In May, Seido High advanced to the Kanto Tournament.
Five rounds.
Round One.
Round Two.
Round Three.
Semifinals.
Finals.
Step by step, Ushijima Wakatoshi led the team forward.
Win after win.
Until they stood on the final stage once again—
Facing their old rival.
Ichidai San High.
Meanwhile, Inashiro had already been eliminated in the semifinals.
Narumiya Mei had come down with a fever and couldn't play, and without their ace, they collapsed.
That loss only fueled their determination for revenge.
But before they could even think about that—
Seido and Ichidai had to settle things first.
Unlike the previous shutout performances…
This game was different.
Ichidai had clearly studied him.
Every pitch.
Every pattern.
Every habit.
They came prepared.
By the end of the game—
Ushijima had given up fifteen hits.
Fifteen.
For most pitchers, that would have meant disaster.
But—
Zero runs.
Not a single one crossed home plate.
Because Seido's defense held firm.
Clean fielding.
Perfect coordination.
No mistakes.
Ushijima didn't panic.
Didn't rush.
Didn't lose focus.
Because he understood something simple.
Getting hit…
Was normal.
Even the best pitchers in the country gave up hits.
Even Narumiya Mei gave up runs sometimes.
Baseball wasn't about never getting hit.
It was about what you did after you got hit.
Mindset decided everything.
As long as you didn't break—
You wouldn't lose.
So even after singles… doubles…
Even when runners reached scoring position…
He stayed calm.
Pitch after pitch.
Out after out.
Steady.
Cold.
Reliable.
Like a wall.
Ichidai's core batters, Manaka Kaname and Amahisa, fought him head-on.
Every at-bat felt like a war.
Full counts.
Long exchanges.
No one backing down.
The stadium atmosphere grew heavier with every inning.
Until finally—
Ninth inning.
Final score.
5–0. Seido wins.
Complete victory.
During the handshake line, Amahisa stepped forward.
He grabbed Ushijima's hand and laughed bitterly.
"You guys… your mental strength is ridiculous."
Ushijima smiled.
Then casually said,
"Keep working hard. The future belongs to you."
Amahisa immediately exploded.
"Hey! I'm a year older than you!!"
"Huh?" Ushijima scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ah… sorry. My Japanese isn't that good."
"…That's not the problem!"
The tension broke.
Everyone laughed.
Just like that, the rivalry ended—for now.
After this tournament, Ushijima's position was completely secured.
No one questioned it anymore.
He was—
Seido's undisputed Ace.
And he was only a first-year.
That month, he opened four silver chests.
And got nothing but money.
Twenty thousand dollars.
"…Why is my luck so weird?"
On the field, he was ridiculously lucky.
Off the field?
Terrible.
Still…
Money wasn't what he wanted anymore.
He wanted strength.
Skills.
Growth.
Fortunately—
At the end of May, he finally got another Gold Chest.
[Ding! Treasure chest opened]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Gold Two-Seam]
Ushijima's eyes lit up.
Now things were different.
With Gold Two-Seam plus Gold Cutter and Diamond Four-Seam—
Even while maintaining control, his fastballs could comfortably reach 140–145 km/h.
That was already professional level speed.
For a high school pitcher?
Terrifying.
If he could upgrade Curveball and Screwball too…
Or raise ball control to Gold…
He could completely dominate high school baseball.
Later that day during practice—
Ushijima walked toward Kawakami.
"Kawakami-senpai… can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"I want to learn the Sinker."
Everyone nearby froze.
"…What?"
"I studied the grip and watched videos," Ushijima continued, "but I can't get the drop effect. Your sinker is really good, so… I wanted to ask for tips."
Tanba immediately snapped.
"Don't get greedy!"
"Right now you should focus on control and speed!"
"You already have four-seam, two-seam, cutter—three types! And you still want more?!"
"Pitching isn't about collecting skills—it's about mastering them!"
Everyone nodded.
He wasn't wrong.
But Ushijima only shrugged.
"My control won't improve quickly anyway."
"The faster I throw, the harder it gets."
Then he added casually—
"You guys who can't even hit 150 wouldn't understand."
Tanba: "…"
Kawakami: "…"
Both of them wanted to punch him.
Miyuki burst out laughing.
"This guy is seriously annoying."
Ushijima crouched down and drew a 3×3 grid in the dirt.
"Strike zone."
Everyone gathered around.
"Watch."
"If I throw a four-seam to the center, it stays center."
"But if I throw a two-seam to the same spot…"
He drew an arrow.
"It starts center… then drifts right at the last second."
"Position 5 becomes position 6."
Everyone nodded.
That was exactly how two-seam movement worked.
"So I'm thinking—"
"If I add a sinker with downward movement…"
His eyes sharpened.
"I can attack every angle of the strike zone."
Horizontal.
Vertical.
Inside.
Outside.
"No matter what the batter expects… the ball will move somewhere else."
Silence.
Then Miyuki smirked.
"…You're seriously scary, you know that?"
A first-year already thinking about pitch combinations like this?
Ridiculous.
But exciting.
Seido's future…
Really might belong to this monster.