Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"Thank Goodness!" Sawamura silently told himself.

Seeing the third-year seniors from before, who were now moving toward brighter futures, made him feel that all his previous efforts were worth it.

"You really leave nothing for us, Tetsu-san!"

After hearing this, Miyuki couldn't help but smile.

On the road to professional baseball, everything was smooth sailing, with steady progress, step by step.

At the same time, he could also attend university and become a student at a prestigious school.

The path that Tetsuya was now walking was every baseball-enthusiastic kid dreamed of.

Miyuki couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

He even thought that this was the future path he should choose for his own life.

Sawamura also felt the same, but he wasn't particularly interested in becoming a university student.

Before his regression, he had seen many situations like Tetsuya's.

After all, not everyone could live off baseball for their whole life. Sooner or later, they would retire, and what would they do for a living after that?

Sawamura had seen many such cases where players, even while playing professional baseball, were also learning other life survival skills.

This seemed like a legitimate and respectable path.

However, Sawamura didn't like this route.

Any skill sufficient to make a living wasn't something that could be easily acquired.

It required hard training, learning, and a lot of dedication.

And this would consume a significant amount of time in his life.

Sawamura wasn't willing to do this.

With just baseball, he could make enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

As long as he didn't develop any bad habits, he believed that he and the people he loved would have enough for their entire lives.

There was no need to become a slave to money.

If money wasn't an issue, Sawamura wanted to enjoy baseball to the fullest.

Since he was given a second chance, he couldn't waste it and would cherish every single moment.

If by then his money was enough, he planned to buy a baseball team and have some fun with it.

If he didn't have enough, he would return to Japan and become a Coach.

He would teach kids how to play baseball, he had gotten a bit of experience with this lately.

To Sawamura, this also seemed like a very happy thing.

In short, he was tied to baseball for life.

He would never separate from it.

As for learning, as long as he could pass, that was enough.

There was no need to stress over it.

Although Tetsuya's life looked fantastic, Sawamura had his own plans and goals, so he didn't intend to follow in others' footsteps.

Reunion time was always very short.

They only talked for a little while before the formal match was about to begin.

Actually, the three of them were relatively more rational. Although excited and happy, they didn't linger too long when it was time to part ways.

On the other side, the situation at Inashiro Industrial High School was different.

"Masha-saaan!!!!"

Narumiya was crying uncontrollably, constantly apologizing.

Although they had successfully avenged Seidou High School in the Fall Tournament and ultimately won the Fall and Jingu Championships, they had lost once again to their old rivals, Seidou, in the crucial spring Koshien.

Their dream of becoming National Champions was shattered.

Narumiya felt deeply sorry for Harada's trust in him.

Harada furrowed his brows and looked at Narumiya, whose tears and snot were all over him. His anger had reached its peak.

"If you don't leave now, I'll whack you good!"

In the end, Harada could only lash out in anger.

Narumiya Mei, feeling aggrieved, stepped aside, feeling like he had been abandoned.

Looking at his pitiful expression, Harada couldn't help but feel a little pity.

He eventually patted Narumiya on the head.

"You've already become Jingu Champion and the National runner-up. That's really good. There's no need to belittle yourself. And you still have another chance, don't you? In the Summer Tournament, all you have to do is get your revenge!"

After hearing Harada's words, Narumiya finally stopped crying and smiled.

Though he appeared carefree on the surface, the pressure he felt inside was immense.

It was he who had gathered these teammates and vowed to create an undefeated, unstoppable team.

A team that couldn't achieve results?

No one felt more pressure than Narumiya Mei.

Despite the unfortunate loss to Seidou High this spring, being the runner-up at Koshien was enough to give him something to show for his efforts.

Otherwise, Narumiya Mei would have seriously considered ending it all.

On the surface, he was crying to Harada.

But in reality, wasn't he also boasting?

He just did it in a very subtle way, one that most people wouldn't notice.

The "ordinary people" here didn't include Harada, who had teamed up with him for a year and a half.

"You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

"Of course not! Am I that kind of person?"

Narumiya shook his head vigorously, adamantly denying it.

