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

As Seto, a 5-dan player, walked, he said, "However, it's not certain that Touya Akira will dominate this tournament... I heard recently that two kids at the Zishui Go Club easily defeated Touya Akira."

"what?"

The department head was immediately astonished. Even though he didn't know much about Go, he had heard of Akira Touya's reputation as a genius.

but now……

It's unbelievable that more than one person of the same age has defeated Akira Touya?

"It seems to be named Hikaru Shindo... There was another one, who was said to be the son of the Chinese Go master Su Yuan. I don't remember his name very clearly, since I've never met him in person."

Seto 5-dan smiled:

"If he's really that good, I'd really like to see it for myself."

"The younger generation is truly formidable."

The department head sighed, "But putting everything else aside, if either Akira Touya or one of those two kids you mentioned were in our school, we'd have a real chance in this year's Go team competition... If we could get both of them, it would be practically a sure thing."

"Haha, that's true. But Xiao Liang probably won't participate in the competition among peers. Touya Meijin won't allow it. But if Xiao Liang could really form a team with those two kids, they would be invincible."

Upon hearing the department head's words, Seto 5-dan nodded with a smile.

If Su Yuan, the Go master, and Touya Akira could form a team, it would be a game-changer.

Both of them possess extraordinary chess skills far surpassing those of their peers; whoever encounters them is doomed.

The remaining person could even choose a complete novice at Go, and it wouldn't matter if they lost every game, since their teammates would help them advance.

"Unfortunately, it's just a thought... Sigh!"

The department head stood with his hands behind his back and let out a long sigh.

"Don't worry, Director, I will do my best to teach these children," Seto 5-dan quickly replied.

"Of course I trust you, Mr. Seto."

The department head shook his head and continued, "However, the Go team competition is just around the corner this year, and with such a short time, we definitely won't be able to get any good results this year."

Seto, a fifth-dan player, fell silent.

Indeed, Go cannot be mastered by simply instilling skill; knowledge must be learned little by little. A year is already a tight schedule, let alone with only a dozen days left until this year's team Go tournament.

However, since Seto 5-dan had accepted the money, he was still very responsible. After thinking for a while, he said, "I will do my best to give the children who are participating this year some extra help this week, and try to get a not-too-bad result."

"Haha, that's exactly what I've been waiting for, Mr. Seto."

The department head immediately smiled and said.

Clearly, he was planning to have Seto 5-dan tutor the children in the Go club.

After all, the principal invited Seto 5-dan for next year's Go team tournament, and even the principal himself knew the quality of these Go club members in this year's competition, and had long since given up hope on them.

However, as the arch-rival of Haiwang Middle School, all the faculty and staff were still somewhat unwilling to accept this.

"However, I can't guarantee the results. After all, I've given them too little time, and these kids also have regular schoolwork."

Seto 5-dan spoke with some difficulty.

The department head naturally understood his predicament, nodded, and comforted him, saying, "Even if you come in last, I won't blame you, Mr. Seto. After all, our past results... well, they were just so-so. Besides, you only have about a week, which is indeed too rushed."

The department head wanted to say that they had always been at the bottom, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say such a shameful thing.

He could only cough twice and then gloss over it.

"Oh, right, Mr. Seto."

The department head seemed to have thought of something and looked at Seto 5-dan, saying, "If there isn't enough time, you can let me know in advance, and I will be responsible for communicating with the children's parents and asking them to stay at the Go club for three more hours after school starting today, until the competition begins."

Hearing this, Seto Godan breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Then I'm very grateful to you, Director."

"Alright, Seto 5-dan, I'll have to trouble you with your work during this time." The department head said with a satisfied smile.

Just as the two were having a very pleasant conversation...

Inside the teaching building, a tall, thin student wearing glasses ran towards them like the wind.

As he ran, the bespectacled student shouted:

"Seto-sensei, Seto-sensei, I've recruited another new member to the club!"

Those who come.

It was Hirosue Naruto, a third-year junior high school student, who had just scolded Su Ran for his solution to the game.

He is also the current president of the Go club at Kawage Middle School.

“Naruto, speak slowly. Your quick temper is not a good thing for the study of Go.”

Seto, the fifth-ranked dan, frowned and told Hirosue Naruto to regulate his breathing before continuing.

After catching his breath for a while, Hirosue Naruto finally spoke:

"It's like this, Mr. Seto... Just now, a new student scribbled on my Go record and I scolded him, but... he does seem to know a little about the rules of Go, and it looks like he's interested in joining our Go club."

"Oh?"

Seto Ao nodded slightly and extended her hand, saying:

"Well, did he solve my puzzle? Let me see."

Upon hearing this...

Naruto Hirosue scratched his head sheepishly:

"I didn't quite understand it... but I think he just scribbled a few things on it. After all, this is a problem set by you, Seto-sensei. How could a first-year student possibly solve it!?"

After a pause, Naruto Hirosue added quietly:

"Moreover, his solution is completely different from what you taught me a couple of days ago; it's obviously just blind guessing..."

As he spoke, Hirosue Naruto took out the chess manual from his pocket and pointed to the position on it, saying, "Teacher, look, he placed this move in the fourth row and third column, at the small eye."

"Isn't this already White's territory? Why are they still playing here? Isn't this just handing White a piece to capture? I really don't know what they were thinking."

"And this move with seventeen columns and seventeen rows—is that a dead end?"

"Only the first endgame, that hand with six columns and nine rows of sharp points, was passable, just like the one you taught me a couple of days ago. If I hadn't seen him solve that one correctly, I wouldn't have taken him on as a student at all!"

At that moment, Seto Seiichi also looked at the three chess scores that Hirosue Naruto had pointed to.

"The small eye of the fourth of three? Indeed, it's dead—if the white piece lands here..."

Seto Seiichi suddenly realized something, stopped speaking abruptly halfway through his sentence, and his eyes slowly widened.

"This...this?"

His mouth slowly opened wide, as if he had seen something incredible.

"Teacher, Seto-sensei?"

Naruto Hirosue, unaware of what had happened, stared blankly at Aoichi Seto.

Seto Ao gently placed a finger on the spot Su Ran had drawn, and her finger trembled slightly.

"Teacher Seto?"

Seto Seiichi murmured, "He...he...solved it. No, his solution is far superior to mine, far more accurate!"

These words, though spoken softly, struck Hirosue Naruto like a thunderbolt, making his eardrums ache.

On the other hand.

The department head, who was originally preparing to light a cigarette and enjoy a moment, opened his mouth in utter surprise, and the cigarette slid down between his lips.

……

Seventy-five years old, back to school! A chess player even more talented than a genius!

"Teacher, he really solved this puzzle?"

Seto Ao nodded, and after a long while, he sighed dejectedly.

"These endgame puzzles were all test questions personally given to me by Mr. Kobayashi when I became his student. I have always been proud of my solutions."

"But I never imagined that there was an even more ingenious and simpler solution to this game..."

"The child who came up with this solution is a true genius!"

Seto Ao gently stroked a dot on the endgame chess notation with one finger: "Naruto, although I won those two games back then, it was a Pyrrhic victory. If... we had played according to this boy's interpretation, the outcome would have been completely different."

"How is that possible!?"

Hirosue Naruto couldn't believe his ears: "Who is that guy? Could it be Akira Touya? And he clearly placed it in a small spot, but it was taken down after just a few moves!"

Seto Seiichi smiled and said, "Well then, I'm the black piece, and you're the white piece. Where do you go?"

Without a second thought, Hirosue Naruto said, "Fourth column, five elements, bang."

"Seven columns and six rows, flying high."

……

"Eight columns and seven rows, pointed, raised."

Naruto Hirosue exclaimed excitedly, "Then this whole black patch is mine..."

He seemed to realize something, his tone grew weaker and weaker, and he suddenly stopped talking.

Seto Seiichi smiled and asked, "Do you understand?"

Naruto Hirosue muttered in disbelief, "How could this be..."

"That's how it is. A good player focuses on the overall situation, while an unskilled player focuses on individual pieces."

Seto Seiichi slowly said, "This move isn't actually difficult. The difficulty lies in calculating more than ten moves ahead..."

Seto Seiichi stared at the intricately contested game between black and white, his eyes wide with awe: "In such a delicate and entangled struggle, one wrong move can lead to total defeat."

"But that child actually saw clearly the changes after more than a dozen moves in this situation, it's truly...unbelievable!"

Seto Seiichi then took out the last chess endgame board and examined it for a long time:

"This game of chess is the same; that child has an amazing ability to calculate."

Naruto Hirosue stood to one side, his body trembling violently.