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

"The realm of a chess master, that is the ultimate goal I must reach."

"At this starting line, I, Akira Touya, and you all have a chance."

"I hope you won't let me down!"

Thinking of this, the gloom that Su Ran had felt due to the failure completely vanished at this moment.

On the other side...

Akira Touya also silently approached Su Ran.

After standing still, he spoke softly:

"Su Ran, you and Hikaru Shindo are both so strong, so very strong."

"I can't believe that there are two people my age who are this strong... It's like two towering mountains, and even when I try to look up, I can't see the summit."

Akira Touya didn't look at Su Ran, but simply took a black chess piece and quietly rubbed it in his palm:

"However, no matter what, I will not admit defeat... I will defeat you all one by one!"

He mustered his courage, suddenly looked up, his expression serious and earnest, with the same look in his eyes as his father, Touya Kouhiro.

"I will never admit defeat!"

Su Ran silently gazed into Touya Akira's eyes, where a burning, unyielding belief resided in his dark pupils!

"Defeat me?"

A slight smile suddenly appeared on Su Ran's lips. He calmly stood up and gently gathered the chess pieces in front of him into the chess box.

The chess pieces fell into the chess box, making a crisp and pleasant clicking sound.

"We will meet again, perhaps soon, or perhaps a long, long time from now on the professional stage."

"I won't be playing Go here for a while. I... also need to study Go more diligently, but in any case, we should meet again."

Su Ran said slowly, "I hope that by then, you will have grown to the point where I can't ignore you either, otherwise, I will be very disappointed."

"Ignore?"

Upon hearing Su Ran's words, Akira Touya flew into a rage: "Are you saying that when you played Go with me before, you didn't even take it seriously?"

"In a sense, yes."

Su Ran smiled and closed the chess box lid, calmly looking at Touya Akira, whose fists were clenched tightly, and then 'viciously' added another blow:

"Furthermore, as far as I know, when Hikaru Shindo is facing you..."

"He wasn't even using his full strength!"

After speaking, Su Ran stood up from his chair, as if to leave the chess room.

"Are you kidding me!"

Akira Touya glared angrily at Su Ran, his chest heaving violently.

"Didn't you just lose to Hikaru Shindo?"

As soon as he said those words, Akira Touya's body trembled slightly, and his face turned deathly pale.

Su Ran turned around, put the chess box away, shrugged indifferently, and turned to leave the chess room.

but.

Just as he brushed past Akira Touya, he lightly leaned close to Akira's ear and said:

"I don't recall saying that I conceded defeat in this game, did I?"

talking.

Su Ran's finger, seemingly intentionally, yet unintentionally, quietly tapped a spot on the chessboard.

Then, he drifted away without ever looking back.

Following the direction Su Ran pointed, in the next instant, Akira Touya's eyes widened in shock!

16th column, 3rd row, Xiao Fei!

"This...this is!"

Akira Touya eagerly brought his eyes close to the Go board, staring at it blankly for a long, long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice:

"They...they made up?"

"Su Ran didn't lose this game! They... they actually won in the end..."

"A draw!!!"

Swish!

As Akira Touya's distraught voice fell to the ground, all the Go fans turned their attention to the spot he had pointed to in surprise.

All I saw was...

On the crisscrossing chessboard, in the Milky Way surrounded by stars—

A bright moon hangs high in the sky.

……

Chapter Forty: Let him, in my place, touch that highest realm.

A draw is the least likely event to occur in Go, bar none.

Many professional chess players, even those who have played their entire lives, have never seen a draw.

A draw is only possible when the pieces are so intertwined that neither player has any moves left, and the pieces on the board are roughly equal.

After Hikaru Shindo played that divine move of "cutting," the Go simulator determined that White had completely lost any chance of winning.

But Hikaru Shindo's courage to face death deeply moved Su Ran.

A game of chess can be won by facing certain death.

This is the highest level of Go.

To reach the highest peak, you must overcome everything that stands in your way.

Therefore, even though she knew there was no hope of victory, Su Ran still had to fight.

He wanted to find a glimmer of hope amidst the defeat!

Even if he has to simulate it a thousand times or ten thousand times, he will find that point that will allow him to achieve a higher level of self-improvement!

In front of Akira Touya, Su Ran's seemingly nonchalant gesture was, in fact, the culmination of his efforts after thousands of failures.

By the end of the simulation, Su Ran was completely numb, and her mind was in complete chaos.

however.

In the midst of this chaos, he seemed to see a faint glimmer of starlight.

At that moment, Su Ran was overjoyed.

he knows.

He finally found the chess sense he was looking for! A supreme chess sense, exactly like Hikaru Shindo's, that allows one to see the universe through the chessboard!

"I……"

"We didn't lose!"

Hey!

In the simulated scenario constructed in the mind.

A white piece.

She landed quietly in the sixteenth column, the third row.

In an instant.

The sun and moon shine together!

But in Akira Touya's eyes, all of this was merely the fleeting moment when he brushed past Su Ran.

But in reality, he couldn't imagine how much effort Su Ran had put in during that brief moment.

But thankfully, all of this...

It's all worth it.

"Come on, Akira Touya."

"Grit your teeth and put all your effort into catching up with me and Hikaru Shindo!"

“Anger can make people progress; let me see your resolve.”

"I can endlessly study in the simulated world to inspire you, and you should do the same. Like a true Go player who loves Go, launch the fiercest attack on me and Hikaru Shindo!"

"I challenge for the throne!"

"I await you on the throne, forever and ever."

……

"A draw, he really did manage a draw... Despite being six and a half points behind in white, he brought the game to a draw..."

Watching Su Ran's figure disappear into the distance, Akira Touya clenched his fists tightly, his fingertips digging into his palms, and blood slowly flowed out.

The intertwined black and white pieces before him resembled two giant pythons that preyed on people, tightly coiling around Akira Touya.

"Hikaru Shindo, Su Ran..."

Akira Touya bit his lower lip hard:

"Who exactly are you people...?"

"A chess player striving for the highest level? That's exactly my goal!"

……

Night was falling.

"Sai, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that..."