Full-time comic artist

I love Go and have been learning it since I was a child.

Having come to a foreign land and endured countless hardships, he constantly memorized chess scores and played chess with his peers.

He worked hard, diligently, and without slackening.

One qualifying tournament, two, three...

Being surpassed by younger generations fills me with bitterness and resentment.

After eight attempts, it still didn't work.

He had no choice but to take a job far removed from Go.

Even so, he still participates in the annual ranking tournament.

Hold fast to the belief that you must succeed!

"Tori Akino, you drew so well...that little rascal!" Wiping away his tears, he began to look forward to this year's ranking tournament.

……

At Yoshiwara-so, Hibiki Higashino was entertaining guests.

Seated at the other end of the Go board is Akira Yamazaki, a 2-dan player sent by the Go Association to assist with the serialization of "Hikaru no Go".

She covered her mouth with her folding fan, looking at the chessboard with a smug expression.

The other party is beyond saving; there is no way to turn things around.

"What? The author whose comics made me cry is only good at Go."

Higashino Hibiki lowered his head, intently studying the chessboard.

Three minutes later, he dejectedly put down the chess piece, "I lost."

From the opening to the middle game, he was already cornered by the second-dan player.

It's true that everyone has their own expertise; as an amateur, I shouldn't have the idea that I could win.

“Mr. Yamazaki, the gap in our skill levels is so big,” Hibiki Higashino complained. “You should be playing a game to give us guidance.”

"Hmph, you didn't pay any money," Yamazaki Akira said, gathering the chess pieces. "You should be satisfied with having a professional player to play with you."

Hibiki Higashino couldn't bear to spend a lot of money to play Go; getting it for free was the most enjoyable thing.

So they stopped caring about the experience.

"Mr. Yamazaki," Higashino Hibiki said casually, "I heard that in the latest tournament, you only beat an old man and a child, and lost all the other matches. Is that true?"

"Huh?" Yamazaki Akira's hand paused, and after a long while, he replied, "It's all because I've played too much Go with you, you terrible Go player!"

“Mmm,” Higashino Hibiki nodded, “So you can only bully kids like me.”

He ignored Yamazaki Akira's gritted teeth, checked the time, and took out his phone.

Sure enough, not long after, Sasaki made a phone call.

"Tori Akino-sensei, the preliminary results are third place!"

Chapter 44 Influence

Friday, in the living room, Hibiki Higashino is drawing manga with Akemi Akimiya.

Apart from the ticking of the clock on the wall and the swishing of pen nibs on paper, there were no other sounds.

While diligently drawing manga, Hibiki Higashino couldn't help but think of this week's Jump.

"Hikaru no Go" is in seventh place, while "The Sun Murder Case" is firmly in sixth place, just one step ahead of itself.

Mamoru Yamamura even called to boast that he was honored to partner with Arai-sensei, and that the two of them would never lose to "Hikaru no Go".

I wonder what the results will be this week?

The quick report says he's third, but what about Xiao Zheng?

Will readers like the emotional outbursts in the comic?

This was also the turning point in the manga's success that he and Sasaki discussed.

It's extremely important.

The day I become a god is today!

When the phone rang, Higashino Hibiki answered it quickly.

What I heard was a relieved voice, "Xiao Zheng is third in the class."

Higashino thanked him, but his expression had darkened considerably.

He put down his pen and sighed heavily.

"Are your grades not good?" Akemi Akimiya comforted her, "As a newcomer, you've already done a great job. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Hibiki Higashino did not answer, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at Akemi Akimiya.

He lost his usual confidence and revealed his vulnerable and frustrated side to Akemi Akemi.

"Miss Akimiya, could you massage my shoulders? I feel really tired."

“Of course,” Akemi Akemi readily agreed.

Her slender palms caressed Higashino Hibiki's broad shoulders;

Higashino listened intently, sensing Akemi Akemi's breath.

With her eyes closed, Higashino Hibiki whispered, "Thank you."

Three minutes passed, and Akemi Akemi, unable to contain her curiosity, asked, "So how many places did you get?"

“Third place,” Hibiki Higashino replied.

“Thirteenth… wait,” Akemi Akemi froze, the pressure in her hand gradually fading. “You mean third place?”

"Yes!" Higashino Hibiki nodded heavily, a happy smile on his face.

The breathing beside me became rapid, like that of a polar bear that had just emerged from hibernation.

Higashino Hibiki sensed the threat and quickly ran away.

"You! You've gone too far!" Akemi Akemi trembled with anger, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, and she picked up the ink bottle, ready to smash it at Higashino Hibiki.

"Wait," Higashino Hibiki raised his hands in surrender. He comforted Akemi Akemi and carefully took the ink bottle from her hand. "I wasn't lying."

"You still dare to talk back!" Akemi Akemi snapped angrily. "I'm not going to care about you anymore."

She turned and left.

Higashino Hibiki quickly grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry, Ms. Akimiya, I can't do without you. I won't say anything more."

"That's more like it." Her anger turned to joy. "But third place! That's amazing."

"It's still a long way off." Higashino pulled down his baseball cap, his hand empty, before realizing that he hadn't worn one since his hair grew long.

"I will be number one."

……

Sitting at his desk, watching the high school girls playing on the playground outside the window, Higashino squinted his eyes, enjoying the winter sunshine.

It should have been a pleasant moment, but the noisy sounds kept coming from all around.

"I'm really looking forward to the match between Akira Touya and Sai!" Nishimura said excitedly. "After watching episode four, I was so excited that I played two games right there and then!"

“Sai must have won,” Kitamoto replied, “but what about Nishimura? What was the outcome of the game?”

Nishimura's face fell, and he stared at Kitamoto with dead fish eyes.

President Nakai smoothed things over, saying, "Nishimura just started learning Go, and he's already making rapid progress."

"Eh! Really?" Nishimura said with a smile, "I'm really good, maybe I can become a professional Go player in the future."

Nakai was stunned and didn't know how to respond.

Higashino Hibiki sighed and shook his head at Nishimura.

Nishimura questioned, "Higashino, what kind of attitude is that?"

Higashino looked at him with compassion, his eyes filled with love and care.

"I'm not crazy!" Nishimura shouted angrily, seeing what Higashino was thinking in his eyes.

"Seriously, let me show you my strength!"

He pulled a simple chessboard from his drawer. Under the incredulous gazes of the others, he laid it out on Higashino Hibiki's table and chairs, a confident and provocative gesture.

"You're also learning Go? Let's play a game and see how I crush you."

Higashino flexed his fingers, glanced at him, and said, "Since you're looking for death, then come on."

Higashino Hibiki goes first, playing black.

Before even making two moves, Higashino Hibiki already understood Nishimura's approximate strength through Nishimura's game.

Completely a novice, only knowing how to use formulaic patterns, lacking flexible critical thinking. And even the patterns are only vaguely understood, always making mistakes.

His barren mind couldn't comprehend the concept of having a strategic vision. When playing chess, he only considered the immediate situation, without any foresight.

Higashino Hibiki could easily lure him into a trap.

Before long, Nishimura's defeat was inevitable.

Higashino glanced at the enthusiastic Nishimura and felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

Akira Yamazaki playing Go against himself—that's the kind of thinking he had.

Nakai watched from the side, opening his mouth several times, but ultimately remained silent.

Higashino Hibiki was holding back, but Nishimura remained oblivious, seemingly believing he still had a chance of winning.

Therefore, Higashino Hibiki had no choice but to use heavy-handed methods.

While they were playing chess, the rest of the class gathered around.

"Hey, you guys are playing Go."

"The way you hold the chess pieces is really cool."