Chapter 243: A Head-On Showdown?

"Miyuki Kazuya, you're the captain, you idiot! How do you strike out swinging like that?!"

Sawamura glared at Miyuki with his trademark cat-like eyes, loudly voicing his frustration.

Miyuki, now the unfortunate target of the lecture, simply sighed and ignored the chatter while putting on his catching gear with help from his teammates.

The top of the second inning began.

Glove in hand, Ushijima Wakatoshi strode onto the mound.

Leading off for Ugumori...

...was their ace, Umemiya.

Ushijima smiled.

"So eager for revenge?"

Umemiya grinned back.

"You're damn right!"

"I'm getting payback for that hit you got off me!"

His fighting spirit was impossible to miss.

Come on, Ushijima Wakatoshi!

Don't run away!

Aren't you the kind of pitcher who loves facing hitters head-on?

A man's duel should be settled with a fastball!

Ushijima couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.

Seriously...

When I was batting, you never gave me a fastball to hit.

So why should I give you one now?

If you won't challenge me...

Why should I challenge you?

Seeing Miyuki's sign, Ushijima smiled knowingly.

His index and middle fingers pressed together along the seam.

He lifted both hands...

And delivered the pitch.

Whoosh!

"What?!"

Umemiya's eyes widened.

"A curveball?!"

He never even started his swing.

Snap!

The ball dropped sharply into Miyuki's mitt.

"Strike!"

The umpire's call echoed through the stadium.

The pitch had been completely unexpected.

Everyone had assumed Ushijima would open with one of his fastball variations—his Four-Seam, Two-Seam, or Sinker.

Instead...

He started with a curveball.

More importantly...

It was a right-handed curveball.

During official games, Ushijima almost always threw his curveball with his left hand.

Very few people had ever seen him use it from the right side.

Its large, vertical break made it especially deceptive.

Every pitcher threw a curveball differently.

Some emphasized sweeping movement.

Others relied on depth.

Ushijima's version featured a massive vertical drop, breaking sharply despite its slower velocity.

It was unmistakably his own.

Umemiya clicked his tongue.

"Damn it..."

"He didn't take me head-on."

Ushijima looked back calmly.

A head-on battle?

You're one to talk.

You never challenged me with a fastball either.

Why should I give you what you want?

I'm not Furuya.

And I'm definitely not Sawamura.

I'm not going to throw a fastball just because you shouted, "Don't run away."

If you want a real showdown...

You should have challenged me first.

Although neither of them spoke aloud...

The message was perfectly understood.

Umemiya could only smile bitterly.

He couldn't argue.

After all...

He hadn't challenged Ushijima directly either.

For the second pitch...

Ushijima chose a slider.

Whoosh!

The ball traveled at roughly 135 km/h, nearly 10 km/h slower than his fastball.

Just before reaching home plate...

It darted nearly 35 centimeters toward the catcher's glove side.

Clang!

Umemiya barely managed to foul it away.

"Damn..."

"That slider is nasty."

"It's almost as sharp as Narumiya's."

"And this isn't even one of his primary pitches."

"If he refined it even further..."

"...he'd be almost impossible to hit."

Pressure mounted inside Umemiya's chest.

For the third pitch...

A slight smile appeared on Ushijima's face.

Miyuki immediately recognized it.

He's already decided.

Across the plate, Umemiya tightened his grip.

Come on...

Give me the fastball.

This time...

Ushijima did.

Whoosh!

"It's here!"

"Inside fastball!"

Umemiya shouted inwardly.

He committed without hesitation.

The timing...

Was perfect.

His bat accelerated toward the baseball.

Then—

Just before contact—

The ball suddenly tailed upward toward the inside corner.

"What?!"

"A Shuuto?!"

Umemiya's eyes widened.

His swing cut through empty air.

Snap!

The ball settled cleanly into Miyuki's mitt.

"Strike three!"

"You're out!"

The umpire's call rang across the field.

"Damn you..."

Umemiya stood frozen.

His entire body trembled.

Not from anger.

But excitement.

This is it.

A pitcher who refuses to be dragged into my pace...

A pitcher who sticks to his own game plan...

Now that's someone worth competing against.

The fifth batter stepped in.

Ushijima continued attacking aggressively with his best fastball variations.

A 140+ km/h Two-Seam.

Followed by a 140+ km/h Shuuto.

The batter never found his timing.

Strike three.

The sixth batter didn't fare any better.

Three consecutive Two-Seam Fastballs jammed him inside.

Three pitches.

Three strikes.

Another strikeout.

"Whoa!"

The crowd of over five thousand spectators erupted once again.

"He's unbelievable!"

"Three straight inside pitches for another strikeout!"

"How many hitters has Ushijima struck out that way by now?"

"Haha!"

"It has to be well into the hundreds!"

The inning ended quickly.

Now it was Seido's turn to hit.

Toujou led off.

Inspired by Ushijima's dominant inning, Umemiya raised his own intensity.

Toujou was retired.

Kanemaru followed...

Out.

Maezono stepped in next...

Also retired.

Three up.

Three down.

Kanemaru shook his head in frustration as they returned to the dugout.

"The difference in his pitch speeds completely throws off your rhythm."

Ushijima rested his glove on his shoulder.

"That's only effective the first time through the lineup."

"Once everyone has seen his pitches..."

"The pressure shifts onto him."

He looked toward Ugumori's dugout.

"But their lineup is solid."

"If their pitcher loses command..."

"They have enough offensive firepower to make any mistake hurt."

Everyone nodded.

They understood exactly what Ushijima meant.

The first trip through the order belonged to Umemiya.

The second...

...would determine whether Ugumori could keep the game under control.