"Whoa!!"
The entire stadium erupted.
Across Japan, players and fans watching the live broadcast reacted with equal disbelief.
No one had expected Ushijima Wakatoshi to suddenly switch to pitching left-handed in the tenth inning of the Koshien Finals.
Once again, he had revealed another layer of his seemingly limitless talent.
However...
Despite the shocking reveal, Seido was now facing its greatest crisis of the game.
Although Ushijima could pitch with either hand, this was still his first time using his left arm in an official game.
His mechanics were there.
His command wasn't.
The very first pitch to Komadai's cleanup hitter was a strike.
After that...
Everything fell apart.
Ball.
Ball.
Ball.
Ball.
Walk.
Against the fifth batter, two pitches missed.
The third struck the batter.
Hit by pitch.
Then came another four-pitch walk.
Just like that...
With no outs in the tenth inning...
The bases were loaded.
For the first time since arriving at Koshien, Ushijima Wakatoshi had completely lost control of the strike zone.
The crowd fell silent.
For nine straight innings, he had dominated Komadai Fujimaki's lineup almost single-handedly.
But after throwing more than 160 pitches, his right arm had finally reached its limit.
Forced to switch to his left hand...
He was still searching for his feel.
Unfortunately, the championship game wasn't going to wait for him.
"Time!"
Miyuki Kazuya stood up and called for a timeout.
The umpire nodded.
The entire infield gathered around the mound.
Ushijima's breathing was noticeably heavier than before.
Miyuki smiled.
"So..."
"This is the first time you've ever loaded the bases at Koshien."
"Yeah."
Ushijima glanced around at the runners occupying every base.
"But..."
"I'm lucky."
"While I was adjusting to my left-handed control..."
"They couldn't get a hit."
"I loaded the bases myself."
Kominato Ryosuke smiled.
"So..."
"You've found the feel now, haven't you?"
"You've already thrown more than ten pitches with your left hand."
Masuko nodded.
"Looks like you've adjusted."
Kuramochi laughed.
"Yahaha!"
"Komadai must be panicking right now."
Isashiki patted Ushijima's shoulder.
"Kid..."
"No matter what happens..."
"You've already done enough."
"No regrets."
"Just throw your hardest."
Shirasu nodded.
"This is the finals."
"You're only a first-year."
"You've already exceeded everyone's expectations."
Kominato Haruichi smiled warmly.
"We'll handle the offense in the bottom half."
"You're tired..."
"But so is their pitcher."
"Trust us."
Listening to his teammates one after another...
Ushijima couldn't help smiling.
Finally...
Captain Yuki Tetsuya spoke.
"Even if you wanted to stop pitching..."
"You can't now."
Everyone laughed.
"Yeah..."
Ushijima scratched his head helplessly.
"In that case..."
"I'll finally use them."
"The Slider."
"And the Curveball."
"I've been hiding both of them since the beginning of the tournament."
"I didn't expect my first time using them would be in the Koshien Finals."
"Yahaha!"
Kuramochi burst into laughter.
Throughout the previous nine innings, Ushijima had relied only on his Four-Seam, Two-Seam, Cutter, Sinker, Shootball, and Forkball.
Even in countless dangerous situations...
He had refused to reveal his last two weapons.
Not because he couldn't.
Because there had never been a reason to.
If Seido couldn't score...
Showing those pitches would only give future opponents more information.
But now...
There was no tomorrow.
Miyuki adjusted his mask.
"All right!"
"No outs."
"Bases loaded."
"We're bringing the infield in."
"They've never faced Ushijima's left-handed pitching."
"They'll have trouble driving outside pitches."
"If they try a squeeze bunt..."
"We're shutting it down."
He looked around at every infielder.
"Trust him."
"This is the first time you've seen Ushijima's true strength."
"If we survive this inning..."
"We're national champions."
"OH!!"
The entire defense answered in unison.
Everyone returned to their positions.
The infield shifted several steps closer to home plate.
Komadai immediately recognized the strategy.
Seido was daring them to hit over the drawn-in infield.
The seventh batter stepped into the box.
Ushijima adjusted the brim of his cap.
No outs.
Bases loaded.
This is definitely the biggest crisis I've ever faced.
Honestly...
I'm nervous.
He looked toward home plate.
Behind the mask...
Miyuki wore his trademark mischievous grin.
Then he gave the sign.
Curveball.
Ushijima smiled.
All right.
Let's do it.
He raised both hands.
His left leg lifted high.
His body twisted.
Power gathered through his entire frame.
His left arm whipped forward.
The batter immediately widened his eyes.
The release point...
Where did it go?!
The ball suddenly appeared in front of him.
WHOOSH!!
It screamed toward the plate at nearly 100 mph.
Too high!
That's a ball!
The batter never offered a swing.
But then—
The baseball dropped.
Straight down.
From twelve o'clock...
To six.
It fell almost vertically into the strike zone.
POP!
The mitt snapped shut.
"Strike!"
The home plate umpire's fist shot into the air.
The batter froze.
"...A..."
"...Curveball?"
Goosebumps spread across his body.
The runners on first, second, and third stared in disbelief.
Even they hadn't expected Ushijima to unveil another breaking ball at this moment.
He had hidden it...
Until the very last inning.
Back in Seido's dugout, Coach Kataoka, Chris, and Tanba all clenched their fists.
"Yosh!!"
Around the stadium, stunned voices echoed from every direction.
"You're kidding..."
"He still had a Curveball?"