Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 164: Joining the Team

After more than an hour's drive, they finally arrived in Tokyo!

As soon as Rei stepped out, Sawamura revealed his clueless side again, yelling loudly at the station entrance.

This time, however, before Rei could even turn around, Sendo had already kicked the loudmouth out of the way at the door.

By evening, Rei had escorted the two to the dormitory.

She purposefully ignored Sendo while giving some encouraging words to Sawamura.

Flustered, Sawamura promised to use honorifics when addressing her from now on.

When Rei glanced at Sendo, he pointed at himself as if asking, "Aren't you going to say something to me?"

Rei ignored him again.

For some reason, even though Sendo didn't use honorifics either, his way of speaking was strangely comfortable to her.

Realizing he had a surprising level of emotional intelligence, she decided to let it slide.

...

Entering the Seishin Dorm, the two began looking for their respective rooms.

By coincidence, Sendo was assigned to Room 7, not far from Sawamura's Room 5. Sendo, aware of the infamous traditions of Room 5, smirked as he watched Sawamura enter.

The moment Sawamura opened the door, Kuramochi's grotesque mask appeared in front of him.

Sawamura's slow reaction time made the situation even more hilarious—two whole seconds passed between seeing the mask and falling to the ground in fright!

"Pfft!" Sendo chuckled, having seen exactly what he was hoping for, and proceeded to his own room.

"Oh yeah, who's my roommate again? I didn't even check," Sendo muttered as he opened the door.

He'd been so focused on Sawamura earlier that he had only glanced at his own name on the nameplate, completely ignoring his roommate's.

Inside the room were two boys with starkly contrasting appearances—one was slender, while the other was exceptionally muscular.

Since they looked slightly different in person than in pictures, and with so many years having passed, Sendo couldn't recognize who they were.

Fortunately, this was Japan, and the two boys introduced themselves as soon as Sendo entered.

"You're here! Didn't expect it to be you!" said the muscular boy upon seeing Sendo.

During the school visit, Sendo and Sawamura had left a deep impression on the Seidou team—Sawamura striking out Azuma and Sendo, the arrogant newcomer, in particular.

"Although this isn't our first meeting, welcome to the Seidou High Baseball Team! I'm Watanabe Hisashi, a second-year, and this is Miyauchi-senpai, a third-year. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!" Sendo replied.

"What a lucky pairing—both dorms have memorable names! Miyauchi, the backup catcher for the first string and Watanabe, a strategist in Autumn tournament, huh? This seems like an interesting setup. Looks like this room will be relatively quiet," Sendo thought to himself.

Watanabe pointed to a bed. "This will be your spot. I'm on the top bunk. If you're not used to it, just let me know anytime!"

Miyauchi, despite his cold appearance, turned out to be warmhearted as well. It seemed that Seidou's "cool" personalities were all secretly kind types—even Sendo fit that mold.

The two upperclassmen helped Sendo carry his luggage and settle in.

Before long, everything was organized.

With just a few casual words, Sendo blended in effortlessly.

The seniors tactfully avoided bringing up Sendo's earlier arrogant remarks.

Miyauchi even lent Sendo a few light novels to read.

Compared to Sawamura, Sendo was much luckier—Miyauchi wasn't the type to bully juniors.

The thought of being roommates with someone like Kuramochi, Jun, or Ryousuke sounded terrifying.

Of course, the best seniors would be Chris and Yuuki, although Tanba wasn't bad either.

It was a shame that Yuuki didn't stay in the dorms.

Sendo would've loved to room with him—it would've been so lively!

As for Miyuki, well, it was hard to tell who'd end up bullying whom.

"Make sure to get some rest tonight, Sendo-kun! Training starts early tomorrow!" Watanabe reminded him as he picked up a book to read.

"Yeah! Also, you're a bit thin—how about I share some of Miyauchi's special protein powder with you?" Miyauchi added warmly.

"Just call me Sendo, senpai," Sendo replied, impressed with how kind and quiet his roommates were.

