Because last week's cliffhanger in Hikaru no Go had been so infuriating, it was obvious that early this morning, a huge number of fans could no longer hold back.
The moment bookstores in major cities opened, crowds rushed straight for the manga shelves.
Aoyama was one of them.
As a Hikaru no Go fan, her reason for following the series until now was simple.
She liked Sai.
That was all.
She didn't dislike the protagonist Hikaru because of Sai, but this bratty protagonist constantly refused to let Sai play Go, and that alone was enough to make her uncomfortable.
What was worse, judging from last week's plot, Hikaru still didn't seem to have any intention of letting Sai play.
Recalling that frustrating chapter, Aoyama quickly bought the magazine, rushed home, and sat down in her computer room to read.
"That game… let me play that game, Hikaru."
Sai's expression was extremely serious.
Aoyama Yui immediately straightened.
Then, just as expected, Hikaru began making excuses.
He talked about how high-ranking players in the New First Dan Tournament would give handicaps to newly promoted professionals.He argued that if Toya Koyo gave Sai a handicap, Sai would surely win.
And then what?
Wouldn't that create explosive headlines about First Dan professional Hikaru defeating Meijin Toya Koyo?
But, did any of that actually matter?
What mattered was simple.
Sai wanted to play Go.
This wasn't even his first chance to play against Toya Koyo. They had once been face to face before.
And you ran away in the middle of the game.
No matter how you looked at it, even as compensation, you should let Sai play.
To you, this was just a practice match with Toya Koyo.
But to Sai, the answer to a thousand-year pursuit might lie in this very game.
After only two pages, Aoyama was already seething.
"Then tell me, when will you let me play Go?"
Sai's emotions finally leaked out. His voice carried a trace of urgency.
"You have eternity anyway," Hikaru replied.
"You're not in a hurry. Even if I die, you can just possess a third person… a fourth person. Sooner or later, you'll find The Hand of God."
Aoyama's fingers clenched.
This logic was twisted.
Since when did having infinite time mean you could procrastinate forever?
That was the exact same mindset as people who kept postponing everything until "tomorrow", and then tomorrow, and tomorrow again, until they grew old and achieved nothing.
Human civilization itself was only a few thousand years old.
Who dared to talk about eternity?
And if one day no one played Go anymore, the game itself would vanish into history.
When that happened, where would Sai find an opponent to pursue The Hand of God?
"Hikaru… I don't know why, but I've been feeling uneasy lately."
"I don't know how long I can stay in this world."
Aoyama's fingers trembled.
She leaned closer to the page, staring at those words.
Shirogane-sensei…this isn't foreshadowing, is it?
Or was this deliberate misdirection, a false hint meant to stir discussion?
"What does it matter?" Hikaru said indifferently.
"It's just meaningless unease."
Aoyama let out a slow sigh.
Strictly speaking, Hikaru wasn't a bad kid.
But when it came to Go, he truly didn't think about Sai at all.
Sai had helped him for two full years.
Was it really so hard to take one risk and let Sai play?
Even if Sai won and caused controversy, so what?
Let them talk.
What were you afraid of?
You weren't afraid of losing.
You were afraid of winning.
Then came the sentence that hurt the most.
"When you possess your next host, let him allow you to play Go."
Aoyama stared at those words for a long time.
Then she turned the page.
Sai's sorrow surfaced quietly, filling his eyes.
"Hikaru… are you truly never going to let me play Go with anyone else again?"
There was no sound.
Just black-and-white ink.
Yet Aoyama felt a sharp ache in her chest.
Sai…
He was just too pitiful.
Time leapt forward to the day of the New First Dan Tournament.
Before the match between Hikaru and Toya Koyo began,Kuwabara, the Go Saint, and Ogata, a Ninth Dan, entered a private observation room next door.
The two discussed Toya Koyo's unusual decision to personally designate Hikaru as his opponent.
As Hikaru and Toya Koyo entered the match room, Toya Koyo casually mentioned that Akira would also be watching.
And finally, he said: "Today… show your full strength."
The words carried a deeper meaning.
Aoyama's heart tightened.
Among all the Go players who had appeared in the manga so far, only two were truly special.
One was Toya Koyo. The other was Kuwabara, the Go Saint.
Although they could not see Sai, they were still able to vaguely sense the aura of a top-tier Go player emanating from Hikaru.
That was why they paid attention to him.
And then, a classic scene appeared.
Just as Hikaru still hadn't figured out how he should face Toya Koyo, after Toya Koyo took his seat, Sai moved first.
Before Hikaru could react, Sai sat down opposite the Go board, directly meeting Toya Koyo's gaze.
Hikaru, sitting beside him, was completely stunned.
But Aoyama's heart surged with excitement.
Sai's expression had never been this serious before.
He stared intently at Toya Koyo across the board.
