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

Chapter Fifty-Six: I'm sorry everyone, I'm late!

The chess pieces began to fall continuously, and with each piece that fell, the tension in the air grew even stronger.

Before we knew it, the entire chess room was filled with immense pressure that made us break out in a cold sweat.

Everyone fell silent, watching the game on the chessboard with trepidation, as if they were witnessing a war firsthand!

A chilling atmosphere filled the air as the two armies faced off, roaring and howling!

Whenever White makes a brilliant move and Black is in imminent danger, Black often manages to turn the tide through clever thinking!

When the black pieces reveal their strength, the white pieces immediately intercept and block them with lightning speed!

The two sides went back and forth, engaging in the fiercest competition and battle on this small chessboard. For a time, it was difficult for everyone to judge who was superior!

In the blink of an eye, another dozen or so moves had been made!

"Wonderful...wonderful!"

Finally, someone swallowed hard, stared at the chessboard, and exclaimed in shock, "That kid Hikaru Shindo can actually play against Kato-sensei to this level!"

These words seemed to break the tense atmosphere, and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak, but their eyes remained fixed on the chessboard even as they spoke!

"That's right, it's truly spectacular! I can almost see the swords flashing and the shadows clashing on the chessboard; it's like a top-tier war extravaganza!"

"More importantly, there are many parts of their games that are completely incomprehensible. It takes many moves before you can understand the intention behind the previous moves!"

"Hikaru Shindo... his Go skills far exceed our imagination! He's simply not on the same level as us!"

"When masters clash, every move is fatal. It's hard to imagine that these eight words would be applied to someone our age!"

Everyone was amazed by the exquisite chess skills displayed by Hikaru Shindo in this intense game. Facing Masao Kato, who had already advanced to the ninth dan level, Hikaru Shindo had not been at a disadvantage at all so far!

Moreover, every move Black made was exceptionally sharp. They would believe it if you said that Kato Masao was fighting Toya Kouhiro for the throne title!

"The two sides... are evenly matched, with neither side gaining the upper hand?" someone asked.

"That's right, the situation has reached an extremely close and it's hard to tell who will win!"

"Kato-sensei just tried to break through the black stone's defense with brute force by using a single move, but the black stone countered with a single move, directly attacking the white stone's rear, forcing the white stone to retreat and defend. Both sides were wary of each other!"

The crowd either remained silent for a long time, or the discussion quickly became unstoppable.

"And just now, Black's move to poke was absolutely brilliant. It wasn't exactly an attacking move, but it was more powerful than a thousand troops! White has to be careful of this Black piece that has penetrated deep into White's territory when attacking!"

"Yes, it's like a fishbone stuck in my throat. Has Shindo been studying Go for a long time? How could he play such a good game!"

"That should have been an offensive move, but he managed to make such a defensive move... No, that dagger can no longer be considered a defense!"

"Even if Hikaru Shindo lost this game, he should be proud of himself, right? After all, Kato-sensei is the highest-ranked grandmaster among all 8-dan players. Even many high-ranking professional players couldn't push him to this level!"

However, Harada Ikegami and Akira Toya remained silent.

Hearing the students' discussion, Harada Ikegami, who had remained silent, finally spoke up: "Children, it seems you have misunderstood something."

"Ok?"

The middle school students were stunned and turned their gazes to their teacher.

After pondering for a moment, Harada Ikegami patiently explained:

"Judging from the back-and-forth battle, it seems that the two sides are indeed evenly matched, locked in a fierce struggle, and it is impossible to tell who will win or lose for the time being."

A bead of cold sweat slowly trickled down Harada's face as he stared intently at the chessboard: "But don't forget, Mr. Kato gave us a handicap in this game!"

"Hikaru Shindo has taken the lead with three crucial pieces right from the start, guarding the three corners of the board!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Then, their eyes widened in unison!

"That's right, this game was so thrilling that I almost forgot that Kato 8-dan was under pressure from being given a handicap!"

"It's precisely because this game was so brilliant that everyone overlooked this point!"

