"Hey, hey… he's stepping closer to home plate."
"He's provoking him."
"He's basically demanding another cutter."
The audience immediately understood what Shirakawa was trying to do.
After all, Carlos had just been struck out by three consecutive two-seamers.
Naturally, Shirakawa guessed Ushijima would continue attacking with cutters now.
Uesugi narrowed his eyes as he watched the batter's movement.
"He's challenging Ushijima head-on."
"He wants to force the cutter matchup."
Everyone in the stadium focused on the confrontation unfolding at home plate.
On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi sneered.
"Heh… asking for it, huh?"
Before Miyuki could even give a sign—
Ushijima suddenly spoke first.
"You want a cutter?"
"Fine."
"I'll throw it to you."
"I'm just afraid you still won't be able to hit it."
The moment those words left his mouth, the crowd exploded.
Even Miyuki was briefly surprised.
You idiot…
He's obviously provoking you on purpose, and you still took the bait?
But then Miyuki immediately calmed down.
No…
Whether this is really bait or not…
Is still hard to say.
WHOOSH!!!
Ushijima unleashed the second pitch.
A blazing white streak tore through the air toward home plate.
"So fast!"
Shirakawa's eyes widened instantly.
That velocity… it's definitely over 150 km/h!
At this speed, there's no way it's a cutter!
For a split second, Shirakawa hesitated.
Two-seam?
Four-seam?
Because of the insane velocity, he instinctively assumed it had to be one of Ushijima's fastballs.
But before he could fully process it—
The baseball suddenly dropped sharply toward the outside corner.
SMACK!!!
Miyuki barely managed to receive the pitch cleanly.
"Strike!"
The umpire's call rang out immediately.
"How is that possible…?"
"Cutter?!"
Shirakawa stared at Ushijima in complete disbelief.
On the mound, Ushijima looked directly at him.
"I told you."
"I'd throw it."
"But you still couldn't hit it."
Behind the plate, even Miyuki was stunned internally.
The cutter evolved too?!
The entire Inashiro bench fell silent.
Anyone could tell—
That cutter had reached nearly 150 km/h.
Even if it hadn't fully crossed the mark, it was still far faster than Ushijima's previous cutter velocity.
No one expected this.
Not only had Ushijima's two-seam improved—
Even his cutter had evolved.
A cutter around 150 km/h?
That was absurd.
"This is ridiculous…"
"He evolved again?"
"He can throw three different fastballs above 150 now?"
"Is this guy already at professional level?!"
The Inashiro players were completely shaken.
No one warned them Ushijima had become even stronger.
But even Seido's players were stunned.
Today, Ushijima had revealed an entirely new level of pitching.
In the dugout, Kominato Haruichi quietly clenched his fists.
…Is he doing this for my brother?
Beside him, Kominato Ryosuke silently watched the mound.
His expression became complicated.
He understood.
Ushijima's explosive start today—
The overwhelming velocity.
The terrifying pressure.
It was all most likely because of his injured foot.
Ushijima was trying to reduce the number of balls put into play.
That was why he had unleashed pitch speeds he normally never used.
Whether it was the earlier two-seam…
Or this cutter now.
From second base, Kominato had a clear view.
The earlier two-seam barely even entered the strike zone.
Carlos only swung because the pitch was too fast and too overpowering.
And although this cutter technically clipped the zone—
It had barely stayed controllable.
Which meant—
Ushijima had probably always possessed this level of velocity.
He simply sacrificed speed in exchange for control.
Miyuki naturally realized this too.
So it didn't "evolve."
He always had this velocity.
He just intentionally suppressed it to maintain command.
Miyuki's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
If that's true…
Then the sinker and shootball can probably exceed 150 too.
But once those pitches go beyond 150—
He completely loses control.
That means those pitches can only be used at critical moments.
Meanwhile, Shirakawa stood frozen in the batter's box.
A cutter over 150 km/h…
And it still had that much movement…
What kind of control is this monster using?!
On the mound, Ushijima looked toward Miyuki.
After confirming the next sign, he gave a slight nod.
Then—
The third pitch came.
Shirakawa remained standing close to the plate, exactly like before.
But the instant he saw the ball screaming toward his inside corner—
His expression changed dramatically.
"Oh crap!"
The fastball came straight toward his face at roughly 145 km/h.
Because he had moved so close to the plate, he had almost no room to react.
Forget swinging—
He instinctively leaned backward to avoid getting hit.
WHOOSH!
SMACK!
The baseball blew past him and slammed into Miyuki's glove.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire's voice echoed across the stadium.
"DAMN IT!!!"
Shirakawa gritted his teeth furiously.
For the third pitch—
Instead of another cutter outside—
They suddenly attacked the inside corner directly.
He originally thought Ushijima would repeat the exact same pattern used against Carlos.
Three consecutive pitches of the same type.
But instead—
The sequence completely reversed expectations.
Two cutters away.
Then suddenly—
A fastball inside.
He had been completely outplayed.
Shirakawa glared furiously toward Miyuki Kazuya.
That bastard again…
Ever since Little League…
I've never gotten along with him.
Back then, Miyuki had completely read his tendencies and struck him out with inside pitches too.
And even now—
Years later—
He still got tricked by him again.
After conditioning him with two outside cutters—
Miyuki suddenly called for an inside fastball.
"Hehe~"
Seeing Shirakawa's furious expression, Miyuki looked extremely satisfied.
Back in the dugout, Carlos smirked coldly.
"Told you."
"They got played."
"Ugh… this pitcher-catcher duo is seriously annoying."
"They're exactly the type I hate dealing with."
But before Shirakawa could say anything else—
Narumiya Mei immediately started yelling from the dugout.
"Shirakawa!"
"Don't think you can hide the fact that you struck out!"
"What the hell were you doing?!"
"We practiced against cutters so many times at school!"
"And you still couldn't even touch those two pitches?!"
"…"
Shirakawa went completely silent.
At this point, he was too tired to even argue back.