Chapter 113

She had absolute confidence; below the level of professional shogi players, she rarely encountered a rival.

When Senior Sister Yutang mentored her, she had already analyzed the names, playing styles, and habitual strategies of every active professional shogi player in Japan one by one.

In her mind, she held a clear map of the strong.

And on that map, the name "Natsume Chikage" did not exist.

From this, she was certain that Natsume Chikage had absolutely no possibility of winning.

Thinking of this, the awkwardness and shyness on Gu Chuan Caixu's face deepened, and she almost dared not look into Natsume Chikage's eyes.

Natsume Chikage watched Gu Chuan Caixu sit down opposite him; he was clearly stunned for a moment, then asked with concern:

"Little Caixu, did you go to the wrong seat?"

"The match is about to start, go find your own seat quickly; it would be bad if the staff judged you absent and gave you a loss."

Gu Chuan Caixu raised her small hand, scratched her cheek in embarrassment, and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum:

"It's not like that, Big Brother..."

"Actually... the match seat number Caixu drew is also 77."

Natsume Chikage was completely dumbfounded, a trace of disbelief flashing in his eyes:

"You also drew 77?"

Gu Chuan Caixu's cheeks turned bright red instantly, like a ripe apple; she confirmed in a voice as thin as a thread:

"Mm... right after you left, Big Brother, Caixu... also drew 77."

Natsume Chikage was speechless for a moment, then revealed an expression of being unable to laugh or cry.

What on earth is this?

He had just encouraged her to strive to defeat her opponent.

Yet in the blink of an eye, he discovered that the "opponent" she needed to defeat was actually himself?

This dramatic twist was truly amusing.

For a moment, Natsume Chikage didn't know what to say.

After all, victory in this match was crucially important to him.

He absolutely could not show mercy.

A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit—this was the principle he had established at the start of the tournament.

Even if his opponent was Gu Chuan Caixu, for whom he had quite a good impression, he would never go easy on her.

This was not only respect for the opponent, but also a firm adherence to his own convictions!

Natsume Chikage straightened his expression and said in a solemn tone:

"Since the draw has arranged it this way, it is something that cannot be helped."

"I hope you can give it your all, Little Caixu; you don't need to have any reservations, and don't leave yourself any regrets."

At this moment, the thoughts in Gu Chuan Caixu's heart coincided with Natsume Chikage's—she also had absolutely no intention of going easy.

She extremely loathed defeat and had a burning desire for victory!

Regardless of whether the opponent was the Big Brother she liked, the grandfather she respected, or the Senior Sister Yutang she held in awe, she treated them all the same.

Only by giving one's all is it the greatest respect for the game and the opponent!

Gu Chuan Caixu took a deep breath, raised her small face, looked at Natsume Chikage with an incredibly serious gaze, and responded solemnly:

"Mm! Caixu definitely will!"

"And Caixu is very strong, so please, Big Brother, don't have any thoughts of going easy, otherwise you really will lose!"

A trace of appreciation flashed in Natsume Chikage's eyes:

"Then—let's have a hearty and thorough duel, shall we?!"

Upon hearing this, a brilliant smile bloomed on Gu Chuan Caixu's face, and she nodded vigorously:

"Mm!"

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands.

The gazes of Gu Chuan Changhong and Horikawa Kaori had never left the figures of Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu.

When they saw these two actually sitting down together at the 77th shogi table, they were stunned in unison.

Horikawa Kaori subconsciously covered her mouth and whispered in astonishment:

"No way... they actually drew each other?"

"What kind of outrageous luck is this?"

Gu Chuan Changhong, who was always calm and unruffled, felt the corners of his mouth twitch uncontrollably at this moment.

"How could it be like this... this is truly difficult to handle."

Horikawa Kaori sighed helplessly:

"Indeed."

"This means that among the two of them, one is destined to stop at the first round."

Gu Chuan Changhong also revealed a look of regret:

"That is indeed the case..."

Horikawa Kaori could not suppress her curiosity and tilted her head to ask:

"Grandpa, who do you think has a better chance of winning between the two of them?"

If she had to choose between the two, her heart leaned more towards Natsume Chikage.

After all, Natsume Chikage was an adult, and his thinking ability should be more mature than a little girl's.

And Gu Chuan Caixu was only ten years old; hearing what the old man said, she hadn't joined any shogi association, so her level was likely limited.

However... on second thought, Natsume Chikage's shogi skill didn't seem to be that strong either.

Thinking of this, Horikawa Kaori couldn't help but reveal an expression of being unable to laugh or cry, secretly thinking this would likely be a "clumsy pecking" match.

And Gu Chuan Changhong knew deeply how astonishing his granddaughter's talent was.

As for Natsume Chikage, he had learned from Horikawa Kaori that this person had played no more than a dozen games in total.

With such experience, how could he challenge a granddaughter who had been immersed in shogi since childhood and personally trained by him, the Dragon King of the old era?

He shook his head slowly, his calm face carrying a bit of helplessness:

"I expect the winner will be my granddaughter."

"She has studied shogi since she was young, and her experience in games is far beyond what Natsume-kun can reach."

Horikawa Kaori was stunned upon hearing this:

"Ah?"

"Your granddaughter started playing shogi when she was young?"

"How long has she been playing?"

Gu Chuan Changhong smiled indifferently, a bit of pride revealing itself in his eyes:

"She started coming into contact with shogi at the age of three."

"Now she is ten, so counting it up, it has been seven years."

Horikawa Kaori's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"She's been playing for seven years already?!"

Oh no—it turns out this little girl is actually a "shogi veteran"!

Just a moment ago, she still held a glimmer of expectation for Natsume Chikage.

Now it seemed Natsume Chikage was likely in grave danger...

Gu Chuan Changhong raised the corners of his mouth, carrying a bit of emotion:

"I actually quite appreciate this young man, Natsume-kun; his temperament is steady, neither arrogant nor rash."

"I was still looking forward to seeing his figure again in the subsequent matches."

"Looking at it now, I'm afraid that will be difficult..."

Horikawa Kaori sighed repeatedly.

Clearly, she also believed that Natsume Chikage would likely be a "first-round exit."

But on second thought, with Natsume Chikage's pitiful number of games played, no matter who he ran into, it seemed he couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated in the first round, right?

Thinking this way, she felt much more relieved in her heart. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====