Infinity Starting with Hikaru no Go

Page 94

They couldn't understand why Yamazaki Jusaburo didn't directly attack the lower left corner of the star point. Why did he take such a long time to think about it? Could there be some hidden strategy behind Akira Touya's move?

Even Yuko Miki and Kei Sakamoto had similar doubts at this moment.

Subconsciously, they turned their gaze to Akira Touya.

Upon seeing this, they immediately noticed Akira Touya's current state, their pupils contracted sharply, and they couldn't help but mutter, "This is... Go Go!?"

Then, as if realizing something, their gazes involuntarily turned to the move that Akira Touya had just made, their expressions shocked, and they muttered to themselves, "Could this be a brilliant move he made during his enlightenment?"

"What secret is hidden in this move?"

While Miki Yuko and Sakamoto Kei were deeply shaken, Yamazaki Sanjiro continued his calculations.

As the calculations continued, Yamazaki Sanjiro seemed to have discovered something, his brows furrowing involuntarily, his face filled with a solemn expression.

However, although Yamazaki Jusaburo discovered something, he did not stop the calculations; instead, he intensified them.

As the computational intensity increased, the rate at which Yamazaki Sanjiro's mental energy was depleted also accelerated.

Soon, beads of sweat appeared on Yamazaki Sanjiro's forehead.

However, Yamazaki Jusaburo was unaware of this and remained immersed in the world of calculation.

Then, a look of shock gradually appeared on Yamazaki Sanjiro's face.

Finally, Yamazaki Jusaburo stopped calculating, his gaze fixed on Touya Akira's move, muttering to himself, "This move...this move..."

In Yamazaki Sanjiro's calculations, he has already deduced the hidden meaning behind Touya Akira's move.

Akira Touya's move, while seemingly sacrificing some of the advantage in the lower left corner of the star point, was actually a brilliant move that allowed him to gain a greater advantage in the center.

Because Yamazaki Sanjiro also discovered the weakness in his own white stones placed in the center through Toya Akira's move.

You know, I was absolutely certain that my moves in the center were flawless, how could I have imagined...?

This means that if Yamazaki Jusaburo chooses to attack the corner of the star position in the lower left, then Touya Akira will attack this weakness, thereby gaining a greater advantage and ultimately reversing the situation.

However, if Yamazaki Jusaburo chooses to fill the gap, then Touya Akira can still take advantage of the situation to advance into the central area and gain a greater advantage for himself.

This flaw can be said to have made the previously clear situation for White become uncertain again.

Yamazaki Sanjiro knew that if he didn't handle things well, he would soon be losing the game.

However, Yamazaki Sanjiro had some doubts and questions.

In Yamazaki Sanjiro's view, Akira Toya's move just now was quite different from his usual playing style.

Moreover, during his calculations just now, Yamazaki Sanjiro seemed to see a blurry figure holding the chess piece in this move.

From the chess pieces held by that figure, Yamazaki Jusaburo seemed to see the boundless universe, the shifting of stars, and...

The game of chess, before anyone knew it, was coming to an end.

Although the game was over, the spectators were still unable to recover from the game for a long time.

The shock they felt from that game of chess was simply too great.

Fierce battles, carnage, reversals, brilliant moves...

Everything that happened in this game made them realize the charm and vastness of Go.

As for the outcome, what does it matter to this brilliant game...?

......

Chapter 141 Opportunity Mission: A Professional Challenge!

For Chen Anxia, ​​the lunch break time of Hikaru Shindo and Akira Toya was somewhat different.

Although Chen Anxia was also a student at the private Haiwang Elementary School, she had already taken a long leave of absence through her fictitious parents created by the system.

Therefore, Chen Anxia does not need to go to school, and her time is naturally more free.

Chen Anxia had just woken up.

Because Chen Anxia spent almost the entire night reviewing his game against Iwashima, constantly digesting the insights into Go philosophy from Go master Miki Soji, he didn't go to sleep until after 5 a.m.

Chen Anxia, ​​who was woken up by hunger, is having lunch at a restaurant near her home.

During this time, a boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, who was also having lunch at the same restaurant, suddenly stopped eating and stared at the empty space in front of him with a somewhat surprised look in his eyes.

Suddenly, a mission pop-up appeared in the void, visible only to the boy himself.

That's right, this young man is a gamer.

The boy was enjoying his food while marveling at the realism of the game "Hikaru no Go" and had no idea that he would trigger a mission.

Isn't this just like waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump?

The boy didn't think much of it and quickly looked at the task pop-up.

Upon looking at the task, the boy saw the message: "Opportunity Task: Invite Chen Anxia to play chess and defeat Chen Anxia..."

Through this task, the boy also identified his target, Chen Anxia, ​​who was having lunch.

After seeing Chen Anxia's appearance clearly, the young man couldn't help but feel confident about this opportunity and mission.

The boy's name is Nakata Kaoru. Although he looks a bit mature, he is actually only thirteen years old today.