Still, he felt a bit uneasy—Seidou's training was notoriously intense, and he worried if his comfortable lifestyle so far had made him soft.

But challenges had to be faced eventually.

Remembering Watanabe's mention of tomorrow, Sendo smirked to himself.

Tomorrow would undoubtedly be an entertaining day.

Of course, he wasn't going to warn Sawamura! If only he could bring a camera to record it all!

...

The Next Day

Watanabe and Miyauchi used a mix of persuasion and gentle force to drag the lazy Sendo out of bed.

"Such nice people," Sendo thought, comparing them to the more scheming personalities he knew (including himself!). Without them, Sendo might've slept past 10 AM.

In Sendo's world, anything before double digits was still considered morning.

Yawning, he deliberately lingered at the back of the line, waiting for the "Mafia boss" (aka the sunglasses-wearing coach) to arrive.

...

The man's overwhelming presence filled the field, making the players and assistant coaches around him look like his enforcers.

"I am Kataoka, the head coach. Are all the prospective new members here?"

"Yes!!!"

Hiding at the back of the group, Sendo didn't even bother opening his mouth.

"We'll begin introductions in order now."

"Yes!!!"

Sendo's mind wandered as the introductions started. He noticed a green-haired player yawning, standing next to a large and muscular man.

"Those two must be Kuramochi and Masuko, the respected powerhouse seniors," Sendo mused, mentally giving Masuko a nickname, "Gentle Giant." He then sneaked a glance at Rei.

She was, unsurprisingly, the most striking figure on the field, given that she was the only woman present.

With spring break still ongoing, the student managers hadn't yet returned.

Meanwhile, Fumino had already joined Seidou with her own entourage.

If Sendo wasn't looking at Rei, what else was he supposed to focus on?

The group of sweaty guys?

As the self-introductions continued, Sendo's attention slowly returned. He perked up his ears, listening closely.

Suddenly—

"Huh? Miyuki Kazuya!" Sendo caught a faint voice coming from his right, at about a 45-degree angle.

He noticed Kataoka's expression shift slightly and stole a glance at the second- and third-year group.

"Got it!" Sendo thought.

"Kanemaru Shinji! From Matsukata! I hope to play third base! Please take care of me!"

"Kanemaru's voice is strong—he's really giving it his all," Sendo observed. "Speaking of which, Eijun should be up soon!"

Although Sendo didn't remember much of the original storyline, the scenes he enjoyed the most, like Sawamura being caught sneaking in by Kanemaru and Tojou, had been rewatched countless times.

"Next!" Kataoka called as he turned his gaze to the next person.

At that moment, someone sprinted forward at full speed.

"Pfft!" Sendo couldn't hold back his laughter.

"This guy not only showed up late but also tried sneaking into the group!" Miyuki's voice rang out.

"Baka! Even if Eijun hadn't given himself away, that sneaky four-eyed schemer would've outed him anyway," Sendo thought, sparing no one from his mental jabs.

Watching Kataoka glance from Sawamura to Miyuki's direction, Sendo knew the coach had already pieced everything together.

Sawamura froze in place, while the first-years looked at him in disbelief.

...

"Kid! Being late on your first day takes guts! And trying to sneak into the group? That's spineless!" Kataoka roared. "You'll be running laps until morning practice ends!"

"And Miyuki… we'll deal with you later," Kataoka muttered, clearly annoyed with his mischievous catcher.

"Hahaha, that baka is hilarious!" Sendo chuckled to himself.

Then Kataoka turned to the second-years. "As for the two upperclassmen in his dorm who failed to keep him in line—and the one who snuck in alongside him—start running!"

Kataoka, who was carrying Sawamura like a sack of potatoes, shot a glare at the second-years before making his decision.

Sendo, watching the live version of the chaos, couldn't suppress a couple of laughs.

However, he didn't realize that his tall stature and slightly lowered head made him stand out like a crane among chickens.

Kataoka had already noticed him.

It wasn't as if Kataoka didn't know who Sendo was—in fact, Sendo was the one first-year he remembered vividly before introductions began.

...

"Next up is the last one!" Kataoka announced, fixing his gaze on Sendo.

"From Akagi Junior High, Sendo Akira! I haven't settled on a position yet, so I'd like to explore my options!" Sendo introduced himself confidently.

Just as Kataoka prepared to respond, Sendo added with a smirk, "...But I'll never be a pitcher or catcher, not even if I die!"

Kataoka paused, the words he was about to say stuck in his throat. Instead, he calmly continued, "Morning practice starts now."

"Yes!!!"

As Sendo prepared to leave, thinking the session was over, Kataoka's voice rang out.

"Finally, Sendo Akira!!!"

"Huh?" Sendo froze in surprise, pointing to himself in confusion.

Everyone—upperclassmen and freshmen alike—turned their gazes to him. Even the players running laps, including Miyuki, stopped in their tracks.

Then Kataoka delivered a sentence that left Sendo completely dumbfounded, while the rest of the team looked on in astonishment.

...

"From today onward, you'll train with the first string!"

The field fell silent instantly.

Sendo pointed at himself, stunned.

"Are you sure, Mr. Sunglasses? We're meeting for the first time!" he thought, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"No need to point. Yes, I mean you! You'll skip the tryouts, and since your body isn't fully developed yet, unless I specifically call for you, just stick to running laps!"

"Coach..." Even the assistant coaches couldn't understand this decision.

"I've already made up my mind," Kataoka declared firmly.

No one dared to protest.

Everyone assumed Kataoka must have assessed Sendo's talent through some unknown channels to make such a bold decision.

"So, I have to run laps with Eijun every day? I was just wondering how you'd justify making me run!" Sendo felt conflicted.

Running laps was exhausting, and he couldn't help but feel unlucky.

Your priorities are... unique.

"First... first string?" Even Sawamura seemed more focused than Sendo.

Sawamura's gaze toward Sendo held surprise but also joy.

In his view, Sendo's talent deserved a place on the first string, although he couldn't understand how Sendo had been promoted without showcasing any skills yet.

Despite his confusion, Sawamura was thrilled for Sendo.

With renewed energy, he was the first to start running laps.

"What are you standing around for? Start running!" Kataoka's sharp eyes fell on the others, his tone cold.

Shaken, the remaining players quickly began to run.

"And you!"

Kataoka's satisfied look at Miyuki and the others was soon replaced with a glare at Sendo.

Sendo shrugged, then reluctantly broke into a run with a resigned expression, heading toward the edge of the field.

That look on Sendo's face made countless players want to throttle him.

Seidou's baseball team had over a hundred members, but only 20 spots on the first string.

With the Spring Tournament approaching, Sendo would soon be eligible for the bench after the opening ceremony in a few weeks.

It wasn't surprising that many players were envious.

While they could understand that the coach likely saw potential in the first-year and wanted to cultivate him, promoting him to the first string without even a basic tryout was unprecedented, even for a prestigious team like Seidou.

...

"Haha, Sendo! You're fast! Just wait—I'll catch up to you!" Sawamura's excitement was written all over his face.

"Hey, how'd you pull this off?" Miyuki asked, leaning closer to Sendo and speaking in a low voice.

"How should I know? Today's the first time I've met Mr. Sunglasses!" Sendo replied irritably.

"Mr. Sunglasses…!" Miyuki and the nearby upperclassmen were momentarily speechless at the nickname.

"Hahaha, interesting! But why do you look so reluctant?" Miyuki recovered quickly.

"Running is exhausting," Sendo muttered, moving slightly away from Miyuki.

"...!" The seniors were dumbfounded again.

"That's your reason?" Miyuki's perpetual smile was on the verge of collapsing.

They couldn't wrap their heads around it.

Why join Seidou if you're afraid of hard work?

"By the way, Sendo Akira... that name sounds familiar!" Miyuki suddenly remembered something.

"...I can't recall. Oh well, forget it." Unable to place it, he let it go.

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