Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

The shopkeeper, Harumiko, glanced with slight worry in Touya Akira's direction and murmured softly, "That child, he hasn't come either."

"That kid named Hikaru Shindo?"

Mr. Kotsubo just happened to push the door open and came in, and heard what Harumiko said.

"Yes, Xiaoliang said he's been waiting for that kid named Hikaru Shindo."

"Really? What about that boy from China?" Mr. Gu Tian took out one thousand Japanese coins from his pocket and handed them to Miss Harumiko.

"Su Ran-kun? He said last time that he wouldn't be coming. I heard from Xiao Liang that Su Ran-kun is going to become a professional Go player and is preparing for the entrance exam."

"is it?"

Mr. Gu Tian was somewhat moved: "So young, and already preparing for the entrance exam for the Imperial Academy?"

Harumiko nodded and sighed, "So, Akira is waiting for another child. I heard that Hikaru Shindo and Ran Su played a very exciting game at the middle school Go tournament a few days ago."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Gu Tian's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "And the result? What was the result?"

"Well……"

Harumiko was taken aback by Mr. Kou-tei's strong reaction: "Xiao-liang said that Hikaru Shindo lost, but... he didn't really lose."

"Losed, or not lost?"

Mr. Gu Tian frowned and pondered, then asked in confusion, "Go is either winning or losing, what else is there? A draw?"

In theory, a draw is possible in Go, but it is often impossible to reach a draw.

Harumiko shook her head: "Who knows? Ryo didn't explain it to me."

Mr. Gu Tian stopped asking questions, nodded, and walked straight to Akira Touya's table.

"Teacher Liang, could you play a game of Go with me for guidance?"

Upon hearing this, Akira Touya looked up, paused for a moment, and then nodded, saying, "Ah, Mr. Kouya, you don't need to call me teacher... Instructor Go, is that alright?"

"Don't say that. You're better at chess than me, so you're my teacher."

Mr. Gu Tian pulled out a chair and sat down: "What's wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood."

"No……"

Akira Toya shook his head.

"Teacher Liang, you have always been the role model I strive to emulate."

Mr. Gu Tian smiled and said, "In any case, I just want to move towards you, that's enough."

"Everyone thinks I'm trying to catch up with your skill level, Mr. Liang, but that's not true."

"What I want to pursue is not just your chess skills, but your never-give-up spirit."

"I have lost many games, and at one point I didn't even have the courage to pick up a piece."

“But, Mr. Liang, you are different. Your courage moves even me, who is twenty years older than you.”

"You love Go so much, it's like life itself."

Akira Touya listened silently.

After Mr. Gu Tian finished saying what he wanted to say, he opened the Go box and bowed slightly to Akira Touya.

"Please give me more advice."

"Please give me more advice."

Instead of choosing his preferred star point opening, Mr. Gu Tian placed a black stone at the small point position on the board.

Akira Touya paused for a moment, then fell silent before landing on another star position.

Mr. Gu Tian picked up the black piece and placed it down again.

Two columns and four rows, pointed.

"This...this is..."

"Hidesaku Honinbo's...point?"

As if struck by something, Akira Touya's body trembled slightly.

“Shindo…”

Akira Touya stared blankly at the two black stones.

On the other side, Mr. Kou-teki smiled as he looked at Akira Touya.

Akira Touya remained silent for a long time, his fingertips groping inside the Go box for a long time before finally picking out a white stone and placing it on the Go board.

"Shindo, I've been waiting for you at the Go club..."

"Su Ran, I have always been trying my best to catch up with you."

"Wait for me, when I... reappear before you, I will definitely surprise you!"

……

night.

Akira Touya returned home and took off his shoes.

"I am back."

There was no reply, and Akira knew that his father was probably not home.

"Have you gone out?"

Akira Touya neatly placed his shoes, put on his slippers, and walked towards his bedroom.

"Xiao Liang, are you back?"

Suddenly, Ogata Seiji's voice came from the study.

Akira Touya paused for a moment, then said, "Mr. Ogata, what are you doing here...?"

"I've been waiting for you! Come quick! Two more incredibly skilled people have recently emerged online!"

A newly emerged master?

Upon hearing this, Akira Touya paused, then quickly ran to the study and forcefully pushed open the door!

Seiji Ogata was lighting a cigarette, intently staring at the computer screen, the computer's pale blue light reflecting off his glasses.

"It has already begun."

Ogata Seiji turned the computer in front of Touya Akira and pointed at the screen, commentating, "This is that expert named Yuan. He's only been around for three days and he's already won thirty-seven games in a row."

Is "yuan" a black piece or a white piece?

"What is his playing style like? How does it differ from that of Sai and Thesai?"

Akira Touya looked somewhat excited and asked eagerly.

Ogata Seiji remained silent, his eyes peering through his glasses at the computer screen, but his peripheral vision also subtly observed Touya Akira.

"I've never seen Xiao Liang so excited before..."

"When SAI and THESAI are mentioned, Xiao Liang seems to become a completely different person. Does he have some kind of guess about their identities...?"

"Does Xiao Liang think that behind those two IDs might be Su Ran or those two kids, Hikaru Shindo?"

"But……"

Ogata Seiji slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then forcefully stubbed out the cigarette, his face showing a complex mix of emotions.

"Kuroko is Yuan, the outcome... Kuroko has almost certainly won."

Ogata Seiji pulled out another cigarette and pointed to the Go board on the computer screen: "The white stones are too deep in the star position, and in the middle game, they made three questionable moves in a row."

"Here."

Ogata Seiji pointed to the center of the board, his face grave: "Black has placed three consecutive moves here. White put up a desperate resistance, setting a trap in an attempt to lure out a white piece, but it was exposed."

Akira Touya stared intently at the complex Go board, the black and white pieces seemingly leaping before his eyes.

Suddenly, he noticed the lower left corner of the chessboard, and his pupils contracted.

"That's right, if the next black piece lands here, it'll be a kill."

Ogata Seiji took a lighter out of his suit pocket, lit a cigarette, and pointed at the computer screen.

"Once this group of white pieces is lost, there is no chance for the white pieces to recover."

"completely annihilated……"

"A crushing defeat..."

As soon as the voice finished speaking, a black stone appeared on the computer screen, precisely at the spot that Ogata Seiji had pointed to earlier.

"Point kill..."

After a long time, Bai Zi sent a message.

"I voted."

Even through the screen, you could almost feel Bai Zi's resentment.

Ogata Seiji pushed up his glasses: "With this win, Yuan has now achieved a thirty-eight-game winning streak..."

"Is the white piece really that weak...?"

No, not at all.

Ogata Seiji muttered to himself, "This time, Yuan's opponent is not only not weak, but on the contrary, extremely strong, probably already at the level of a top professional Go player."

"Because if you're not a professional player, you can't even make it to the middle game against this Yuan..."

"Bai Zi's playing style is very similar to that of Lee Chang-ho, who was recently promoted to 9-dan. He is the latest top player to emerge among the new generation of Go players. His playing style is delicate and meticulous, highlighting unexpected moves and gradually eroding his opponent's strength."

"However, even the top-tier Go players from South Korea suffered a crushing defeat when they encountered Yuan."

Akira Touya suddenly turned to look at Seiji Ogata.

"Mr. Ogata, you've watched so many of Yuan's games. What do you think his skill level is? Is he at the peak of the 9-dan level?"

Ogata adjusted his glasses, pondered for a long time, and then sighed: