"What's going on?! A Cutter suddenly appeared?!"
Isashiki was completely fired up. He pointed straight at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the pitcher's mound and roared,
"You bastard! were you holding back when you pitched to me?!"
"You used a Two-seam on Kominato, and a Cutter on Yuki."
"But when it was my turn, you didn't use any new pitches at all!"
"Are you looking down on me?!"
Faced with Isashiki's furious outburst, Ushijima Wakatoshi merely smiled faintly.
"Wasn't that obvious?"
"I was guarding against my brother. I know his batting ability very well."
"If I hadn't held back, our first confrontation would probably have ended with him hitting a home run."
Isashiki was left speechless.
Annoyed—but unable to refute him.
After that, Ushijima Wakatoshi continued pitching.
Against the remaining First String starters, he was merciless.
Aside from Miyuki Kazuya, no one managed to get on base.
After practice ended, Coach Kataoka turned to Miyuki.
"What do you think?"
The starting catcher thought for a moment before answering seriously.
"Based on today's practice, Ushijima's performance can be described as outstanding."
"He already has one more pitch type than Tanba-senpai."
"Currently, Tanba-senpai mainly relies on a Four-seam fastball and a Curveball."
"The Four-seam tops out at about 140 km/h. It's not slow—but it's also not particularly fast."
"As for the Curveball, it has good break and power, but it lacks deception."
"Because the release and trajectory of the Four-seam and Curveball are easy to distinguish."
Miyuki's eyes lit up as he continued.
"Ushijima is different."
"The Two-seam and Cutter look almost identical out of the hand."
"The only difference is the direction of movement."
"That alone makes them extremely deceptive."
"The most important thing is that he deliberately lowers his pitch speed."
"At around 130–135 km/h, he can barely control the full nine-panel grid."
"Once the speed exceeds 140 km/h, his control becomes unstable—but that instability itself becomes a weapon."
"Throw a controlled Two-seam at 135 km/h to leave an impression."
"Then suddenly raise it to 140 km/h."
"Most batters will swing instinctively under pressure."
Just imagining it made Miyuki excited.
"In terms of pitching potential, Ushijima is terrifying."
"And once he becomes the Ace, Seido's overall combat power will rise significantly."
Coach Kataoka fell silent.
From a short-term perspective, Ushijima Wakatoshi was clearly the better option.
"I understand," Kataoka finally said.
Miyuki already knew what that meant.
Not only him—Tanba and Kawakami, the current pitchers, also felt immense pressure.
At that moment, Ushijima Wakatoshi walked toward them.
He stopped in front of Tanba and Kawakami and spoke calmly,
"Sorry. I'll probably be taking over the Ace position in the future."
"So I came to apologize in advance."
"What… did you say?"
Already tense, Tanba instantly bristled.
To him, this sounded like outright provocation.
Yes—Ushijima was strong.
But Tanba was still Seido's Ace.
He didn't believe he had to lose to a freshman.
"Hey, Ushijima—what are you doing?"
Yuki stepped in immediately, positioning himself between them.
Other players gathered as well, wary of a fight breaking out.
Coach Kataoka watched silently from a distance.
Tanba's anger surged—but Ushijima remained unfazed.
He continued calmly.
"Tanba-senpai, let me ask you something."
"Can you guarantee that your current ability can take Seido to Koshien?"
Tanba's heart jolted.
Everyone froze.
Ushijima looked straight at him.
"Tanba-senpai. Kawakami-senpai."
"If the two of you use a relay strategy—can you guarantee entry to Koshien?"
"Tanba-senpai… Masuko, Yuki, Kominato, Isashiki—"
"They're all third-years."
"This summer tournament is their last chance."
"If you're the Ace, and Seido still fails to reach Koshien…"
"Can you bear that responsibility?"
"If you can't—how will you make up for it?"
"With an apology?"
"Is a simple 'sorry' enough to repay three years of effort?"
Silence fell.
Tanba's anger slowly drained away.
He knew.
At his best, his pitching was national level.
But was that enough to carry Seido to Koshien?
A 140 km/h Four-seam and a Curveball—
Was that truly sufficient against powerhouse schools?
Was he overestimating himself?
Or underestimating his opponents?
"When I transferred to Seido," Ushijima said quietly,
"I never thought about becoming the Ace."
"I only wanted to be the cleanup hitter."
"If you can guarantee Koshien, I'll personally tell Coach I won't pitch."
"You can keep the Ace number. I don't need it."
"But if you can't—"
"Then put aside your pride."
"This isn't about you anymore."
"It's about giving every third-year here a chance to reach Koshien."
The field was deathly quiet.
No third-year spoke—but deep down, they understood.
Tanba wasn't enough.
Not anymore.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had just arrived two weeks ago.
Yet today—
He struck out seven First String starters.
Only two reached base.
And he was still a freshman.
With three months left before the Summer Tournament…
How strong would he become?
No one knew.
But one thing was clear—
Right now, Ushijima Wakatoshi was more reliable than Tanba.