"He actually dared to throw a High-Speed Jet Ball?"
"You know anything over 145 km/h usually becomes uncontrollable, yet he still threw it!"
Kawakami's shock was quickly answered by Chris.
"It's probably because of the first at-bat. Ushijima's three Four-Seam fastballs all exceeded 155 km/h."
"That left a deep impression on Raichi Todoroki. When he saw a pitch close to 150 km/h—but slightly slower than the previous Four-Seams—he assumed it was another Four-Seam fastball with better control."
"But he never expected it to be a High-Speed Jet Ball flying toward the outside corner."
Chris's explanation helped everyone in the lounge understand what had just happened.
Coach Kataoka remained silent, arms crossed.
On the field, Ushijima Wakatoshi stood calmly on the pitcher's mound as he caught the ball thrown back by Miyuki.
Raichi Todoroki was already in a desperate situation.
Two strikes.
Faced with that pressure, what would he do?
Ushijima looked down from the mound at Raichi.
Wasn't he the one who promised to crush him?
Now he could barely even touch the ball.
At that moment, Raichi subconsciously shifted his feet forward slightly.
Miyuki and Ushijima both noticed the movement immediately.
"He moved closer to home plate… Is he trying to prevent Ushijima from attacking the outside corner again?"
Miyuki quickly analyzed the situation.
Of course, Ushijima had already thought of the same possibility.
"He could be trying to block my outside pitches…"
"But it could also be a trap."
"Maybe he's intentionally giving me the illusion that the outside corner is closed, hoping I'll throw inside so he can blast it."
Ushijima wasn't naive enough to ignore that possibility.
At this moment, the confrontation had entered the stage of psychological warfare.
Raichi's position closer to the plate appeared to guard against outside pitches.
But it could also be deliberate bait, designed to lure Ushijima into throwing to the inside corner.
As for Ushijima on the mound, he had to make a decision.
Was Raichi truly guarding the outside corner?
Or was he waiting for an inside pitch?
"Heh… trying to make things difficult for me now?"
"Monkey, you're still underestimating me."
"In that case… I'll teach you a lesson."
As Ushijima muttered to himself, he casually raised his hand and tapped his arm—sending a coded signal.
Miyuki Kazuya, who had been analyzing the situation, was visibly surprised when he noticed the signal.
First baseman Yuki Tetsuya and third baseman Masuko Toru also caught Ushijima's sign.
Both of them were stunned.
They hadn't expected Ushijima to be so bold.
Even Raichi was startled when he saw the pitcher signal the catcher.
What did that mean?
Was the pitcher actively giving instructions?
Normally, the catcher calls the pitch and gives signals to the pitcher.
The pitcher simply nods or shakes his head.
But a pitcher giving signals to the catcher himself?
That only happens when the pitcher's dominance surpasses the catcher's strategic control.
For example, pitchers like You Shunshin from Akikawa Academy sometimes operated like that.
But Seido's catchers had always been strong.
Last year there was Chris, and this year there was Miyuki—both exceptional.
So why was Ushijima still controlling the pitch selection?
The coded signal only made Raichi feel even more uneasy.
"Now… the pressure is back on you."
After sending the signal, Ushijima smiled faintly.
Trying to play mind games with me?
"This positioning… besides blocking my outside corner…"
"…is also meant to lure me into throwing inside."
"If you're really baiting the inside pitch, then you must already be prepared for it."
"You think whether it's my Four-Seam fastball jamming your inside corner…"
"…or my Cutter…"
"…you can still hit it."
"Is that what you believe?"
"Hmph."
Ushijima chuckled softly.
"You're that confident you can hit it?"
"Fine."
"Since you're so confident…"
"I'll let you try."
Ushijima had always been an aggressive pitcher.
Fear was never part of his style.
Inside the glove, his right hand spun the baseball, adjusting his grip.
Once ready, he raised both hands.
His left leg lifted high.
His body twisted, gathering power.
Then he stepped forward.
His weight shifted.
His right arm whipped forward.
The baseball exploded out of his hand.
Whoosh!
The ball tore through the air like a sonic boom.
It shot straight toward Raichi Todoroki's inside corner.
"Inside pitch!"
Raichi immediately recognized it.
The moment he saw the ball, his eyes locked onto it.
He shifted his left foot slightly backward, adjusting his stance.
Then he swung.
Raichi Todoroki's swing was as explosive as ever.
The baseball rocketed toward the inside corner.
Raichi stared fiercely at the incoming pitch.
"It's fast… over 145 km/h!"
"It's not a Cutter… it's a Four-Seam fastball!"
Even after making that judgment, Raichi didn't hesitate.
His swing continued without change.
But just as the ball reached the plate—
It moved.
The pitch that looked like a fastball suddenly dropped.
The bat was already about to connect.
But just like the previous pitch—
At the very last moment, the ball changed.
The previous pitch had risen.
This one fell.
BANG!
The baseball sliced beneath Raichi's bat and slammed cleanly into Miyuki's glove.
Raichi froze.
His bat finished the swing, but his eyes trembled in disbelief.
"H-How…?"
"A Cutter…"
He had swung and missed again.
Once again, he believed it was a Four-Seam fastball.
Once again, just before contact—
The ball changed.
The first time, it looked like a Four-Seam but turned into a Shootball drifting toward the outside corner.
This time, it looked like a Four-Seam but turned into a Cutter dropping into the inside corner.
Before today, everyone believed Ushijima's Shootball and Cutter couldn't exceed 145 km/h.
But now—
He had broken that limit.
Both pitches thrown to Raichi had exceeded 145 km/h.
Normally, at that speed, controlling breaking movement into the strike zone would be nearly impossible.
But a pitcher doesn't always need perfect control.
Sometimes, even a difficult pitch can disrupt a batter's rhythm and force a swing.
"Strike!"
"Batter out!"
Before Raichi could even process what happened, the umpire's arm shot up.
Strike three.
Raichi Todoroki was struck out.
At that moment, Jingu Stadium fell completely silent.
The Yakushi bench stared in shock.
Every player was stunned.
But the same was true for Seido's bench.
They knew Ushijima's Cutter well.
It had never exceeded 145 km/h before.
But now—
His Cutter was faster than ever.
Which meant one thing.
The Cutter Ushijima Wakatoshi had just thrown…
was approaching 150 km/h.