Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 451: Secret Ace?

There were a lot of people watching the game, with nearly half the stands filled.

"It's so lively today."

Many of the second and third team players from the Seido High School Baseball Team looked at the crowd around them, genuinely surprised.

It was just a round-of-16 match, and not even a clash between powerhouses.

Why were there so many spectators?

"Thanks to Tokyo Television, our school's reputation has been growing recently. These people probably want to watch our baseball team play live."

Those who had been paying attention filled in the others around them.

The teammates nodded in understanding.

Being on television really made a difference.

Especially with the program Tokyo Television had produced, in which the Seido High School Baseball Team held a prominent position. It was natural that it would draw attention.

"That TV reporter previously suggested to our coach that we shout a team slogan before the game, but the coach never agreed. I wonder when we'll get to see it on TV."

"After people see that slogan, surely more of them will become fans of our baseball team."

The players smiled.

Many of them had developed a fondness for Seido High School after seeing that slogan for the first time.

After graduating from junior high, they hadn't considered any other school and had chosen Seido directly.

Many hadn't even received an invitation from the Seido High School Baseball Team.

But they had chosen this school anyway. It was their dream.

Wearing that blue and white uniform, standing alongside everyone, and shouting Seido's slogan together.

That scene had appeared in their dreams countless times.

They just wondered when they would truly get to experience it on the field.

Not only the players in the stands felt this way. The teammates about to play were also eager.

They wanted to shout that slogan too.

But for a game of this level, without the coach's word, making such a request themselves felt awkward.

It would look like they were showing off.

The game began without any issues.

Even though a more intense game awaited them tomorrow, Seido High School did not underestimate today's opponent.

They sent out their full main lineup from the start.

Today, Seido was also first to bat.

Top of the first inning.

No outs, no runners on base.

The first to step up to the plate was Kuramochi Yoichi, the offensive engine of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Their opponent, Hongmo High School, the team known as the most relaxed in the tournament, had not sent out their Ace as their starting pitcher.

Instead, it was their number 11, a substitute second-year pitcher.

His name was Mogami Takeshi.

After this substitute pitcher took the mound, the Hongmo High School dugout seemed very animated, cheering him on continuously.

Kuramochi raised an eyebrow.

He had a faint bad feeling about this.

Just before the game, when the Seido High School Baseball Team had been going over Hongmo High School's profile, Chris and Zhang Han had both raised doubts.

The newly appointed coach had made no visible impact. How could someone like that be so indifferent?

Even with no real ambition to lead the baseball team, wouldn't he at least want to keep the job and the salary that came with it?

The whole situation was illogical, and it had always left a nagging sense that something didn't add up.

At the time, someone had also raised the possibility that Hongmo High School, after changing coaches, simply hadn't faced any real tests yet.

Before playing Seido, they had mostly played practice games, and they hadn't encountered any threatening opponents in this Spring Tournament.

Could they be deliberately holding back?

It was a bold guess, but not an impossible one. There were plenty of baseball teams in Tokyo determined to make a name for themselves by surprise.

Although Hongmo High School had always appeared passive, that didn't mean they would stay that way.

The Seido High School Baseball Team had prepared for this possibility.

For one, they didn't hold back at the start of today's game and played their full main lineup.

For another, they had practiced specific tactics in advance to handle unexpected situations. Although those tactics were primarily intended for tomorrow's game, there was no harm in working through them early.

Just as the game began, a group of uninvited guests arrived in the stands.

Those boisterous players who liked to settle things on the field had come to watch.

Kuramochi, at the plate, hadn't noticed yet, but every other Seido player had.

"Look, the Yakushi guys are here..."

They were hard to miss.

Despite the distance, their distinctive school uniforms and Raichi Todoroki's unmistakable laugh made their arrival impossible to ignore.

The moment they appeared, everyone at Seido sensed them.

This also indirectly showed how significant Yakushi's win over Inashiro had been.

After that game, Yakushi had become one of the most attention-grabbing baseball teams in Tokyo.

They weren't a powerhouse, but their presence now was no less than one.

The Seido players exchanged glances, the look in their eyes sharpening.

They had already had no intention of holding back in this game.

With Yakushi watching from the stands, they were even less inclined to.

They had to show those players that beating Inashiro didn't make them something special.

Their path to becoming a powerhouse was still very long.

Zhang Han watched his teammates' reactions and shook his head with a quiet smile.

He and Inashiro were rivals, sworn enemies by any measure.

But from another angle, they were also two teams cut from the same cloth.

Both were powerhouse programs, and both carried the pride that came with that.

At the very least, their feelings toward Yakushi were the same.

They could not afford to lose to this dark horse that had appeared from nowhere.

The teammates were united on that point.

However, the game did not unfold as expected.

Kuramochi had just stepped up to the plate. Against an opponent whose capabilities were completely unknown, he wanted to observe a couple of pitches first.

Then he watched the opponent throw the ball.

"Whoosh!"

When the baseball came over, Kuramochi was genuinely surprised. The speed of this pitch was simply...

Too slow.

The baseball wobbled out of the pitcher's hand.

Under normal circumstances, Kuramochi would have swung without hesitation.

But knowing nothing about this opponent, and given how significant this game was, the fact that Hongmo's coach had chosen this pitcher to start gave him pause.

He wanted to watch one pitch first.

And so he did, as it floated past and settled into the catcher's mitt.

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

In the Seido dugout, the players were completely stunned.

Could someone explain to them what they had just witnessed?

This pitcher's speed, never mind high school standards, would have been considered slow even among elementary school players.

Elementary school pitchers could throw hard too. Many exceeded 110 km/h.

What was this guy throwing?

70 kilometers per hour?

Because the speed was genuinely so unusual, no one on the Seido bench had a reliable reference point for it.

They didn't want to guess incorrectly, but based on their experience and what they had just seen live, it was probably no more than 70 km/h.

Hongmo High School, even before the retired professional coach arrived, had been a team capable of reaching the top 16 or top 8 in Tokyo.

With good fortune, they could even threaten the top 4.

Although they lacked fighting spirit against strong teams, Hongmo High School as a whole was not without ability.

In a program full of capable players, why send out a pitcher who could barely hit 70 km/h?

Had Hongmo High School lost their minds?

************************************

Upto 50 Chapters In Advance At: P@treon/Vividreader123