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

He picked up the chess piece, which trembled violently. Then the piece landed on the board with a loud thud, causing the other pieces to tremble as well!

"Well……"

Hikaru Shindo carefully made each move.

Snapped!

At 0.01 seconds later, Akira Touya quickly placed his piece!

Both sides appear to be making their moves at the same time!

Every time Hikaru Shindo makes a move, Akira Touya immediately places his piece, which is completely different from before. Now it seems that Akira Touya doesn't need to think.

"Aren't you going to show your true strength, Shindo!"

"Shindo... since you have so little respect for Go... then I will use my most ruthless killing move to take you down..."

Akira Touya gritted his teeth, quickly placed a piece, and pressed the timer!

"Put them in a deadly situation!"

Sai stared silently at the chessboard.

Mid-game, end.

Hikaru Shindo suffered a crushing defeat.

Looking at the chessboard, Hikaru Shindo lowered his head, his eyes dim.

Akira Touya showed no joy after his victory, and clenched his fists as he stood up.

"you……"

Akira Touya looked at him as if he were an insignificant ant.

"I've always thought that the two of you would be my formidable rivals..."

“I once thought… I saw the shadow of the chess god in you.”

Hikaru Shindo lowered his head silently.

After a long while, Akira Touya turned around.

"I... as you wish, I will no longer play chess with you."

After speaking, Akira Touya looked directly at Su Ran.

"Hikaru Shindo has withdrawn. I'll be meeting you in the finals. You can decide how you want to play; I'll play along to the very end!"

Then, Akira Touya turned and left.

Silently, Hikaru Shindo slid tears down his cheeks from his seat.

Su Ran looked at Hikaru Shindo and could feel his sadness, not because he had lost the game, but because... he had not been recognized by others.

What Su Ran had always been confused about was...

In the final moments before Sai disappeared, was his regret at not being able to continue playing Go, or at not being able to continue being with Hikaru Shindo...?

"What a gentle person..."

Su Ran's eyes were unreadable as she turned and left.

Beside him, Mitani gritted his teeth and shed tears, while opposite him sat Kishida, the commander of the Sea King.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be this strong."

He gently pushed up his glasses, his tone devoid of sarcasm but instead conveying a sense of respect, and said, "I had a lot of fun playing."

Upon hearing this, Mitani trembled and gritted his teeth: "It's not...it's not over yet!"

Mitani reached into the Go box, but hesitated, unsure how to place his hand.

"Are you going to stay until the very end...?"

Kishida said calmly, "I can see your determination to finish the game..."

"I give up..."

Finally, after a long time, Mitani spoke these words in a weak, trembling voice, as if he had used up all his strength.

Kishida bowed slightly: "Thank you for your kind offer."

Yase Junior High School lost to Kaio Junior High School 0-3!

"A clean sheet? How is that possible? They're the high school that created a miracle last year!"

"Faced with a genius like Akira Touya, even players like Hikaru Shindo and Su Ran would suffer a crushing defeat, right? That's normal."

"Right, after all, it's child's play for Akira Touya to participate in this kind of competition."

Will he come back next year? Facing Kaiou Middle School with a genius like Akira Touya, is there really any other school that can defeat him?

"Have you forgotten Kawage Middle School? Isn't there that exchange student named Su Ran?"

"Could he be a match for Akira Touya? I watched his two previous games, and both of them are very strong..."

Let's wait and see!

They were all discussing this topic. Many people thought that Yese Middle School, which suddenly appeared in the last competition, could create a miracle, but unexpectedly, it ended in a crushing defeat in the Autumn Tournament!

Naruto Hirosue arrived at the arena at some point and stood behind Takeshita, comforting him: "It's okay, Takeshita, you've already advanced, haven't you?"

"But I lost... Hirosue-senpai!"

With tears in her eyes, Takeshita choked out, "I don't want to hold anyone back. I want to prove myself!"

Hirosue Naruto pushed up his glasses, unsure how to comfort Takeshita.

"Long time no see, Hirosue."

Su Ran walked over to them and saw Hirosue Naruto, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. He now had short hair and was wearing a junior high school uniform. She smiled and greeted him.

"Long time no see, Su Ran-jun."

Hirosue scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Is this your last amateur competition? Did you pass the graduate student assessment?"

Su Ran nodded: "It's over. In a few days, I will be reporting to the chess academy. This will be the last time I represent Chuan Di in a competition."

"You're planning to take the professional Go player exam next year? Time flies..." Hirosue Naruto said with some emotion, "We'll be able to see you on TV from now on, Su Ran-kun."

"next year?"

Su Ran smiled and shook her head: "This year."

Zhu Xia, who was crying, suddenly looked at Su Ran in horror.

Takeya Gouda looked up at Su Ran.

Hirosue couldn't believe her ears and asked, "This year?"

"yes……"

Su Ran nodded: "I can't wait to pick up a chess piece on the professional stage."

"But the professional lion cub competition is starting in less than two weeks!"

"Correct."

Su Ran smiled and said, "Half a month as a cadet is enough."

An eerily quiet atmosphere filled the air. The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

However, they also acknowledged that Su Ran did indeed possess the skill, a fact only those who frequently played chess with him understood!

"Hmm... Let's not talk about that. In the finals, your opponent is Akira Touya, that legendary genius. Are you confident?"

Naruto Hirosue pushed up his glasses and asked Su Ran.

Su Ran did not answer. After a moment, he looked in the direction of Haiwang Middle School. Touya Akira was sitting alone in front of the chessboard, seemingly lost in thought.

"I'm waiting for him!"

After Su Ran finished speaking, she turned and left.

……

A mere bluff? No, this is the decisive move.

The final match began amidst great anticipation.

Su Ran faced Touya Akira.

Everyone gathered around the chessboard, watching the upcoming game.

Hikaru Shindo stood silently by the chessboard, his fists clenched tightly, quietly waiting for the game to begin.

"Su Ran-jun, we've finally... finally met again."

Akira Touya opened the Go box and said softly.

Su Ran nodded silently to Tashiro and opened the chess box as well.

Akira Touya took a handful of white stones from the Go box, held them in his palm, and suddenly looked up.

Let's guess first!

He stared directly at Su Ran, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

As the hand loosened, the chess pieces fell onto the board with a metallic sound, trembling slightly.

"Two, four, six, eight."

Su Ran opened her hand, revealing only one black piece.

"Then, I'll get off first."

Akira Toya and Ran Su exchanged their Go boxes, with Akira Toya playing black and Ran Su playing white.

The whole process was uneventful, but those around felt an inexplicable pressure and remained silent, not daring to utter a sound.

"One is last year's champion, Kawajima, and the other is the avenging Aquaman. What kind of exciting match will it be?"

"Touya Akira and Su Ran, they've finally reached their peak!"

"Aren't their skills comparable to those of professional Go players?"