r18novel Page 65
Page 65
As soon as Naze Asumi looked up, she saw a little boy with a buzz cut and a face that looked somewhat like a fox, squinting at her.
At the same time, Asumi Nase saw the number tag with serial number 1010 hanging on the little boy's chest.
The number plate let Asumi Nase know that the little boy was a participant in this national children's Go tournament.
This fact somewhat shook Asumi Nase.
It's important to know that students from affiliated institutions are ineligible to participate in the National Children's Go Championship.
The fact that this little boy, who wasn't a student at the academy, was able to solve a life-and-death situation set up by a professional 9-dan player is enough to say a lot.
However, whether it was just her imagination or not, Asumi Nase felt a sense of malice the moment she saw the child.
Before Asumi Nase could react, the little boy asked, "Sister, are you a student at the Japan Go Association?"
When Asumi Nase heard the question, she was a little puzzled, but she still smiled gently and replied, "That's right, my sister is a student of the Japan Go Association."
As she spoke, Asumi Nase genuinely wanted to praise the little boy, continuing, "Little brother, you're amazing..."
Before Asumi Nase could speak, the little boy said with some surprise, "Eh, someone with such weak Go skills as you, sister, can actually become an insei?"
"Or is this the only level of skill the students at the academy possess?"
As he spoke, the little boy looked at the chessboard in front of him, at the life and death pieces on the board, and continued, "After all, you couldn't solve this kind of life and death piece that I could see the solution to at a glance, even after thinking about it for so long."
The little boy's seemingly innocent but actually sarcastic words instantly froze the gentle smile on Naze Asumi's face.
Then, Asumi Naze looked at the little boy with disbelief, as if she couldn't believe that those words came from his mouth.
Seeing this, the little boy grinned and said again in a seemingly innocent tone, "Sister, if I were you, I would give up on Go because of your talent..."
As he spoke, the little boy's eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, opened a little wider, filled with malice, and he continued, word by word, "It's really terrible."
The pure and kind-hearted Asumi Nase had never experienced anything like this before.
On the path of Go, Asumi Naze had never been so rejected before, and she was greatly shocked, her emotions fluctuating wildly.
Feeling wronged, doubtful, and resentful... all sorts of negative emotions welled up in Asumi Nase's heart, making her suddenly feel like crying.
The little boy felt a sense of satisfaction after seeing Asumi Nase's expression.
At the same time, the little boy also wanted more satisfaction.
So the little boy opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something more.
Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang out, "Hey, you arrogant brat in front, if you're not going to ask anything related to the competition, get out of the way and stop blocking my way. I have some questions to ask you."
The sudden sound, and the words spoken, made the little boy's face turn black, and he felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Turning around, the little boy saw Shinsuke Ichiyanagi, who exuded a bad aura, staring at him with an unfriendly expression.
After assessing the difference in their strength, the little boy chose to back down.
However, the little boy did not leave immediately. He first glanced at Shinsuke Ichiyanagi's number plate, and then said ruthlessly, "Number 628, I'll remember you. I hope you can stay until the time to fight me."
"At that time, I will definitely show you what it means to..."
Before the little boy could finish speaking, Shinsuke Ichiyanagi said disdainfully, "Someone once told me that the harsher the words you say, the harder you get slapped in the face. Now I'll pass that on to you."
At this moment, people around gradually noticed the commotion and turned their gazes over.
Upon seeing this, the little boy's face flushed red. He stopped talking, glared at Yanagi Shinsuke, and then turned and left.
As for Shinsuke Ichiyanagi, he simply watched the little boy's departing figure with deep emotion.
Just now, Shinsuke Ichiyanagi saw his own reflection in the little boy, and it was a reflection that he loathed so much.
This is also why Shinsuke Ichiyanagi would stand up for Asumi Nase.
Naze Asumi finally calmed down and looked at Ichiyanagi Shinsuke with gratitude in her eyes, about to say thank you.
However, before Nase Asumi could even speak, Ichiyanagi Shinsuke turned and left without ever glancing at her.
Seeing this, Asumi Naze froze on the spot, her mind filled with questions. She wondered what was going on with Shinsuke Ichiyanagi. Didn't he say he had something to ask? Why did he just leave?
Not far away, Shintaro Ichiyanagi, disguised, watched this scene with a slight frown, as if he had guessed something. He murmured thoughtfully, "Shinsuke..."
Yuko Miki, standing nearby amidst the crowd, witnessed the entire scene from beginning to end.
Originally, Yuko Miki wanted to be the one to take the lead.
Because Yuko Miki also saw the shadow of herself that she loathed in the little boy.
Asumi Nase, with her blank expression, seemed to remind Yuko Miki of her past self.
However, Miki Yuko never expected that Ichiyanagi Shinsuke would be the one to step forward.
'Looking at it this way, even the awful-natured Shinsuke Ichiyanagi isn't without his merits...'
As she thought about it, Yuko Miki couldn't help but think of that little boy again.
Previously, when Miki Yuko was asking Nase Asumi about the match, she had seen the life-and-death situation that had Nase Asumi looking worried.
Therefore, Yuko Miki knew just how difficult the life-and-death game was.
According to Yuko Miki, even professional Go players cannot immediately see the solution to this life-and-death situation; they need to think carefully.
The little boy, whose personality was even worse than Shinsuke Ichiyanagi, solved the life-and-death puzzle in about ten seconds, though he didn't solve it at first glance.
If the little boy truly relied on his own skill in Go, then his skill must be stronger than Shinsuke Ichiyanagi's.
But what if the little boy relied on external forces instead of his own chess skills...
On the other side, after calming her mind, Asumi Naze stopped thinking about what had just happened and continued to study new life-and-death games on the chessboard in front of her.
