In Ushijima's memory, there were several true "Diamond Aces."
For example—
The opponent right in front of him.
Taichi Hiromi.
Osaka Kiryu's Ace pitcher.
And their fourth batter.
Another example was Inashiro's Narumiya Mei.
Also an ace.
Also a core batter.
Among high school players, this kind of two-way role—both pitching and hitting—wasn't rare.
But in professional baseball?
Players who could truly dominate both sides of the game were almost nonexistent.
Which only proved one thing.
Anyone who could do both…
Was a monster.
"Come on… avenge what happened earlier, Captain."
The catcher gave Taichi Hiromi a look and set his glove.
On the mound, Taichi felt it.
That pressure.
That fighting spirit.
Ushijima Wakatoshi stood in the batter's box, completely locked in.
Eyes sharp.
Body coiled.
The aura around him was explosive.
It made Taichi's heart skip for a second.
He's already their ace…
And he's also the fifth batter…
And he still dares to glare at me like that?
Anger surged up instantly.
"Then try hitting this!"
He threw with everything he had.
His best pitch.
The instant the ball left his hand—
Ushijima's eyes snapped open.
At the same time—
Yuki on second base broke into a sprint.
Ushijima tracked the ball calmly.
Slider.
130 km/h.
Breaking from right to left… inside corner…
Clear.
Too clear.
Both hands tightened around the bat.
He swung.
CRACK!!!
A metallic explosion echoed across the field.
Everyone from Kiryu froze.
The ball rocketed out on a line—
CLANG!!!
It smashed directly into the left-field wall.
A laser shot.
Another extra-base hit.
And—
Almost the exact same spot where Yuki's ball had struck just moments ago.
Less than a few centimeters apart.
"…!!!"
The entire stadium was stunned.
"I knew it," Yuki smiled as he rounded third.
He didn't even slow down.
Straight home.
Meanwhile—
Ushijima had already reached second.
But he kept going.
No hesitation.
"What?! He's still running?!" the second baseman shouted.
"Third! Throw to third!!"
The left fielder fired the ball back desperately.
But Ushijima slid cleanly—
SMACK!
Dust exploded.
The third baseman caught the ball and looked down—
"SAFE!!"
The umpire's arms spread wide.
Triple.
The crowd erupted.
"He turned that into a triple?!"
"That was a left-field hit!"
"It almost looked like a home run!"
"A triple is harder than a homer sometimes!"
"Ushijima is insane!!"
Cheers thundered across the stadium.
Kuramochi whistled with his hands in his pockets.
"Haha… that guy's ridiculous. Turning that into third base?"
Kominato sighed.
"With those long legs… unfair advantage."
"Yeah," Kuramochi nodded. "Home to third in under ten seconds, easy."
"Long legs don't always mean fast though, right Tanba?"
"..."
Tanba blushed and stayed silent.
Despite being just as tall… he absolutely couldn't run like that.
Miyuki clicked his tongue.
"The attacks from those two cousins… that's not human."
"Yeah," Isashiki muttered. "Total monsters."
On the other side—
Kiryu's faces were pale.
Their coach nearly exploded.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Fine—he pitches well. Fine—he hits hard. I can accept that!"
"Our Taichi does that too!"
"But that speed?!"
"A clean left-field hit with no errors—and he reaches third?!"
"That makes no sense!"
"If it was center field, maybe!"
"Right field, maybe!"
"But left field?!"
"That's ridiculous!!"
Seido was simply too outrageous.
First-year ace shuts down their lineup.
First-year fifth batter smashes a triple.
One after another.
Like they were being toyed with.
Now it was Masuko's turn.
Sixth batter.
They probably think I'll play it safe… hit a short grounder… bring the runner home, he thought.
That was the textbook choice.
But Masuko glanced at Ushijima on third.
The two exchanged a quiet nod.
No small ball.
No fear.
We swing.
On the mound, Taichi felt cornered.
Two runs already gone.
If another scored, the game might spiral out of control.
His lips twisted into a fierce grin.
"Then let's settle this."
Two strikes.
Full count.
No room left to retreat.
Taichi Hiromi fired his sixth pitch at Masuko—
A psychological gamble.