The reason why Nakata Kaoru is confident about this opportunity is because, in the world of players, Nakata Kaoru is already a professional first-dan Go player.

Although he has only recently become a professional, the fact that he has achieved a professional title at such a young age is enough to demonstrate Nakata Kaoru's talent.

Moreover, Nakata Kaoru is also one of the disciples of the contemporary Honinbo, namely Yamazaki Honinbo.

It's important to know that Yamazaki Honinbo was a monster left over from the previous era, holding the three major titles of Honinbo, Meijin, and Go Master all by himself.

This gives an idea of ​​Yamazaki Honinbo's skill level.

However, Yamazaki Honinbo is now very old, having reached the advanced age of 68 this year.

Therefore, Yamazaki Honinbo is currently in a semi-retired state and could retire at any time.

This means that Tengen Doya is very likely to win the three major title battles that have not yet taken place this year: Honinbo, Meijin, and Gosei.

Although Tengen Doya ultimately lost to Yamazaki Honinbo in last year's Honinbo, Meijin, and Go tournaments, he also benefited from the misfortune by taking that step.

Yamazaki Honinbo also said after the Honinbo tournament, "If I were to have another title match with Tengen Doya, I would be the one to lose."

This also established Tengen Dosai's current status in the Go world.

Some even predict that next year's title match will be Tengen Doya's grand slam.

The current holders of the title are well aware of this.

Therefore, they are all looking for an opportunity to take that step.

However, only Miki Soji has found this opportunity so far.

Today, Nakata Kaoru only entered the game out of curiosity after hearing that Yamazaki Sanjiro, the grandson of Yamazaki Honinbo, had entered the game.

This curiosity stems not only from the purpose of Yamazaki Sanjiro's entry into the game "Hikaru no Go," but also from the various rumors circulating in the Go world regarding the game.

Nakata Kaoru didn't expect that he would encounter an opportunity mission with an extraordinary name so soon after entering the game.

Most importantly, in Nakata Kaoru's view, this opportunity and mission were practically free.

After all, Chen Anxia's appearance and age are what they are.

In Nakata Kaoru's eyes, Chen Anxia was at most about the same age as Yamazaki Sanjiro.

Children in this age group, even those who are in-house students, generally do not reach professional-level chess skills.

Of course, Yamazaki Sanjiro, who carried the hopes of the Yamazaki family and was hailed as the most likely to become the second Honinbo Dosaku, was an exception.

Kaoru Nakata naturally didn't believe that a quest objective he randomly triggered would be a monster comparable to Sanjiro Yamazaki, even in a game...

At this point, Nakata Kaoru, who was already confident of success in the mission, did not rush to find Chen Anxia. Instead, he waited until Chen Anxia finished lunch and was about to leave before approaching him.

After all, the mission still requires inviting Chen Anxia to play a game of chess.

Wouldn't it be very frustrating to be rejected for disturbing Chen Anxia's meal?

Chen Anxia looked at Nakata Kaoru, who had stopped him, with a somewhat bewildered and puzzled expression.

Because Chen Anxia was quite certain that she did not know Nakata Kaoru.

After seeing Chen Anxia's expression, Nakata Kaoru didn't beat around the bush and directly asked for a game of Go.

Chen Anxia really didn't expect that Nakata Kaoru would ask him to play a game. The most important thing was, how did Nakata Kaoru know that he knew how to play Go?

Chen Anxia considered all sorts of possibilities, but she couldn't be sure about any of them.

Then, to determine which possibility it was, Chen Anxia asked, "How did you know I can play Go? We don't seem to know each other at all before, do we?"

Nakata Kaoru hadn't expected Chen Anxia to ask this question, and for a moment he was speechless, unsure how to answer.

Upon seeing this, Chen Anxia had already determined which possibility it was.

As for how it was determined...

It's very simple. If someone has seen Chen Anxia play chess before, they will definitely answer where they have seen his games when they hear this question.

The fact that Nakata Kaoru did not have this information suggests that he had never watched himself play Go before.

However, Nakata Kaoru knew that he knew how to play Go, and even took the initiative to invite him to play a game...

All things considered, the most likely explanation is that Nakata Kaoru is a player.

Only in this way could Kaoru Nakata learn through a mission that he could play Go, without knowing himself at all.

And this task will most likely involve playing against oneself...

Having learned the information he wanted, Chen Anxia didn't wait for Nakata Kaoru to make an excuse to answer his question before replying, "If you want to play chess with me, then come with me."

As he spoke, Chen Anxia headed toward the Zishui Go Club, which was not far away.

Although Nakata Kaoru was surprised that Chen Anxia didn't press the matter, she breathed a sigh of relief and followed behind Chen Anxia.

A dozen minutes later, Chen Anxia and Nakata Kaoru entered the Zishui Go Club one after the other.

Harumi Ichikawa, who was working at the counter, subconsciously looked up after noticing someone enter the club.

Upon seeing it, Harumi Ichikawa couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "It's you!?"

......