Chapter 465: The ultimate offensive! Check!

Horikawa Kaori, who was also watching the match in the arena, felt her heart leap into her throat the moment she saw Natsume Chikage's play on the giant screen.

She gripped the back of the seat in front of her so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and she nearly cried out:

"Natsume-kun, what are you doing?!"

"He's clearly setting up a Quick Ishida formation, why are you using a Static Rook to crash into the center?!"

"He's far more experienced than you, hurry and switch to a Yagura enclosure for defense! This is way too dangerous!"

Furukawa Saio, witnessing this lightning-fast exchange, felt as if the blood in her entire body were boiling.

She danced with excitement, her little face flushed bright red:

"Wow! Big brother is amazing, his timing for the bishop exchange is so precise! And he's so fast!"

But because the pace of the moves was so rapid, the shifts in the game were incredibly volatile.

Even Furukawa Saio, whom her grandfather praised as "invincible below the professional level," found it difficult to fully grasp the hidden strategy behind Natsume Chikage's seemingly sacrificial Rook advance in such a short time.

However, that didn't seem to matter to her.

Her little face held only pure excitement; after all, Natsume Chikage was her shogi teacher now, and there would be plenty of opportunities for reviews and matches in the future!

Meanwhile, Furukawa Masahiro, watching Natsume Chikage's near-manic offensive style, felt a thin layer of sweat seep onto his forehead, even though he knew the boy's strength was unfathomable.

In his youth, he had quite enjoyed this kind of passionate, wide-open style.

But now that he was older, his processing speed had inevitably declined, and this type of ultra-fast chess—which required calculating massive amounts of variations in an instant—had become the type he "hated" most. Because it was so fast, even with his seasoned experience, it was difficult to immediately keep up with the global implications of every move.

However, dislike it as he might.

Among all the spectators in the arena, perhaps only this Dragon King of the old era could barely keep up with the rhythm and faintly perceive the brilliance of Natsume Chikage's layout.

"So that's it... that seemingly ordinary three-step move wasn't to contest the line, but to clear a square for the subsequent Knight jump, while simultaneously luring the opponent's Bishop into an unfavorable position."

The more he watched, the deeper the admiration and emotion grew in his eyes, which had seen it all. He sighed inwardly: This Natsume-kun is truly a young genius... to be able to bury such a reserve pawn move, waiting for the right moment amidst such high-speed exchanges—he is both bold and meticulous.

Asahina Akatsuki, sitting nearby, couldn't help but shake her head upon seeing Natsume Chikage adopt the same extreme speed-attack as Tanabe Yuto, letting out a laugh mixed with helplessness and understanding:

"It seems Natsume-kun... is indeed the type of hot-blooded player who refuses to back down."

"I noticed earlier that when he responded to Tanabe's Central Rook at the start, his initial formation was quite proper, and he had the chance to shift to Yagura."

"But after Tanabe-kun played five or six moves of forced breakthrough speed-attacks, he immediately changed strategy, choosing an equally intense mutual offensive formation, abandoning the chance to solidify his position."

"But if this continues..."

Her tone shifted, carrying a rational judgment.

"Natsume-kun's defeat is all but certain."

"After all, Tanabe-kun is just too good at finding opportunities in these chaotic battles."

"Except for me and Suzuki-kun, those seniors in the Shogi Force who have played for many years would also be crushed by his storm-like offensive if they had the slightest lapse in timing during the major piece exchange."

"Not to mention Natsume-kun, whose number of matches played is pitifully low."

Suzuki Takayuki, who was only one step away from the professional threshold, also shook his head and chuckled:

"Just as the commentary analyzed."

"The safest way to break this kind of Ranging Rook speed-attack is to complete a castle as early as possible, such as a sturdy Mino or Silver Crown."

"As long as the speed-attacker's key breakthroughs in the early stages are effectively neutralized by the opponent's defensive measures, the momentum will naturally stall."

"Because once the opponent's King is safely inside a fortress, and the main pieces exchanged during the forced speed-attack cannot be replenished, it's equivalent to cutting off one's own retreat."

"Therefore, Fukuda-san's counter-attacking style—solidifying the Bear-in-the-hole first and then slowly mobilizing pieces—is theoretically the best counter to Tanabe Yuto."

