Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 195: Summer Training Camp (3)

In the end, despite the seniors' reluctance, they had no choice but to give up and focus on helping Sendo grasp that fleeting feeling.

Even Sendo himself admitted that it was just a momentary sensation, but the only thing he could describe was how incredibly exhilarating it felt—as if everything was completely under his control.

The seniors, wearing expressions of deep regret as if it were their own failure, left a profound impression in the depths of Sendo's heart.

"Coming to this school was the best decision I've ever made!" Sendo thought to himself.

It was the first time Sendo ever felt this way. He used to think he could never say something like this, unlike Sawamura or Furuya. But in just a few months, Sendo had willingly changed his mind.

The field soon returned to its usual training routine, while Chris personally went to discuss the matter with Coach Kataoka and the other two teachers.

Coach Kataoka, Rei, and Ota shared the same sense of regret upon hearing about it.

"Well, if we can't grasp it, let's focus on what's right in front of us," Coach Kataoka concluded decisively.

...

Thanks to the efforts of the managers, a grand feast was prepared.

It had everything—bananas for quick energy replenishment, rice balls, fried chicken, tempura—the variety was so vast it felt like a buffet.

Considering the appetites of the athletes, it needed to be.

After all, there were over a hundred players. Even though the First String took priority, players not in the main squad still had time to train themselves.

"Wow!!! Time to eat!!! Did the managers really make all this? Amazing!" Sawamura's astonished voice became a symbol that marked the end of daytime training.

Several girls stood together, smiling at the scene, while Fumino seemed to be avoiding something.

One glance was all it took for Sendo to figure it out—this girl must have caused quite a bit of trouble while helping out.

"Well then, I'll start—"

"Not before the seniors eat!" Sawamura hadn't even finished speaking before Kuramochi restrained him.

A true older brother only teases a little before letting go. With that, the team began to dig in, and Sendo naturally targeted the meat.

"Even though this is training camp, it doesn't feel much different from usual!"

Not far from Sendo and Fumino, Sawamura voiced his confusion. For someone like him, even doubling the training load wasn't particularly taxing, thanks to his endurance monster status.

After years of running, Sawamura had built such stamina that aerobic exercises didn't faze him.

"It's just that the day students are now staying in the dorms. But with only 20 players per field, the average training load for each player doubles. Be grateful to everyone supporting us, you fool!"

Of course, this doubled training didn't apply to the unfortunate Sendo, who had his own custom training regimen.

"By the way, eat as much as you can now, because we're training again after sunset!"

"Really?"

Ah, the age-old Seidou tradition of tricking juniors never fails to amuse!

"Here, take this. There's plenty, so eat up," Fumino chimed in with perfect timing, offering support.

"With this, I can practice all night!" The clueless boy still didn't realize what was coming.

"Pfft!" Sendo turned toward Fumino, trying to stifle his laughter.

"What's so funny?" Fumino, flustered by how close Sendo had leaned, asked nervously.

"Kuramochi-san is totally fooling Sawamura. Telling him to eat more now so he'll throw up later during practice!" Sendo said while taking a big bite of meat.

Fumino gave Sendo a strange look, as if to say, You know eating more will make you throw up later, so why are you eating so much now?

"Aren't you going to warn Sawamura?" Fumino suppressed her thoughts and asked.

"There's no need! It's way more fun this way!"

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Fumino sighed softly. She just couldn't say no to Sendo.

...

"Think he'll puke?" This was Yuuki's input.

"Definitely." That was Pudding-senpai's reply.

"Dead meat!" Jun-san added, though he wasn't really in a position to say that.

"Poor guy!" chimed Ryousuke.

Meanwhile, everyone else glanced at Pudding-senpai, remembering how he drove the seniors crazy during his own first year.

Pudding-senpai, noticing all the stares, looked confused. "What? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

What baffled the seniors most about Sendo was his seemingly bottomless stomach. Despite his large appetite, his energy consumption was equally high.

"I fell for Jun-san's trick last year and ate until I nearly died. Now the real hell of training camp begins! Hahaha!" Kuramochi muttered to himself, avoiding Sawamura.

"Good thing that guy isn't my senior!"

Although Kuramochi was muttering to himself, his voice was loud enough for not only Miyuki to hear but also Sendo and Fumino, who were eavesdropping nearby. Sendo glanced at Sawamura with a look of pity.

...

Evening training was brutal. The anaerobic exercises, fast-paced with barely any time to breathe, were pure torture.

Twenty sprints, 100 base runs, with timed breaks in between—Sendo couldn't help but question if this was even training.

Sprint drills are notoriously exhausting. Anyone who's trained for short-distance running knows how taxing a single full-power sprint can be.

Base running, circling all the bases and returning to home plate, is about 110 meters—basically a 100-meter sprint every time.

By mid-session, even with his poor stamina, Sendo seemed to be holding up better than Sawamura. It was the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training.

