In the weeks that followed, Hikaru no Go entered a transitional phase.
After successfully becoming a professional, Hikaru returned to his middle school. Everyone in the school's Go Club already knew that their senior, Hikaru, had become a professional Go player.
But the manga echoed a familiar truth: Times change. People change.
Now that Hikaru had stepped onto the professional stage, it became increasingly difficult for him to truly connect with the Go Club members, who still regarded Go as a hobby, something to enjoy after class.
They were thinking about inter-school tournaments and club activities.
Hikaru, meanwhile, was already contemplating the climb from First Dan to Ninth Dan, title matches, and even the world stage.
They were no longer walking the same path.
After gradually untangling the emotional knots between himself and the club members, Hikaru was faced with another pressing issue- signing with a Go A-League team.
After all, Hikaru had pursued the professional path for one reason above all else:
To play against Akira.
And Akira…
Was already a member of one of the A-League teams.
Of course, beyond the commercial leagues, professional Go players also participated in official competitions organized by the Go Association.
And from here, the story formally introduced the New First Dan Tournament.
In nature, it resembled the earlier Young Lion Tournament.
The Young Lion Tournament had been a competition where aspiring professionals and newly promoted First Dan players clashed.
The New First Dan Tournament, however, was different.
It was a stage where Japan's top-tier professional players faced newly promoted professionals.
Under normal circumstances, a multi-titleholder like Koya, the Celebrity, would never appear in such an event due to his packed schedule.
Yet unexpectedly;
After learning that Hikaru had just become a professional, Toya Koyo personally contacted the organizers of the New First Dan Tournament, expressing his willingness to participate.
There was only one condition.
He would designate his opponent.
And without hesitation, the name Toya Koyo chose was the same boy who had abruptly left the board midway through their game two years ago.
The one who had radiated an extraordinary presence during that match.
Hikaru.
Naturally, the "aura" Toya Koyo had sensed back then did not truly belong to Hikaru.
It had come from Sai, who stood behind him.
In the latest chapter, when Hikaru learned that the Meijin himself had designated him as an opponent, excitement surged through him.
He wanted to test his own strength.
At that moment, Sai could no longer restrain himself.
His expression became serious.
Solemn.
Burning with anticipation.
"Hikaru," Sai said quietly, "Let me play this game."
This chapter instantly reignited the passion of fans who had found the previous weeks' plot somewhat subdued.
For several consecutive weeks, Hikaru no Go had remained firmly in third place, its popularity votes hovering around 600,000 with little fluctuation.
Last week, it had even been ahead of Fist Armor, ranked fourth, by only a few thousand votes, nearly being overtaken.
But after this update, Hikaru no Go's popularity surged by 40,000 votes, reaching 640,000.
Once again, discussions flooded the Dream Comic forums.
"Are we getting a peak showdown this soon?"
"Toya Koyo versus Sai?"
"Does this mean we'll finally see Sai play again?"
"I'm losing my mind, this is too exciting!"
"Hikaru won't mess things up again, will he? He clearly wants to play Toya Koyo himself!"
"Is he insane? Playing against Sai every day and still not satisfied? Does he want to get beaten by someone else now?"
"If Hikaru doesn't let Sai play this time, I swear I'll hate this protagonist forever. Sai made it clear from the beginning, his existence is to find The Hand of God, and the only way he can do that is by playing against true masters. If Hikaru can't even grant him this one request, that's just selfish."
"Exactly. Sai helped him become a professional. He played hundreds of games to guide him. If Hikaru won't even give him one match, then this protagonist really is unbearable."
"You can't put it that way. Hikaru just doesn't want to live forever in Sai's shadow. Once Sai plays seriously, no one can beat him, who would dare challenge Hikaru afterward?"
"This is a real dilemma…"
"Sigh. Let's see how Shirogane-sensei handles it."
