or more accurately, to Furuya.

Who knows what Furuya was feeling at that moment?

"Boom!!!"

Furuya's aura was in full force!

"It's here! The aura's out!"

"Furuya! It's our turn to attack! Reign in that aura of yours!"

...

"Batting sixth, third baseman Masuko-kun!"

"With no outs and a runner on second, this is a prime scoring opportunity for Seidou!"

"Oh!!! Look at that lead-off! That's so like Sendo!"

"Yahaha! Keep the pressure on them!"

You Shunshin took a quick glance at the batter before suddenly spinning around and throwing to second!

Pop!

"Safe!"

"This guy's just too fast!" You Shunshin managed to put a little pressure on Sendo with that pick-off attempt, but he wasn't going to waste any more pitches on it.

Masuko glanced toward the bench. Coach Kataoka remained unresponsive.

"Seidou's bench isn't giving any signals. Looks like they're leaving it up to the players. That just shows how much confidence the coaching staff has in overcoming a three-run deficit!" Fujio explained to Akiko on the sidelines.

"I see!"

"First pitch!"

"Steal!"

"A steal on the first pitch? And from second base!"

Pop!

"Damn it!"

Pop!

"Safe!"

"A solo steal—success!"

Now with no outs and a runner on third, with a count of one ball and no strikes—what will Akikawa Academy do?

"Be ready to sacrifice a run. There's nothing we can do about that runner," You Shunshin signaled to the catcher, indirectly directing the entire defense.

"Forced run!"

Ping!

"First base!"

Whoosh! Just as You Shunshin's voice fell, the sound of a slide came from home plate.

Pop!

"Out!"

"Forced run successful! Seidou scores one back!"

"Nice base running, Sendo!"

"Beautiful running!"

"Great bunt, Masuko-san!"

"Nice, you idiot!" When Sendo returned to the dugout, Jun and the others began playfully roughing him up.

After being let off by his seniors, Sendo approached Furuya, who was already visibly shaken.

"I told you—don't panic! We'll get the runs back one by one! I'm not like a certain sneaky guy with glasses." Sendo placed his left fist on Furuya's chest, taking a jab at Miyuki.

Furuya stared at Sendo in awe, just like during the game against Kiryuu when Miyuki moved him with words.

Back then, Miyuki got his face metaphorically slapped when things didn't go as planned. But Sendo? He delivered on his words.

The moment Sendo finished speaking, the sneaky glasses-wearing guy's expression went cold.

"See?" Sendo didn't even turn around, just giving a thumbs-up behind him in Miyuki's direction.

Furuya slowly nodded in agreement.

"Trust our lineup. Trust me! After this, as the representative of our first-year class, suppress them! When you're on the mound, you're the ace!"

"What are you two talking about?" Miyuki's sly voice came from behind.

Boom!!!

The next second, he saw Furuya's aura erupt, almost lifting the dugout roof.

"I got it! I'll suppress them!" Furuya responded with unusual seriousness, looking rather adorable.

"But don't push too hard!"

"Understood!" Furuya's expression remained stern.

...

Pop!

"Strike! Batter out!" The eighth batter, Shirasu, struck out.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!" Furuya respectfully replied to Sendo and then, brimming with intensity, strode toward the mound.

"What did you say to him? His energy is through the roof!"

"Ah, I told him I'm not like that sneaky guy with glasses—I follow through on my words. Unlike during the Kiryuu game when someone made bold claims and got easily dealt with," Sendo said bluntly, though his honesty was more devastating than teasing.

"Ugh...!" Miyuki broke out in a cold sweat.

Fueled by Sendo's words, Furuya unleashed his full power, swiftly retiring three batters.

Still, considering the scorching weather, it was uncertain how long Furuya could last. Sawamura had been preparing all along, ready to step in when needed.

Moreover, this experience was valuable for Furuya's growth.

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Furuya! Your bat is nowhere near the ball! Watch carefully before you swing!" In the bullpen, Sawamura commanded furiously, even though his own swings often missed by several centimeters.

"Come on, Furuya-kun!"

"Hit it!"

Pop!

"Strike! Batter out!"

After Furuya's out, Seidou's second round of batters stepped up.

Pop!

"Strike!"

"You can't expect a four-ball walk, and there's no hittable pitch. A pitcher like this is so annoying!"

"Even though I was mentally prepared because of that idiot, I still have to try and swing."

Ping!

Once again, the familiar scene unfolded—the ball hit the first baseman's glove.

"Calm down, Kunimi! You still have time to make a steady throw!"

You Shunshin's words helped his teammate keep his composure.

Pop!

"Out!"

That final play came down to who had the longer legs...

"Short legs are a handicap!" Sendo muttered to himself as he glanced at his long legs.

"What did you say?" Miyuki didn't catch it.

"Nothing!" Sendo realized he had let his thoughts slip out. It would be a problem if Miyuki knew what he said, especially considering his playful jab at the sly glasses-wearing guy.

"Don't... don't mind it..." Sawamura tried to comfort Kuramochi, but ended up saying something that sounded a little off.

"Don't mind it? That just makes me even more frustrated!"

"Hahaha! Looks like Eijun's really fun, huh?"

If Sendo is the one who's the most relaxed when facing off against bribed umpires, the older brother figure (Miyuki) is the one who struggles the most.

Facing the curveballs that suddenly popped up from odd angles, Ryousuke was caught off-guard and hit straight into the pitcher's glove.

