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

Page 66

Sai and Kato Masao opened their eyes at the same time!

Inspired by Hikaru Shindo's extraordinary intuition, the two world's top Go players actually clashed in that instant.

They all entered...

The realm of enlightenment!!!

Heaven and earth are silent and still, all things are without self and without form.

It seemed like a split second had passed.

It's as if hundreds of millions of years have passed...

Amidst the bewilderment in everyone's eyes.

at last.

After pondering for several minutes, Kato Masao reached into the Go box, picked out a Go piece, and then gently placed it down.

Snapped!

Nine columns and twelve rows, a huge jump!

Upon seeing this move, everyone's eyes widened in astonishment, and the crowd erupted in an uproar!

"this!"

"Really?! Eighth Dan...!"

"Backed down!?"

The shock caused by Kato Masao's move was even greater than that caused by Shindo Hikaru's move of pointing to the 3-3 point!

"Mr. Kato... seems different from before..."

Akira Touya stared intently at the white-haired old man before him, and clearly sensed that the man's aura seemed to have weakened considerably compared to its previous sharp and incomparably fierce presence.

but.

This does not mean that Masao Kato's chess skills have declined compared to before.

Quite the contrary!

At this moment.

For the first time, he sensed a fatherly feeling from this senior!

That kind of invisible and intangible yet omnipresent, flowing water-like, absolute pressure!

In the room.

Only Sai and Kato Masao knew what had happened to them in that brief moment.

This moment.

Masao Kato has officially been promoted to the 9th dan rank!

This moment.

Fujiwara no Sai has returned to... the peak of the tenth dan!!!

……

Chapter Fifty-Three: A Critical Situation! Kato, 8th Dan's Choice!

In the midst of a chess game.

As Kato Masao performed a spectacular 'nine-of-twelve' jump, the onlookers were quite shocked.

"Mr. Kato... he's not taking the move? He's jumped away? Why!?" Akira Touya stared at the chessboard, his eyes filled with shock.

Even after years of studying Go alongside Touya Kouyo, Touya Akira couldn't understand why Kato Masao would choose to back down at this point, let alone anyone else.

"What did Kato-sensei see? Something I didn't see?" Akira Touya stared intently at the Go board, hoping to find the answer in the game.

"I can't tell..."

After searching for an answer for a long time without success, Akira Touya clenched his fists involuntarily, his expression full of resentment!

Back to the game of chess.

Seeing that Kato Masao did not choose to confront him head-on, but instead nimbly jumped away, Ikegami Harada's expression changed slightly.

He looked at his old friend with admiration.

"They actually avoided it..."

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, anyone else would have accepted the challenge and launched a counterattack against Kuroko!"

"However, after yesterday's match against THESAI, Kato... seemed to have undergone some kind of transformation in his chess skills, and decisively chose to retreat!"

"Approaching ninety years old, he can still make progress in his chess skills..."

"As expected of Mr. Kato!"

Seeing that Kato Masao did not play the moves he expected, Hikaru Shindo was not disappointed. Instead, he became even more excited and looked forward to the game even more!

"He dodged my fatal blow..."

"If he had fallen for that trick, I could have mobilized all the star power to surround and annihilate him..."

"Kato-sensei, he really..."

"So strong!"

Hikaru Shindo picked up a Go stone and slammed it heavily onto the Go board!

Kato Masao was testing his talent, but how could he not also want to know Kato Masao's chess skills!

Snapped!

Sixteen columns and eight rows, sharp!

"He's attacking again! This guy's being aggressive, not giving an inch!"

"Although Kato 8th Dan gave him a three-stone handicap, in terms of attack, White should be faster. After all, Black has more stones and is more cautious. How could he dare to attack?"

"I don't understand it at all!"

The young men stared at the chessboard with trepidation, completely unable to comprehend the game.

If Hikaru Shindo's long step could be somewhat explained as a matter of seeking fortune in danger, then this sharp step is completely illogical!

This is simply pushing their luck and recklessly provoking Bai Zi's bottom line!

Kato Masao remained expressionless and continued placing his pieces.

Faced with Hikaru Shindo's provocation, Masao Kato remained silent for a moment before placing another Go piece.

Eleven columns and nine rows, break!

Kato Masao surprisingly chose to remain calm and observe the situation once again, refusing to get bogged down in a fierce battle with Kuroko!

Are you still going to back down?

"This can't go on, Kato 8th Dan! Shirako will only push his luck!"

"Kato-senpai is under pressure to win, and he can't just defend all the time. Now... why is that? Once the black pieces get a good position, it will be extremely difficult for the white pieces to attack later!"

The group of teenagers watched the chessboard with growing anxiety, even wishing they could personally teach Kato Masao how to play chess.

As expected, Hikaru Shindo continued his attack on the white pieces, while Masao Kato, while dodging, began to slowly lay out his strategy, showing no intention of confronting the black pieces head-on!

Both sides immediately began placing their pieces with lightning speed.

Soon, another dozen or so moves were made.

"In this game... Black is only focused on attacking, and the shape of the stones is extremely messy. Once the isolated piece in the right corner is killed, Black will have no choice but to resign, right?"

"That's right, but why hasn't Kato-senpai attacked yet?"

"Unbelievable! This game is nothing like a normal game!"

"It's a handicap game, so it's normal that it doesn't look like a normal game. But... this game... is too chaotic!"

Listening to the discussions around him, Harada Ikegami nodded silently, looking at Masao Kato, with the same questions in his mind as everyone else.

What on earth is Mr. Kato thinking?!

This time, Hikaru Shindo placed his piece again.

"Um……"

Looking at this move, Kato Masao did not immediately reach into the chess box. Instead, he put his hands into the wide sleeves of his kimono and fell into deep thought.

"Although from the very beginning, it seemed like the situation the white pieces had envisioned—that they could engage in a fierce battle with the black pieces..."

"However, if you think about it more deeply, it seems to contain a crisis."

Kato Masao's hawk-like gaze swept over each chess piece on the board, his wrinkled face remaining calm and composed.

"This situation may seem chaotic, but it is actually incredibly complex!"

……

Thinking of this, Kato Masao crossed his arms, his gaze calm as he stared at the chessboard before him.

"Although I can vaguely sense the hidden danger, as the one who is letting go, I cannot continue to retreat."

"If we don't launch an attack now, we're doomed."

"We must attack, but we can't attack?"

"interesting!"

"So, how exactly do we do it?"

After thinking for a long time, Kato Masao finally reached into the chess box again and picked out a chess piece.

Snapped!