Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 198: Summer Training Camp (6)

From the second day onward, the training intensity decreased slightly. At least Sendo wasn't collapsing within half a day anymore. Plus, being able to nap in the classroom made it easier to get through the toughest days.

What Sendo didn't realize was that as he adjusted to the training, he had already gotten used to the routine. His previous urge to slack off all day had vanished.

Coach Kataoka, with his years of coaching experience, had anticipated this outcome.

The once-rebellious Sendo had finally grown in terms of mindset, though the boy himself had yet to notice it.

Finally, it was the fifth day of training camp.

Just one more day until the practice match against Osaka Kiryuu, last year's Koshien runner-up and a perennial powerhouse. Strictly speaking, they were on the same level as Seidou and the other three major schools.

The key difference was that their ace pitcher wasn't fatigued from the Spring Koshien tournament, unlike Ichidaisan's ace, Manaka.

Sendo already knew that this would be his last practice match before the summer tournament.

This was understandable. Even though Sendo's name had already made waves across the Kanto region, there was little detailed information on him available to other teams. Scouting operations were already underway.

The same reasoning applied to why the original story had the dual pitchers sitting out the last two matches.

The fewer games they played, the less data rival teams could collect. Sendo, much like Furuya, was a player every team was eager to analyze.

Sendo had also heard about senior Miyauchi catching for the dual pitchers when he and Captain Yuuki returned from Miyuki's room last night. He didn't say much about it, only mentioning that Sawamura's pitches were tough to catch.

So when Chris brought it up again today, Sendo wasn't surprised.

Ever since the training camp began, Sendo hadn't had the time or energy to pay much attention to Sawamura.

Today was the fifth day, and as usual, the first-year players were the first to drop from exhaustion. It was almost embarrassing.

By 4 PM, the defensive drills had worn everyone out. Though some tried to tough it out, their exhaustion was obvious.

At that moment, Coach Kataoka took the bat from Maezono's hands, signaling that he was about to provide some personal instruction.

Sendo wasn't naive enough to think Coach Kataoka would let him rest along with Haruichi.

As a regular, Sendo was expected to push through.

Haruichi, on the other hand, was currently only there to experience the atmosphere of the summer tournament.

Coach Kataoka hadn't planned on putting him on the field just yet.

Sure enough, Kataoka barked out, "First-year Kominato, go rest on the sidelines! The rest of you, prepare yourselves! I won't stop hitting balls until you can't move anymore!"

True to the original story, Coach Kataoka didn't give them any room to breathe, launching one hit after another relentlessly.

Ball after ball, time dragged on as the players pushed themselves to the limit.

Today, only those who collapsed from exhaustion were allowed to leave the field—and Sendo was no exception.

However, his pride wouldn't let him be the first to drop out. Stubbornly gritting his teeth, he pushed himself as hard as he could.

Although he was among the first to leave, at least he wasn't the very first.

Everyone watched as the few remaining players held out until they, too, finally fell.

After Yuuki rallied them to stand up again, Coach Kataoka hit the final ball with satisfaction.

What Sendo didn't know was that Coach Kataoka was equally pleased with his performance today. He didn't expect a first-year to match the stamina of the seniors.

But what stood out was Sendo's resilience in the face of exhaustion—a rare and valuable trait that Kataoka wouldn't need to cultivate further.

Compared to Sendo, the other three first-years had it much easier.

Sawamura and Furuya only needed to focus on recovering over the next two days, as prolonged fatigue couldn't be fixed in a few days.

Haruichi, having been sent off early, had it even better. Meanwhile, Miyuki seemed to be in relatively good condition throughout the camp.

The rest of the position players were utterly drained, with only one day left to recover.

Sendo's task for the last day was simple: find his own rhythm.

After a slow jog, he headed to the batting cage for some light practice.

The bullpen, meanwhile, was occupied by the dual pitchers and Miyauchi. Feeling more or less warmed up, Sendo wandered over, knowing full well that no one was pushing for extra training at this point.

Anything more would've been overkill—training at this point would've been more likely to send someone to the hospital.

Today's bullpen session centered around Sawamura, Furuya, and Miyauchi. Miyuki didn't need additional time with them, but Miyauchi needed more experience catching for the dual pitchers.

