Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 369: Lord Cheetah Expresses Displeasure

Line Up!

Salute!

Please guide us well!!!!

With the resounding chants from both teams echoing through the stadium and the gaze of over ten thousand spectators focused on the field, the curtain officially rose on the third game of the second round in the Tokyo Autumn Tournament—Seidou High vs. Nanamori Gakuen.

"The top of the first inning, Seidou High on the attack. Leading off, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun."

"Go, Lord Cheetah!"

"Get a hit!"

"Kuramochi, you have to get on base here!"

Seidou High took the first turn at bat, and once again, the one leading the charge was their unwavering leadoff hitter—Kuramochi.

However, today, Seidou's Lord Cheetah was in an extremely foul mood.

His darkened expression said it all.

"Your speed is naturally your advantage, but beyond that, you have nothing. No technique, no power, your pitch selection isn't outstanding, and you don't rely on analytical hitting. Despite this, you insist on switch-hitting? If you truly want to improve, I suggest abandoning those flashy but ineffective gimmicks and focusing on practical training. Strengthen your bunting skills to ensure you can make clean contact with any pitch and any trajectory. Build up your muscle power so you can drive the ball forcefully. With your speed, even a routine infield grounder could get you on base. Increasing your on-base percentage should be your priority. You need to understand—without speed, you're nothing. You didn't get a single hit against Teitou. You should have realized your flaws by now."

The calm tone, combined with what Kuramochi perceived as a mocking expression, made Seidou's Lord Cheetah really—truly—incredibly unhappy.

What the hell does he mean by "without speed, you're nothing"?!

Damn it!

"!!!"

Whoosh!

I'm not as worthless as you make me out to be, damn it!!!

Swoosh!

Ping!

Fueled by anger, Kuramochi's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and as he swung with all his might, the sheer force of his swing sent a chill down the spines of Nanamori's players—especially their pitcher.

A loud boom followed.

Whoosh!

The ball shot into the sky.

A dazzling streak of white light.

"I am freeeeee!!!"

As if venting his emotions, Kuramochi let out a roar while sprinting around the bases. Some Seidou players understood his outburst, but the majority just stared in confusion.

Thud!

With unmatched speed, Seidou's Lord Cheetah turned what would normally be a routine single into a smooth advance to second base.

Standing on the bag, still radiating a menacing aura, Kuramochi had successfully spooked Nanamori's players.

Their second baseman looked like he was on the verge of tears, questioning if Seidou's leadoff hitter was some kind of delinquent off the field.

They hadn't even provoked him—why was he this fired up?!

In the dugout, Eijun naturally understood the reason behind Kuramochi's foul mood.

That night after the Teitou game, back in the dorm, the guy had practically gone Super Saiyan in frustration.

"A coach with a sharp tongue, huh..."

Eijun couldn't help but steal a glance at Ochiai, who stood lazily beside Coach Kataoka, and silently mused in his mind.

From an objective perspective…

Eijun had to admit that Ochiai wasn't entirely wrong.

If Kuramochi-senpai ever lost his speed, his situation would be precarious. Even now, his starting position wasn't completely secure—especially with new first-years joining next year, heralding what was being called Seidou's golden era. Not to mention, his own classmates were all working hard to improve.

If Kuramochi-senpai couldn't break through his limits…

His spot in the starting lineup could very well be at risk.

Better step it up, Kuramochi-senpai.

Eijun steadily walked forward, squatting in the on-deck circle, glancing at Kuramochi—who was still sulking on second base—and shook his head with a smile.

"Batting second, second baseman, Kominato-kun."

"No hesitation—go all out on the attack."

Against a school like Nanamori, Seidou's game plan was brutally simple. Before the game, Coach Kataoka had given just one instruction.

Attack. Attack. Keep attacking.

The players naturally carried out this strategy to the letter, and for a team like Seidou, this kind of straightforward, aggressive approach was their favorite.

Whoosh!

Here comes the pitch—what to do?

Simple. Crush it.

Swoosh!

Ping!

The ace of Nanamori delivered a pitch that, to Haruichi, felt amateurish. The control was mediocre, the velocity was lacking, and there was no sharp movement at all.

"Compared to Eijun-kun… no, compared to Furuya-kun and Kawakami-senpai, this guy is way behind."

The moment the bat made contact with the ball, that thought flashed through Haruichi's mind. With just a slight increase in grip strength—

Whoosh!

The ball soared from home plate into the sky.

After streaking across the horizon—

Plop!

It easily cleared the infield and dropped into the right-center gap.

The moment the ball hit the ground, Kuramochi smirked, jogged effortlessly toward home, and touched the plate with ease.

"Batting third, left fielder, Sawamura-kun."

Speed, angle, velocity, movement—this pitcher had nothing.

Eijun stepped steadily into the batter's box, his sharp gaze sweeping over Nanamori's ace on the mound. He couldn't help but shake his head internally.

Whoosh!

Another first-pitch fastball.

Swoosh!

Bang!

Eijun didn't even need to overthink it.

A pure, aggressive swing.

Attacking on the first pitch.

Completely disregarding the fragile hearts of Nanamori's fielders.

The explosive sound of his metal bat whipping through the air filled the stadium.

The next second—

A thunderous collision.

Whoosh!

A dazzling flash streaked through the sky.

The shining ball shot forward with unstoppable momentum, screaming toward the outfield, where it violently slammed against the center-field wall.

Boom!

A deep, reverberating thud.

At the same moment—

Haruichi casually jogged home.

Seidou's top-of-the-lineup strung together easy, consecutive hits.

Two runs on the board already.

From the very first inning, Seidou High had completely dominated Nanamori.

The overwhelming disparity in skill was like an abyss.

And in that moment, Nanamori truly understood what it meant—

To experience the crushing weight of absolute despair.