"This pitch… You Shunshin should go with…"
"A low outside breaking ball—curveball."
The moment Ushijima Wakatoshi finished speaking—
On the mound, You Shunshin delivered.
The fourth pitch came fast.
Miyuki Kazuya's eyes lit up.
Now!
"Bang!"
The bat scooped upward, sending the ball arcing cleanly into the outfield.
"Haha!"
Miyuki laughed as he watched it fly.
"Great minds think alike!"
He tossed the bat aside and sprinted.
While running the bases, he glanced toward the mound.
We'd make a pretty good battery…
You Shunshin silently watched him.
Miyuki didn't stop—
He pushed all the way to third base.
The stadium erupted.
Another Seidou runner—
Now in scoring position.
Next up: Shirasu, the eighth batter—Seidou's most reliable hitter.
"…A low outside breaking ball, huh."
Kominato Haruichi was visibly surprised.
"He really called it."
Ushijima smiled faintly.
"If You Shunshin had one more pitch…"
"…it would be almost impossible for us to score early."
"With just two pitches, he's already suppressed our lineup twice."
"His control is abnormal."
"In some ways… he's even harder to deal with than Narumiya Mei."
There was no exaggeration in his tone.
"Of course, luck plays a part."
"But the bigger problem…"
"…is that his teammates are holding him back."
Ushijima shifted his gaze to the field.
"Shirasu."
He spoke calmly.
"Aim for a low inside fastball on the first pitch."
"You might get something good."
Shirasu gave a small nod.
No hesitation.
Once in the batter's box, he focused on the mound.
The first pitch came—
Exactly as predicted.
"Bang!!!"
With a clean, controlled swing, Shirasu drove the low inside fastball into the infield.
A simple hit—
—but more than enough.
Miyuki dashed home.
Run scored.
Shirasu stood safely on first base.
"…."
Silence fell over the dugout.
"…As expected," Ushijima said lightly.
"After throwing that outside breaking ball, he wouldn't risk repeating it."
"If it were me… I'd do the same."
Miyuki returned, grinning.
"Nice call."
Then—
Furuya stepped forward, pointing at himself.
"What about me?"
Ushijima glanced at him… then raised his hand.
With a deadpan expression, he made a small gesture.
"Strikeout."
"…"
Furuya froze.
But still walked to the batter's box.
Moments later—
Three swings.
Three misses.
All curveballs.
Strikeout.
"…Just like you said."
Kuramochi stared.
"Hey, Ushijima… are you a spy or something?"
"Or a wizard?!"
"How did you know this guy would swing at air three times?!"
Sawamura immediately jumped in.
"Yeah! Confess! You're definitely using magic!"
Ushijima sighed.
This guy has way too much energy…
"It seems your training isn't enough," he said calmly.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have the strength to talk this much."
"Hey—what does that mean?!"
As the two bickered—
Kuramochi stepped up for his third at-bat.
This was crucial.
If he couldn't get on base—
Shirasu would be stranded.
Unfortunately—
He failed.
The inning ended.
Still—
Seidou managed to score two runs in the fourth.
Scoreboard:
Akikawa: 0 0 0 0
Seidou: 0 1 0 2
Seidou now held the advantage.
Top of the Fifth
Akikawa's lineup circled back to the heart of their order.
The fourth batter—
Right fielder Shiratori.
A left-handed hitter.
In his previous at-bat, he had been struck out by Ushijima Wakatoshi with three straight fastballs.
This time—
He stepped in with determination.
On the mound, Ushijima delivered the first pitch.
A high inside fastball.
"Foul!"
Shiratori swung, barely getting under it.
"Damn… high inside fastball…"
According to the data…
He rarely throws high inside pitches…
Usually only chest-level…
"That last pitch… was practically a waste pitch."
"…And I still chased it."
Pressure built.
Shiratori tightened his grip.
Second pitch—
"Thud!"
A low outside fastball slammed into the catcher's mitt.
"Strike!"
"…Low outside?"
Shiratori gritted his teeth.
High inside—then low outside…
He's playing with my expectations…
His thoughts raced.
Next… should be a cutter.
Because earlier—
Ushijima had already shown it.
Behind the plate, Miyuki gave a subtle sign.
Glove set.
Ushijima delivered.
The third pitch—
"Whoosh!"
Fast.
Sharp.
145 km/h.
Shiratori's eyes widened.
"Outside—low…?!"
Even realizing his mistake—
He had no choice but to swing.
If he didn't—
It would be called a strike.
He swung—
Too late.
"Smack!"
"Strike three!"
The umpire's call rang out.
Shiratori stood frozen.
Then clenched his fists in frustration.
"…I overthought it."
I was too focused on the cutter…
And got beaten by the same fastball.
Two consecutive low outside fastballs.
Simple.
Direct.
Dominant.
This—
Was Seidou's battery.
A combination that defied expectations.
Because normally—
You wouldn't throw the exact same pitch twice in a row.
But they did.
Because they could.