This new life-and-death game was also set up by Asumi Nase's teacher. It is extremely difficult and even professional players need to think about it carefully.
After a while, Asumi Nase got up and went to the restroom.
When Asumi Nase returned, she saw another little boy wearing a number tag, holding a white stone, who had placed it directly into a life-and-death situation.
Upon seeing this, Asumi Naze's composure crumbled, and she cried out in her heart, "No way, another one!?"
......
Chapter 97 His name is... Chen Anxia!
Let's rewind to the time when Naze Asumi got up to go to the restroom.
Hikaru Shindo and Sai Fujiwara rushed all the way and finally arrived at the Japanese Go Association.
After successfully receiving their race numbers, Hikaru Shindo and Sai Fujiwara wanted to find the staff member in charge of guiding them to inquire about matters related to the race.
Originally, Hikaru Shindo wanted to ask Yoshitaka Waya.
Yoshitaka Waya was right in his spot, but the sharp-eyed Sai Fujiwara spotted the Go board on Asumi Nase's desk not far away, along with the unsolved life-and-death game.
After hearing Fujiwara Sai's words, the curious Hikaru Shindo went to the Go board and looked at the life and death of the stones on it.
After being taught by Fujiwara Sai for some time, Hikaru Shindo naturally learned what life and death games were and how to solve them.
In his heart, Hikaru Shindo said to Sai Fujiwara, "Sai, don't tell me the answer. I want to try it myself."
Fujiwara no Sai was also looking at the life and death of the stones on the board.
Although the life and death of pieces on the chessboard is extremely difficult, even professional players need to think carefully.
However, Fujiwara no Sai still saw the solution at a glance.
At the same time, Fujiwara Sai also understood the difficulty of the life-and-death situation in front of him, which was simply beyond the current skill level of Shindo Hikaru.
Therefore, after hearing Hikaru Shindo's words, Fujiwara Sai couldn't help but smile slightly and say, "Then Hikaru, why don't you give it a try? It doesn't matter if you fail."
Hikaru Shindo didn't think much about it and didn't know the specific difficulty of the life-and-death game in front of him, he just felt that it was very difficult.
After thinking carefully for a while, Hikaru Shindo picked up a white stone.
That's right. Under Fujiwara Sai's tutelage, Hikaru Shindo's movements when playing Go have become more standardized, and he no longer picks up stones like a novice.
The moment Hikaru Shindo placed his stone, Sai Fujiwara had already determined the location of Hikaru's next move and whether it was the correct move.
At the same time, Asumi Nase, who had just returned, also saw the moment Hikaru Shindo placed his piece.
Unlike Fujiwara no Sai, after the incident with the ill-tempered little boy, Naze Asumi wondered, 'Could it be that another child has appeared who can solve the life-and-death puzzle her teacher has set up?'
With this thought in mind, Asumi Naze, who was somewhat on the verge of a breakdown, walked towards Hikaru Shindo.
During this process, Hikaru Shindo couldn't help but ask himself, "Sai, did I make the right choice?"
Fujiwara Sai was about to respond when he heard this, but before he could speak, a somewhat childish and simple voice rang out, "You seem to have made a mistake in your move?"
As the voice rang out, a chubby little hand reached out from the side, holding a black stone and placing it into the life-and-death situation. The hand continued, "Look, if the black stone is placed here, the white stone's eye will become a false eye, and it won't be able to live."
Upon seeing this, Hikaru Shindo had a look of realization on his face, knowing that he had made a mistake.
Then, Hikaru Shindo couldn't help but look curiously at the person who had spoken.
Fujiwara no Sai also looked over curiously.
In the eyes of Hikaru Shindo and Sai Fujiwara, the person who spoke was a chubby boy with short hair, a slightly plump figure, and squinty eyes, who gave off a kind of honest and cute feeling.
Furthermore, the chubby boy also had a number tag hanging on his chest.
The moment Hikaru Shindo saw the chubby boy, he couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards him. He smiled and introduced himself, "My name is Hikaru Shindo. You can call me Hikaru-chan."
Seeing this, the chubby boy smiled憨厚ly and said, "My name is Fukui Yuta, you can call me Fukui."
Then, Hikaru Shindo asked curiously, "Afuku, since you could tell I made a mistake, do you know the correct solution?"
Upon hearing this, Fukui Yuta glanced at the life and death game, narrowed his eyes, and frowned, saying, "I haven't figured out the correct solution yet."
"This life-and-death game is too difficult. Even professional players would need to think carefully about it. It's simply not something a child our age could solve."
As he spoke, Fukui Yuta seemed to have thought of something and continued, "No, if it were Touya Akira, perhaps we could give it a try."
Hikaru Shindo was taken aback when he heard this, not expecting to hear Akira Touya's name from Yuta Fukui.
Nearby, a silver-haired boy passing by paused upon hearing Akira Touya's name, softly murmuring, "Akira... Touya..."
Then, the silver-haired boy couldn't help but curiously come closer, wanting to see just how difficult the life-and-death game that the chubby boy said only Akira Touya could attempt really was.
Just then, Asumi Nase's voice rang out, "You're wrong. It wasn't just Akira Touya. Just now, a little boy about your age solved a life-and-death game of the same difficulty level in just one glance."
Upon hearing this, Fukui Yuta's small eyes widened in disbelief, and he asked, "You solved a life-and-death game of the same difficulty with just one glance?"
After realizing the difficulty of the life-and-death game, the silver-haired boy was also shocked by Nase Asumi's words. He couldn't imagine that there was a child of the same age who could solve a life-and-death game of the same level of difficulty at a glance.