"Hey… wasn't that Cutter faster than before?"
"Yeah. Look at the speed reading—it's definitely faster than his previous ones."
"Did the radar gun catch that pitch?"
Some audience members turned toward the scouts who had brought speed-measuring equipment to the game.
One scout glanced at his device and answered,
"147 km/h."
"That pitch speed…"
Narumiya Mei clicked his tongue.
"That's almost as fast as my fastball."
He looked even more dissatisfied now.
Several professional baseball scouts were also present at the stadium. After witnessing Ushijima Wakatoshi's performance, they all quietly wrote notes in their reports.
A pitcher like this…
In the future, every professional team would want to fight for him.
On the field, Ushijima Wakatoshi watched calmly as Raichi Todoroki walked back after striking out.
The Yakushi High School bench had fallen completely silent.
Raichi clenched his fists tightly.
He said nothing.
This was the first time since entering high school that he had struck out twice in a row.
Worse still…
He had completely missed the ball with his full swings.
He had always believed he was strong.
But today he realized something.
He was still far too weak.
The blow to his confidence was so heavy that tears welled up in his eyes.
Raichi muttered with trembling lips,
"You old man… is this what you meant…?"
"In West Tokyo… Narumiya Mei is your only rival?"
His question left even his father speechless.
Yakushi's coach hadn't expected Seido's pitcher to be this overwhelming.
Today, he had been openly humiliated.
The foreign transfer student he had underestimated had completely suppressed the son he had trained so carefully.
Raichi couldn't even put the ball in play.
Not even a ground ball.
The gap between them was obvious.
Coach Todoroki sighed deeply.
"This defeat will make you stronger, Raichi."
"Having someone you want to challenge… someone you want to defeat…"
"…that will push you to become stronger."
After saying that, he fell silent.
Back on the field, Ushijima Wakatoshi now faced Yakushi's second batter—Akiba.
With clean, precise pitching, Ushijima quickly forced Akiba out.
Next up was the cleanup batter.
Mishima Yuuta stepped into the batter's box and shouted toward the mound.
"Come on!!!"
Facing Mishima's provocation, Ushijima merely looked down at him coldly.
Even Raichi Todoroki had been struck out until he cried.
And you think you can challenge me?
Mishima glared back stubbornly.
Ushijima said nothing.
He simply raised his hands and delivered the first pitch.
Whoosh!
The ball shot forward at terrifying speed.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the batter's box.
Mishima immediately swung.
But just before the bat connected—
The baseball suddenly drifted inward.
"Whoa!"
Startled, Mishima jerked his body backward as the ball flew toward his chest.
Snap!
The pitch slid past him and landed firmly in Miyuki's glove.
"Strike!"
The umpire announced decisively.
"S-Shootball again!"
Mishima gritted his teeth as he glared at Ushijima on the pitcher's mound.
After receiving the return throw, Ushijima wasted no time.
He immediately began his next pitching motion.
Seeing this, Mishima focused even harder.
The second pitch came.
Whoosh!
Once again, the ball targeted the inside corner.
"Again with the inside pitch?!"
Mishima swung angrily.
But just before reaching the plate—
The baseball shifted slightly.
That small movement was enough.
His bat barely clipped the bottom of the ball.
Clack!
The ball flew out toward foul territory.
"Foul!"
The umpire waved his hand.
Mishima cursed under his breath.
"Damn it… Shootball, then Two-Seam…"
"Two strikes already…"
"What's the next pitch?"
"A Shootball again? Another Two-Seam?"
"Or maybe a Sinker? A Cutter?"
"What the hell…"
"Why does this guy have so many types of fastballs?!"
Mishima felt completely confused.
The biggest problem wasn't the speed.
It was the variety.
Ushijima's pitching seemed simple—mostly fastballs.
But every pitch had subtle movement.
The Shootball drifted upward.
The Cutter cut sharply.
The Two-Seam sank slightly.
Even when aimed at the same corner, every pitch behaved differently.
From the Yakushi supporters' section, loud cheers rang out.
"Mishima! You can do it!"
"Don't hesitate! Just swing when the ball comes!"
"Good luck!"
But on the mound, Ushijima had already begun his third pitch.
Whoosh!
The ball rocketed toward the inside corner again.
Mishima stared at it intensely.
"Inside corner again… but what pitch is it?"
"Two-Seam? Shootball?"
"Or—"
Before he could finish the thought—
The ball had already passed him.
Straight through the strike zone.
Mishima froze.
"F-Four-Seam fastball?!"
He hadn't even swung.
Ushijima had used three different pitches in a row.
Shootball.
Two-Seam.
Four-Seam.
The batter had been completely fooled.
Ushijima glanced calmly at the stunned Mishima.
Behind the plate, Miyuki caught the ball cleanly.
Snap!
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire's call echoed across the stadium.
Yakushi High School's morale dropped even further.
Four innings.
Not a single hit.
Not a single runner on base.
From the Seido supporters' section, cheers erupted.
"Nice pitching, Ushijima!"
"That's how you shut down Yakushi's batting lineup!"
"What powerful lineup? They can't even get on base!"
"Beautiful pitching! The fourth inning is over!"
"Only three innings left!"
But Ushijima Wakatoshi remained completely calm.
He didn't react to the cheers.
As he walked back to the dugout, Miyuki spoke beside him.
"Hey… your Cutter's gotten faster, hasn't it?"
"That pitch to Raichi earlier… if he hadn't swung, it probably would've been a ball."
Ushijima nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
"Just because I normally don't throw it that fast doesn't mean I can't."
"It just means the control becomes worse."
"I knew Raichi had no choice but to swing…"
"…so I deliberately threw it there."
"You wanted an inside pitch, right?"
"Then I gave it to you."
"But the condition is simple."
"You have to be able to hit it."
Ushijima said it calmly.
"They were too arrogant."
"Both father and son."
"They needed to learn a lesson."
His words were spoken so casually that his teammates didn't know how to respond.
But one thing became crystal clear to them.
Ushijima Wakatoshi…
was someone they absolutely should never provoke.