Even though Sendo hadn't done much, he still felt utterly drained. Finding a spot to sit, he tried to stay as still as possible to let his body recover.

"Hey, Sendo!"

Just as he was about to drift off, Miyuki called out to him.

"I'm too tired to banter right now. My body feels so heavy! Let me rest a bit—there's a game tomorrow," Sendo groaned.

"Don't sleep like that, or you'll catch a cold! How about some light movement?" Miyuki suggested.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

...

"Step into the batter's box and give it a try!"

"What kind of 'activity' is this?"

"Don't worry about that. Besides, isn't this better than doing nothing? Are you going or not?"

"I'm going!"

"Knew it!"

"Come on, don't act all surprised like you didn't expect it!"

"Hahaha, you've got me figured out!"

…

After a quick word with Chris, Miyuki got his approval, and Sendo stepped into the batter's box.

Sendo was curious to see Sawamura's pitching from this perspective. Well, maybe not that curious.

Once he stepped in, feeling sluggish from the training fatigue, Miyuki handed him a helmet and protective gear. It was then that Sendo finally understood what Miyuki meant by "getting some activity."

Standing in the batter's box against two pitchers with questionable control wasn't just an activity—it was an exercise in courage and agility.

Even though he knew he'd been set up, Sendo found it amusing. It felt like a game of dodgeball, except dodging poorly would result in some serious pain.

"Hahaha! Sendo! Watch carefully—this is the evolved version of my pitching!"

Watching Sawamura shout on the mound, Sendo could practically see devil horns sprouting from his head.

Sendo wasn't naive. Even Kanemaru had been hit a few times back when Sawamura first started to show some semblance of control.

Now, with fatigue weighing him down and Sawamura's still-questionable control...

Smack!

"Eijun, you idiot! That was on purpose, wasn't it?! You totally did that on purpose!"

After narrowly dodging several pitches, Sendo finally snapped.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I don't know what happened! It was fine earlier, but the moment you stepped in, it started going wild!" Sawamura quickly tried to explain, thinking Sendo was about to hit him.

"Hahaha! My stomach hurts!" Miyuki, the scheming catcher, had completely dropped his act, laughing openly now that his plan had succeeded.

"Switch! This idiot gets too excited when pitching to me!"

Although Sendo decided to let Sawamura off the hook, he firmly demanded a new pitcher.

"Then it's my turn!" Furuya immediately volunteered.

"Switch!" Miyuki, still laughing, agreed. He hadn't expected Sawamura to lose his control so dramatically against Sendo, so it was best to let Furuya take over.

Sendo was no stranger to Furuya's pitching, having faced him plenty of times since Furuya joined the first string.

Furuya's lack of control was no secret, but his pitches felt alive. Unlike a machine that delivered balls with consistent trajectories, Furuya's throws had slight variations in every pitch.

A ball at the same speed, when thrown by a person versus a machine, posed a completely different challenge.

This made facing Furuya fascinating, though it often ended with Furuya sulking after getting hit too much.

In the original story, both Sawamura and Furuya were terrified of their third-year seniors' batting skills, as they had been thoroughly beaten during practice matches.

Now, even with Sendo's fatigue, the simulated match atmosphere brought a bit of excitement to an otherwise grueling day.

And so, with this impromptu practice session wrapping up, another long day of training came to an end.

...

"Finally, it's over!"

As Sendo let out a sigh of relief, a voice came from behind him.

"I'm digging in!" It was Miyuki, cheerfully announcing his meal.

The next second, Sawamura and Furuya, with matching sullen expressions, glared at Miyuki in unison.

"Hey!"

"When are you finally going to catch my pitches? The game is tomorrow!" Sawamura demanded, his frustration evident.

Miyuki quickly found himself surrounded.

"Me?" Miyuki replied innocently.

"Yeah, shouldn't we discuss tomorrow's pitching strategy or any key points to focus on?" Sawamura pressed on.

"Exactly, exactly!" Furuya echoed, their usual rivalry replaced by an unusual display of unity.

"What are you two even talking about? Neither of you can throw a proper breaking ball yet. What's there to discuss?" Miyuki retorted, delivering a soul-crushing blow with his words.