Knowing that the man before him was the strongest Go player of this era.
Knowing that if The Hand of God truly existed, it could only be found by playing against such an opponent.
To outsiders, Hikaru was merely staring blankly at an empty seat, reluctant to sit down.
But inside his heart, Hikaru was shouting;
"Sai, get out of the way!"
Inside the observation room, Kuwabara and Ogata became interested by the scene and casually began betting on the outcome.
Kuwabara immediately placed his bet on Hikaru.
"I never make bets I can't win," Kuwabara said lightly. "Or are you the same?"
He turned to look at Ogata, Toya Koyo's disciple and a Ninth Dan.
"Are you also betting on that kid to win?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Akira, who was also watching, remained silent, his eyes fixed only on the Go board displayed on the monitor.
The perspective shifted back to the game venue.
Sai slowly stood up, his expression full of grievance, tears welling in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Hikaru."
"I just wanted to sit there for a moment."
He looked at the seat opposite Toya Koyo and spoke softly.
In an instant, Aoyama felt her eyes sting.
A Go spirit who had pursued The Hand of God for a thousand years, yet had no hands with which to play Go.
Unable to face the opponent he acknowledged, he could only experience the atmosphere like this.
'Damn it, Hikaru… just let him play once, okay?'
'Just once.'
'Let him play against Toya Koyo once!'
Urged by the staff nearby, Hikaru finally sat down, his expression strained.
"Sai… this opportunity really is rare. But if Meijin Toya Koyo gives you a handicap, you'll definitely win. I don't want to become the center of attention. Wait… handicap…"
Hikaru suddenly thought of something.
At the same moment, Aoyama thought of it too.
'If Sai bears a fifteen-point handicap… then he won't be able to play Go the way he normally does.'
And Sai immediately understood Hikaru's thoughts. He turned around and said:
"I am willing… I am willing to bear a fifteen-point handicap and play against Toya Koyo."
The plot progressed rapidly.
Soon, Sai was sitting beside Hikaru, guiding him as the game began under the condition of a fifteen-point handicap.
The story then entered a Go game segment that Aoyama couldn't fully understand.
But despite that, she found it thrilling.
To win under such an overwhelming handicap, Sai could not play in his usual style.
He had to build an enormous advantage, laying out a massive trap for Toya Koyo.
Because of this, Sai's opening moves and joseki were completely different from the start.
He launched an all-out offense from the opening.
Under the pressure of a fifteen-point handicap, this game could only end in two ways:
Either Hikaru would be crushed, or Toya Koyo would be crushed.
There was no room for cautious territory battles.
Only total dominatio, or total defeat.
To outsiders, the game looked chaotic, messy, utterly lacking the refinement expected of professional Go.
But Aoyama was more excited than ever.
In the manga, Sai used a folding fan to guide Hikaru's moves.
Akira, watching from nearby, was utterly bewildered.
Ogata frowned in confusion.
Only Toya Koyo himself, and Kuwabara, the Go Saint, wore increasingly grave expressions.
Especially Toya Koyo.
Just from his face alone, Aoyama could tell, he was truly playing seriously.
Soon, Toya Koyo's inner thoughts appeared as he looked at Hikaru's back.
"This layout appears chaotic… but it is in fact extremely profound."
"And more than that…"
"He's only a newly promoted First Dan. Just a fourteen-year-old child."
"So why does he carry such pressure?"
Such vigilance caused Toya Koyo not to take the stones Hikaru offered him.
As a result, the elaborate trap Sai had prepared ultimately failed.
Hikaru resigned midway through the game.
The spectators in the observation room left in disappointment.
Only Akira remained behind, approaching Kuwabara with a puzzled expression.
Kuwabara smiled.
"This game was truly fascinating," he said.
"If there's another like it, I'll still bet on that kid."
"This game… if you consider it as him giving himself a massive handicap, everything becomes clear."
On the other side, Toya Koyo also spoke slowly after seeing Hikaru resign.
"Next time," he said,
"I hope you will play against me without a handicap."
They all understood.
Thinking of this, Aoyama's heart burned with excitement.
She hurriedly turned the page, only for the chapter to end abruptly right there.
An emptiness washed over her.
Followed by overwhelming anger.
'Shirogane! Do you have any sense of public ethics?!'
"You could have drawn two pages less. You could have drawn two pages more.
And you chose to end it here?
Ending mid-conversation was already cruel enough. Ending the entire chapter right here?!
Didn't you know manga fans would be left hanging for an entire week?!"
Toya Koyo and Kuwabara both realized that Hikaru was playing with a handicap.
They both saw Sai's terrifying hidden strength.
So what comes next?
What happens next?
Will Sai and Toya Koyo finally play a real game?
It was unbearable.
This plot. 'Couldn't you have just drawn one more page?'
...
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