"His opponent right now is the strongest batter in this year's Summer Koshien."
"His batting presence is the strongest in the nation—even stronger than Raichi Todoroki's."
"If Sawamura can throw inside pitches against Ushijima, then his pitching amnesia will be completely cured, and he'll finally overcome his slump."
"But if he still can't throw inside... and Ushijima sends another one flying..."
"Sawamura might really retire today."
Miyuki spoke calmly to Kuramochi and Shirasu as they watched from the sidelines.
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura froze.
His entire body tensed as he struggled with himself.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and imagined Ushijima Wakatoshi as Raichi Todoroki.
With the fearless determination of someone who had nothing left to lose, he lifted his leg high and fired the pitch with everything he had.
The baseball exploded from his hand.
Although Sawamura's release point was well hidden, Ushijima had already studied his pitching mechanics thoroughly.
More importantly, he understood Sawamura's timing.
And Sawamura's first pitch...
Wasn't inside.
It was outside.
Whoosh!
Seeing the ball race toward him, Ushijima swung with terrifying force.
As he swung, he even shouted,
"Go to hell with your baseball dream! Die!!"
Crack!
The wooden bat struck the ball squarely on the sweet spot.
Whoosh!
The baseball soared high into the sky before disappearing beyond the outfield fence.
"Aaall right! It went out!"
Ushijima raised his bat in celebration.
Silence.
The coach, the two club presidents, and every player on the field stood frozen like statues.
Didn't he say he wouldn't swing at the first two pitches?
Wasn't he only supposed to swing at the third pitch if it wasn't inside?
So why...
Had he swung at the very first pitch?
And even blasted it out of the park?
Sawamura stood motionless on the mound, staring at Ushijima in complete disbelief.
Miyuki, Kuramochi, and the others could only twitch the corners of their mouths.
This bastard...
He's absolutely shameless.
"Damn it!!"
Finally snapping out of his daze, Sawamura exploded.
"Didn't you say you'd swing at the third pitch?! Why did you swing at the first one?! And you even hit a home run!"
"We're opponents now."
Ushijima shrugged.
"Why would you believe what your opponent says?"
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Besides..."
"Destroying your baseball dream feels pretty satisfying."
"It's much better if I destroy it than letting Raichi Todoroki do it."
"Heh."
Ushijima openly admitted that he had deliberately deceived Sawamura.
"Damn you!!"
Sawamura was so furious that steam practically rose from his head.
"Just you wait!"
He pointed at Ushijima.
"Don't you dare run!"
Sawamura marched over, grabbed his glove, then dragged an entire basket of baseballs onto the field.
Standing atop the mound once more, he picked up a ball and shouted,
"Whoever runs is a coward!"
"The coward who can't throw inside pitches."
Ushijima fired back without hesitation.
Sawamura said nothing.
He immediately threw the next pitch.
This time...
It was an inside pitch.
Not one meant to hit Ushijima.
It was a genuine, difficult inside pitch aimed at jamming the batter.
Crack!
Without the slightest hesitation, Ushijima swung.
The ball rocketed off the bat.
Another home run.
Sawamura didn't even react.
He grabbed another baseball and fired again.
This time it was a sharper low inside fastball.
Crack!
Ushijima crushed that one too.
The players watching were stunned.
For an entire week...
Sawamura hadn't been able to throw a single proper inside pitch.
Whether during bullpen sessions or practice games...
The moment a batter stood in the box, his pitches would drift away from the inside corner.
His pitching mechanics had also become distorted, causing every pitch to lose its former sharpness.
Yet now...
After being provoked by Ushijima...
Sawamura had already thrown seven or eight consecutive inside pitches.
High inside.
Low inside.
Knee-high inside.
Every single one reached its intended location.
Then Ushijima switched from batting left-handed...
To batting right-handed.
Sawamura didn't hesitate.
He continued attacking the inside corner.
This pitch...
Was a Cutter.
As a left-handed pitcher, Sawamura's Cutter naturally broke inside against a right-handed batter.
Ushijima's switch wasn't for convenience.
It was another test.
Pitch after pitch.
For fifteen consecutive deliveries, Ushijima had made solid contact with every inside pitch while batting left-handed.
Not every hit became a home run.
But every single pitch was struck cleanly.
Now, batting right-handed, the first pitch he faced was the Cutter.
Crack!
Ushijima swung.
The late movement of the Cutter caused the ball to catch the end of the wooden bat.
Snap!
The bat split in two.
"Hahaha!"
Sawamura burst into laughter.
"My pitch broke your bat!"
"What are you so happy about?"
Ushijima replied calmly.
"The bat broke, sure."
"But the ball still landed fair."
Sawamura instantly fell silent.
Without another word, Ushijima walked over and picked up a metal bat.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every inside pitch that followed was driven into the field.
By now, Sawamura had emptied an entire basket of baseballs.
"Damn it!"
"Not a single swing and miss!"
He reached into the basket for another ball...
Only to realize it was empty.
"You finished throwing them all."
Ushijima rested the bat on his shoulder.
Only then did Sawamura finally realize what he had been doing.
In his anger...
He had thrown dozens of consecutive inside pitches without even thinking.
"Hehe..."
The players watching couldn't help but laugh.
"Ushijima really knows how to deal with him."
Kominato Haruichi finally let out a relieved smile.
Walking over, Ushijima looked at everyone else and said,
"You guys spoil him too much."
"He suffers one little setback, and everyone tiptoes around him instead of confronting the problem."
He glanced at Sawamura.
"Anyone who truly loves sports is at least a little crazy."
"Sometimes all they need is a bit of stimulation."
"They'll snap out of it on their own."
"And if they still can't recover..."
"Then they should retire early."
"Dragging things out won't make them any better."
"It's just a waste of time."
His blunt criticism left Kuramochi, Miyuki, and the others speechless.
Then Ushijima turned toward Kominato.
"Your bat broke."
"You can have mine."
"Really?"
Kominato smiled.
"Thanks. Wooden bats aren't cheap."
Unlike the team's metal bats, which were provided free of charge, wooden bats normally had to be purchased by the players themselves.
Only when wooden bats were required for official games would the team provide them.
During regular practice...
Everyone paid for their own.
------------------
pa-treon com/Scabitsin