"This guy…" Kominato-senpai narrowed his eyes, clearly a little irritated.
Yet Miyuki Kazuya calmly set his mitt again.
Seeing this, Ushijima Wakatoshi bent forward slightly, locking eyes with Kominato in front of him. Then he straightened, raised both hands smoothly, and entered his pitching stance.
His left foot stepped forward sharply. His right hand gripped the baseball as his body twisted, power coiling like a spring.
His arm whipped forward.
The baseball shot out at 144 kilometers per hour, streaking straight toward the catcher's mitt.
Kominato-senpai's eyes sharpened instantly.
A fastball? Or a two-seam?
The pitch came in high—inside.
All these judgments happened in less than 0.1 seconds.
Kominato reacted immediately, swinging his bat.
But just as the ball crossed home plate, it suddenly drifted sideways.
Bang!!!
The sharp metallic crack echoed across the field.
The ball flew backward, slicing foul.
"Are you insane?" Kominato-senpai muttered, still in the batter's box. "A high inside two-seam?"
"Hehe~ Kominato-senpai, how was that control?" Miyuki asked mischievously.
"…Seriously," Kominato said, clicking his tongue. "You two teaming up as pitcher and catcher is just—"
"One dares to call, one dares to throw."
His complaint only made Miyuki grin wider.
"If the velocity were a little higher, that pitch would've been a nightmare."
"Visually, those two-seams didn't reach 140, right?" Kominato Ryosuke asked.
That was obvious. Compared to the previous pitch, the speed had dropped slightly.
The fastest two-seam fastball ever recorded reached 165 km/h—but that was under the condition of Diamond-level control.
Ushijima Wakatoshi currently only possessed Silver control and a Silver two-seam.
That meant if he wanted to maintain control, his two-seam couldn't exceed 140 km/h. Go past that, and even he couldn't rein it in.
"To reach this speed already makes him outstanding," Miyuki said. "Don't forget—he's only a first-year."
"Give him time. Once his control improves, the velocity will rise naturally."
Kominato fell silent.
"You have time to wait for him," he said quietly. "We don't."
That single sentence wiped the smile from Miyuki's face.
The third-years only had half a year left.
If they failed to reach Summer Koshien, their high school baseball careers would end—unfinished.
"…Still," Kominato continued, "Ushijima is reliable."
"His mindset is far too mature for a first-year. I believe he can do it."
"Improve his control—and maybe he can really help us reach Koshien."
With that, Kominato stepped back in.
Two strikes.
And now—the real battle began.
This was psychological warfare.
The catcher guessed what the batter expected.
The batter guessed what the pitcher dared to throw.
Baseball was a battle of hearts.
Whoosh!!!
The third pitch came—even faster.
Kominato's eyes widened.
"Four—four-seam!"
His bat sliced through empty air.
Strikeout.
The previous two pitches had conditioned Kominato's perception. The two-seams were under 140 km/h.
But this fastball?
Around 145 km/h.
A mere 10 km/h difference—but in baseball, that gap was enormous.
A hesitation of just 0.1 seconds was enough to decide everything.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Coach Kataoka's excitement was impossible to hide.
Two pitch types, perfectly combined.
For modern baseball, every additional pitch meant more tactical depth.
Watching Ushijima seamlessly alternate between a two-seam and a four-seam, Kataoka knew—
The pitcher he had waited years for had finally arrived.
Over the coming months, Ushijima's control needed careful training.
Once his 150 km/h four-seam gained consistency, reaching Koshien would no longer be a dream.
And if—
If he mastered control over both a 150 km/h four-seam and a 150 km/h two-seam…
No complicated breaking balls would even be necessary.
Just alternating between the two would be enough to crush batters.
Used to my four-seam? Here comes the two-seam.
Adjusted to that? Then take an inside low heater.
Despair would follow.
"Come on!!!"
Isashiki burst into the batter's box, pointing his bat at the mound.
"You arrogant brat—this old man's blasting you out of the park!!!"
His presence was fierce.
Miyuki flashed a sign.
Ushijima shook his head.
Miyuki froze—then tried again.
Another shake of the head.
Ushijima raised his hand and gestured instead.
Miyuki's eyes lit up.
He set his mitt.
"Fox-dog senpai," Ushijima said calmly, "here it comes."
He straightened, raised both hands, and lifted his left leg.
In that instant—
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
Like blue flames, raging and violent.
Isashiki felt it immediately.
The pressure slammed into him, suffocating.
The momentum he'd built vanished, crushed under Ushijima Wakatoshi's presence.
Bang!!!
Left foot stomped down.
Body twisted.
Arm swung.
The baseball exploded from his hand—
Like a cannonball, screaming toward home plate.