"This… this is…"
The moment Azuma Kiyokuni saw the pitch, he felt as though a wild beast had locked onto him.
It was a terrifying sensation—
like being hunted by a starving predator.
In Azuma's eyes, the baseball looked like a ravenous wolf charging toward its prey.
"Oh no…"
Azuma's pupils shrank violently from the overwhelming pressure.
As the baseball roared toward him, he was completely overwhelmed by its beast-like aura.
Instinctively, he swung the bat with all his strength.
With Azuma's large frame, a full-power swing generated tremendous bat speed.
But no matter how fast his swing was—
it still couldn't catch up to that raging fastball.
Bang!!!
The baseball tore beneath the bat and slammed violently into Miyuki's mitt.
The sound echoed across the field.
Everyone watching from the sidelines smiled as they looked at the stunned Azuma Kiyokuni.
"Hey… hey… that pitch is insane…"
Azuma stared blankly ahead, still unable to believe it.
"That beast-like pressure…"
"That ball…"
Miyuki Kazuya grinned proudly from behind home plate.
"This is Seido's current trump card."
"Heh…"
Azuma tightened his grip on the bat and slowly reset his stance.
"To be honest…"
"After seeing that pitch…"
"I'm actually jealous of you guys."
"Jealous of all you second and third-years."
"You lucky bastards actually got to play with an ace like this."
"If he had appeared one year earlier…"
Azuma stopped himself there.
But everyone understood what he meant.
If Ushijima Wakatoshi had joined one year earlier—
Seido might have already returned to Koshien.
Azuma's expression gradually became serious.
He stared intently at Ushijima on the mound.
Meanwhile, Ushijima smiled faintly after sensing Azuma's rising fighting spirit.
"Careful, senpai."
"The difficulty is about to increase."
Miyuki immediately added from behind the plate:
"This guy's pitches are ridiculously sharp."
Hearing that, Azuma became even more focused.
Ushijima raised his hand once more.
Left leg forward.
Body twisting powerfully.
Then—
the second pitch exploded from his fingertips.
Pshhh—!
The baseball shot toward Azuma's inside corner at terrifying speed.
"You brat!"
"You dare challenge me inside?!"
Azuma swung aggressively without hesitation.
But just before bat and ball were about to collide—
the baseball suddenly changed.
The pitch that had originally traveled in a straight line suddenly seemed to rise upward toward his chest.
"What?!"
"It's rising?!"
Azuma's eyes widened in shock.
Mid-swing, he instinctively pulled back.
Bang!
Miyuki cleanly caught the pitch high and inside.
"Nice ball."
Azuma immediately broke into cold sweat.
That pitch had suddenly accelerated upward near his hands.
No—
more accurately—
it looked like it floated upward explosively.
"This is…"
Azuma swallowed hard.
"A High-Speed Shootball?!"
"That's right," Miyuki answered proudly.
"Damn it!"
"You only said Shootball, not High-Speed Shootball!!!"
Azuma's furious outburst made Miyuki cover his mouth while laughing.
"Tch!"
Azuma clicked his tongue and glared at Ushijima on the mound.
"A high-speed shootball almost as fast as a fastball…"
"And it suddenly rises into the batter…"
"Damn it…"
"This isn't just a monster."
"He's a monster among monsters!"
"He's even more terrifying than that Inashiro brat from last year."
Miyuki silently nodded in agreement.
The others watching nearby immediately erupted into cheers and noise.
"Azuma. Two strikes."
Coach Kataoka's reminder made Azuma's expression even uglier.
That's right.
He already had two strikes against him.
This time, Azuma no longer hesitated.
He was determined to hit the next pitch.
Ushijima smirked slightly and delivered the third pitch.
The moment the ball left his hand, Azuma's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Not as fast as the first pitch…"
"If it isn't the four-seam…"
"And if it's around the same speed as the second…"
"Then it's probably a Shootball!"
Azuma prepared his swing accordingly.
But just after he committed—
the baseball suddenly sank sharply downward and away.
"What?!"
"It's dropping?!"
Azuma could only watch helplessly as the ball disappeared beneath his bat.
"Sinker…"
Thump!
Miyuki caught the ball cleanly.
"Strikeout!"
"Stop talking already!!!"
Azuma roared furiously at Miyuki after getting struck out.
"It's only because it's my first time seeing his pitches!"
"I wasn't prepared!"
Ushijima smiled calmly from the mound.
"Alright."
"I'll give you another chance."
"I'll make sure you lose convincingly."
"That damn brat…"
Azuma gritted his teeth in irritation.
"Fine."
"I admit defeat."
"I'll definitely come watch your game tomorrow."
"But next…"
"I'm crushing you for real!"
Azuma pointed his bat directly at Ushijima.
Ushijima casually stretched his neck.
"If you can."
"Hahaha!"
"What an arrogant brat!"
Azuma stopped wasting words and focused completely.
Without disappointing him, Ushijima immediately threw the fourth pitch.
"Inside corner again?!"
"Don't underestimate me!!!"
Seeing another inside pitch, Azuma swung violently.
"I don't care whether it's a High-Speed Shootball or a Sinker!"
"I'll crush either one!"
But halfway through his swing—
he suddenly realized something was wrong.
The fastball that had originally targeted the inside corner subtly drifted even farther inward.
The movement was small—
but enough.
Azuma instantly knew:
Even if he made contact—
the hit would be terrible.
At best, it would become a weak fly ball jammed by the pitch.
So he forcefully tried stopping his swing midway.
Bang!
"Strike!"
Miyuki immediately announced it with a grin.
"What strike?!"
"That was obviously outside the zone!"
Azuma exploded in frustration.
"Azuma-senpai," Miyuki replied innocently,
"you already swung more than halfway."
"That counts as a full swing."
"So it's a swinging strike."
Miyuki argued cheerfully with his former senior.
"Damn it…"
Azuma could only curse helplessly.
Because Miyuki was right.
He really had swung more than halfway.
"Gulp…"
Azuma swallowed nervously.
"This kid's pitches are way too sharp…"
"It's like facing a living pitching encyclopedia."
"He knows almost every kind of pitch."
"And every single one is aggressive."
"He keeps attacking the inside corner relentlessly."
Azuma stared at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the mound in disbelief.
"Is this guy…"
"…really just a first-year?"