"He didn't steal?"
First baseman Yamaoka looked at Ushijima Wakatoshi beside him in surprise.
Normally, once Ushijima reached base, he would immediately attempt a steal on the very first pitch.
But this time… he stayed still.
"Heh~"
Ushijima simply smiled meaningfully.
After Narumiya Mei received the return throw from Harada, Ushijima finally began to move.
He slowly took a lead several steps away from first base.
The distance was intentionally aggressive.
Seeing this, Narumiya immediately shouted angrily:
"You bastard! Don't play around!"
Ushijima instantly dove back to the bag and placed his hand safely on the base.
Yamaoka returned the ball to Narumiya.
Then, as soon as the pitcher stepped back onto the mound, Ushijima calmly widened his lead again.
Now that I'm on base, of course I'm going to harass him properly.
"Mei, don't get distracted," Harada signaled calmly.
"The moment Ushijima reaches first, it's basically the same as him reaching third."
"Be mentally prepared."
Standing near first base, Ushijima quietly waited for an opportunity.
Narumiya threw the second pitch.
Ball.
The third pitch—
Ball again.
Narumiya had assumed Kuramochi wanted to bunt or hit a weak infield ball to maximize his speed advantage.
But Kuramochi ignored all three pitches completely.
"Damn it! Are you swinging or not?! Pick something already!" Narumiya shouted irritably.
Then came the fourth pitch.
"Ball four! Take your base!"
The umpire's call immediately made Kuramochi grin excitedly.
"Nice one!"
Narumiya looked completely speechless.
"You're not even going to swing?!" he shouted furiously.
"Who was the idiot that recommended this guy for a sports scholarship?!" Harada snapped back in annoyance.
Meanwhile, Inashiro's dugout had already gone silent.
Coach Kunimoto's expression stiffened.
With Kuramochi's walk, Ushijima casually jogged over to second base.
Next up to bat—
Isashiki.
Standing on second, Ushijima exchanged a glance with him before giving a small nod.
That subtle interaction naturally didn't escape Harada's notice.
In fact, Ushijima even flashed a sign openly from second base.
The two of them were acting so blatantly that there was no way Inashiro wouldn't notice.
"Damn it…" Narumiya cursed under his breath on the mound.
Even so, he still had to pitch.
Harada quickly gave another signal.
"If they want to steal, let them."
"But don't give them an easy pitch to hit."
Narumiya nodded.
The moment he began his pitching motion—
Ushijima instantly broke toward third base without hesitation.
"He's stealing!"
Second baseman Hirai shouted loudly.
"Steal attempt!"
Yamaoka also yelled a warning.
Harada had already been mentally prepared for this situation.
But at that exact moment—
SWING!
BAAAANG!!!
Isashiki attacked the pitch immediately.
"What?!"
Harada and Narumiya stared in disbelief as the baseball rocketed off the bat.
Kuramochi burst into laughter while sprinting toward second base.
"What steal attempt?" Ushijima shouted with a grin while running.
"This is called a hit-and-run!"
The ball shot straight past first base and rolled deep into right field.
By the time the ball landed—
Ushijima had already stepped onto third base.
Inashiro's right fielder Fujikawa sprinted desperately toward the ball.
But before he could even pick it up—
Ushijima charged toward home plate without slowing down at all.
"So fast!!!"
Even Azuma Kiyokuni was stunned.
"He can make it!"
"The right fielder still hasn't thrown the ball back!"
"Run! Run!"
The entire stadium erupted into excitement.
Fujikawa grabbed the baseball and roared angrily.
"Damn it!!!"
Just as he prepared to throw home—
Harada shouted calmly:
"Throw to first!"
Fujikawa reacted instantly.
Stopping Ushijima at home was already impossible.
But if Isashiki got greedy and tried advancing to second, Inashiro could still minimize the damage.
After all, once Ushijima scored, Kuramochi would definitely advance as well.
SMACK!
Yamaoka caught the throw at first base while looking at Isashiki standing safely on the bag.
At the same time—
"Safe!"
The home plate umpire spread his arms wide.
"OOOOOOHHHHH!!!"
Seido's cheering section exploded.
"They did it!"
"Seido's third batter, Isashiki, attacks the very first pitch!"
"A line drive into right field sends Ushijima home from second!"
"SEIDO SCORES THE FIRST RUN OF THE GAME!!!"
"And Inashiro is still in trouble!"
"No outs, runners on first and third!"
The commentators shouted excitedly as the stadium roared.
Inside Seido's dugout, everyone erupted into cheers.
"Hahaha! I'm not the same player I was last year!"
"To prepare for you guys, I've hit over a thousand fastballs above 150 kilometers per hour!"
Isashiki shouted proudly from first base.
And he truly wasn't exaggerating.
After all, both Ushijima and Furuya regularly threw blazing fastballs in practice.
From home plate, Ushijima celebrated with a distant fist pump toward his roommate.
Everything had gone exactly according to plan.
Once Ushijima reached base, Inashiro naturally assumed he would immediately attempt a steal.
Seido had intentionally used that expectation against them.
The goal was to strike while Inashiro focused too heavily on controlling the runners.
"Damn it…"
Narumiya clenched his fists tightly on the mound.
His very first confrontation with Ushijima had ended in complete defeat.
Not only had he failed to stop him from reaching base—
Ushijima had even scored in the opening inning.
That double blow made Narumiya's frustration explode.
Then his gaze shifted toward the next batter walking toward the plate.
Yuki Tetsuya.
As Yuki passed by, Ushijima quietly spoke to him.
"Brother… an eye for an eye."
"Huh?!"
Yuki's eyes trembled slightly.
"An eye for an eye?"
After stepping into the batter's box, Yuki briefly glanced toward Kuramochi on third base.
Even Kuramochi looked stunned internally, though he kept a calm expression outwardly.
"Fourth batter, Yuki Tetsuya!"
"Be careful! This is Seido's pillar!"
Harada immediately signaled Narumiya.
Narumiya gritted his teeth furiously.
"DAMN IT!!!"
WHOOOSH!
The baseball exploded from his hand in anger.