"While it's true that the black and white sides were evenly matched in their attacks, looking at the whole game, Mr. Kato didn't gain an advantage in the attacks. So, from an overall perspective, he was at a huge disadvantage!"

"A huge disadvantage?" A student with poor chess skills didn't believe it and asked, "It's only a three-stone handicap. As long as we don't fall behind in the attack, how can it be a huge disadvantage?"

"It is precisely because it is the most intense offensive battle that we are at a great disadvantage!"

Someone stared at the chessboard in awe and explained, "Because the battle in the middle game was so intense, with both sides going head-to-head with every move, the current shape of the pieces is incredibly chaotic!"

"So, as long as the white pieces cannot overpower the black pieces in this battle, they will not be able to adjust their position... In this way, the black pieces in the three corners can slowly develop and form a tight encirclement around the white pieces!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent!

Everyone looked back at the chessboard, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Kato, 8th Dan... is in a difficult situation?

Could it be... that a top-tier 8-dan player would lose this game?

No one could believe the result!

It should be noted that since Kato Masao debuted, he has only been at a disadvantage against three players, and those three players are all recognized as top-level Go masters!

Wu Qingyuan, Su Yuan, and Touya Xingyang!

In their respective eras, they stood like towering mountains, suppressing all the chess players beneath the throne!

Apart from these three, even in large-scale global Go tournaments, Kato Masao rarely encounters opponents who can fight to a standstill.

But now... the high and mighty Kato, an eighth-dan player.

Is he really going to lose to a child who is only twelve years old?!

Everyone stared in horror at Hikaru Shindo.

Even if they gave him three stones, Kato Hachidan should never be someone their age could defeat!

……

Just as everyone was utterly shocked and astonished.

The door to the chess room was pushed open from the outside once again.

Simultaneously.

A slightly apologetic voice came from the doorway:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ikegami, I slept too soundly today and am a little late..."

The game was suddenly interrupted, and even Hikaru Shindo, who was in the middle of the game, couldn't help but turn around and look at that figure.

next moment.

He and Akira Touya both fell silent at the same time, exclaiming in surprise:

"Su Ran-jun? What brings you here!?"

……

A figure from ancient times, he is Honinbo Shusaku!

That's right!

The visitor was none other than Su Ran.

He was worried that he would be scolded by Mr. Ikegami if he was late, so he rushed as fast as he could and finally arrived at the Go club before nine o'clock.

only.

To Su Ran's utter surprise,

He was surprised to find two "old friends" who were very familiar to him in Mr. Chishang's training class.

Akira Touya...

Hikaru Shindo...

What are they doing here?!

No wonder Su Ran was surprised.

He never imagined that his mentor was actually Akira Touya's first teacher.

Even more unexpectedly, Hikaru Shindo also happened to choose today to become Harada Ikegami's apprentice.

As for Kato Masao coming to his old friend to "complain" after losing to him, that was something he could never have predicted.

All of this seemed both like a coincidence of fate and as if it had been preordained.

In short.

The three of them had only parted ways the previous night, and yet, by such a coincidence, they ended up together again.

"Oh, it's Su Ran. You've come at the perfect time."

Harada Ikegami glanced at Su Ran and pointed to the empty seat next to him, saying, "Today is a great day for Kato 8-dan to accept disciples. He is currently giving his disciples a game of instruction. You can also watch and learn from their skills."

Harada Ikegami's statement is, in principle, perfectly reasonable.

However, to Akira Touya and Hikaru Shindo, it made them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles!

Are you kidding me?

Should we have Su Ran learn our chess skills?

With his skill level, does he really need to consult us?

Despite their thoughts, Akira Touya and Hikaru Shindo tacitly refrained from raising their own questions.

For ordinary people, the existence of these two chess prodigies is already astonishing enough.

If, in addition, there's a Su Ran who's even stronger than them...

Akira Touya and Hikaru Shindo simply couldn't imagine the extent to which this event would impact these people's values.

and so.

The two exchanged a knowing glance, both simultaneously suppressing their urge to continue exchanging pleasantries with Su Ran.

"Oh well."