Still, fatigue eventually took its toll. Sawamura managed to stand by the end, albeit barely. Haruichi knelt, while Sendo and Furuya practically "died" on the spot.

"Ha! Ha! Cough, cough! I think I'm going to die!" Lying on the ground, gasping for air, Sendo felt lightheaded, his coughing sounding strangely like he was choking on air.

"All right, that's enough for the first day!"

"We're saved!" Sawamura's voice was filled with relief, and even Furuya felt a resurgence of energy. Sendo, however, was too out of it to notice.

"Now, finish with 20 laps around the field. Everyone, shout it out!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sawamura ended up vomiting, but Sendo didn't see it.

"You're excused!" Seeing Sendo foaming at the mouth, they let him off the hook.

...

Sendo had to be carried back by Miyauchi-senpai, while Furuya, barely able to stand, was helped back.

In the end, Sendo was treated like the team's darling. During his bath, Watanabe-senpai even helped wash his back because Sendo couldn't lift his arms.

"I must be insane to come here and put myself through this!" Durante the bath, Sendo muttered in English to vent his frustration and distract himself from the pain.

Watanabe-senpai, intrigued, had no idea it was English and didn't press further.

That night, Sendo was practically a paralyzed old man.

"Senpai, I want to die!" Lying on the bed, Sendo looked at Yuuki with tearful eyes.

"I get it, but the worst is yet to come!"

"That's it?" If Sendo could move, he would've exploded in frustration.

Relying on Yuuki to console him was clearly a lost cause. Sometimes, his obliviousness could be downright maddening.

...

"Wake up! It's already 4:30!" Yuuki was the first to wake Sendo up the next morning.

In summer, the days are long, so the schedule was especially brutal.

"Ah… ouch, ouch, ouch!" After a night of rest, Sendo groaned in pain as he sat up. At least it was better than last night's paralysis—he could move now!

When morning training and warm-ups began, the seniors seemed to finally understand where all the energy Sendo consumed went.

Despite looking half-dead—"because he really was half-dead"—the moment he started moving, he was just like his usual self. If it weren't for his constant complaints of pain, the seniors might have thought yesterday's training was all a lie and that this guy was still brimming with energy.

His exceptional athletic ability meant he burned through energy at a much higher rate than others. For instance, the energy Sendo expended running 100 meters far exceeded what others used for the same distance.

High energy intake paired with high energy expenditure also hinted at a powerful digestive system. Whatever he ate was quickly converted into energy and burned off, which indirectly explained his incredible recovery ability.

(Of course, this was just a made-up explanation to justify his overpowered physique. No idea if there's any scientific basis—it's just my brain filling in the gaps!)

Even though Sendo seemed to recover well, the coach didn't want to take any risks without confirming his condition. Increasing the intensity without proper assessment could ruin him.

Coach Kataoka decided to stick with the current training plan and observe further. For Sendo, though, it was still hell.

The only silver lining was that after such an intense session yesterday, the morning training shifted focus to batting practice.

"Alright, here we go! Hoo-ahhh!" Sawamura stepped up, only to spectacularly miss even the slowest pitches thrown his way.

"…"

"Hahaha! Eijun, those were slow pitches!" Sendo laughed, clutching his waist in pain, both from the previous day's fatigue and from laughing too hard.

"Damn it! It's all because of yesterday's exhaustion!" Sawamura grumbled, gripping his bat like Yuuki used to blame his glove back in the day.

"Forget it! Go catch instead!"

"Damn it! Yesterday's fatigue ruined me!"

Morning practice ended quickly but wasn't exactly easy—200 swings, catching drills, and running laps were no joke.

With such a high training volume, even eating became a challenge. Sendo had no such worries, but the others weren't so lucky.

Under the coach's orders, Kanemaru the "mother" reluctantly stepped in. Watching Furuya gnawing on food without using his chopsticks was adorable, but after a scolding from Kanemaru, the three "kids" obediently ate like well-behaved children.

...

After breakfast, Sendo finally found some relief. He changed into fresh clothes and headed to the classroom early, set up his desk, and took a comfortable nap.

Whatever the others were doing, Sendo couldn't care less. Since training camp started, he'd been in a perpetual state of despair.

If his roommates—Miyauchi, Watanabe, and Yuuki—knew what he was thinking, they'd probably nod in agreement and say, "No kidding, the kid's been spouting nonsense, practically begging for death."

As for Sawamura, his classmates were all sympathetic. Everyone knew Seidou was a prestigious school, but they could only imagine the inhuman training he endured to be in such a state, passed out at his desk.

Unfortunately for him, he shared a class with Kanemaru, who seemed to go from reluctant babysitter to enjoying his role as a "supervisor."

And why the need for supervision? Finals were approaching!

With Sawamura's grades—still struggling with fractions in math—what more could be said?

Furuya was no better, also lying motionless on his desk. Of the first-year quartet, only Haruichi was "still alive," though even he looked utterly drained.

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