"Who told you not to practice it more?"
Kominato Ryosuke smiled as he lightly complained.
"If you trained your slider properly, maybe you could push it past 150 km/h… and increase the break to 40 centimeters."
Ushijima Wakatoshi replied calmly,
"If I focus on the slider, I won't have enough time to practice my Cutter and Shootball."
"Isn't it the same in the end?"
"I already threw 180 pitches for you guys yesterday. That's more than enough."
Everyone paused.
…That actually made sense.
Over the past few months, Ushijima had clearly improved his control over his Two-Seam, Cutter, and Shootball.
And not just a little—
The improvement was obvious.
Trying to refine seven or eight different pitches in less than four months was unrealistic.
Especially when it came to control.
On top of that, there was also the issue of physical strain.
High-intensity pitching could easily lead to shoulder or wrist injuries.
That would defeat the whole purpose.
"So right now, I can only prioritize the pitches I like."
Ushijima spoke plainly.
"Curveballs and sliders have good movement…"
"But they're too slow."
"So I won't focus on them for now."
This time, no one argued.
It was a reasonable decision.
"One more."
Yuki Tetsuya raised his bat slightly, signaling for another pitch.
Ushijima nodded and threw another slider.
Whoosh!
Yuki reacted immediately and swung.
CRACK!
The bat barely clipped the ball.
Even though the speed was only around 135 km/h, the lateral movement toward the outside corner was sharp.
Because it was only his second time seeing it—
Yuki still couldn't find the perfect contact point.
"How is it?"
Miyuki asked.
Yuki adjusted his grip on the bat.
"If I watch a few more, I can read the trajectory."
"But if that pitch comes unexpectedly…"
"…it's troublesome."
"You have to guess what's coming first. That alone is a headache."
"And then adjust your timing on top of that…"
He clicked his tongue.
"Honestly, it makes me want to punch him."
Ushijima threw another slider.
This time—
The trajectory was different.
Previously, it broke from the center toward the outside corner.
Now—
It started inside and slid down toward the lower part of the zone.
Yuki narrowed his eyes.
Since he already knew it was a slider—
All he needed to do was track the path.
Adjust.
Time it.
CRACK!
He connected cleanly.
The ball didn't fly far, but it landed safely in the field.
"Nice."
Miyuki nodded.
"Let's try mixing the curveball and slider."
Just as they were about to continue—
"Everyone, listen up!"
Coach Kataoka's voice rang out across the field.
"Starting lineup—assemble at Field B!"
"Next drill: angle batting practice!"
"YES!"
Yuki responded immediately as captain.
The starters quickly moved to the adjacent field.
When they arrived—
Everyone froze for a moment.
The pitcher's mound…
had been raised.
A noticeable layer of dirt had been added.
At least 10 centimeters higher.
"They raised the mound…?"
Kuramochi looked surprised.
Yuki nodded slowly.
"It's to simulate Maki's height advantage."
That explanation made everything clear.
Coach Kataoka stepped forward.
"The idea came from the second string last night."
"They worked all night to build this."
The first string players turned to look at them.
Their expressions softened.
"…Thanks."
Isashiki muttered quietly.
One of the bench players scratched his head.
"We just wanted to help somehow."
"We can't always leave everything to the first-years… or let one person carry the team."
The atmosphere grew heavier—
In a good way.
More united.
Then—
Coach Kataoka suddenly stepped onto the mound.
He picked up a glove.
And a baseball.
Everyone blinked.
"…Coach?"
Ushijima watched silently.
Without saying a word—
Coach Kataoka began his motion.
Whoosh!
SNAP!
The sound of the ball hitting the glove echoed sharply.
Everyone froze.
That pitch—
was still powerful.
Meanwhile—
Ushijima had already grabbed a bat…
…and quietly walked into the batter's box.
Of course he understood.
A chance like this—
You don't wait.
Coach Kataoka smirked slightly.
"Alright."
"Who's first?"
"Coach, you're really pitching?!"
Kuramochi's eyes lit up.
"Are you serious?!"
"We can't exactly have Tanba pitch right now."
Kataoka replied calmly.
"Ushijima just threw a lot. He needs rest."
Then—
He noticed something.
"…Oi."
"When did you get in the batter's box?"
Everyone turned.
And saw Ushijima already set up to hit.
"HEY!!!"
"GET OUT OF THERE!!!"
The entire team exploded.
"Ushijima, you bastard! Show some respect to your seniors!"
Isashiki shouted.
Ushijima didn't move.
"Senpai, you're getting old."
"You've already hit enough pitches today. Take a break."
"I'M ONLY TWO YEARS OLDER THAN YOU!!!"
"Two years and eighty-one days."
Ushijima corrected calmly.
"GET DOWN HERE!!!"
Kuramochi roared.
"Batting order exists for a reason!"
"You're fifth!"
"I'm first!"
"No."
Ushijima refused instantly.
"If we follow numbers, I'm number one."
"Otherwise, why did I work so hard to earn the ace number?"
He added casually,
"Also… being first in the batting order doesn't mean you're the best hitter."
"…."
Kuramochi and the others felt personally attacked.
No matter how they looked at it—
Ushijima was:
The Ace Pitcher
The cleanup batter
And arguably the strongest player on the team
Ushijima grinned slightly and raised his bat.
"Come on."
"It's not every day you get to hit against the coach."
"This should be fun."
He added, as usual—
"Besides… Coach is getting older."
"He's probably not as good as before."
The air froze.
Everyone slowly turned to look at the mound.
Coach Kataoka's expression had gone completely cold.
"…You said something interesting."
At that moment—
Everyone felt it.
Ushijima Wakatoshi…
had just quietly done something very dangerous.