"Damn it! Give Seido a good beating!"
"Did you hear me?!"
In the audience, Narumiya Mei, unable to swallow his anger, loudly cheered for Yakushi High School.
The players from both teams on the field stared in astonishment at Narumiya Mei, who had completely lost his composure in the stands.
Ushijima Wakatoshi simply smiled and didn't seem to care.
Back in the locker room, both teams handed over their starting lineups.
"Raichi Todoroki is the first batter?" Everyone was surprised when they saw the lineup.
"What the hell is this starting order? It's completely different from Ichidai Sankou's lineup."
Jun Isashiki looked shocked. This was clearly different from what they had previously prepared for.
"They made their move so quickly?"
Chris Yū Takigawa was also surprised.
"I reminded them," Ushijima Wakatoshi explained calmly.
"What do you mean?"
Tetsuya Yūki asked.
"It was after I overheard their conversation that day. I specifically told them something."
"Put Raichi Todoroki as the first batter so they could get an extra batting opportunity early."
"It seems they really took my words to heart."
Once everyone realized it was Ushijima Wakatoshi who had suggested it, they had no more questions.
"Take the field!"
After Yuki Tetsuya shouted Seido's slogan, he led the way out.
"Oh!!!"
Everyone responded enthusiastically and ran onto the field.
The players quickly took their positions.
Meanwhile, Ushijima Wakatoshi and Miyuki Kazuya discussed how to approach the first inning.
The first batter was Raichi Todoroki — Yakushi's most dangerous hitter.
"Oh? The first batter for Yakushi High School is Raichi Todoroki?"
"Yeah, isn't this guy their cleanup hitter?"
The spectators from other schools watching in the stands were shocked.
However, everyone from Inashiro watched quietly without saying a word.
On the pitcher's mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi watched as Raichi Todoroki stepped into the left batter's box.
Raichi grinned widely, clearly excited for the matchup.
But the moment he settled into the batter's box, he felt the pressure coming from the pitcher on the mound.
The overwhelming aura made Raichi instinctively hold his breath.
This terrifying presence was even stronger than the pitcher he had faced in the previous match.
Crouching behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya glanced at Raichi Todoroki.
The umpire handed the baseball to Miyuki, who then tossed it to the mound.
Ushijima Wakatoshi caught the ball and waited for the umpire's signal.
"Play!"
The umpire signaled the start of the game.
"Hahaha~"
Standing in the batter's box, Raichi Todoroki felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple.
The game hadn't even started yet. He had only felt Ushijima Wakatoshi's presence.
And yet he was already burning with excitement.
What kind of pressure would the actual pitch bring?
Miyuki Kazuya knew exactly how dangerous this opponent was, so he didn't underestimate him.
The very first batter was Yakushi High School's strongest hitter.
Every pitch had to be chosen carefully.
"The usual?" Miyuki asked in code.
Ushijima Wakatoshi bent slightly on the mound and made two coded gestures with his right hand against his left arm.
"Alright, let's go with the usual."
After receiving the sign, Miyuki raised his glove.
"Huh?"
The audience was surprised to see the target Miyuki had set.
From the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi suddenly spoke.
"Raichi Todoroki… here it comes!"
Hearing this, Raichi Todoroki's focus sharpened even more.
Ushijima Wakatoshi raised both hands and lifted his left leg high.
Turning sideways, he gripped the baseball tightly in his right hand.
He stepped forward with his left foot.
As his body rotated forward, his arm whipped downward like a long lash.
At the perfect moment—
The ball was released.
PFFT—!
The baseball shot forward like a cannon blast.
Raichi Todoroki was startled when he saw the ball coming toward him.
"That pitch… is insane…"
He didn't know if it was his imagination.
But what he saw wasn't a baseball.
It felt more like a hungry wolf howling as it lunged toward its prey.
The ferocious power ignited Raichi's fighting spirit.
With flames burning in his eyes, he grinned and swung instinctively.
BOOM!
The force of Raichi's swing tore through the air with a deafening sound.
But his bat cut through nothing.
The baseball passed above his bat by less than a centimeter.
BANG!
Miyuki Kazuya stood up and caught the blazing fast pitch.
The sound of the ball slamming into the glove echoed like an explosion.
"!!!!!"
The entire stadium froze.
Spectators, players, students, reporters, and commentators—all of them were stunned.
Raichi Todoroki remained frozen in his follow-through.
On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi stared calmly at the "little monkey."
"156 kilometers per hour…"
Someone in the stands checked the radar gun and spoke with a trembling voice.
"What?! 156?!"
People nearby gasped in disbelief.
One person heard it.
Then two… three… ten… a hundred.
In an instant, everyone in the stadium knew.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had thrown a 156 km/h fastball on the very first pitch.
The entire stadium erupted into shock.
Players from other schools broke out in cold sweat after hearing the speed.
A fastball at 156 km/h would already be considered elite even in professional baseball.
Pitchers who can throw 150 km/h or faster are called fireballers.
Those who can approach 160 km/h are among the absolute top power pitchers.
And now—
A first-year high school pitcher had thrown 156 km/h.
Did they realize what level that was?
Although Japanese high school baseball had once seen pitches exceeding 160 km/h…
That had happened many years ago.
At present, there was almost no high school pitcher who could even reach 155 km/h.
"The ball is ridiculously fast…"
Masatoshi Harada felt a chill run down his spine.
He suddenly remembered what Ushijima Wakatoshi had said two months ago.
Back then, Wakatoshi had told Narumiya Mei that he had not yet shown his full strength.
And that by the time the finals arrived… even he didn't know how strong he would become.
Now it seemed those words were true.
Back then, his fastball had reached 155 km/h.
Now it was 156 km/h.
That small increase was enough to make everyone from Inashiro break out in goosebumps.
Narumiya Mei, however, looked even more excited.
That pitch was fierce… arrogant… overwhelming.
But the other players didn't share his excitement.
Instead—
They felt nothing but pressure.