Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

"Congratulations to Seido High School for winning their opening-round match!"

"The final score is 33–0!"

"Thirty-three runs in just four innings—an unprecedented blowout victory!"

"This game is destined to go down in history!"

"And not just in high school baseball. The entire baseball world is likely to be shaken by today's result!"

The commentator's voice trembled with excitement.

Clearly, even he hadn't expected to witness a game of this magnitude.

As for the players of Seido High School, they were equally surprised.

They didn't feel as though they had done anything extraordinary.

So how had they suddenly become part of baseball history?

Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Seido had found itself in the spotlight.

After experiencing similar situations several times before, the players accepted it calmly and waved toward the cheering crowd.

The applause from the stands was thunderous.

Many fans clapped until their palms turned red.

The supporters of Seido High School were especially thrilled.

They had specifically come to watch Seido's first game of the Summer Tournament, and now it seemed they had made the perfect choice.

A historic game like this would be talked about for years.

As witnesses to the match, they had earned a memory worth treasuring.

Whether they bragged about it to friends in the future or simply reminisced about it themselves, this game would remain unforgettable.

Of course, not everyone was happy.

The other main character of today's story had a very different opinion.

Mishimon's coach felt like he was about to explode every time he heard another person praising Seido.

"Who wants to be remembered like this?!"

As participants in this historic game, Mishimon would also be remembered.

But that wasn't something they wanted at all.

No one wanted to be nailed to the pillar of shame forever.

If there had been even the slightest chance to fight back, they would have seized it.

Unfortunately, that chance never came.

Instead, all they received was a humiliating 33–0 defeat.

The gap between the two teams had been overwhelming.

The most frightening part was that Seido's true Ace, Zhou Hao, hadn't even stepped onto the mound.

Neither had their third-year pitchers.

Yet Mishimon had already been completely crushed.

If Seido had truly gone all-out from the start, how terrifying would the result have been?

The Mishimon players didn't even dare imagine it.

Thirty-three runs.

Since they first picked up a baseball, they had never surrendered so many runs in an official game.

It felt as though they had accumulated an entire career's worth of defeats in a single afternoon.

As painful as the result was, they had no choice but to accept it.

"Get ready to head out."

"You've already done well."

Their coach tried his best to sound encouraging.

Unfortunately, his trembling voice completely ruined the effect.

Tears and snot mixed together as he struggled to maintain his composure.

The Mishimon players, who had been on the verge of tears themselves, suddenly found themselves unsure whether they should keep crying or comfort their coach first.

They wanted to reassure him.

But deep down, they understood.

No words could truly comfort him.

The only thing that could have eased his pain would have been a better performance on the field.

Beating Seido would have been ideal.

But even scoring a single run would have been enough.

One run.

Two runs.

Anything.

After all, Seido hadn't completely denied them opportunities.

The national champions had entrusted the game to two first-year pitchers.

Furuya Satoru and Sawamura Eijun were undoubtedly talented.

But claiming they had no weaknesses at all would be foolish.

After reviewing the game in their minds, the Mishimon players realized something.

Opportunities had existed.

The question was whether they had been brave enough to seize them.

Unfortunately, under that overwhelming pressure, none of them had the confidence to take risks.

Instead, they chose safer approaches.

The result was devastating.

Not only did they fail to score a single run—

they failed to record even one hit.

That was what truly turned the game into a historic embarrassment.

Looking up at the giant electronic scoreboard, every Mishimon player understood the same thing.

This game would be remembered.

Not only by baseball players.

Not only by sports fans.

Even ordinary people would remember it.

Because anyone who heard about a game ending 33–0 would inevitably talk about it.

Especially Seido's passionate supporters.

This game would become one more piece of evidence proving Seido's overwhelming strength.

Thirty-three runs in four innings.

An average of more than eight runs per inning.

Results like that were almost unheard of in baseball.

Normally, when one side gained such a massive advantage, they would ease off.

Partly to conserve energy.

Partly to avoid provoking their opponents into doing something reckless.

After all, when emotions ran high, nobody knew what might happen.

Yet the Mishimon players weren't angry.

The reason was simple.

Seido had already shown mercy.

After the third inning, they had removed all of their core starters.

The message couldn't have been clearer.

They were taking it easy.

As for the substitutes who entered afterward and continued playing seriously?

Nobody could fault them for that.

Not even Mishimon.

Players who finally earned an opportunity to take the field would naturally give everything they had.

No substitute would willingly hold back.

Putting themselves in Seido's shoes, the Mishimon players knew they would have done exactly the same thing.

And that realization made the situation even more painful.

Even Seido's substitutes were stronger than them.

One of those substitutes was a first-year rookie.

He looked small and harmless.

At first glance, he didn't seem threatening at all.

For a brief moment, Mishimon thought they had found an opportunity.

If they could suppress this rookie, perhaps they could recover some dignity.

Completely defeating Seido was impossible.

But getting a few outs and scoring a run or two wasn't beyond imagination.

Unfortunately, reality proved otherwise.

That seemingly harmless first-year proceeded to collect two clean hits and drive in multiple runs.

Even among Seido's lineup, his performance stood out.

If not for his explosive showing, Mishimon might not have collapsed so quickly.

Everything had started with his first at-bat.

