On the final day of the training camp, Ushijima Wakatoshi checked in as usual.
The four Silver Chests he obtained back in May had all contained US dollars.
Even during the first two weeks of June, every Silver Chest still gave the same reward.
Nothing special.
Nothing surprising.
But today was different.
This week marked the third week of June — the final stretch of training camp.
After receiving the Silver Chest, Ushijima opened it casually, like always.
[Ding! Treasure chest opened.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Silver Sinker!]
"…Huh?"
Ushijima froze.
A sinker?
That was exactly the pitch he had recently been trying to learn.
The sinker — also known as a falling fastball.
In baseball, it was often called a "ground-ball machine."
If the double play was a pitcher's best friend, then the sinker was the best tool to create it.
Like a two-seam fastball, it had lateral movement.
But unlike the two-seam, the sinker dropped sharply at the plate.
Batters would often swing over it, hitting only the top half of the ball.
The result?
Grounders.
Lots of them.
When struck, the ball felt heavy — almost like hitting a bowling ball. It was difficult to drive into the air.
Different pitchers produced different variations.
Some two-seams focused mainly on sideways run.
Others had both sideways movement and slight drop — something between a two-seam and a sinker.
Same family of pitches. Different shapes.
A pitch similar in speed but moving the opposite direction was the cutter.
Take Ushijima for example.
He pitched right-handed.
Against a left-handed batter, his cutter would cut inside toward the hands. After contact, the ball would dip downward, often resulting in a weak infield grounder.
The sinker worked differently.
Against left-handers, it tailed away toward the outside corner and then dropped late.
Against right-handers?
It behaved almost like a reverse cutter — diving inside and down.
Either way, the result was the same.
Weak contact.
Easy grounders.
Easy double plays.
"Phew…"
After confirming the pitch knowledge had completely integrated into his mind, Ushijima let out a slow breath.
Today's match would be the perfect test.
Still…
He couldn't help but feel something strange.
He seemed to be turning into a pure fastball-type pitcher.
Name: Ushijima Wakatoshi
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 160
Dominant Hand: Right
Stamina: Diamond
Speed: Gold
Control: Silver
Batting:
• Infield Contact — Gold
• Extra-base Power — Gold
Pitch Types:
• Curveball — Silver
• Screwball — Silver
• Sinker — Silver
• Two-seam — Gold
• Cutter — Gold
• Four-seam — Diamond
Two-seam. Cutter. Sinker.
Technically breaking balls.
But all of them belonged to the fastball family.
Which meant…
He was basically a power pitcher now.
Sure, he could throw curveballs and screwballs.
But he hated using them.
Once you've thrown 160 km/h…
Anything around 130–140 felt painfully slow.
It almost felt like tossing batting practice.
Even though he knew breaking balls were naturally 20–30 km/h slower — and much harder to hit — the psychological gap still bothered him.
If opponents could hit 145…
Wouldn't 130 be even easier?
That thought alone made him reluctant.
So since learning the curveball and screwball…
He had barely shown them to anyone.
There was also another reason.
Tanba specialized in curveballs.
He didn't want to overlap.
And the screwball…
That pitch was notorious.
Deadly to batters.
But just as deadly to pitchers.
Most pitchers who relied on screwballs ended up injured.
Surgeries. Chronic pain. Short careers.
None of them had good endings.
"…Not worth it."
He would only use it as a surprise weapon in crucial moments.
Not now.
Not during practice matches.
His arm was too valuable.
"Hey, how's your condition lately?"
That afternoon, Miyuki walked over.
After a week of hellish training, everyone looked half-dead.
Only Ushijima was still stretching calmly, twisting his waist and loosening his shoulders.
"Huh? You're really letting me pitch today? Not using me for training again?"
He knew today's practice game mattered.
But he didn't expect to start.
"Yeah," Miyuki said. "Today's opponent is Osaka Kiryu. Last year's Summer Koshien runner-up."
"Coach wants to see how you perform against a top-tier lineup."
Ushijima inhaled slowly.
Then sighed.
"…This is rough. I feel like I'm about to get exposed."
Osaka Kiryu wasn't ordinary.
Their entire lineup was built like tanks.
Back strength over 180 kilograms.
Monstrous power.
When it came to pure slugging ability…
They were among the best in the country.
If this were last year's Seido…
They might already be outmatched.
And today…
He was the one standing on the mound.