Clang!
Miyuki Kazuya was completely fooled by the pitch selection, resulting in a weak hit.
Bang!
The shortstop cleanly fielded the ball and fired it to first base.
"Out!"
The first-base umpire spread his arms decisively.
"Tch!"
Miyuki clicked his tongue in frustration as he jogged back toward the dugout.
On the mound, Narumiya Mei smirked proudly.
"Heh heh~ Trying to hit my changeup, were you?"
This time, Miyuki had truly been baited.
"He used the fastball to pressure me first… then suddenly switched to the forkball."
"Even when you know it's coming, your body still can't react in time…"
Miyuki could only sigh helplessly.
Next up was Kominato.
But not long after—
He was retired as well.
The final batter of the inning: Furuya Satoru.
"First-years again?!"
"It's still too early for freshmen to dominate the stage!"
"Go, Pikachu— no wait, go, crossfire fastball!"
Narumiya shouted nonsense while unleashing a blazing crossfire pitch with full force.
BANG!!
Furuya didn't hesitate.
Using his powerful full swing, he attacked immediately.
CLANG!!
The baseball rocketed toward the outfield wall like a laser—
Only to hook foul at the last moment.
"Whoa…"
Even Narumiya looked surprised.
"He actually caught up to that pitch?"
Masatoshi Harada's eyes widened slightly.
Narumiya's fastball might not have reached 148 km/h, but it was still well above 145.
Yet Seido's ninth batter had nearly crushed it.
And because Furuya had never officially pitched in a game before, Inashiro had no idea just how terrifying this seemingly quiet freshman truly was.
A hidden monster.
"Out!"
Still, Furuya was eventually retired while everyone was still discussing that foul ball.
Back in the dugout, Ushijima Wakatoshi stretched his neck slowly.
That crossfire fastball from earlier…
"This is going to be troublesome," he muttered quietly.
Then he glanced at the others with clear disdain.
"I seriously don't understand you guys."
"Why are all of you so obsessed with hitting Narumiya's changeup?"
"If you fail to hit it, are you going to lose a piece of flesh or something?"
"One by one, you keep gambling on when he'll throw it…"
"And then you swing yourselves into the ground."
"Is that actually useful?"
"Instead, you're letting yourselves get led around by the nose."
As he cracked his neck, Ushijima mercilessly mocked Miyuki and the others.
Miyuki instantly fell silent.
Because he couldn't refute a single word.
"In the entire first round through the lineup," Ushijima continued coldly, "only me and Jun-senpai managed clean hits."
"The rest of you couldn't even get on base."
"Wake up already."
"This is the finals."
The dugout instantly became deathly quiet.
No one dared to respond.
Because unfortunately…
He was right.
"Tch, I got on base, okay?" Kuramochi protested unwillingly.
"I walked and scored!"
Ushijima immediately shot him down.
"You think getting on base from a walk is something to brag about?"
"…."
Kuramochi's face darkened instantly.
He didn't dare continue arguing.
"At least Kuramochi-senpai's job is built around pressure tactics and speed," Ushijima continued.
"But the rest of you…"
"All those batting drills I fed you over the past few months—were they completely wasted?"
"I'm not demanding home runs."
"But at least get a clean hit or reach base properly."
"Is this really how you repay all the effort I spent training you?"
One sentence after another.
Each stab landed directly in their hearts.
Kuramochi.
Kominato.
Masuko.
Miyuki.
Shirasu.
Furuya.
The six of them stood in a line like children being scolded by a strict teacher.
Meanwhile, Isashiki and Yuki — the only ones temporarily spared — watched from the side with secretly delighted expressions.
Finally…
It wasn't their turn to get roasted.
Ever since Ushijima joined Seido, his overwhelming strength and leadership had naturally earned everyone's respect.
Not only was he the ace—
He constantly practiced with the team, personally pitching batting practice for them and helping improve their swings.
Because of that, despite being a first-year, he had long earned the authority to lecture the upperclassmen.
In fact, ever since Ushijima arrived…
The coach himself barely needed to scold the team anymore.
Because Ushijima did it first.
"Tch. After the game, I'm definitely beating this brat up," Kuramochi muttered internally.
"Agreed," Kominato silently thought.
"Count me in," Shirasu added mentally.
"I'll provide the bats," Miyuki contributed telepathically.
"As many as you need."
"What are you all still standing around for?" Ushijima barked.
"Get on the field and prepare for defense!"
"Do I have to worry about everything myself?!"
"Yes!!"
Everyone instantly jumped up and rushed onto the field obediently.
"…Every single day," Ushijima sighed while putting on his glove before following behind them.
Chris and the others watching nearby could only smile helplessly.
But the relaxed atmosphere quickly disappeared.
Because Inashiro's fourth batter was stepping up to the plate.
Masatoshi Harada.
Team captain.
Cleanup hitter.
Catcher.
A batter who was absolutely not easy to deal with.
After crouching behind home plate, Miyuki lowered his voice.
"Ushijima… you know this guy isn't ordinary, right?"
But Ushijima merely stared calmly at Harada standing in the right-handed batter's box.
He could naturally feel the pressure coming from him.
But so what?
Harada was strong.
Very strong.
However—
Ushijima had already faced even more terrifying batters before.
Yuki Tetsuya.
Azuma Kiyokuni.
Compared to those monsters, Harada still fell slightly short.
"You're up, fourth batter!" Narumiya shouted loudly from the dugout while teasing his captain.
"Quit yapping already!" Harada snapped back irritably.
"You're seriously annoying!"
"Yeah, I agree."
Miyuki nodded deeply from behind the plate.
"Pitchers really are the most annoying creatures alive."
Harada blinked in surprise.
"What? Your pitcher's like that too?"
"Absolutely."
Miyuki looked emotionally exhausted.
"I just got publicly lectured in the dugout. Apparently nobody's allowed to return unless they get a hit."
"Well, our little brat isn't much better either," Harada complained.
"He never stops talking."
"Same here," Miyuki said with deep sympathy.
"Our wild ace is incredibly sharp-tongued too. He definitely made a bunch of sarcastic comments earlier."
The umpire standing nearby suddenly felt enlightened.
So the Left-Handed King, Narumiya Mei, was actually a noisy brat.
And the Right-Handed King, Ushijima Wakatoshi, was a savage menace.
…Yeah.
Pitchers really were troublesome creatures.