Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

The game reached the top of the fifth inning. Seidou High School was back on the attack.

Leading off was their leadoff batter, Matsumoto.

This was his third time at the plate.

And with that, a golden opportunity emerged for Seidou.

The first two times through the batting order were used to observe and analyze the opponent.

Now, entering the third cycle, the batters had gathered enough intel.

This was their chance to score.

In the stands, Seidou's fans were already on their feet, familiar with their team's offensive rhythm.

The cheers began to swell.

In the batter's box, Matsumoto took his stance—calm, focused, ready.

"Whoosh!"

The first pitch flew in with speed—but Matsumoto didn't swing.

"Bang!"

"Nice pitch!"

A strike.

But the Hachioji players didn't look pleased. Not at all.

When the two teams first faced off, Seidou's offense was aggressive, even reckless. At the time, Hachioji's defense had kept pace.

They believed that aside from the first run they gave up, the rest of the game would be within their control.

But reality had other plans.

Seidou never played at their opponent's pace.

They had a rhythm all their own.

Now, Matsumoto was clearly waiting for a mistake pitch.

At the same time, he was also forcing the pitcher to burn through his stamina.

It wasn't deliberate.

It was simply how Seidou played.

But even this simple, subtle pressure felt like a heavy blow to Hachioji.

Their ace, Yamamoto Nakajima, was beginning to feel the strain.

Against most teams, Yamamoto could pitch deep into the game without issue.

But this was Seidou.

Even he could feel the wear.

"I can't keep fighting like this," Yamamoto muttered, beads of sweat sliding down his temples.

"Even if I deal with this batter, I'll be drained by the end."

Of course he understood what was happening. Any sharp player would.

Still, he gritted his teeth.

He had no choice but to challenge the strike zone head-on.

"Whoosh!"

The second pitch came flying in—and this time, Matsumoto moved.

"Ping!"

The bat sliced clean through the air, making contact.

The white ball flew past the infielders, too fast for them to react.

Matsumoto sped past first base and flew toward second.

The Hachioji fielders were left staring helplessly as the ball escaped their reach.

"Safe!"

No outs. Runner on second.

The next batter was Yoshida, Seidou's ace.

"Bang!"

He made contact, but it was a high fly ball.

"Out!"

One out. Runner still on second.

Then came the third batter—Yuuki Tetsuya, Seidou's dependable first baseman.

Yamamoto stood tall on the mound.

Seeing Yuuki step up gave him pause.

He considered changing tactics. Maybe pitch around him?

But a glance at Seidou's lineup told him the truth—there was no easy out.

If he backed off now, the game would be lost.

He clenched his jaw.

"Let's go. I'll fight you head-on!"

"Whoosh!"

The pitch came in with everything Yamamoto had left.

But Yuuki's eyes lit up.

The moment the ball entered his zone—he swung.

"Boom!"

The white ball exploded off the bat like lightning, screaming past the infield.

One Hachioji player blinked—and in that instant, the ball was already gone.

"What the hell was that?!"

The Seidou fans erupted.

"So cool!!"

"It shot straight through!"

Matsumoto, who had been on second, dashed all the way home.

"Safe!"

"Another run for Seidou!"

After three scoreless innings, Seidou finally broke through again.

The scoreboard changed: 2–0.

But they weren't done yet.

Next up—Azuma Kiyokuni.

And once again—

"Boom!"

"Ping!"

With a terrifying swing, he drove the ball deep into the field.

Even spectators from rival schools, there to scout Seidou, were left stunned.

Eyes widened.

"That's Monster Azuma Kiyokuni for you…"

"Incredible!"

This offensive burst left everyone dizzy.

"This is Seidou's strongest lineup. It would be a joke if they couldn't deliver under pressure."

Yuuki crossed home plate.

The score became 3–0.

One out. Runner on first.

Now came the fifth batter—Shimoi Teru.

Fans were ready. Everyone expected the assault to continue.

But then—

Yamamoto gritted his teeth and threw a low outside slider.

"Ping!"

The ball bounced off the ground—a grounder.

Hachioji's shortstop dashed forward, fielded it cleanly, and fired to second base.

The second baseman caught it, then turned and hurled it to first.

"Bang!"

"Bang!!"

"Out!"

"Out!!!"

Double play!

Just like that, Seidou's offensive momentum was crushed.

Cheers froze on the lips of Seidou supporters.

Shock rippled through the stadium.

"Double play?!"

This was Hachioji High School, a school known more for its academics than its athletics.

How could they pull off such a flawless double play?

The crowd buzzed with disbelief.

"Looks like they've trained seriously after all."

"Obviously. How else could they push Seidou this far?"

But concern began to grow.

"Seidou might be in trouble. Their own ace is starting to falter too."

"What now? Will Seidou switch pitchers?"

Three outs.

Offense and defense switched.

Now, bottom of the fifth. Hachioji's turn to bat.

On the mound, Yoshida, who had previously dominated, was starting to wobble.

He'd shown signs of instability in his last few pitches.

Nothing had happened—yet.

But in the dugout, Coach Kataoka narrowed his eyes.

His patience… was running thin.

-------------

POWER STONE!!!

Support me at patréon com/DaoOfPeeking