However, there was one thing he fully agreed with Harada on.

It wasn't over yet.

It had only just begun.

In the summer, just two months later, they would defeat Seidou High in the Tokyo Regional Tournament.

Then they would enter the national competition and ultimately win it all.

Such ambitions were shared by nearly every player on the Inashiro Industrial High School team.

Now that they had become national runners-up, they had achieved their goal.

The only remaining obsession was to get a one more win on Seidou.

As for whether they could dominate the nation?

That would only be considered after defeating Seidou High.

Right now, thinking about it is both pointless and meaningless.

Without defeating Seidou High, everything else meant nothing.

It was all just empty talk.

After greeting their practice match opponents for a few minutes, the match officially began.

The opposing players were all almost 20 years old, at the peak of their physical condition.

They were also very capable players, with impressive records in previous tournaments.

There were even four professional players among them...

Although there was some suspicion that the team was hastily put together, their overall strength was undeniable.

To be blunt, even if one searched all over the country, no high school team could compare to these guys in terms of comprehensive strength.

Standing in the opponent's position and looking back at the team, Sawamura couldn't help but feel emotional.

At least four of these players were stars. The Rookie of the Year from last year was now 23 years old, in his prime.

He had narrowly lost the MVP award.

Although this wasn't an extraordinary achievement, within a league, his individual ability was quite terrifying.

Even on a good day, his overall evaluation could place him in the top five pitchers in the entire country.

He was also a powerful hitter in his own right.

Then there was the pair of Tetsuya and Harada, along with that tall, thin player who didn't look like much but posed a real threat to Sawamura.

The destructive potential of this team, when pieced together, was something Sawamura had never encountered since his regression.

Initially, Sawamura thought he wouldn't face professional players until at least a year later when he was in his third year.

But by chance, this opportunity had come much sooner than expected.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel on fire.

This was very obvious. Even without saying a word, anyone could tell from his expression what he was feeling.

"Oh, ho! Would you look at that!"

"Apparently, our Demon King here is also excited!"

"But isn't he a bit too thrilled?"

"Yeah, like it was a matter of time before he exploded on us."

Even his partner, Miyuki, was helpless about this.

He knew Sawamura's personality well. As long as he faced a challenging opponent, Sawamura would become extremely passionate.

He was like a hungry beast, with a desire for victory and battle far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Fortunately, Sawamura never lost his cool in these situations.

Even though he looked a little silly at times, it didn't affect the bigger picture.

"Control yourself a bit, the match hasn't even started yet!"

In the end, Miyuki could only warn Sawamura.

Sawamura, with his aggressive gaze, glanced at Miyuki for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed.

But this was something he couldn't control.

As long as he faced worthy opponents, his desire to fight would awaken.

There was no helping it. In the current high school baseball world, Sawamura was finding it increasingly difficult to encounter players who posed a real threat to him.

Now that he had finally met such an opponent, a stimulating challenge, how could he not get excited?

'Bring it!'

He couldn't wait to get on the field.

Coach Kunitomo was making his final tactical adjustments.

"I believe you've all seen it, our opponents are beyond strong. But don't worry, I believe in your strength, and we won't lose to them."

In just a few short sentences, the players were all fired up.

To receive such praise from the coach who led the Tokyo Regional Champions, who wouldn't be excited?

"Now, here's the starting lineup for today's game."

Coach Kunitomo looked over the players and then began assigning positions.

"The starting pitcher is Narumiya!"

As expected, Narumiya Mei was the first pitcher to take the mound.

Everyone had already anticipated this.

The opening pitcher had to be powerful to stabilize the situation.

But at the same time, it was also important to give the players some experience.

Sawamura didn't need to make many mistakes in the opening stages.

His presence wasn't as significant in this match.

In contrast, Narumiya was the most meaningful choice to start.

The two were of equal strength, but Narumiya's instability at the start needed to be overcome.

After announcing the starting lineup, the match was about to begin.

…

T/N: Well, That's it for now!

As always, Thank you all for reading guys!

Have a good day!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +160 Chapters there.