"Hey... are you kidding me?"
"A Curveball?"
Across West Tokyo, every baseball powerhouse watching the live broadcast was stunned.
The moment Ushijima Wakatoshi unleashed a massive, vertically breaking curveball with his left hand, the reactions were immediate.
The pitch resembled Tanba's signature curve...
Yet somehow, it looked even more terrifying.
"Damn..."
Inashiro's former captain, Harada, couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
"So he was hiding something like this..."
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya was equally shocked.
A huge overhand curve...
One that drops almost straight down.
Even among right-handed pitchers, that kind of breaking ball was rare.
It had always been Tanba's signature weapon.
But Ushijima...
...was throwing it left-handed.
That completely changed the pitch's trajectory.
The natural angle created by a left-handed delivery made the break even sharper and more deceptive.
On top of that...
His pitching mechanics perfectly concealed the release point.
By the time the batter finally picked up the ball—
It was already on top of him.
Miyuki couldn't even find the words.
This wasn't the first time he had seen Ushijima throw a curveball.
During practice before the Sensen game, Ushijima had experimented with it.
Back then...
He had thrown it right-handed.
The break had been respectable.
Nothing more.
But today's version...
Was completely different.
At that moment, Miyuki finally understood.
Ushijima's left-handed and right-handed pitching weren't simply mirror images of each other.
They were two entirely different styles.
If he had to compare them...
His right hand resembled Furuya.
His left resembled Sawamura.
Power...
And finesse.
Furuya represented overwhelming velocity.
Explosive fastballs.
A cannon for an arm.
Sawamura represented movement.
Flexible joints.
Late break.
Deception.
Ushijima somehow possessed both.
His right-handed pitching overwhelmed hitters with sheer power.
His left-handed pitching toyed with them through movement and deception.
Two completely different arsenals.
One pitcher.
Pop!
"Strike!"
The umpire's call echoed across Koshien.
Komadai Fujimaki's seventh batter nearly collapsed.
"What... is happening?"
"It feels completely different."
"I can't even see where he releases the ball."
He gripped his bat tightly.
Trying to calm himself.
"If his right-handed pitching feels like being attacked by a wild beast..."
"...then his left hand..."
"...is like being hunted by a venomous snake."
"You never see it strike."
"The ball just..."
"...appears."
"It feels like it teleports in front of you."
"The release point is completely invisible."
"It gives me chills."
Back on the mound...
Ushijima delivered the third pitch.
The batter reacted the instant he saw the ball.
Too late.
The curveball plunged sharply beneath his bat.
His swing had been timed for a fastball.
The difference wasn't even close.
The bat sliced through empty air.
Pop!
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The home plate umpire emphatically punched the air.
Koshien erupted.
"WOOOOOOO!!"
With the bases loaded...
Ushijima had calmly struck out another batter.
His composure under pressure ignited the entire stadium.
Komadai Fujimaki's dugout was filled with confusion.
"What happened?"
Their coach frowned.
"Why didn't he swing at that fastball earlier?"
Another player looked toward the scoreboard.
"It was only 140 km/h."
"That's slower than his right-handed fastball."
The recently retired batter shook his head.
"It isn't what you're seeing."
"From the batter's box..."
"...the ball doesn't look like 140."
"It looks much faster."
"You can't see his release point."
"Normally, we track the ball from the pitcher's hand."
"That's how hitters time their swing."
"But against him..."
"You never see the release."
"By the time you locate the ball..."
"...it's already on top of you."
"It feels like it skipped through space."
"Like it teleported."
"Even though it's only 140 km/h..."
"...it feels faster than his 150 km/h fastball."
Only then did everyone finally understand.
Komadai's eighth batter stepped into the box.
Whoosh!
A fastball painted the strike zone.
"Strike!"
Cold sweat instantly formed on the batter's forehead.
In the dugout...
Komadai's coach clenched his fists.
Should we squeeze?
The thought had crossed his mind long ago.
But Seido had already anticipated it.
With the bases loaded...
Their infield had moved in.
Ushijima's athleticism also allowed him to charge off the mound immediately.
Trying to bunt for a run under those conditions was almost impossible.
A golden scoring opportunity...
Yet there seemed to be no answer.
Ushijima calmly delivered another curveball.
It dropped straight through the zone.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
"YEAHHHH!!"
The Seido bench exploded with excitement.
Two outs.
Bases still loaded.
Only one batter remained.
Komadai's ninth hitter stepped up.
Miyuki gave the sign.
Ushijima nodded.
His first pitch...
Was something entirely new.
The Diamond Slider.
The very first time he had used it in an official game.
Whoosh!
The ball started well outside the strike zone.
Then—
It suddenly swept sharply across the plate.
The batter froze.
By the time he recognized the movement...
The ball had already crossed into the strike zone.
"This..."
"So that's what he meant..."
Only now did he truly understand his teammate's warning.
Pop!
"Strike!"
Behind the plate, Miyuki's eyes widened.
Amazing...
His Slider is even better left-handed.
The velocity registered at 135 km/h.
The horizontal break...
Nearly 35 centimeters.
A Slider wasn't defined by speed.
Its true strength came from lateral movement.
The farther it moved...
The more dangerous it became.
A great Slider could begin outside the zone before breaking back for a strike.
Or start inside the strike zone...
Only to dart away at the last instant and induce a helpless swing.
Combined with Ushijima's hidden release point...
The illusion became overwhelming.
The pitch looked faster than it actually was.
Its break appeared even larger than reality.
It was almost impossible to judge.
Miyuki slowly stood and tossed the ball back.
No hesitation.
The next sign.
Fastball.
Pop!
The batter never even started his swing.
"Strike two!"
Before he could recover—
The third pitch arrived.
Another Diamond Slider.
Whoosh!
Pop!
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire swung his arm decisively.
"Side retired!"
The bases-loaded threat...
Had vanished.
Standing proudly on the mound, Ushijima clenched his fist and threw his head back.
"YOSHIAAAAAAA!!"
His roar echoed throughout Koshien as Seido escaped the biggest crisis of the game without surrendering a single run.