Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 504: A Summer Grudge, an Autumn Rematch

"Line up!"

"Salute!"

"Thank you for the match!!!!"

Clap clap clap clap clap...

At the center of the field, two teams lined up and bowed to each other—a scene that drew thunderous applause from the stands.

A standing ovation for two teams that had delivered such a spectacular match.

"I can't believe Inashiro Industrial actually won," said Maezono, his face showing a mix of disbelief and surprise.

"Tch, Narumiya..." Kuramochi clicked his tongue and turned away with a scoff.

"That just shows how incredibly strong Narumiya-senpai has become," Tojou said, eyes gleaming with a peculiar light.

"Tomorrow... is the finals," Aso muttered, clenching his fists.

"Our old rivals again. The same matchup for the championship," Miyuki stretched and let out a lazy smile.

"Kinda feels like fate, doesn't it? What do you think, Sawamura?"

He turned to Eijun with a smirk.

"Maybe. At the very least, I think Narumiya-senpai is looking forward to this as a fated rematch," Eijun replied, a subtle smile tugging at his lips as he caught Narumiya's gaze from the Inashiro bench.

"Heh. That guy's definitely been planning his revenge since summer," Miyuki chuckled, rubbing his chin.

"Now I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's game." He gave Sawamura's shoulder a firm pat.

"Yeah," Sawamura nodded with a look of quiet determination.

Yet, he subtly shifted his body to hide his left arm, moving it behind him as he began to rise from his seat.

"We should get going," he said quietly.

"Yeah. Let's," Miyuki replied.

As the match concluded, both teams had begun cleaning up and packing their gear on the bench. Spectators gradually filed out of the stadium in an orderly fashion.

The Seidou first-string players also stood, heading down the passage toward the bus that would take them home.

From morning until afternoon, two semifinal matches had played out in full.

And now, with those fierce battles behind them, twilight had fallen upon the stadium.

Their departure tonight marked the arrival of tomorrow.

A summer grudge—renewed in the autumn.

Champions and challengers would once again stake everything, either to defend their throne or reclaim the glory they believe is rightfully theirs.

...

In a certain ward of West Tokyo—Seidou High School's campus, inside the Seishin Dormitory dining hall—

After returning by school bus in the late afternoon, with the sun already dipping low in the sky, the players had finished unpacking, wolfed down dinner in typical Seidou fashion, and were now gathered for their customary post-game review and pre-final briefing.

"In the early innings of today's game, we had the advantage..."

"Ah, this play here was a mistake."

"Also, this part on Seikou's side..."

"On offense, especially when there's a runner on third—this situation is similar to defense, I think we should've..."

"Ugh, that pitch should've been thrown a step earlier. It's all about instinct."

"It's totally different watching from the dugout versus being out there on the field."

"Everyone, pay close attention—today's game against Seikou, especially this play... and that one..."

On the television in the dining hall, a full broadcast of today's match was playing. The chosen angle highlighted all the key details—not just the standard footage, but specific sequences for offense, defense, and pitcher-batter confrontations.

The team was fully immersed in the review session, already focused on how to prepare for tomorrow's decisive battle.

The segmented footage allowed the players to review their performance after the match—seeing clearly where they went wrong, how they could improve, and what needed to be corrected.

Right now, it was Watanabe who was playing the scouting footage recorded by his team. As the video played, he also highlighted key moments he personally deemed important.

Below the screen, Kuramochi, Maezono, Asou, Kanemaru, and Kominato occasionally revealed expressions of realization.

Especially Furuya, who had pitched the first six innings.

By watching this footage from a third-person perspective, he was able to gain a deeper understanding of his pitching—allowing him to identify areas to improve and elevate his game.

"There were a few mistakes in today's game I won't go into—most of you are probably well aware of them yourselves. Of course, when it comes to fielding or batting affected by luck, those are outside of human control and shouldn't be confused with correctable errors. If you want to win, beyond just raw strength, what's crucial is self-awareness. I hope today's game helped you all gain a clearer understanding in that regard."

After this review and the customary analysis of offense and defense, Coach Kataoka took a step forward, his expression solemn as he addressed the first-string team.

"Yes, Coach!"

Eijun, Miyuki, Maezono, Kuramochi, Asou, Kawakami, and the others all responded loudly and in unison.

"Now, about tomorrow's final."

Kataoka looked over to the side and gave a slight nod to Watanabe.

Watanabe returned the gesture with a short bow and then strode confidently to the front, holding his notebook. He looked down at the Seidou players, and as he pulled up footage of the second semifinal—Inashiro Industrial vs. Yakushi—he began his analysis.

"Compared to other teams, Inashiro has retained most of its core lineup from the summer tournament."

"Four of their nine starters are returning second-year players who were part of the main roster during the summer. "

"That's a major reason why this Inashiro squad has been able to maintain such a high level of performance."

"Of course, the biggest factor is Narumiya Mei."

"You who've faced him know just how powerful he is."

"Compared to summer, the biggest change in Narumiya is that his slow start in early innings has improved significantly."

"He's still not exactly at full throttle from the first pitch, but trying to exploit him early like before is now close to impossible."

"Yakushi's game today made that very clear."

"As for specifics—his top velocity in the summer was 148 km/h. In this autumn tournament, his speed has slightly improved—he's frequently hitting 147 km/h, and we can assume his average fastball is now consistently close to 148 km/h. That's something we absolutely need to take note of."

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