Seido's Second Team match at Field B was in full swing.
Sawamura's performance was eye-catching, especially his exaggerated pitching form.
Every throw was full of spirit.
If Seido didn't already have someone like Ushijima, the coaches would probably be even more excited about him.
But right now?
Seido had an absurd number of pitchers.
Even so, Coach Kataoka couldn't bear to waste Sawamura's talent.
That was why he had still promoted him to the First String.
Yet the moment Sawamura learned that Chris hadn't made it…
He froze.
Shock.
Disappointment.
Even resentment.
In his heart, Chris was stronger than him.
Chris deserved that spot more.
Because of that thought, Sawamura even tried to go talk to the coach—
But the First String stopped him.
In the end, all he could do was train harder.
To carry Chris's dream too.
So he practiced.
And practiced.
And practiced.
Until it became excessive.
"This idiot's overdoing it again…"
Kuramochi clicked his tongue, worried like an older brother.
Masuko, who shared a dorm with Sawamura, also watched silently with concern.
"Sawamura, stop already. It's time to rest," Kuramochi called out.
But Sawamura didn't even respond.
He just kept running.
Kept throwing.
Kept pushing himself.
Like a machine.
No one could stop him.
The whole team felt helpless.
Then—
Ushijima casually weighed a baseball in his hand.
And suddenly threw it.
Whoosh—
A white blur cut through the air.
"Oh—?!"
Sawamura instinctively stopped.
The ball passed right by his face.
"Ah, sorry," Ushijima said lazily. "My hand slipped. I was aiming for your shoulder."
Everyone turned to stare at him.
"Damn it, Ushijima! What are you doing?! You could've hurt me!" Sawamura shouted.
Ushijima calmly took off his cap.
"Does it matter?"
"Huh?"
"Is there really any difference between me injuring you…"
"…and you destroying yourself from overtraining?"
Sawamura froze.
Ushijima's voice stayed flat.
"Chris got injured and couldn't play."
"You're carrying his hopes now, right?"
"But if you keep training like an idiot and wreck your body too—"
"Then what?"
"All the expectations your seniors placed on you will be wasted."
"You'd just become a burden."
"A sinner who couldn't fulfill their promise."
The air went silent.
"So if you're going to hurt yourself anyway," Ushijima continued, "I might as well injure you now."
"At least then you'd have an excuse to rest."
Sawamura's fists tightened.
"I won't get hurt!!!" he yelled.
"Oh really?" Ushijima replied.
"I heard Chris said the same thing last year."
"…And look how that turned out."
That hit.
Hard.
Sawamura couldn't say anything.
Ushijima crossed his arms.
"Listen. I'm the team's ace."
"The coach trusts me."
"If you keep overtraining, I'll just tell him you're not allowed to pitch the next day."
"What?!"
Sawamura exploded and rushed over.
"You bastard! Why wouldn't you let me pitch?!"
Ushijima yawned.
"Hahaha! You're scared, aren't you?!" Sawamura laughed loudly.
"You're afraid I'll steal your ace spot!"
"I knew it! My talent scares you!"
"You're using dirty tricks, huh?!"
His shameless delusion reached a whole new level.
Ushijima didn't even bother replying.
He just ignored him completely.
Seeing Sawamura back to his usual loud, stupid self…
The rest of the team secretly relaxed.
Good.
He was fine again.
From the side, Takashima Rei adjusted her glasses.
"Ushijima really knows how to handle Sawamura."
Coach Kataoka nodded.
"Threaten his pitching time and he behaves immediately."
"…We'll keep using that method."
Poor Sawamura.
Completely manipulated.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Coach called out.
"Training camp starts tomorrow. Everyone prepare yourselves."
At the word training camp, the older players grinned.
But the first-years had no idea what kind of hell awaited them.
This year, four first-years had made First String.
Two pitchers.
One batter.
And one terrifying two-way player.
The next day, training camp began.
From day one, the intensity skyrocketed.
"Bang!"
The assistant coach smashed balls one after another for fielding practice.
"Oda!"
Ushijima sprinted.
Leapt.
Snagged the ball cleanly out of the air.
Even though he was the ace pitcher, he still trained defense daily.
On non-pitching days, he practiced hitting and fielding—mostly shortstop and center field.
"Smack!"
Nearby, Kominato Haruichi caught another ball.
Without hesitation, he flipped it to Ushijima.
Ushijima reached second base in two quick steps, caught the toss, stepped on the bag—
Then jumped and fired the ball to first.
A perfect double play.
"Wow…!"
"The coordination between those two first-years…"
"It's just like Kuramochi and Ryosuke's combo."
Hearing that comparison—
Kuramochi and Ryosuke both looked extremely annoyed.
Because it was true.
What made it worse?
Ushijima wasn't just a pitcher.
He could hit.
Play outfield.
Guard shortstop.
Basically anything.
"…So unfair," Kuramochi muttered.
A monster who could do everything.
That kind of teammate—
Was honestly the most irritating type of all.