"It's already the seventh pitch of the at-bat."
"Ushijima has fought off every pitch Narumiya has thrown."
"A 148 km/h fastball, a sharp slider, a forkball that drops off the table, and a devastating changeup."
"And now the count is full."
The Inashiro players could clearly feel the pressure weighing on Narumiya Mei.
At that moment, Harada Masatoshi's presence truly stood out.
To push Mei this far...
Ushijima, you're incredible.
But this ends now.
Harada gave the sign and set his target on the outside corner.
The moment Narumiya saw it, his eyes lit up.
A grin spread across his face.
It was the expression of a predator that had finally found its prey.
Ushijima immediately noticed.
That look...
Harada just called for something Narumiya really likes.
Changeup? No.
He didn't react like this earlier.
Something else.
Something dangerous.
Ushijima narrowed his eyes.
I need to be careful.
On the mound, Narumiya adjusted his grip inside the glove.
Once he was satisfied, he raised his hands and began his delivery.
On third base, Haruichi prepared to break for home.
On second, Furuya leaned forward, ready to run.
Both were waiting for Ushijima to bring them home.
"Hmph!"
Narumiya exploded toward the plate.
Whoosh!
The baseball screamed through the air.
Ushijima immediately launched his swing.
But even while swinging, his eyes never left the ball.
Then—
The baseball suddenly broke.
It darted sharply toward the outside corner before dropping away.
What?!
Ushijima's eyes widened.
A Cutter?!
For a split second, everything clicked.
Did he develop this because of our previous matchups?
Because he refused to lose?
There was no time to think further.
If he missed, it would be strike three.
With runners on second and third.
Against the team's best hitter.
The damage to Seidou's morale would be enormous.
At the last possible moment, Ushijima released his top hand.
Turning the swing into a one-handed adjustment.
His bat dropped just enough.
CRACK!
The ball barely met the upper half of the barrel.
Instead of driving it, Ushijima simply guided it into play.
The baseball shot toward the right side of the infield.
The moment contact was made—
Haruichi sprinted home.
He never hesitated.
Because he trusted Ushijima completely.
THUD!
The ball bounced toward second baseman Hirai Tsubasa.
Hirai launched himself forward.
His glove barely reached the ball.
"Got it!"
But before he could stand—
"Here!"
First baseman Yamaoka was already covering.
Still lying on the ground, Hirai flipped the ball from his glove.
Yamaoka caught it cleanly.
His first instinct was to throw home.
Then he heard Harada's voice.
"FIRST BASE!"
Yamaoka instantly realized the situation.
The runner from third was already too close to score.
Narumiya had also sprinted over to cover first base.
"Yamaoka!"
Narumiya stretched out his glove.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The throw arrived perfectly.
"OUT!"
The umpire's call echoed across the field.
Ushijima was retired at first.
But—
Haruichi crossed home plate.
The run counted.
Score!
The Seidou dugout erupted.
"YES!"
"We got one!"
"Nice job!"
Although Ushijima had been thrown out, Seidou had extended its lead.
Ushijima clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Tch."
Narumiya smirked.
"Got you."
Ushijima looked back at him.
"You're pretty fast covering first."
Narumiya's expression immediately darkened.
"How did you know I was throwing a Cutter?"
Ushijima rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a mind reader."
"At first I thought it was an outside fastball."
"The moment I saw it break, I adjusted."
"If I'd known beforehand, I would've hit it much more cleanly."
"Instead, I had to release my top hand just to touch it."
"My swing was completely ruined."
"I even lost time getting out of the batter's box."
He pointed toward first.
"If not for that, do you really think you would've thrown me out?"
Narumiya was still annoyed.
Because despite everything—
His new weapon had been hit.
This was supposed to be his finishing pitch.
His trump card.
And Ushijima had still managed to put it in play.
Even if the result was an out, it didn't feel like a victory.
Still, Inashiro had limited the damage.
Only one run scored.
Meanwhile, the Seidou players had mixed emotions.
They had scored.
But Narumiya's new Cutter had changed everything.
Four-Seam Fastball.
Slider.
Forkball.
Changeup.
And now—
A Cutter.
Five elite pitches.
The realization sent a chill through the dugout.
"Damn..."
"He's even got a Cutter now?"
"If Haruichi hadn't scored there, that pitch could've completely killed our momentum."
Isashiki swallowed hard.
The spectators, however, were ecstatic.
Seidou had added another run.
The score was now 3-0.
Back in the dugout, Yuki Tetsuya immediately asked:
"How was it?"
Ushijima removed his batting gloves and exhaled.
"The break was nasty."
"Honestly, if Haruichi hadn't committed to running home immediately, we might've come away empty-handed."
"I barely managed to get the bat on it."
"And even then, the ball ended up right next to the second baseman."
He shook his head.
"Haruichi's decision saved us."
"That run might become very important later."
Then he gave a wry smile.
"But seriously..."
"That Cutter is terrifying."
The upperclassmen fell silent.
Narumiya Mei had already been one of the best pitchers in the country.
Now he had added another elite weapon to his arsenal.
For a moment, nobody knew what to say.
Then Kuramochi scratched his head.
"Although..."
Everyone looked at him.
Kuramochi pointed toward Ushijima.
"...aren't you even more ridiculous?"
The dugout instantly fell silent again.
Because unfortunately—
Nobody could argue with that.