Miyuki Kazuya glanced at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the pitcher's mound and gave him a coded signal.
You decide.
He could clearly feel the intense competitive spirit between the two players, so he left the choice of pitch entirely to Ushijima.
In today's game, they would face each other at least four times.
If the match lasted five innings, then as the fifth batter, Ushijima Wakatoshi would enter the batter's box at least twice.
At the same time, as the pitcher, Ushijima would face Akikawa's lineup again and again.
And as Akikawa's fifth batter, You Shunshin would also step up to the plate at least twice.
That meant—
At minimum, there would be four direct confrontations between the two of them today.
And this first duel…
Would be decided entirely by Ushijima Wakatoshi.
It was also Miyuki's way of showing his complete trust in his ace.
"Hmm."
On the mound, Ushijima nodded slightly.
Then he raised his hand and gave Miyuki a signal.
Miyuki, crouching behind the plate, understood immediately and set his glove.
In the batter's box, You Shunshin focused on the pitcher.
"With your aggressive style… your first pitch will definitely attack the inside corner."
But…
His eyes narrowed as he watched Ushijima's movements carefully.
Ushijima raised both hands.
Then he lifted his left leg high.
His body stepped forward sharply.
His torso twisted, transferring all the power from his body into his right arm.
Then—
He released the ball.
"WHOOSH!"
The baseball shot forward with a piercing sound that made everyone's spine tingle.
You Shunshin's eyes widened.
The ball was flying toward the inside corner at high speed.
Not close to 145 km/h…
More like a little above 140.
If it's not 145, then it shouldn't be his four-seam fastball.
So it must be one of the others.
Two-seam. Sinker. Or shootball.
A one-in-three chance.
But his sinker usually doesn't exceed 140 km/h.
So that leaves two-seam or shootball.
Fifty percent.
You Shunshin stared intently at the incoming pitch.
"SMACK!"
The ball landed firmly in Miyuki's glove.
You Shunshin…
Didn't swing.
"Strike!"
The umpire called the pitch.
He was startled again.
Another inside strike…
You Shunshin frowned slightly.
Four-seam?
He had ruled that possibility out.
Normally, Ushijima's four-seam fastball was around 145 km/h or faster.
It rarely dropped to just above 140 km/h.
That was why he assumed the pitch must be a two-seam or sinker.
He intentionally didn't swing.
He wanted to confirm his analysis.
But the result proved otherwise.
Ushijima watched him calmly.
I anticipated your prediction.
Of course, those words remained only in his mind.
You Shunshin looked at Ushijima again.
His expression changed.
So his four-seam can also be thrown at around 140 km/h…
That means he can mix its speed with his two-seam, cutter, shootball, and even the sinker.
All of them are around the same velocity.
That makes them far harder to distinguish.
This guy…
He's even more troublesome than I imagined.
Before You Shunshin could finish analyzing—
Ushijima had already thrown the second pitch.
"WHOOSH!"
The ball rushed forward again with almost the same speed.
Just as I thought…
High inside fastball!
Without hesitation, You Shunshin swung his bat.
But the moment the bat moved—
He realized something was wrong.
The baseball made a slight movement just before reaching home plate.
"CLANG!"
The bat barely scraped the bottom of the ball.
The ball flew straight into the backstop netting behind the umpire.
"Foul!"
The umpire swallowed nervously.
That ball had nearly hit his face mask.
You Shunshin clenched his teeth.
A two-seam fastball with a high inside trajectory…
If I hadn't swung, it probably would've ended outside the strike zone.
Damn it.
He tricked me.
Before this, every inside pitch Ushijima threw had been a four-seam fastball.
That made him assume every high inside pitch would also be a four-seam.
And that assumption led him straight into the trap.
Now the count was 0–2.
He had no room left to retreat.
Even Miyuki Kazuya felt his heartbeat quicken.
The entire Seido defense had gone completely silent.
Yuki.
Kuramochi.
Kominato.
Masuko.
All of them were watching closely.
They didn't need to cheer.
They didn't need to shout encouragement.
All they needed to do was stay ready.
This duel—
Belonged to Ushijima Wakatoshi and You Shunshin.
"Here comes the third pitch."
Ushijima raised his hands again.
Then he unleashed the pitch with even greater force.
"WHOOSH!"
The speed was terrifying.
Much faster than the previous pitches.
You Shunshin's eyes widened.
The ball rushing toward him felt less like a baseball…
…and more like a howling wolf lunging at its prey.
Even the umpire behind Miyuki felt the same shock.
The pitch was unbelievably fast.
The power behind it was overwhelming.
This was the first time You Shunshin had faced such a terrifying fastball.
It felt like a wild beast was charging straight at him.
And when a person faces a beast like that—
Their body reacts instinctively.
You fight back.
"SWING!"
You Shunshin swung the bat instinctively.
But before the swing even finished—
"SMACK!"
The ball was already in Miyuki's glove.
Miyuki exhaled in relief.
On the mound, Ushijima maintained his pitching pose.
Then he said calmly:
"Out."
Cold sweat ran down You Shunshin's temples.
He knew perfectly well that Ushijima's maximum-speed four-seam fastball lacked precise control.
But after feeling that terrifying power…
His body had still reacted instinctively.
"WOOOOOOO!"
The crowd exploded with excitement.
"Three strikeouts!"
"He's already taken down five batters in a row!"
"Ushijima! Amazing pitching!"
"Keep it going!"
"That fastball had to be over 150 km/h!"
"What an incredible pitch!"
The entire stadium was electrified.
Many spectators were still stunned by the speed of that last fastball.
Even the commentators had trouble finding words to describe it.
Ushijima Wakatoshi's performance had completely ignited the crowd.