Chapter 245: Furuya's Confusion

“Foul!”

The umpire had barely finished his call when another commotion erupted from Seido’s dugout.

“NOOOOOOO!!!”

Sawamura clutched his head with both hands and shook it wildly, looking as though the world had just ended.

“You couldn’t even hit that fastball?! How is that possible?!”

“Move over! Let me pitch instead!”

His over-the-top reaction was so ridiculous that even Ushijima Wakatoshi, standing on first base, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Beside him, Kanemaru watched with the same deadpan expression he always wore whenever Sawamura started acting up.

“Mmm… rrrgh…”

Sawamura clenched both fists anxiously while staring at the field.

“Are they seriously out of ideas?”

Kanemaru simply turned to look at him.

At this point, he had become completely accustomed to Sawamura’s antics.

In fact…

Watching Sawamura perform was honestly more entertaining than watching the game.

No matter how intense the match became, this idiot always found a way to steal everyone’s attention.

Crack!!

Just then, Miyuki Kazuya connected squarely with Umemiya’s deciding pitch—a slurve.

The baseball shot into the outfield.

The Ugumori defenders immediately panicked.

The moment the ball left the bat, Kominato, who was on third, and Ushijima, running from second, sprinted home without hesitation.

By the time the ball landed, Kominato had already rounded third.

As Haruichi raced down the third-base line, Ushijima was already stepping onto third.

Kominato crossed home safely.

“Throw home!”

Seeing Ushijima charging around third, Umemiya shouted immediately.

“No! Throw to second!”

The catcher reacted instantly, changing the play.

The outfielder quickly fired the ball back to second base.

There was no point trying to stop Ushijima anymore.

If they threw home, not only would Ushijima score anyway, but Miyuki would likely advance to second as well.

Limiting the damage was their only option.

“Yeah!”

After scoring, Ushijima exchanged a high-five with Haruichi.

“Did you see that?”

“He scored all the way from first on that hit!”

“Isn’t Ushijima the fastest baserunner in this tournament?”

“Hard to say.”

“He might be on the same level as Mima from Hakuryu.”

Meanwhile…

Sawamura once again made sure everyone knew he existed.

“That’s it! Perfect!”

“I knew you’d finally listen to my advice!”

Without the slightest shame, he proudly claimed all the credit.

Kanemaru could only stare at him in disbelief.

How could someone be this shameless?

“Damn…”

“They can still keep the inning alive.”

Umemiya let out a bitter laugh.

“Seido’s lineup really is terrifying.”

“As expected of a team that scored thirty runs in back-to-back Koshien games.”

“And that’s without their third-years.”

“I honestly have no idea how you guys train.”

His admiration was genuine.

Toujou came up next but was retired, ending the inning.

Still…

Seido had added three more runs.

Ugumori: 0 0 0

Seido: 2 0 3

After only three innings, Seido already held a five-run lead.

If they could reach ten runs before the fifth inning ended, the mercy rule would bring the game to an early finish.

The top of the fourth inning.

Ushijima continued to dominate from the mound.

Although he didn’t strike out all three batters, Ugumori still went down in order.

The final batter managed to put the ball in play, but the flawless middle-infield combination of Kuramochi and Kominato turned it into an easy out.

“Nice defense.”

As the teams switched sides, Ushijima smiled at the two infielders.

“Tch.”

“You can’t hog all the spotlight yourself.”

Kuramochi smirked proudly.

Not far away, Furuya silently watched the exchange.

Only then did he realize something.

Miyuki had told him this countless times before.

Baseball wasn’t a one-man game.

But Furuya had never truly understood those words.

Ever since he started playing baseball, he had always relied on overwhelming speed.

Throw harder.

Throw faster.

Strike everyone out.

That had always been his answer.

Whenever he stood on the mound, all he thought about was overpowering the batter with pure force.

But…

Looking at Ushijima…

He clearly possessed the ability to throw over 150 km/h with pinpoint control.

Yet he rarely used his maximum velocity.

Most of the time, he sat comfortably around 145 km/h.

Even so…

He struck batters out with ease.

And even when they managed to make contact, the balls were weak enough for Seido’s fielders to handle effortlessly.

His pitches weren’t as fast as Furuya’s.

Nor did they seem as explosive.

So why…

Why did everything look so effortless?

Unable to hold it in any longer, Furuya walked over.

“Why?”

“Hm?”

Ushijima looked at him curiously.

“My fastball is faster than yours.”

“So why do you make it look so easy?”

“You don’t always strike batters out.”

“But even when they hit the ball, they almost never reach base.”

“My pitches are faster.”

“So why can’t I do the same thing?”

The entire team fell silent.

Everyone turned to look at Furuya.

After hearing the question, Ushijima smiled faintly.

“Because you’re too conceited.”

The blunt answer stunned everyone.

“You believe baseball is an individual sport.”

“You think that as long as your fastball is good enough, you can beat every batter by yourself.”

“You believe a pitcher has to strike everyone out.”

“You’ve convinced yourself that every batter is yours—and yours alone—to defeat.”

“But you’ve forgotten something.”

“Baseball is played by nine people.”

“The pitcher may be the centerpiece of the defense…”

“But there are still eight teammates standing behind you.”

“Behind you are your shortstop, your second baseman, and your center fielder.”

“To your left are your first baseman and right fielder.”

“To your right are your third baseman and left fielder.”

“And right in front of you is your catcher.”

“You’ve ignored every one of them.”

“You’ve tried to shoulder everything yourself.”

Furuya lowered his head.

He couldn’t find a single word to refute him.

Ushijima continued calmly.

“Defense has never been the job of one pitcher.”

“It’s nine defenders working together to retire one batter.”

“Even with my abilities…”

“I’ve never believed I could do everything alone.”

“If I really intended to face every batter by myself…”

“Then why would I need eight teammates standing behind me?”

“Are they only there to watch me perform?”

Silence filled the area.

Furuya slowly clenched his fists.

For the first time…

He began questioning the way he had always pitched.

He had never considered his teammates’ feelings.

All he had ever wanted was to stand on the mound…

And throw with everything he had.