Chapter 266

'No, no.'

'Can't laugh yet.'

'I must hold it in!'

'Although the match later will inevitably be one-sided.'

'But I can't laugh now…'

'Wait until the match is almost over…'

'Wait until the match is almost over to declare victory, then… I'm sure Natsume-kun's expression will be very interesting, then I'll laugh, hahaha!'

Because the match requires waiting for the official to call for it to start.

So Natsume Chikage and Fukuda Tsukasa both sat quietly on their chairs, waiting for the match to begin.

At this moment.

Table 55 on the side.

There was a high school girl whose appearance, although not comparable to beautiful girls like Tsukishima Rin or Fujiwara Aoi, was still quite good among most girls—Asahina Akatsuki.

She was a high school student at Keijuku Girls' Academy.

She was also the apprentice of professional 4th dan player Yoshikawa Tatsunari.

Her current strength was at the female 3rd dan level, much stronger than a 5th-grade Incentive Association player; only those who became 2nd-grade or higher in the Incentive Association could steadily win against her.

And when she was in the first round of the competition, she had been paying attention to Natsume Chikage, who was also a high school student.

Upon learning that he was willing to make a bet with his opponent, Asahina Akatsuki's mouth turned up slightly, and a little clever idea arose in her heart.

She thought that if he could win against Fukuda Tsukasa, a 5th-grade Incentive Association player, she could imitate him and propose a small bet if they met later.

That would be to make Natsume Chikage become her boyfriend if he lost!

The commentary desk at this time.

The two commentators were a bit regretful when they saw that Natsume Chikage was so unlucky to encounter Fukuda Tsukasa, a 5th-grade Incentive Association player who was more formidable than all the amateur players.

Male commentator Inoue Masazo shook his head and said:

"It seems our player Natsume is unlucky to have encountered a member of the Incentive Association."

Female commentator Nanjo Maiko sighed lightly:

"Yes."

"Members of the Incentive Association are not like ordinary amateur players."

"Each of them has already experienced many shogi matches and is already familiar with various game situations."

"Ordinary amateur players have basically no hope of winning when facing them."

"Not to mention player Natsume, who has no rank—currently, his situation is very precarious."

Inoue Masazo pondered:

"Correct!"

"The grading system for Incentive Association members is divided from 6th grade to 1st grade, with 6th grade being the lowest."

"Although Fukuda Tsukasa's registration is only 5, his strength is far beyond that of an amateur player; ordinary players will inevitably have to fight a long battle when facing him, and might not even win in the end."

"So player Natsume's luck this time is indeed not good…"

Looking at the situation on the big screen.

Horikawa Kaori couldn't help but sigh repeatedly for Natsume Chikage and complained:

"Why is my and Natsume-kun's luck so bad in the second round."

"We both encountered players whose strength far exceeds our own."

"Especially Fukuda Tsukasa, who is known as the newcomer killer?"

"I give up, Fukuda Tsukasa, that 'cheap scum,' actually randomly matched with Natsume-kun, this newcomer."

"Natsume-kun is finished…"

However, the Furukawa grandfather and granddaughter had a completely different view.

Furukawa Caixu shook her head and smiled:

"Sister Horikawa, big brother's luck is actually very good."

Horikawa Kaori was confused:

"No matter how you look at it, it's bad luck; how is it good luck?"

Furukawa Masahiro stroked his white beard and smiled:

"Natsume-kun's strength is much, much more formidable than you imagine."

Horikawa Kaori complained:

"How is that possible? He doesn't have any shogi rank; he looks like a newcomer, how can he be stronger than Fukuda Tsukasa, who is known as the newcomer killer?"

Furukawa Masahiro smiled:

"Rank sometimes doesn't prove anything."

"If you don't believe me, just look at the final result, and you will know who the real powerhouse is."

Hearing this, Horikawa Kaori pouted, feeling that this old man was very bad and full of nonsense.

Last time he also tricked her by saying that his granddaughter was very strong, and had been studying shogi for seven or eight years.

And then in the match?

Hey, little Caixu was easily defeated by Natsume-kun, this newcomer.

This time he said Natsume-kun was very strong; how strong could he be compared to Fukuda Tsukasa?

Horikawa Kaori knew Fukuda Tsukasa, that bastard, too well; he really just targeted newcomers to suppress them, pure scum.

But cheap as he was, he did have strength.

That's why she was so helpless that Natsume-kun was randomly matched with Fukuda Tsukasa…

As for the nonsense Furukawa Masahiro said, she naturally didn't believe a word of it.

Because rank is equivalent to strength!

So the result of Natsume-kun vs. Fukuda Tsukasa could already be foreseen no matter how you looked at it…

School.

Shogi Club.

Yasui Ryoto and Araki Jueai, who were skipping class, were watching the shogi live broadcast here.

Araki Jueai couldn't help but complain when she saw that Natsume Chikage's opponent was actually Fukuda Tsukasa:

"Natsume-kun's luck is too bad; he actually encountered Fukuda Tsukasa, that old guy."

"When I had to beat this guy to advance, I was disgusted by his way of playing shogi for a long time."

"Although I finally beat him and successfully advanced, this kind of shogi player who specifically targets newcomers really has a set of means to disgust newcomers; thinking back on it now, I still get goosebumps."

Yasui Ryoto laughed out loud on the spot:

"Hahahaha, the scene I've been looking forward to most has finally appeared!"

"If this continues, Natsume-kun will definitely lose."

"When Tsukishima Rin sees Natsume Chikage lose so miserably, she will definitely be disillusioned immediately, and then I will easily crush a player even stronger than Fukuda!"

"They say there is no harm without comparison; by then, won't Tsukishima Rin be obsessed with me?"

Araki Jueai was already annoyed; seeing this guy gloating, especially bringing up Tsukishima Rin, she was even more annoyed, and directly gave him an elbow, complaining:

"Stop mumbling here, be quiet and watch the match!"

Yasui Ryoto clutched his waist and fell to the ground in pain.

As for Tsukishima Rin, she was actually watching the live broadcast secretly during class with Bluetooth headphones.

Although she didn't understand shogi.

But after hearing the commentators feel that Natsume Chikage's defeat was a foregone conclusion, she felt very heartbroken.

She knew that Natsume-kun's family was not wealthy to begin with.

She understood even more that he participated in the competition to earn some pocket money to subsidize his family.

If he lost in the second round, he might not even be able to earn back his principal…

Thinking this, Tsukishima Rin bit her red lips lightly, her eyes full of worry.

In the competition arena.