"But unfortunately, this Natsume-kun doesn't seem to realize this at all, choosing instead the most dangerous head-on collision."

"With the way things are going, defeat is almost certain."

"After all, Tanabe-kun's immersion and proficiency in speed-attacks are not something an average person can compare to."

"If an ordinary shogi player faces him and cannot quickly identify his intent and build a defensive line, they will inevitably collapse like a mountain."

Not far away, Fukuda Tsukasa was staring intently at the game on the broadcast screen.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift slightly, revealing an "as I expected" expression.

He had long anticipated that Natsume Chikage was young and impetuous, easily stimulated and lured by his opponent.

Didn't he easily agree when he proposed the bet last time?

From this, one could catch a glimpse of his character.

And in shogi, the greatest taboo is emotional fluctuation.

Only those who remain absolutely calm are more likely to find the optimal solution in complex situations.

Like Natsume-kun, being led by someone else's rhythm and then spitefully walking into the opponent's familiar formation, even delusionally thinking of "defeating the opponent in their most proficient field"—this kind of thinking is the most fatal.

The way of shogi is inherently about mutual generation and restraint, one thing subduing another.

To deal with a speed-attack, there are clearly better defensive strategies available.

Why insist on a life-or-death struggle?

Especially in the opponent's strongest field?

This is simply "serving food" to the opponent.

Sure enough—this Natsume-kun is still that "big sucker."

The reason he lost last time must have been because his moves were studied in advance!

Otherwise, he would never have lost to such a reckless guy!

Private Moonlight Academy, Class 2-A.

The math class was proceeding calmly, and most students were listening attentively.

But there were exceptions.

In the seat by the window, Tsukishima Rin wore a Bluetooth earphone in her left ear, covering it gently with her hand, while holding her textbook high to secretly hide her phone beneath the pages.

The faint glow of the screen illuminated her focused profile—it was playing the match between Natsume Chikage and Tanabe Yuto in real-time.

She wasn't very proficient in shogi, but listening to the commentator's passionate tone and watching the rapid movement of the pieces, her heart couldn't help but hang on Natsume Chikage's "reckless" style, feeling a surge of hot-blooded excitement.

However, when the commentator's analysis came through the earphone saying, "Player Natsume's King position has begun to float, while Player Tanabe's attacking pieces are being poured in continuously," her delicate brows would knit tightly, her mood sinking to the bottom, worry almost overflowing.

Just as she was fully focused, preparing to finish watching the match like this—

A figure stopped silently beside her desk.

Immediately, two deliberate light coughs sounded.

"Ahem, ahem."

Tsukishima Rin's body stiffened, and she turned her head abruptly.

When she saw the female math teacher standing beside her, looking at her with a half-smile, her cheeks turned bright red in a "whoosh."

She scrambled to press the phone off and shove it back into the depths of her desk, her movements so hurried she nearly knocked over her textbook.

The female math teacher naturally recognized this top student with excellent grades and probably guessed what she was watching—after all, she had heard the rumors in school about Tsukishima Rin and that transfer student, Natsume Chikage.

Understanding was one thing, but classroom discipline was the bottom line.

If it were another class, it might be fine, but doing this in her math class was absolutely not allowed.

However, the teacher didn't severely punish this student who always performed well, but leaned down slightly and whispered a reminder in her ear, her voice so soft only the two of them could hear:

"Don't let it happen again."

After speaking, she turned and walked back to the podium with a steady gait.

A few sharp-eyed students in the class witnessed this little scene and couldn't help but cover their mouths, letting out a few light, good-natured snickers.

Tsukishima Rin felt unprecedented embarrassment, her earlobes burning red.

She was an honor student who strictly followed the rules; being caught red-handed by the teacher, her shame far outweighed any rebelliousness.

Although she felt like a kitten was scratching inside her heart, desperately wanting to know the result of the match, she didn't dare risk taking out her phone again after being warned.

She could only sit on pins and needles, looking up again and again, anxiously gazing at the clock on the wall in front of the classroom.

Silently screaming in her heart: Hurry up and end class... please, just let me see Natsume-kun's match!

Shogi Force activity room.

Yasui Ryoto was watching the live stream on his phone screen, nearly unable to hold it together, growling while grabbing his own hair: