Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

The game had entered the top of the third inning, with the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team at bat.

One out.

No runners on base.

The ninth batter in Inashiro's lineup stepped into the batter's box, itching to blast the ball into orbit.

Deep down, he knew he probably wouldn't even be able to touch it.

Even so… he still wanted to swing.

That first-year brat from Seido High was downright uncanny.

Standing in the batter's box, he could clearly feel it—

If he didn't do something, he would be swallowed whole by that kid's pitching.

And that was something the Inashiro ninth batter simply couldn't accept.

Just as he was about to whip the bat through the strike zone, his coach's voice rang out from the dugout.

"Don't swing!"

The command reached his ears.

His body instinctively tried to halt the motion.

Unfortunately, by the time his brain processed the order, his swing had already begun.

It was too late to stop.

Whoosh!

The baseball tore through the strike zone.

The bat arrived far too late.

Not even close.

"Strike!"

Strike one.

The batter immediately fell behind in the count.

Inside the Inashiro dugout, Coach Kunimoto's usually expressionless face twitched slightly.

He had already warned the hitter before he stepped into the box.

But the moment the player stood there facing Furuya Satoru, it was as if the order had been completely erased from his mind.

The bat moved on its own.

"Idiots…"

Kunimoto muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, on the pitcher's mound, Furuya Satoru showed no mercy.

He immediately fired his second pitch.

Boom!

The ball exploded out of his hand.

It looked even faster than the first.

In the blink of an eye, the pitch was already rushing toward the plate.

Only then did the ninth batter remember something important.

Before the at-bat, their coach had given very clear instructions.

If you're unsure—

Do not swing at the first two pitches.

Wait for the third.

Furuya's pitching style was extremely explosive.

That kind of high-power pitching often resulted in balls outside the strike zone.

If Inashiro's batters stayed patient, many of those pitches would become balls.

They could exhaust the rookie pitcher.

Eventually, they might even find weaknesses to exploit.

It was a very reasonable strategy.

But standing in the batter's box, staring straight at Furuya—

Everything felt different.

If he didn't swing…

He felt like he might suffocate from the pressure.

That overwhelming tension was terrifying.

So even though he remembered the instruction, when the second pitch came flying toward him—

He still swung.

Crack!

"Strike!"

Two strikes.

The batter was immediately driven into a corner.

Inside the Inashiro dugout, Coach Kunimoto's expression darkened.

The situation unfolding in front of him had gone far beyond his expectations.

Even after he reminded them—

His batters were still swinging.

As if they simply couldn't control themselves.

Is this first-year rookie really that terrifying?

Kunimoto frowned.

He found the scene difficult to accept.

But whether he liked it or not, reality was right in front of him.

Kunimoto trusted his players.

If they ignored his instructions and still swung, then it meant they had no other choice.

Just as this thought crossed his mind—

Furuya Satoru unleashed his third pitch.

Boom!

Behind home plate, Miyuki Kazuya crouched low.

Seeing the pitch's trajectory, he couldn't help but grin.

In this game, the improvement wasn't limited to Inashiro's lineup.

Seido High was evolving just as quickly.

Especially this first-year pitcher.

Furuya Satoru.

What he was showing right now was extraordinary.

Frankly speaking—

It was terrifying.

His performance today was worlds apart from what it had been before.

"Senior Tanba's position might really be in danger…"

Miyuki muttered quietly.

Whoosh!

Crack!

"Strike!"

"Strike three! Batter out!"

Two outs.

Bases empty.

At this moment, Seido High School—

Or rather, Furuya Satoru—

Was radiating overwhelming dominance.

Like a storm sweeping across the field, crushing everything in its path.

Even against the national runner-up, he had completely suppressed their offense.

Inside Seido's dugout, the players watched in amazement.

Before today, aside from Zhou Hao, none of them had imagined

that a first-year could reach such a level.

Furuya had only been at Seido for barely a month.

And yet—

The ability he was displaying now was already at the level of an Ace pitcher.

While everyone was still digesting this shocking reality—

Inashiro's leadoff hitter stepped into the batter's box.

"Leadoff batter, Carlos."

Carlos walked up calmly, his eyes narrowing as he carefully observed Furuya.

Before the game began, Inashiro had already been cautious about Seido's rookie monster.

But even so—

They hadn't expected him to be this troublesome.

"Your stuff's dropped a little…"

Carlos muttered softly.

Although Furuya's velocity hadn't decreased—

And the oppressive aura around him remained intense—

Carlos was certain of one thing.

After constantly pushing his velocity higher and higher, the rookie's sharpness had begun to dull.

A pitch that Carlos couldn't even see earlier…

Now felt slightly more hittable.

On the mound, Furuya had no idea what Carlos was thinking.

He simply felt unstoppable.

Without hesitation, he delivered the next pitch.

Whoosh!

The white baseball screamed toward the plate, arriving in an instant.

Watching the ball approach, Carlos became even more confident in his judgment.

Furuya's pitch had indeed lost a little of its bite.

With the right timing, he should be able to make contact.

Yet despite his confidence—

Carlos calmly watched the pitch pass by.

Snap!

"Strike!"

Pitch one caught the strike zone.

Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya couldn't have been more satisfied with the result.

Furuya's control was still far from perfect.

This time, their clash with the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team had caught the opponents completely off guard.

But when the two teams met again, those Inashiro players would undoubtedly be prepared for everything.

Opportunities like this would be rare.

Knowing that all too well, Miyuki had to call the game even more carefully.

He had to finish off the batter in front of him—right here, right now.

"Just two more strikes…"

On the mound, Furuya Satoru seemed to feel the same determination.

The baseball he threw carried not the slightest hesitation.

Whoosh!

The ball tore through the air with a sharp whistle.

Standing in the batter's box, Carlos finally decided he had waited long enough.

He swung hard.

Crack!

The bat barely clipped the ball, sending it screaming into foul territory.

"Foul!"

One strike, one foul.

Still two strikes.

The path had twisted a little, but the outcome remained the same.

Two strikes.

The batter was cornered.

And Miyuki Kazuya had no intention of wasting such a golden opportunity.

He raised his glove high and flashed the sign decisively.

One final pitch.

Furuya read the sign.

Without hesitation, he wound up and fired.

Whoosh!

The ball shot forward like a rifle bullet, arriving almost instantly.

Carlos had been waiting for it.

The moment he saw the pitch, he swung.

Crack!

He deliberately aimed his swing half a ball higher than the path of the fastball.

That had been the lesson from his previous swing.

It sounded absurd.

But it worked perfectly.

The barrel struck the heart of the ball.

If Furuya's velocity had been even slightly lower, the ball might have sailed straight into the stands.

Even so, it traveled an astonishing distance.

Carlos tossed aside his bat and exploded out of the batter's box.

Judging by the distance of the hit, he might even circle the bases.

But Seido's outfielders had no intention of letting that happen.

Isashiki Jun sprinted across the grass and reached the landing point before the ball could touch the ground.

Zhou Hao had already bailed him out once earlier.

He had no intention of needing help again.

Thud!

Just as the ball kissed the turf, Isashiki dove forward and scooped it into his glove.

Smack!

"Out!"

Three outs.

Side retired.

The players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial found the outcome difficult to accept.

They had finally managed to square up the first-year pitcher and drive the ball deep.

If they kept applying that pressure, they might have completely broken him.

So how had everything fallen apart at the very last moment?

Three outs.

Side retired.

Did that mean their chance for revenge had slipped away?

After all, once Furuya completed three innings, Seido would likely follow their usual rotation strategy.

The rookie probably wouldn't return to the mound.

Seido would change pitchers.

Next would likely be Tanba or Kawakami—

In any case, it wouldn't be that terrifying first-year anymore.

Three innings pitched.

Only one hit allowed.

Considering their opponent was Inashiro Industrial, Furuya's performance wasn't just good.

It was outstanding.

The game entered the bottom of the third inning, with Seido High coming to bat.

"Second batter, Kominato Ryosuke!"

The first Seido player to step into the batter's box was their infamous "Devil Batter," second baseman Kominato Ryosuke.

With a cheerful smile, Kominato glanced back at Zhou Hao, then looked up toward the pitcher's mound.

Right now, if he wanted to, he could probably toy with the pitcher.

He had already read Arata's pitching almost perfectly.

But Kominato chose not to.

Instead—

He decided to give the pitcher a fair fight.

On the mound, Arata had no idea what the Devil Batter was thinking.

He simply raised his arm and delivered the pitch.

Whoosh!

The ball hissed toward home plate.

Kominato didn't hold back.

He swung.

Crack!

The ball shot straight back toward the mound.

It bounced once on the dirt and rolled right to Arata's feet.

"That was nasty!"

"Kominato isn't big, but he's got power—who would've thought?"

The spectators couldn't hide their surprise.

By this point in the game, they had assumed that not only Seido's first-year pitcher Furuya was starting to tire—

But Arata should have been exhausted as well.

Even if he could continue pitching, he certainly shouldn't still be at his peak.

Yet Arata looked sharper than ever.

If anything, his pitches seemed even more dangerous.

Arata calmly fielded the ball and threw to first.

Smack!

The ball snapped into the first baseman's glove.

"Out!"

One out.

Bases empty.

Retiring Kominato gave Arata a huge boost of confidence.

So when Zhou Hao stepped up to the plate—

Arata chose not to walk him intentionally.

Instead, he wanted a direct confrontation.

"Third batter, number one, outfielder—Zhou Hao!"

The moment Zhou Hao stepped into the batter's box, he sensed the intention immediately.

This guy wants a head-on fight.

And his determination was rock solid.

Zhou Hao couldn't help but curl his lips into a faint smile.

He knew exactly what Arata was thinking.

Did this guy really believe that after such an intense game—after both teams had pushed themselves to the limit—

His pitches could still be as sharp as they were at the beginning?

Zhou Hao slowly raised his bat.

Then—

He opened the Sharingan.

His eyes locked onto Arata.

And he realized something.

Even while facing him—

Arata showed absolutely no fear.

In Seido's dugout, the players were already grinning like spectators waiting for fireworks.

"He's lost it. Inashiro's pitcher has finally snapped!"

"What do you think will happen?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Zhou Hao is unbeatable!"

The moment Arata decided to challenge Zhou Hao head-on—

Seido's bench had already predicted the result.

And they were completely certain of it.