Ding!
The moment the pitch arrived, Ushijima Wakatoshi reacted instantly and deadened the ball with a bunt.
He didn't need a full swing.
He only needed to get on base.
After being disrupted by Narumiya's changeup, Ushijima knew his hitting rhythm was already broken.
In that situation, trying to force a powerful swing would only lower his chances further.
But a bunt?
A bunt only required contact.
"What?!"
Narumiya Mei's eyes widened in shock when he saw Ushijima suddenly square around.
Thud!
The baseball softly rolled toward the third-base line.
"Damn it!"
Narumiya immediately charged off the mound angrily.
The bunt had come far too suddenly.
Even though everyone reacted quickly, Ushijima's timing completely caught them off guard.
By the time Narumiya picked up the ball—
Ushijima had already exploded out of the batter's box.
Da da da da!
His speed was terrifying.
Narumiya spun around and fired the ball toward first base as quickly as possible.
But—
PFFT!
Ushijima's foot touched first base first.
THUMP!
Only afterward did the ball finally slam into Yamaoka Riku's glove.
"YEAHHH!!"
The Seido dugout erupted in cheers.
Coach Kataoka silently nodded in satisfaction.
Ushijima always understood exactly what he needed to do.
A leadoff batter's job was simple:
Get on base.
If he couldn't reach base, then everything afterward became meaningless.
Yes, Ushijima's pitching talent was monstrous.
But that didn't mean every at-bat had to become a flashy slugging contest.
With his speed and explosive acceleration, even a simple bunt could become a deadly weapon.
As long as the placement was good enough—
There was a high chance he could beat the throw.
Of course, bunting too obviously would ruin the surprise factor.
That was why timing mattered.
And Ushijima had chosen the perfect moment.
After missing the changeup, he already knew his batting rhythm had collapsed.
No matter what pitch Narumiya threw next, trying to fight it head-on would be difficult.
So instead—
He used the exact moment Narumiya believed he could finish him off.
And turned it into a surprise bunt.
If Narumiya had thrown another changeup, the bunt likely would have failed.
A slower pitch with downward break would have ruined the contact point and given Narumiya plenty of time to field the ball.
But Narumiya wanted the strikeout.
And that desire became the opening Ushijima exploited.
Everything—
The psychology.
The preparation.
The timing.
It all combined perfectly to let Ushijima reach base safely in his second at-bat.
"DAMN IT!! Another bunt?!"
Narumiya roared furiously from the mound.
"Can't you fight me head-on for once?! Stop using cheap tricks!"
Standing calmly on first base with his hands in his pockets, Ushijima replied indifferently:
"How bold."
"The guy who got retired is talking a lot."
"DAMN YOU!!"
Narumiya nearly exploded from rage.
Ushijima continued mercilessly:
"We're already leading by two runs."
"This game is obviously turning into a pitcher's duel."
"Your opening was unstable, so we took advantage and scored."
"The second run…"
"…was repayment for last year."
"Right now, Seido already has the upper hand."
"Our winning odds are probably around eighty percent."
"As for Inashiro?"
"You still have twenty percent left."
"But if we score again this inning…"
"And make it a three-run game…"
"Then your chances drop to zero."
He looked directly at Narumiya.
"So don't say I didn't warn you."
"I hope Inashiro can at least force me to use my full strength."
"You've only pitched seriously against me, Yuki-senpai, and Miyuki-senpai so far, right?"
"Against everyone else, you're only using about seventy percent."
Ushijima's expression remained calm.
"So I'll tell you something too."
"My pitching today has only been around sixty to seventy percent as well."
The entire Inashiro dugout instantly froze.
What?
He had completely suppressed them through two innings—
And he was saying that wasn't even full power?
They already knew Narumiya wasn't going all-out against every batter.
But hearing Ushijima casually admit he'd also been holding back made the frustration even worse.
So this…
Was what it felt like to be looked down on by a pitcher.
"Damn it…"
Narumiya gripped the baseball tightly while glaring toward the batter's box.
Kuramochi stepped up to bat.
This time, instead of preparing for a left-side hit, he subtly adjusted for the right side.
On first base, Ushijima exchanged a quick glance with him.
The two silently nodded.
"He's stealing."
Harada immediately warned Narumiya after seeing the signs.
Narumiya naturally understood.
With Ushijima on base, the chance of a stolen base was extremely high.
"In the first inning, we got careless trying to force strike counts and gave up a run…"
"This time, even if we know he's running, we still need difficult pitches."
Both Narumiya and Harada had clearly learned from earlier mistakes.
Narumiya quickly delivered the first pitch.
The instant his motion began—
Ushijima exploded toward second base.
"Steal!"
The first baseman shouted immediately.
WHOOSH!
The pitch snapped into Harada's glove.
In the same instant, Harada rose explosively to his feet.
He pulled the ball from his mitt and unleashed a laser throw toward second.
Even Narumiya instinctively ducked slightly when the throw flew past him.
BANG! SWISH!
Ushijima dove headfirst into second base.
WHOOSH! THUMP!
Harada's throw arrived almost simultaneously.
"Safe!"
The second-base umpire spread his arms wide.
Ushijima had stolen second successfully.
"Tch!"
Second baseman Hirai Tsubasa clicked his tongue in frustration.
He had almost gotten him.
The crowd erupted into loud reactions.
"That was ridiculously close!"
"Yeah! That timing was insane!"
"Harada's throw couldn't have taken more than two seconds!"
A knowledgeable spectator quickly analyzed the play.
"Harada's pop time to second was about 1.98 seconds."
"And Narumiya's delivery takes roughly 1.2 seconds."
"So combined, that's around 3.18 seconds."
Another spectator widened his eyes.
"Wait…"
"So Ushijima reached second in barely over three seconds?!"
"Yeah. I heard his time is around 3.05 seconds."
"…That's only a difference of 0.13 seconds though?"
The baseball fans nearby immediately shook their heads.
"Only 0.13 seconds?"
"In sports, that tiny difference decides everything."
"Sometimes…"
"Just one-tenth of a second separates victory from defeat."