"Hey… compared to other pitchers, this guy's personality is really awful, isn't it?"
Miyuki Kazuya set his glove.
But the moment he placed it, many people on the field were shocked.
The infielders—Yuki Tetsuya, Kominato Ryosuke, Kuramochi Yoichi, and Masuko Toru—could all clearly see where the target was.
They immediately sucked in a breath.
At the same time, they felt a little sorry for the batter.
Even the home plate umpire swallowed nervously when he saw it.
However, the batter himself had no idea what was about to happen.
Right now, Shiratori was staring intensely at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the pitcher's mound.
Ushijima slowly raised both hands.
Then he twisted his body and released the pitch.
"WHOOSH!"
The baseball shot forward with a sharp sound.
Shiratori was ready to swing.
But just as he started the motion, he realized something was wrong.
The pitch wasn't the low outside ball he expected.
It was inside.
Not just inside—
It was a low inside pitch.
The ball screamed toward his knee, cutting diagonally across the strike zone at terrifying speed.
The velocity had to be at least 145 km/h, even faster than the previous high inside pitch.
"Ugh—!"
Shiratori's eyes widened.
The ball rushing toward his knee made him hesitate.
He had started his swing—but now he didn't dare continue.
And because it happened so fast, he even forgot to dodge.
"SMACK!"
The ball slammed into Miyuki's glove.
Two-thirds of the baseball had crossed the strike zone.
"Strike!"
The umpire announced it while wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
Even though the pitch startled him, it was clearly a strike.
"Wow… that was terrifying."
Reporter Fujio Mine stared in shock.
Beside him, Owada Akiko struggled to describe what she had just seen.
"That pitch was basically…"
"…a response."
"A response to Akikawa's pitcher—You Shunshin."
Fujio continued explaining.
"In the first inning, You Shunshin used his incredible control to influence the umpire's judgment."
"Some borderline balls were called strikes because of how perfectly he located them."
"That's how Kominato Ryosuke ended up striking out looking."
"But now…"
"Ushijima Wakatoshi is responding in his own way."
"He started with a high inside fastball to intimidate the batter."
"And now he followed it with an even more aggressive low inside pitch that barely passed the batter's knee."
"In other words…"
"This is Ushijima's answer to You Shunshin."
"And it's a far more forceful and brutal one."
Owada Akiko was stunned after hearing the explanation.
Meanwhile, the spectators in the stadium were equally shocked.
That pitch had been terrifying.
If it had deviated even slightly…
It would have smashed directly into the batter's knee.
A baseball traveling at 145 km/h hitting someone's knee—
Just imagining it made people shiver.
Even Seido's players swallowed nervously.
There was only one word to describe it.
Terrifying.
Everyone knew Ushijima Wakatoshi's personality.
He was someone who always paid back what he received.
If you provoked him once…
He might retaliate twice, ten times, or even a hundred times more.
"This guy is seriously awful…"
Shiratori muttered angrily in the batter's box.
But anger wouldn't change the result.
That pitch had clipped the strike zone perfectly.
He could only blame himself for standing too far forward.
If he had been slightly farther back, the ball wouldn't have crossed the strike zone at knee level.
Thinking of that, Shiratori took a small step backward.
That pitch had left a deep impression on him.
And judging from Ushijima's aggressive pitching style…
The next pitch might come to the same place again.
But Miyuki immediately noticed Shiratori's movement.
He glanced toward the mound.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was smiling.
"…This guy."
Miyuki quietly moved his glove.
Low outside corner.
"WHOOSH!"
The pitch came again.
Fast.
The ball shot toward the outer corner of the strike zone.
"What?!"
Shiratori reacted immediately and swung his bat.
But the moment the bat cut through the air—
He knew.
He had fallen into the trap.
"Damn it…!"
"That previous pitch affected me too much."
"I was so focused on the inside pitch…"
"…that I forgot his inside–outside combination strategy!"
"SMACK!"
The ball landed cleanly in Miyuki's glove.
Miyuki looked up excitedly at Ushijima.
Both of them grinned.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
Even the umpire felt goosebumps while making the call.
"WOOOOOOO!!"
The stadium erupted with cheers.
How could the crowd not be excited?
Ushijima Wakatoshi had just struck out Akikawa's cleanup hitter with three pitches.
And the batter hadn't even touched the ball.
Even more incredible—
All three pitches were four-seam fastballs.
No breaking balls.
No tricks.
Just pure power and control.
"Damn it…"
Shiratori glared at Ushijima from the batter's box as he walked back.
All of Akikawa's players were staring at Ushijima now.
Except one person.
You Shunshin.
The fifth batter calmly picked up his bat and walked toward the plate.
A right-handed batter stepping into the left batter's box.
On the mound, Ushijima looked down at him.
Although he had been reborn, it was only his soul that had changed.
The original Ushijima Wakatoshi of this body had met You Shunshin once before—
Two years ago.
Back then, they were both second-year junior high school students in China.
At that time, Ushijima couldn't even pitch yet.
He was simply a batter.
And not even an important one.
He was the eighth batter in the lineup.
In that game:
Three at-bats.
Two strikeouts.
One ground out.
Even though those memories belonged to the previous Ushijima…
They were now part of him.
And Ushijima Wakatoshi was known for never forgetting a grudge.
You Shunshin stepped into the batter's box.
A powerful aura naturally radiated from him.
On the mound, Ushijima released his own intimidating presence.
Two players.
Both from China.
Two years later, they met again on foreign soil.
Still rivals.
But the roles had changed.
Two years ago—
You Shunshin was the pitcher, and Ushijima was the batter.
Now—
Ushijima stood on the mound, while You Shunshin held the bat.
And later in the game, their roles would switch again.
Everyone in the stadium could feel it.
The tension.
The rivalry.
The competitive spirit between the two players.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya naturally sensed it as well.
He slowly looked toward Ushijima on the mound.