"Strike Three! Batter Out!"
The umpire's voice echoed across the stadium as Furuya became the final out of the inning.
"YEAHHHH!"
On the mound, Narumiya Mei clenched his fist and roared.
Despite his exhaustion, his fighting spirit had not diminished in the slightest.
"Next batter, Seidou's ace pitcher, Ushijima Wakatoshi."
The stadium announcer's voice immediately stirred the crowd.
Holding his bat, Ushijima calmly stepped into the right-handed batter's box.
This was already his sixth plate appearance of the game.
In his first two at-bats, he had reached base successfully.
However, he had been retired in the three that followed.
As the team's ace and cleanup hitter, Ushijima naturally wanted to leave his mark one last time.
Narumiya took a deep breath.
Then he fired the first pitch.
A sharp Slider.
Ushijima didn't move.
He simply watched the baseball disappear into Harada's mitt.
"Strike!"
Harada glanced at Ushijima.
Is he waiting for a Fastball?
Or maybe a Changeup?
For the first time in the game, even Harada couldn't completely read what Ushijima was thinking.
The second pitch arrived.
Narumiya poured every ounce of strength into the throw.
Whoosh!
The baseball exploded toward home plate at 150 km/h.
The instant he saw it, Ushijima stepped forward.
His swing was fierce and decisive.
CLANG!!!
The sound echoed throughout Jingu Stadium.
The ball shot off the bat like a cannon shell.
Narumiya could only watch.
His fastest outside Fastball had been crushed.
And for the first time since reaching 150 km/h, Ushijima had driven one of his pitches fair.
"Carlos!"
Narumiya shouted desperately.
But no matter how fast Carlos was, he couldn't outrun the baseball.
Combining Narumiya's velocity with Ushijima's monstrous power, the ball screamed into center field at incredible speed.
BOOM!
The baseball slammed against the center-field wall.
"Damn it!"
Narumiya's expression twisted.
Meanwhile, Ushijima was already flying around the bases.
First base.
Second base.
He never slowed down.
The moment he rounded second, he accelerated even more.
The crowd immediately realized what he was trying to do.
"He isn't stopping!"
"He's going home!"
Carlos quickly retrieved the ball and fired it toward second base.
"Take this!"
Snap!
Second baseman Hirai Tsubasa caught the relay throw.
As he prepared to throw home, he glanced toward third base.
Then his eyes widened.
Ushijima had already rounded third.
And he wasn't hesitating.
At all.
Hirai immediately shouted.
"HOME!"
The warning reached Harada instantly.
"What?!"
Even Harada was shocked.
The relay had already arrived at second base.
Yet Ushijima still dared to challenge home plate?
Whoosh!
The throw came flying toward home.
At the same time, Ushijima charged down the third-base line.
The entire stadium held its breath.
Snap!
Harada caught the ball.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward for the tag.
But Ushijima had already begun his slide.
His body twisted gracefully across the dirt.
Harada's glove swept through empty air.
Missed!
Then—
Tap.
Ushijima's hand touched home plate.
"SAFE!!!"
The home plate umpire spread both arms wide.
For a brief moment, the stadium fell silent.
Then—
WOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The crowd exploded.
An inside-the-park home run.
Against Inashiro.
In the final inning of the West Tokyo Final.
The impossible had become reality.
"..."
The entire Inashiro bench fell silent.
Their morale plummeted.
Meanwhile, Ushijima stood up and roared toward the sky.
"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
It was a release of all the frustration from his previous three failed at-bats.
The Seidou players erupted.
Some were screaming.
Others had tears in their eyes.
Even the players in the dugout felt chills run down their spines.
Reaching third base on that hit would have already been incredible.
But challenging home?
And succeeding?
Only Ushijima Wakatoshi would dare attempt something so outrageous.
"That's our ace!"
"He actually did it!"
"Good job, Ushijima!"
Isashiki and the others shouted excitedly.
The fifth run.
A crushing fifth run.
And somehow, Narumiya Mei was still standing.
Still fighting.
Still refusing to give up.
Kuramochi followed with a groundout.
Isashiki hit a deep fly ball but was retired as well.
"The top of the ninth inning comes to an end."
"Seidou adds one more run through Ushijima Wakatoshi's incredible inside-the-park home run."
"Meanwhile, Inashiro's ace Narumiya Mei has done everything possible to keep his team alive."
"The game now enters the bottom of the ninth."
"Inashiro's final opportunity."
The commentators continued discussing the situation.
"Trailing by five runs against Seidou's ace, the odds are extremely slim."
"But baseball is a sport where momentum can change in a single pitch."
"As long as the game isn't over, Inashiro still has a chance!"
The words reignited hope among Inashiro's supporters.
As Seidou prepared to take the field for the final defensive inning—
A familiar voice suddenly thundered from the stands.
"USHIJIMA!!!"
Everyone turned toward the source.
The former Seidou upperclassmen were standing together.
Azuma Kiyokuni.
Uesugi.
Nitta.
Tokuchi.
Shigeno.
All of Seidou's former stars had come to witness this battle.
"You idiots!"
Azuma roared.
"Don't let your junior carry everything by himself!"
"Three outs!"
"Just three more outs!"
"Finish it!"
Yuki, Miyuki, and the others nodded.
Then Azuma's gaze landed directly on Ushijima.
"Ushijima!"
"Don't repeat last year's regrets!"
"If you can't reach Koshien, holding anything back is meaningless!"
The words struck everyone.
Miyuki.
Yuki.
Masuko.
Every player looked toward their ace.
Ushijima slowly stretched his neck.
Then he patted Miyuki's chest protector.
A confident smile appeared on his face.
"Let's go to Koshien together."
"OHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Every Seidou player roared in response.
Across the field, Inashiro's players watched silently.
Carlos stepped into the batter's box.
The leadoff hitter.
The beginning of Inashiro's final stand.
Behind the plate, Miyuki adjusted his mitt.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
The show is about to begin.
On the mound, Ushijima raised his hand.
Miyuki instantly understood.
A grin appeared on his face.
So you're finally using it.
Inside his glove, Ushijima adjusted his grip.
His index and middle fingers split apart along the seams.
A grip no one in the stadium had seen before.
A brand-new weapon.
His body moved fluidly.
Step.
Twist.
Drive.
Release.
The baseball shot toward home plate.
Its velocity wasn't overwhelming.
Around 145 km/h.
But the spin was different.
The trajectory was different.
Carlos's eyes lit up.
A Fastball?
Not even 150 km/h?
I can hit this!
He timed his swing perfectly.
The bat cut through the air.
Then—
The baseball vanished.
"What?!"
Carlos's eyes widened in disbelief.
The ball had disappeared right before contact.
SMACK!
The baseball slammed into Miyuki's mitt.
Carlos froze.
Completely stunned.
What... was that pitch?