"Besides, we're all exhausted! You two should just prepare to get hammered tomorrow! Hahaha!"

Hearing this, Sendo decided not to get involved. Let them sort it out among themselves, he thought.

"Ugh, my body feels so heavy." Feeling his eyelids grow heavier, Sendo opted to conserve his energy and ignored the ongoing antics.

It wasn't just Sendo—every senior player was hunched over their meals, their faces grim with exhaustion. Even eating felt like a battlefield as everyone was pushed to their limits.

Despite his hunger, Sendo didn't eat much. Instead, he returned to his room early and went straight to bed, hoping that his exceptional recovery abilities and some extra sleep would help him regain some strength.

By the time Yuuki and the others returned to the room, Sendo was already fast asleep.

...

"Ah!"

The next morning, Sendo woke up on time, his body clock perfectly in sync. He yawned, taking a moment to assess his condition.

"My body still feels heavy, but for a nine-inning game, this shouldn't affect my performance!"

This was the scary part about Sendo—no matter how tired he was, it rarely impacted his game unless he was completely unable to move.

There was no training scheduled for the day. Until Kiryuu's players arrived, the team focused on self-adjustments and rest.

By 4 PM, Kiryuu had finished their warmups, and the game officially began.

Both teams' players lined up in their respective dugouts, while the coaches met in the middle to exchange lineups.

"Coach Matsumoto! Thank you so much for coming today! With summer approaching, let's have a great game!"

"A great game, you say? But you're starting a first-year as pitcher and center fielder? And the center fielder is batting fifth, no less!" Matsumoto chuckled.

"I understand the need to try different lineups to prepare for summer, but to face us, Kiryuu, with two first-years as starters? They must be quite promising players. Or perhaps they're secret weapons you're hiding from your regional rivals?

"Either way, we'll enjoy this game!"

Sendo and Furuya were well-known in the Kanto region, but it was natural for Kiryuu, based in Kansai, to be less familiar with them.

Today's match was indeed a test—to see how Sendo would perform against one of the nation's top teams while in this fatigued state.

...

After some brief chatter, the order of play was decided casually, given that it was just a practice game.

Once the coaches returned to their benches and gave final instructions, the game began.

It had been a while since Furuya last pitched on the mound, and the opening inning was crucial.

"Coach Kataoka really went all out, huh? Putting me at fifth? Interesting!" Sendo muttered to himself.

However, Furuya's start was shaky, as expected. His fastballs, once blistering before the training camp, had lost some speed due to fatigue.

The Kiryuu batters easily identified and ignored his obvious balls.

"Ball!"

"Walk!"

Three consecutive walks loaded the bases with no outs.

And then—

Ping!

"Landed!"

A hit to shallow center field scored a run. If not for Sendo's quick reflexes and speed, it would've been a two-run single.

"He's still that fast! That Sendo kid!" murmured some Seidou alumni in the stands. They weren't aware of how grueling the past week of training had been and were disappointed in Furuya's poor performance, assuming he was out of form.

"Ball!"

Another ball after the hit.

When Furuya self-destructed, there wasn't much anyone but the catcher could do to help.

Normally, the team would rely on Miyuki to guide him, but today Miyuki seemed determined to let Furuya learn his lesson the hard way.

The first inning dragged on painfully, and Sendo, now eager to step into the box as the fifth batter, silently wished for the inning to end.

"Walk!"

Another walk scored a run, bringing in another point without a single hit. The pattern continued, and Kiryuu piled on five runs before the inning was over.

Finally—

Ping!

"Yes! Another hit!" exclaimed Kiryu's dugout. While walks had been their primary method of scoring, they managed another clean hit.

But once again, Sendo's incredible speed shattered their hopes of a big play.

"Out!"

"Wow… he's so fast!"

"That center fielder started moving the moment the ball left the bat! And look at that speed! Is he really a first-year?"

Kiryuu's players and coaches were stunned.

"Ah, so that's why he's the starting center fielder today. His judgment and speed are on par with experienced outfielders, maybe even better. His range is much larger than normal, making it dangerous to hit in his direction," Kiryuu's coach analyzed.

"And that first-year is also batting fifth, isn't he? Could it be that his batting is just as exceptional? If so, he really is a secret weapon!"

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