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

"I understand this move, but it's only the third move, isn't it unnecessary?"

"Want to start a fight so early?"

“I’ve seen this opening pattern in a game record before… It seems to be from China. White makes a small flying move at the first position, followed by a sharp attack at the second position. It’s called ‘Inverted Lotus,’ and it’s a very aggressive opening pattern.”

"Really? What do you think? The book says that those who set this pattern are crazy, forcibly engaging in a battle at the cost of their own slight loss."

"Slightly at a loss?"

"Yes, that's what the chess book says. In this opening sequence, Black is at a slight disadvantage, but it's still playable because Black has many traps and pitfalls in its moves, and the fighting is particularly intense and difficult to control. So Black also has plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the chaos."

"Ah, hearing you say that, this Su Ran really is an annoying brat from China."

"He wants to use the Chinese chess style to beat our Japanese chess players. How arrogant!"

"Xiao Liang, come on! You have to beat him!"

So far, after only three moves, they have already shown their strength and engaged in close combat!

As Akira Toya looked at this move, the game between his father and Mr. Su Yuan that morning flashed through his mind.

"The 'hanging lotus' pose..."

Akira Touya's eyes lit up. He picked up a white stone and gently placed it down.

Sixteen columns and eight rows, pasted.

Su Ran followed closely behind, not wanting to be outdone.

Fifteen rows and seven columns, pointed.

……

The two of them brought back the game that Touya Kouyo and Su Yuan played yesterday to the battlefield today.

"They're coming down so fast!"

"Is this a practice match based on a chess manual?"

"Broken, Xiao Liang broke it again, hiss... These subordinates are really fierce. As expected of Xiao Liang, he will definitely be able to defeat this arrogant young man from China, right?"

"No, this kid named Su Ran's defense is also watertight."

"They went down too fast, it's as if they had anticipated each other's moves a long time ago!"

As the game unfolded, everyone began to marvel.

The speed at which the pieces were placed was astonishing; there was no time for thought. Both sides placed their pieces in quick succession, leaving everyone in awe.

In fact, if you don't want to think, you really don't need to think.

So far, both sides' moves have been exactly the same as those made earlier at Akira Toya's house, where Su Yuan and Toya Kouyo played their game!

These were the very games that Su Yuan had personally guided and analyzed for Su Ran while he was in the hospital.

Both sides made their moves with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, they had already moved to the eighteenth move.

"This is the game I played with Mr. Su Yuan that day..."

Kouhiro Touya stood behind Akira Touya, deep in thought, his gaze sharp as he surveyed the board positions from his elevated position.

"However, no two games of chess are exactly alike. Xiao Liang, will you be the first to make a change of move, or will Mr. Su Yuan's child go first?"

Touya Kouhiro was curious about this.

"In this perilous jungle, there are safe paths that have been explored by predecessors. Even if they are full of thorns, if you keep moving forward, you will eventually see the light."

"But if we change our tactics... we could easily go astray!"

“Courage... Whoever has the courage to be the first to change their move can forge their own path in Go. Will that person be Xiao Liang... or this descendant of the Su family?... Interesting.”

Currently, it's the nineteenth move.

Last time, Mr. Su Yuan made his move here.

Eighteen columns and eight rows, flying high.

He made a move that caught the eye of even Touya Kouhiro.

of course.

That step was actually a flash of inspiration from Su Ran, but it was taken by her second uncle to show off to Touya Meijin.

So this time...

Will he repeat his previous trick and place the black pieces in the large knight's move?

Amidst the clattering of chess pieces in the chess box, Su Ran picked up a black piece.

Eighteen columns, eight rows, flying high!

"coming!"

Akira Touya's pupils contracted slightly, almost instinctively wanting to make the same choice his father had made earlier!

then.

Meijin Touya chose the second column, row eighteen.

That game ended with Touya Kouhiro's victory.

Akira Touya gripped the Go piece tightly.

His sharp fingernails dug deep into his palm, bringing waves of excruciating pain...

"Heizi, you made the first move."

Sai stood behind Su Ran, quietly observing the changes in the chess game.

"I didn't intend to make a move. Instead of Akira Touya, who was filled with vengeful anger, it was Kuroko who made the first move."

"But I see it, boy named Akira Touya, I see the hesitation in your heart. What are you hesitating about?"

"The best place to place your piece is in the seventeenth column and the ninth row."

"The others are too dangerous."

What are you hesitating about?

Akira Touya did not answer Sai. He gripped the white stone tightly, his face pale, and hesitated to place it.

At this moment, Hikaru Shindo stood foolishly next to Su Ran.

“Sai,” Hikaru Shindo called out.

"What's wrong, Xiaoguang?"

Sai was somewhat puzzled.

"The two of them, after each move they make, create a dazzling starlight effect in the universe, they are really amazing..."

To Hikaru Shindo, who knew nothing about Go, the intricate Go board was a constantly operating universe.

And each of Touya Akira's and Su Ran's moves precisely struck the most dazzling spot in this universe.

All of this filled him with envy.

"is it?"

Sai laughed and said, "Hikaru wants to play Go too. So, if it were you, where would you place this piece?"

"I……"

Hikaru Shindo remained silent, staring intently at the chessboard for a long time before hesitatingly saying:

"Perhaps it will be eighteen rows and two columns. I always feel that, when it lands there, it's like, like a sun suddenly being born in the dark Milky Way."

Hikaru Shindo's casual remark happened to pinpoint the exact spot where Kouhiro Touya placed his piece that day.

Exactly!

Sai turned his gaze to the chessboard.

"Eighteen rows and two columns..."

Sai's gaze was deep and thoughtful: "There..."

"What's wrong, Sai? Is something wrong?"

Hikaru Shindo was somewhat disappointed.

"Do not."

Sai gently tapped Hikaru's head with his folding fan, his eyes smiling: "Very good move, beyond my expectations. You have a lot of talent, Hikaru."

Throughout the game, Akira Touya's gaze remained fixed on two points.

A defensive counter-attacking strategy, with a steady and progressive approach, comprising seventeen columns and nine rows.

That day, his father, Touya Yukihiro, made his choice after much deliberation: eighteen rows and two columns.

Finally, he made his move.

Seventeen columns, seven rows, and a pointed top!

Completely unexpected by Go fans, Hikaru Shindo, Kouhiro Touya, and Sai!

It wasn't nine out of seventeen, nor two out of eighteen, but something no one had ever imagined—

Seventeen out of seventeen!

尖！

……

"Splash!"

Sai unfolded his folding fan and stared intently at the chessboard.

"After much deliberation... the choice was surprisingly the sharpest move..."

Sai's gaze as he looked at Akira Touya again was now filled with an inexplicable expression.

"This child... is pursuing that higher realm, the realm of the Divine Hand, just like me!"

"What's wrong, Sai?"