The next day.
At 4 a.m., Ushijima Wakatoshi woke up as usual.
When he stepped out of bed, he noticed something.
Isashiki and Shirasu were already awake.
Since July had started, this had become normal.
July meant summer vacation. With classes temporarily suspended, the team had far more time to train.
Naturally, Isashiki and Shirasu began following Ushijima's routine—waking up at 4 a.m. to go running.
As the three of them ran around the field, Ushijima's thoughts wandered.
Today marked something special.
His 100th consecutive day of signing in.
Ever since the system appeared, this would be the first time he obtained a Diamond Treasure Chest through daily check-ins.
What would be inside?
Even Ushijima felt a rare sense of anticipation.
There were two abilities he wanted the most right now.
Diamond · Home Run
Diamond · Ball Control
"If I could get either of these… that would be perfect," he thought.
At his current level, Ushijima was already approaching the level of top professional players.
But even so—
True dominance required perfect control.
And power at the plate would make him even more terrifying.
Of course, whether he could obtain it depended entirely on luck.
With that in mind, Ushijima quietly opened the system interface.
The check-in screen appeared.
[100 Days Consecutive Sign-In Completed]
[Reward: Diamond Treasure Chest]
Ushijima rubbed his hands together unconsciously.
"Let's see what I get."
[Ding! Treasure Chest Opened!]
[Congratulations! You obtained: Diamond · … ]
The moment he saw the reward—
Ushijima's expression stiffened.
"…Damn."
"This is toxic."
The two skills he received were not the ones he wanted.
He had hoped for Ball Control for a full hundred days.
Yet the system still refused to give it to him.
"And now you give me this?"
"Isn't that a bit too cruel?"
After grumbling for a moment, Ushijima let out a breath.
"Forget it."
"If things were that easy to obtain, they wouldn't feel valuable."
"Expectations are what keep people moving forward."
Even though he was disappointed, Ushijima quickly adjusted his mindset.
Still—
Not getting the skill he wanted after 100 days was frustrating.
Very frustrating.
Soon, the second match of the Summer Tournament preliminaries began.
Opponent: Murata Higashi High School.
A third-tier team.
Their strength wasn't even comparable to Mishima from the previous round.
On the mound, Ushijima completely suppressed them.
He relied on only three pitches:
Silver Sinker
Two-Seam Fastball
Four-Seam Fastball
That alone was enough.
Murata Higashi was overwhelmed.
By the end of the fifth inning, the score had reached a terrifying number.
30–0.
The game ended by mercy rule.
In their previous match, Seido scored 21 runs.
This time, they scored 30 runs.
Two games.
51 total runs.
The sheer firepower of Seido's lineup left the audience stunned.
In the first inning alone, every batter scored.
Because the offense kept exploding every inning, both Ushijima Wakatoshi and Yuki Tetsuya received five at-bats despite the game lasting only five innings.
Their statistics looked terrifying.
Yuki Tetsuya
1st at-bat — Double
2nd at-bat — Double
3rd at-bat — Home Run
4th at-bat — Home Run
5th at-bat — Double
Ushijima Wakatoshi
1st at-bat — Triple
2nd at-bat — Triple
3rd at-bat — Triple
4th at-bat — Single
5th at-bat — Home Run
Although Ushijima's Home Run ability was only Silver, it was normally difficult for him to hit one.
But today, the opponent's pitching was simply too weak.
So in his fifth at-bat—
He finally sent one over the fence.
In the stands, spectators discussed the game.
"Seido's batting lineup is terrifying."
"Yeah… 51 runs in two games."
"This might be Seido's strongest year yet."
"Hard to say," another replied. "Both opponents so far were weak teams."
"We'll only see their true strength when they face strong pitching."
"So basically…"
"Inashiro or Ichidai Third High."
"Exactly."
"In the spring tournament, Ichidai's double-ace rotation still lost to Seido."
"And Inashiro lost in the spring because Narumiya wasn't playing."
"So if Seido reaches the finals…"
"It'll definitely be against Inashiro."
"Wait, are you sure Seido can even reach the finals?"
"Of course!"
"Haven't you heard?"
"Seido's first-year ace pitcher has five different pitches!"
Even professional pitchers sometimes don't have that many.
"A first-year with five pitches… that's basically a pitching textbook."
While the spectators chatted—
In the shade of the stadium stands.
A tall student wearing glasses quietly watched the field while filing his nails.
His gaze was fixed on Ushijima Wakatoshi.
"Ushijima Wakatoshi…"
"The player from Shanghai."
"The next game… will be our second meeting."
"I hope you won't disappoint me this time."
This student was You Shunshin.
Ace pitcher of Akikaw High School.
An international student from Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Seido's players walked up into the stands.
"Let's eat here and watch the afternoon game," someone suggested.
"The winner will be our next opponent."
Everyone knew.
The first two matches had been easy.
But the next one—
Would likely be much tougher.
Soon, the match began.
Chris shared the scouting report.
"Akikawa High"
"Ace pitcher: You Shunshin."
"Second-year student. 186 cm tall."
"International student from Taiwan."
While listening, Ushijima murmured quietly.
"I know him."
Yuki Tetsuya turned in surprise.
"Oh?"
"You two know each other?"
"You're from Shanghai, and he's from Taiwan, right?"
Ushijima rested his chin on his hand.
"Back in junior high, our schools played a friendly match."
"He was the ace pitcher and cleanup batter."
"I was the shortstop and cleanup batter."
"We faced each other three times."
"Two strikeouts."
"One ground out."
The Seido players froze.
"You… got struck out?"
Kominato Haruichi felt a sudden pressure.
Ushijima nodded calmly.
"At that time, I had only just started playing baseball."
"He was already a third-year in junior high."
"I was only in my second year."
"I didn't start real baseball training until after entering junior high school."
"So back then… I was pretty bad."
"Losing to him wasn't surprising."
But hearing that explanation only made everyone more shocked.
He started baseball later than most players.
And in just three years—
He had become this terrifying.
Before they knew this, it was just impressive.
Now that they understood the timeline—
It felt monstrous.