He had stepped into the batter's box and immediately driven Mishimon's Ace's pitch into the field.

That one swing had boosted Seido's confidence while simultaneously shattering Mishimon's resolve.

A perfect two-birds-with-one-stone result.

The Seido players weren't surprised by any of it.

The supporters in the stands were even less surprised.

Listening to Mishimon's complaints, many of them couldn't help but laugh.

"You should really take a closer look at your opponent."

"Do you think it's easy to earn a First String spot at Seido—even as a substitute?"

Although Kominato Haruichi didn't look particularly imposing, Seido's die-hard supporters had never doubted him.

In their eyes, Coach Kataoka would never place a player on the First String without a good reason.

The coaching staff would object.

The senior players would object.

The team itself would object.

The fact that Haruichi had earned his place meant he possessed the ability to back it up.

And after today's game, everyone finally saw exactly why he had been chosen.

The match ended amid that atmosphere.

The following morning, Seido's players were greeted by media reports covering their historic performance.

Nearly every article focused on one thing:

Seido's terrifying offensive power.

In the past, many people believed Seido's dominance stemmed largely from one player—Zhou Hao.

Even his teammates couldn't deny that assessment.

Because it was true.

Last year, Zhou Hao had repeatedly stabilized the team in critical moments, preventing Seido from surrendering too many runs.

Without him, they might have suffered several shocking defeats.

There had even been two official games that ended in draws.

That alone showed how precarious their situation had been.

But this year's Seido was different.

They were still overwhelmingly powerful.

Yet they no longer felt like a team that relied solely on its Ace to win championships.

Their overall strength now rivaled the very best teams in the nation.

Even without Zhou Hao, they possessed championship-caliber talent.

And with Zhou Hao?

They became something even more frightening.

A team capable of crushing everything in its path.

Whether it was the Spring Tournament, the Kanto Tournament, or now the Summer Tournament, Seido had given everyone the same impression.

Invincible.

Anyone who stood in their way would be overwhelmed.

Anyone who challenged them would be defeated.

And in the eyes of countless spectators, Seido was already the favorite to win it all.

After smoothly winning their opening game, Seido advanced to the next round of the West Tokyo Tournament.

Their second opponent soon arrived.

As expected, the stadium was packed with spectators.

Many fans had come specifically to see whether Seido could continue their overwhelming dominance.

The answer arrived almost immediately.

BOOM!

With the bases loaded, Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box as Seido's cleanup hitter.

Standing still, he resembled an immovable mountain.

The moment he swung, however, he was like a bolt of lightning.

CRACK!

The opposing pitch became little more than a target.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, the baseball soared high into the sky.

Countless eyes followed its trajectory toward the outfield stands.

THWACK!

"It's gone!"

"A grand slam!"

"Yuki Tetsuya drives in four runs with a bases-loaded home run!"

Even the commentator, who had mentally prepared for Seido's offensive power, found himself momentarily speechless.

It wasn't because he lacked professionalism.

The scene unfolding before him was simply too shocking.

Seido had only sent four batters to the plate.

And they already had four runs.

Not a single baserunner had been wasted.

Before the game, most media outlets had been praising Seido.

Naturally, there were always a few people online who insisted on taking the opposite position.

Whether it was jealousy, stubbornness, or simply a desire to be different, they constantly questioned Seido's strength.

Now, Seido answered them in the most direct way possible.

With their bats.

Four runs in the opening moments of the game.

A brutal slap across the face of every doubter.

Their strength was beyond question.

Meanwhile, their opponents were completely stunned.

Despite all their preparations before the game, they still found themselves overwhelmed.

From their perspective, the players standing across from them hardly looked like high school students anymore.

Even some professional players might not have performed any better.

This was the true power of a national powerhouse.

"We actually thought we could compete with a team like this?"

"What a joke..."

The opposing players' morale collapsed instantly.

Their fighting spirit vanished.

Even though Seido eased off in the innings that followed, the outcome remained merciless.

Against a team that had already lost the will to resist, Seido piled on run after run.

By the end of the game, they had scored twenty-five runs.

On the mound, Seido used two pitchers.

First-year Furuya Satoru.

Third-year Tanba Koichiro.

Neither needed to exert their full strength.

Their opponents had already broken mentally.

Together, they completed a shutout.

The final score was fixed at:

25–0.

Thirty-three to zero.

Twenty-five to zero.

After winning two consecutive games by such absurd margins, Seido could no longer keep a low profile even if they wanted to.

They were simply too strong.

"Congratulations to Seido High School for advancing to the West Tokyo Top 16!"

As the tournament's number-one seed, Seido continued their march forward.

Only four victories remained between them and a ticket to Summer Koshien.

The Seido players were brimming with confidence.

No matter who stood in their path, they believed they could defeat them.

Even Inashiro Industrial was no exception.

For Seido's players, Inashiro held a special meaning.

Ever since the team had matured—especially since last summer—

Inashiro Industrial was the only team that had managed to defeat them.

That loss had left a deep impression on everyone.

But things were different now.

The current Seido believed they could beat anyone.

Including Inashiro.

Just as the players were enjoying the excitement of advancing to the Top 16—

a man wearing glasses quietly observed them from a distance.

One hand held a nail file.

His gaze remained fixed on the Seido players.

Sharp.

Cold.

And filled with interest.