"I thought that after the professional promotion arc, Hikaru would face Akira first. I never expected it to be Hikaru versus Toya Koyo. I seriously can't guess where this manga is going anymore!"
"I don't know how this match will end either! Will Sai really find The Hand of God?!"
"Wait, if Sai actually finds The Hand of God, what happens then?"
"No idea. Let's just see how Shirogane-sensei handles it!"
"Go, Shirogane-sensei!"
On the official forums, an overwhelming number of Hikaru no Go discussion threads erupted almost overnight.
At the same time, Rei's creator account was flooded with private messages, most of them encouragement, praise, and emotional confessions from fans.
Of course, mixed in among them were messages from extremely passionate Sai fans.
Some of these fans sent long, detailed essays attempting to "correct" Rei's creative direction. One particularly memorable suggestion proposed that:
"Hikaru should be hit by a large truck and die, allowing Sai to possess his body and become the protagonist."
Rei felt a chill run down his spine reading messages like that.
This was a sports manga. Not a horror manga.
If you weren't the author of Hikaru no Go, you would never realize just how many Sai fans secretly, or openly, wished for Hikaru to be written out entirely, so that Sai could continue playing Go forever.
As Hikaru no Go's ranking stabilized at third place and began steadily closing in on second, the TV series also reached its ninth episode.
Over the past few weeks, its viewership ratings had settled at around 5.2%.
There was no longer much room for further growth.
The mutual conversion between manga readers and TV viewers had reached a stable equilibrium.
November quietly passed, and time moved into December.
The temperature in the Tokyo City region dropped sharply. Rei bundled himself in thick cotton clothing as he attended school.
By now, most students were already accustomed to Rei's presence.
After all, he regularly held autograph sessions at the school stadium, and any student who wanted a photo or signature was welcome.
Once the curiosity of alumni fans had been satisfied, no one made a fuss when encountering him on campus anymore.
To put it bluntly, no matter how popular a manga artist became, they were still just a human being.
Most students gradually came to understand this, and returned their focus to what truly mattered: Studying.
Especially the third-year high school students.
There were only six months left until the college entrance examinations.
During this period, Rei was occasionally called into the faculty office to discuss his university preferences. For him, universities in Tokyo area were the obvious first choice.
After all, he would continue serializing manga in college, and Hoshimori's headquarters were located there.
As December progressed, Rei's workload only intensified.
In addition to managing manga serialization and TV broadcasts, he also had to cooperate with the animation studio to promote the upcoming Hikaru no Go anime, scheduled to air in January.
Add to that the autograph events for the release of Volume Six of the tankōbon.
During the first week of December, Rei slept less than five hours a day.
He had visibly lost weight.
Yet despite this, thanks to the overwhelming success of both the manga and TV series, the animated adaptation of Hikaru no Go had already been voted by anime fans as the most anticipated new title of the January winter season, even though it was still a month away from airing.
Pre-orders for the animation's Blu-ray discs also ranked first among all new anime releases of the same period.
Meanwhile, the TV production team seized the momentum.
With the first season's popularity far exceeding expectations, preparations for Season Two began almost immediately.
At this moment, with the manga, TV series, and anime versions of Hikaru no Go poised to reinforce each other across the market…
With industry professionals firmly convinced that this work would enjoy a long serialization and become another enduring pillar of Dream Comic…
Misaki, the editor in charge of Hikaru no Go, encountered something that left her utterly horrified.
That day, she reviewed the storyboard draft Rei had submitted for the week.
And on it, Rei had…Killed off…Sai.…?
After rereading the storyboard again and again, Misaki felt her scalp go numb.
Killing off Hikaru? Fine.
As long as Sai possessed his body, countless fans would probably cheer.
But killing off Sai?
Rei, what are you doing?
Don't you understand?
The soul of Hikaru no Go, the very reason Hikaru no Go exists, Is Sai.
...
Read 50+ chapters ahead @[email protected]/Ashnoir