"Was that curveball hit out with sheer determination? Just like the same kind of hit by the first-year fifth batter earlier."

"Impressive! As expected of a team from a prestigious school, no batter hesitated even for a second when swinging."

"Two runs! We need at least two more to push this team to the edge." You Shunshin, clearly considering Sendo's presence, raised the safety margin higher.

He had no idea when Sendo would get back on base again.

Sendo was the batter You Shunshin dreaded the most. For the other batters, if you could suppress the subsequent ones after a hit, that's fine. But with Sendo, if he doesn't have runners ahead of him, his ability to score is terrifying.

Sometimes, for prestigious teams, they'll even sacrifice the runners ahead of Sendo just to allow him to score. This kind of strategy didn't exist before—simply because no player had the kind of untouchable speed Sendou has.

For some teams, victory is everything, even if it means making unexpected moves like using a short bat or short bunts for their fourth batter.

Last year, Seidou's loss to Inashiro Industrial was crucially marked by a bunt from the fourth batter.

In battles between evenly matched teams, victory is the only thing that truly matters.

The third inning's offense and defense came to an end.

"Didn't my efforts from the other day go to waste? It didn't even help!" Sendo said, feeling a bit helpless as he watched this inning's offense unfold.

"It's not like that at all! It's just that You Shunshin's control is so good. Because of your presence, his fastball already struggles to contain us. But when he mixes in curveballs, it's way harder to handle. When those curves get figured out, even if we can't guarantee hitting every time, we're bound to rack up plenty of singles."

"It's rare! Usually, you're the one saying 'the game is just beginning,' but now you're the one getting anxious!" Ryousuke gently comforted him, but Sendo couldn't quite feel at ease. Maybe it was the impression from before, but that gentle smile seemed to carry some sharpness.

"No! I'm just afraid all that tough training went to waste!" Sendo mumbled quietly.

"Furuya!!! I'll swap with you anytime!" Sawamura said.

Furuya completely ignored him.

"You ignored me again!"

But as the temperature started rising, the first one to offer comfort was Sawamura.

"This isn't looking good! We need to score quickly!"

In the next at-bat, Sendo decided to abandon the curveballs and instead focus on hitting the tough fastballs, which were the ones that previously he hadn't even tried to make contact with due to their wildness.

Meanwhile, the bench was discussing the pitching change.

As expected, Ota, recommended Kawakami as the next pitcher. It wasn't so much that Ota was a Kawakami fan, but from an observer's perspective, Sawamura's pitching was too simple, relying too much on one inside fastball.

Ota had never seen Sawamura pitch from the batter's box, and since he didn't fully understand Sawamura's mental strength or his pitching nuances, he was hesitant to trust him on the mound.

Kawakami, on the other hand, was a pitcher with reliable control—second only to You Shunshin and Teitou's ace.

As a coach without much insight into the intricacies of pitchers' performances, Ota could only see the surface level, which is why he wasn't fully confident in Sawamura.

At the start of this inning, in order to avoid a strikeout and to wear down Furuya's stamina, the opposing team, Akikawa, began to take a more aggressive approach by using bunt plays to disrupt his rhythm.

This strategy, which Sendo had previously used in practice against both Sawamura and Furuya, was aimed at exploiting pitchers who lacked professional game experience and control.

Their goal was to force Seidou into switching pitchers sooner rather than later and to throw them off balance.

In their minds, Kawakami was the only pitcher worth worrying about, and although they lacked information on him, the introduction of a new pitcher usually opens up opportunities to score, especially in high school games where momentum is so critical.

The decision to bring Sawamura into the game instead of Kawakami was made to keep the team's morale high and minimize the psychological impact on the players.

Seidou's coaches believed that a substitution for Furuya would be less disruptive to the team's mindset, especially since the pitching decision had been tested and approved by the coaches.

Sawamura's entrance to the mound caused a stir, and both Sendou and Miyuki realized that this might be the end of Furuya's appearance for the day.

It wasn't because Furuya couldn't handle it, but rather because Seidou had implemented a pitching rotation strategy.

By limiting each pitcher's exposure, they could prevent the opposition from fully scouting their pitchers.

This allowed Seidou's pitchers to continue evolving through the games, keeping the opposing teams guessing as they faced the unpredictable nature of their pitching staff.

Furuya had also recognized the end was near, and although he struck out a batter, his energy was completely drained. His fastball was no longer effective, and even his famous forkball couldn't provide him with any relief.

After walking a batter, he was replaced by Sawamura. Furuya, though not physically exhausted, was frustrated by this premature exit.

Just before he left the mound, Sendo had voiced his expectations for him, making the situation even more difficult to accept.

Sawamura's entrance into the game stirred up chatter in the dugout. Only a few of the players knew the details from the previous night's practice.

Bringing him on at this critical juncture raised questions, especially since most hadn't seen Sawamura in a high-pressure game situation.

However, the coaches' decisions were absolute.

The bench players, not having participated in the game, were in no position to question this move.

Furuya, who had always been quick to stir up trouble on the mound, reluctantly handed over the ball after a stern talk from Miyuki.

Although Furuya was far from happy about being replaced, he knew that his body had reached its limit, and he trusted in both Miyuki and Sawamura's abilities. He walked off the mound slowly, weighed down by guilt towards Sendo and his own physical limitations.

This moment marked the end of his time on the mound, and he walked off, filled with a mixture of frustration, anger, and unwillingness to leave.

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