Kuzuryū became the Ryūō. The match went the full seven games, and he won by the skin of his teeth. While I had attracted the attention of the Shogi world with 29 consecutive wins, the public's excitement rose due to a player of my generation winning a title, and Kuzuryū began to feel a sense of arrogance. Ah, by the way, I deliberately lost to Ayumu, started a new winning streak from scratch, and am currently on 18 consecutive wins.
Frankly, I feel jealous of Kuzuryū who won the title on Christmas Day, becoming a life winner when he fulfilled his promise to take Hinatsuru Ai as a live-in apprentice. I, on the other hand, celebrated the online gaming festival alone and sadly. I haven't earned a large amount of money yet, though I did receive some fees from a few interviews and merchandise royalties.
(Hey, Ayumu is losing a lot recently, why is that?)
(With 90% certainty, it is because of you, Master.)
(Huh? Didn't Ayumu win against me normally in our match?)
(Do you want me to show you the game from Ayumu's perspective now?)
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Immense numbers of journalists surround the players, and the match—for which the public wagered on Ōki Haruo's victory in his thirtieth game—begins.
「Fufu... It has been a long time since I stood before this massive number of cameras. So, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Knight who is a professional player! Silver Chevalier! I am God-Killed Rain Ayumu, 5-dan!」 (Ayumu)
The piece toss confirms that Kannabi Ayumu (5-dan) will make the first move. Although there are photographers focusing on the camera-friendly Kannabi, the attention of most people present was directed towards Ōki (4-dan).
Kannabi plays the first move, `7-6 Pawn`. On the second move, and without any hesitation, Ōki plays `3-2 Gold` without using any thinking time.
「What!?」 (Ayumu)
Shouts of astonishment arose from every direction. That move was a provocation to Kannabi, who plays the Ibishia [Static Rook] style, as if telling him: 「You are a man who cannot move the Rook [Castle]」. This move was by no means a good one. This play, which deviated from the standard opening sequence [Joseki] from the second move, involuntarily depleted Kannabi's thinking time.
Ōki calmly continued playing without using any thinking time [no time]. It was as if all moves had been studied and prepared in advance. In this manner, the position [Kisei] always gradually tipped in Ōki's favor, but today was different; Kannabi had achieved a clearly winning position.
Kannabi was sweating profusely as he confirmed his winning status. Since the match was lacking resistance compared to previous ones, he could only doubt his assured victory.
Meanwhile, Ōki, who was heading directly toward a loss without using any thinking time, was exchanging conversation with "Ai" in his mind.
(Are you truly serious about compensating the difference to one move from here? And are you sane to promote the first move 7-8 Gold, and then 3-2 Gold?) (Ōki)
(Because it forces the opponent to play the unfavorable Ranging Rook [Furi Bishia], and I personally want to eliminate the Ranging Rook style.) (Ōki)
(If that's the case, you should have won today's match! You could have easily achieved the winning condition with that 3-2 Gold move.)
(Won't my loss to Ayumu contribute to his growth? Besides, I want to lose soon.)
(What a complacent man you are, Master! Fine, I have accepted a loss by a margin of one move. In any case, even if we compensate the situation from here, we will lose by a margin of one move. ...This situation occurred because you keep playing non-stop, didn't it?)
(You also play non-stop, "Ai".)
Kannabi, realizing his victory, played the move that would lead him to triumph. In that moment, when no reversal of the result was thought possible, the moves previously deemed a futile forced attack, and those considered useless, suddenly launched a unified assault on Ayumu's King.
Ayumu exhausted his remaining thinking time and entered the "one-minute Shogi" system.
「Damn it!... This playing style is no longer a human's work!! You truly are my strongest rival!」 (Ayumu)
Kannabi's excitement grew, but at the same time, he was overcome by a cold sensation, as if emanating from Ōki, who was the cause of this atmosphere. Kannabi was thinking for more than fifty seconds on every move, while Ōki played the entire match instantly [without using thinking time].
Kannabi's Anaguma [defensive fortress] had already collapsed, and his defense began to disintegrate. At that moment, Ōki's Bishop piece broke through, accelerating the collapse of his defense. Kannabi's stronghold fell completely.
Ōki slammed a Knight piece he held onto the top of the Silver piece defending Kannabi. This move was not checkmate, but it was a move that put the opponent in a predicament; either he takes it and enters a worse position, or he ignores it and faces imminent destruction. In his short remaining time, Kannabi had to find the solution.
Every time he heard the countdown of the seconds, Kannabi grew more tense and bewildered. But suddenly, Ōki sighed and opened his mouth:
「I have lost. Please play the move `1-3 Silver`. I will resign.」
「What?! What is this... 「50 seconds... 55, 56, 57」 ... Damn it! So be it!」 (Ayumu)
Ōki's sudden announcement of resignation caused a stir, and the recorder nearly forgot the countdown. Kannabi played the move Ōki indicated, and Ōki resigned. The reason for this unexpected behavior was that Ōki played the last move instead of "Ai," and made a mistake.
(Hey, Ayumu is looking at his King's area and thinking. Do something!)
(Isn't this because you, Master, played a critical move on your own? There is an immediate checkmate on your King at this moment, so defend it!)
(Huh? Is there an immediate checkmate? I only gave the opponent the Knight and Bishop, right? Well, let me see...)
(It is checkmate in 21 moves. But if you continue this way, you will win on time. Therefore, Master must resign and point out the only move that will prevent your win, which is `1-3 Silver`.)
(Understood. But I must get rid of my bad habit of slamming the Knight onto the Silver piece as soon as I see it.)
When Kannabi saw Ōki declare the decisive checkmate on himself in an important match, he felt an indescribable dread. At the same time, he realized that Ōki was a wall he had to overcome. After the match, Kannabi reviewed the game record and was shocked again when he realized that Ōki had not consumed any thinking time throughout the entire match.
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(The issue of mental shock is purely a figment of "Ai's" imagination, never mind us.) But I am still undefeated in the Ranking League, so we are not far off from the situation at the beginning of the original story.
(Didn't Kuzuryū lose 11 or 12 matches? We cannot say there is no difference [from the original story] until he accumulates those losses.) (Ai)
(Ah. Also, it is unclear whether he fulfilled his verbal promise of adoption with "Ai-chan." I must somehow make Kuzuryū and Ai-chan become master and apprentice.) (Ōki)
(What will happen, I wonder. You have done all that you can do.) (Ai)
After Kuzuryū won the Ryūō title, he bought me the yakiniku feast and recounted everything that happened in the Ryūō Battle in detail. In the middle of his story, he mentioned the anecdote about receiving water from the inn owner's daughter, and I knew that the original story would be able to begin peacefully.
After the New Year, Kuzuryū began to lose consecutively in a manner unbecoming of him, though not with a continuous losing streak, and forums started attacking him now and then.
Meanwhile, I won the rapid-play Asahi Hai tournament, and I had already secured promotion to 5-dan in the Ranking League, so I was then promoted to 6-dan.
Given that Kuzuryū was born in August while I was born in November, I broke the record for the youngest player to reach both 5-dan and 6-dan. However, since the player Kunogi Sōta** (an elementary school student) will appear in a few years to break (all the youngest-age records), this title is likely to be temporary.