Chapter 488

Nanjo Maiko smiled:

"Let’s wait and see."

In the audience, the area where Fukuda Tsukasa is.

Fukuda Tsukasa crossed his arms, tilted his head, and cast a sidelong glance at the screen of Table 1 on the giant screen.

The corners of his mouth hooked into an undisguised, near-schadenfreude arc.

Although the current situation is back and forth.

But this Suzuki Takayuki is far stronger than Morimoto Yuki.

It seems Xia Xia Xia Mujun is really going to be in trouble this time.

He looked at Horikawa Kaori, who looked nervous beside him, and his tone carried deliberate teasing.

"I really didn't expect these two kids to meet in the final battle."

"But well, it seems now that our Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s 'good luck' has been completely used up."

He pursed his lips and pointed to the steady Suzuki Takayuki on the screen.

"Facing such a quasi-professional monster."

"This guy’s strength is real. I heard he is not only a Third Dan of the Promotion Association, but also a popular candidate for professional qualification this year."

He elongated his tone.

"Our Xia Xia Xia Mujun this time... is afraid it’s going to be ominous."

Horikawa Kaori’s hands were tightly clasped on her knees, her knuckles turning blue-white from the force.

She couldn't refute Fukuda Tsukasa’s words.

The heart pinched tight in her chest was telling of almost the same worry.

Suzuki Takayuki is a recognized player shining with genius.

Just one step away from the professional hall.

And Natsume Chikage?

He participated in the competition, perhaps only for the prize money.

He might not even regard Shogi as a "Dao" that needs to pour a lifetime of passion into.

Talent is indeed amazing, but in front of an opponent who is equally gifted but has put in years of focus and sweat, and has long regarded victory or defeat as the starting point of a career...

This gap, reason told her, was insurmountable.

Tanabe Yuto sat on the side, his mood like a lake with pebbles thrown into it, the ripples complex and indescribable.

He hoped Natsume Chikage could win—then Akatsuki would definitely bloom with the brightest smile.

There was another voice in his heart saying: Takayuki winning is the logical ending.

After all, Takayuki is the friend he knows best.

He knew better than anyone that when Takayuki sat in front of the chessboard, how reassuring that focus and strength were, and how... it made one feel a distance that was hard to reach.

So the moment Natsume Chikage drew Takayuki, he had already seen the end of this duel.

Asahina Akatsuki’s teeth were deeply embedded in her lower lip, leaving shallow marks.

Her gaze, as if attracted by a magnet, wandered back and forth between the figures of Natsume Chikage and Suzuki Takayuki on the screen, her mood complex.

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun... Takayuki..."

She murmured unconsciously, her voice so light that only she could hear it.

On her beautiful face, struggle and pain were intertwined.

On one side is the childhood sweetheart who has accompanied her, like a brother and friend, the most important person.

On the other side is the teenager who made her heart beat for the first time, whose gaze she couldn't help but follow, and whom she wanted to get closer to.

The threads of emotion were tangled into a knot, making her heart chaotic, as if hanging in the high sky, unable to find a place to land.

However, even if her thoughts were chaotic, the string named "reason" was always tight.

She knew Takayuki’s strength on the chessboard better than anyone.

That was a strength that had been tempered through a hundred battles and had almost turned into instinct.

Can Xia Xia Xia Mujun... really cross this high mountain?

Furukawa Masahiro was also watching the same screen.

But he was just stroking his snow-white beard slowly, his expression peaceful, even carrying a bit of leisure.

He even had time to pick up the thermos cup by his hand, gently blow away the floating heat, and take a sip of warm tea unhurriedly.

Not only was there no sign of worry on his face, but a hint of insight into everything, a near-joyful anticipation, was faintly revealed.

Even he, the former "Dragon King," had been defeated by Natsume Chikage.

A mere "quasi-professional" teenager who hadn't officially stepped into the professional threshold?

In his eyes, it was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

There was no suspense about the outcome.

However...

Furukawa Masahiro narrowed his old but sharp eyes, carefully savoring every step on the chessboard.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun changed his chess style again this time.

He didn't attack to the extreme like he did against Fukuda Tsukasa and Tanabe Yuto.

And he didn't show weakness like he did against Asahina Akatsuki.

Instead, he was attacking back and forth.

Is it because he is finally serious this time?

Or... as Xia Xia Xia Mujun said before, it’s just because of the opponent that he adjusted his playing style.

To pursue ending the game as quickly as possible?

Furukawa Masahiro looked at Natsume Chikage’s situation of basically pressing the chess clock in seconds, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably, feeling it was likely as he thought.

This teenager purely adjusted his playing style according to the opponent, how to win fast, how to play...

Furukawa Saio grabbed the back of the front chair with her two small hands and poked out her little head.

She blinked her crystal-clear big eyes, looked at Suzuki Takayuki, who was serious and facing a great enemy in the screen, then looked at the calm Natsume Chikage, and finally fixed her gaze on the chessboard.

Suddenly, she seemed to have discovered something extremely interesting, quickly covered her mouth with her small hand, but still leaked a "tee-hee" giggle.

She leaned into Furukawa Masahiro’s ear and said in a whisper that only the two of them could hear:

"Grandpa, Big Brother is digging a hole for his opponent again."

Furukawa Masahiro, as the Dragon King, naturally noticed this, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, he smiled without saying a word, and nodded slightly.

By the side of the arena, in a quiet corner of the contestant rest area.

Morimoto Yuki, who had just experienced a crushing defeat, did not leave immediately.

He was like a resentful sculpture, nailed to the spot, his gaze like a poisonous nail, firmly locked on Table 1, especially on Natsume Chikage’s straight but calm back.

His eyes were surging with humiliation, hatred, and a hint of morbid, twisted anticipation.

Even if he also didn't like the talented Suzuki Takayuki who always beat him.

But compared to Natsume Chikage, who had brought him extreme humiliation, that bit of dislike was insignificant.

He knew Suzuki Takayuki’s strength very well.

After all, when he was in the Shogi Association competition, he had never won against this person once.

One can imagine how strong he is.

And beside him, the others from Private Tenhao Academy had not left either.

Led by Honda Takashi, their faces were shrouded in similar haze.

Although they might also hold a complex competitive mentality toward the genius player Suzuki Takayuki in their school.

But at this moment, the hatred for Natsume Chikage—the "outsider" who openly provoked and trampled on their school’s dignity—overwhelmed everything.

Honda Takashi stared at Natsume Chikage’s chess situation on the screen, which was "slightly behind" due to the second move, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but grin, forming an arc full of malice.

But soon, that arc was stained with a layer of irritability and unwillingness.

Pity...

It’s a pity!

He hated in his heart.

This kid has really good luck, actually running into Suzuki Takayuki, avoiding the "opportunity" to be tortured by himself on the chessboard.