Infinity Starting with Hikaru no Go

Page 11

Seemingly sensing a murderous aura, Hikaru Shindo involuntarily shrank back, his face unconsciously showing fear, not understanding why Akira Touya had suddenly become so angry.

Yes, Akira Touya is very angry right now. Whether it's Hikaru Masato's attitude towards Go before, or the casualness he shows in his current game against him, Akira Touya is very angry.

At the same time, Akira Touya couldn't understand why someone like Hikaru Shindo, who only used Go as a tool to make money and didn't care about Go at all, could possess such profound Go skills.

As for Akira Touya's doubts, in the world of "Hikaru no Go", only Chen Anxia, ​​Hikaru Shindo, and Sai Fujiwara would probably know.

Filled with anger and doubt, Akira Touya held a white stone and swiftly and heavily placed it on the board, creating a sound full of murderous intent.

Snapped!

Akira Toya's move surprised Chen Anxia, ​​Hikaru Shindo, and Yasunari Yamamura.

They were all familiar with this move and knew it was called the "Small Flying Kick to the Corner".

Moreover, Akira Touya's small knight's move to the corner, together with the black stones that Fujiwara Sai originally placed in the lower right corner, formed a basic Go joseki.

This Go opening is the same small eye and small knight's move that made Chen Anxia famous in the Go classroom.

Chen Anxia remembered that she must have fallen into...

Chen Anxia remembered, and Uemura Tairyu would naturally remember as well.

As for Hikaru Shindo, it goes without saying that Fujiwara no Sai had already made the same move in the very first game between Hikaru and Akira.

However, Fujiwara no Sai was unaware of the rules of the stencil at the time.

Fujiwara no Sai now knows the rules of the tatome.

So, will Fujiwara Sai still choose to make that move, a move that is not advantageous under the komi rule?

Chen Anxia was curious, and so was Fujiwara Hikaru...

As for Fujiwara no Sai, he gently unfurled his five-bone bat fan, covering the lower half of his face and revealing only his handsome blue eyes.

At this moment, Fujiwara Sai saw the murderous aura in Touya Akira's eyes and knew that Touya Akira was deliberately replicating the corner battle of the first game.

The reason for this was that in the first game, Akira Toya thought Hikaru Shindo was a novice and did not use his true strength, which led to his defeat in the corner battle.

This time, Akira Touya wanted to replicate the corner battle of the first game, hoping to win and also to let Fujiwara no Sai know his true strength.

Then, Fujiwara Sai looked at Chen Anxia, ​​at this boy who claimed to be a novice but had played a brilliant Shusaku move, and immediately made a decision...

Swish!

Fujiwara Sai closed his five-bone bat fan, a smile appearing on his elegant face. He then pointed to a point on the chessboard with the fan and said calmly, "4 rows and 15 columns, point!"

After Fujiwara Sai made this move, someone in the crowd quickly recognized it and exclaimed in surprise, "This is... Shusaku's move!?"

......

Chapter 16: The Mission Reappears, A Glimmer of Hope!

Xiu Cejian's move immediately caused an uproar among the spectators.

However, they all knew that the match was in progress, and in order not to disturb Hikaru Shindo and Akira Touya, they tried their best to suppress the urge to speak loudly, and whispered to each other instead.

"Xiu Ce Jian, you're saying this is Xiu Ce Jian?"

"No way, could it be that this child is going to follow the Shusaku school?"

"In the era before the creation of the 'Takeme' style, the Shusaku style was undoubtedly the king."

"Yes, back then, Honinbo Shusaku played against opponents using the Shusaku popular style, and he never lost when playing with black stones, which established Honinbo Shusaku's reputation as the ancient Go master."

"However, in the current era of takatsu, the Shusaku style, which involves waiting for the opponent to attack while in a state of rest, has gradually been phased out."

"Yes, with a komi of five and a half points, Black can no longer use this passive approach and needs to seek a more aggressive approach to gain an advantage."

"That's right. If the skill levels of the two players are vastly different, it's fine. But if the skill levels are similar, then Shusaku's style will become a constraint, and may even become the cause of defeat."

"So, does this mean the child thinks his chess skills far surpass Xiao Liang's?"

......

Because Chen Anxia was in the crowd, she was able to hear the whispers around her.

After Shirakawa Michio's Go lesson, Chen Anxia also went online to learn a little about the Shusaku school of Go.

Therefore, Chen Anxia was able to understand the discussions of those around him.

Although Chen Anxia could understand what was being said, he couldn't understand the moves played by Fujiwara Sai and Touya Akira due to his own skill level.

This also confirmed Chen Anxia's suspicions about why he was able to witness the manifestation of the principles of Go during his last game with Shinsuke Ichiyanagi.

It must be related to the voice that echoed in my mind.

No, more accurately, it is related to the principles of chess contained in that sound.

This time, no sound rang in Chen Anxia's mind, and there was no feeling of chess principles lingering in his mind.

This meant that Chen Anxia, ​​whose own skill level was insufficient, was unable to understand the games played by Fujiwara no Sai and Touya Akira.

However, although Chen Anxia could not understand the chess game in front of him, he knew that it was a contest between the past and the present.

Among them, Fujiwara no Sai's Shusaku style represents the pinnacle of Go in the era without komi (komoku) rules, and is now a thing of the past.

Akira Touya's moves represent the Go of the komi era. Although it was not the peak, it was inherited from Touya Kouyo, who stood at the peak, and that is the present.

The past and the present, the interplay between two eras...

Thinking of this, Chen Anxia's blood couldn't help but boil.

At the same time, a strong desire welled up in Chen Anxia's heart, a desire to participate in the game that transcends eras.

Seemingly sensing Chen Anxia's desire, the fundamental principles of Go that already existed in Chen Anxia's mind and that Miki Soji had been searching for so hard once again revealed a glimpse of the truth.

This small part of the iceberg gradually drew Chen Anxia, ​​who initially couldn't understand the game, into the game.

Chen Anxia himself did not realize this.

Because at this moment, Chen Anxia only had the game of chess in front of him, nothing else and no distracting thoughts.

Although Chen Anxia still couldn't understand the game.

However, in Chen Anxia's eyes, it seemed as if he saw a vague and hazy scene.

In that hazy, indistinct scene, Chen Anxia seemed to see a towering, black city.

Before Chen Anxia could get a good look, a white meteor fell from the sky, crashing down and splitting the earth, raising clouds of dust.

Then, a colossal beast emerged from the billowing dust and roared toward the towering black city. Its roar was deafening and carried with it a strong sense of impending doom.

Even Chen Anxia, ​​who was not directly involved, could clearly feel the chilling atmosphere, which gave him goosebumps and made him feel a chill run down his spine.

Chen Anxia knew that the war started by that white behemoth... had begun!

Not only Chen Anxia, ​​but also the people watching the game around them, who were originally whispering among themselves, all fell silent after Akira Touya placed his white piece.

This was because the tense atmosphere on the chessboard unconsciously affected them, making them tense and unable to take their eyes off the game.

Uemura Tairyu was the same; he was completely absorbed in the game and even forgot the purpose of his visit to the Go club.

Snapped!

Snapped!

Snapped!

......

As the heavy, clear sound of each piece being placed rang out, the game continued, and the battle between black and white intensified.

Among those present, only Hikaru Shindo remained oblivious. Although he was in the game, his mind was elsewhere; he was merely a tool for Fujiwara no Sai to make moves.

Even at this moment, Hikaru Shindo was not thinking about the game in front of him, but rather why Akira Touya was so angry, and what he had done wrong.

Before they knew it, the game had progressed to the middle stage, and Akira Touya's expression grew increasingly grim, even his movements as he placed the stones began to tremble.

By this point in the game, Akira Touya already knew the outcome.

However, Akira Touya was unwilling, extremely unwilling, and couldn't understand why there was such a huge gap between him and Hikaru Shindo, who didn't love Go and only wanted to use it as a tool to make money.

Even though I love Go so much...

I've already tried so hard...

Even though I learned Go under my father's strict guidance since I was a child...

Why, why is this?

Meanwhile, in Chen Anxia's eyes, the strange phenomena and wonders manifesting on the chessboard remained hazy, making it impossible for Chen Anxia to truly see them or get close to them no matter how hard he tried.

However, through this hazy scene, Chen Anxia vaguely saw that the unknown white behemoth was seriously injured and on the verge of death, but it refused to fall.

What sustains this white behemoth is Akira Touya's will and beliefs.

As long as Akira Touya still wants to fight and is still able to fight, then this white behemoth, manifested from Akira Touya's principles of Go and embodying his spirit, will, and beliefs, will still be able to fight.

Just then, Akira Touya's trembling, unwilling voice suddenly rang out, "I... lost..."

As Akira Touya surrendered, the white behemoth suddenly raised its head and let out a mournful cry of resentment before collapsing with a deafening roar.

At the same time, after Akira Touya conceded defeat, Hikaru Shindo couldn't help but look at Akira Touya, who was hanging his head and trembling, and his heartstrings seemed to be touched.

But Hikaru Shindo was more puzzled and couldn't help but ask himself, "Sai, this game isn't even halfway through the last one, so why did he concede?"

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara no Sai sighed and said, "Because... he can no longer see any hope of victory..."

The spectators around the game fell silent after hearing Akira Touya concede defeat.

Although they didn't understand why Akira Touya conceded defeat so early, they had all witnessed Hikaru Shindo's skill in Go.

Therefore, they silently accepted Akira Touya's choice and acknowledged Hikaru Shindo's victory.

Only one person present did not accept this outcome.

This person is Chen Anxia...

At the same time, a mission panel popped up again in front of Uemura Tairyu.

The task panel reads: "Sole task: Chen Anxia believes that this game between the old and new eras is not over yet, and White still has a glimmer of hope."

"Mission objective: Help Chen Anxia find this glimmer of hope..."

......