When I first met him, I wondered why this specific person came.
It is Ōki Haruō. The rising star in the Shogi world, who won in the Promotion Society (Shōreikai) with a flawless victory record, and immediately after turning professional, set a new record for consecutive wins that had not been achieved for thirty years. Although the public's attention later shifted away from him when Master Kuzuryū became the Ryū-Ō, I knew he possessed tremendous strength.
My father was a famous Shogi student and a great admirer of the Association President Gekkō, and he promised me that he would make me his student when I grew up. I, too, admired the Association President Gekkō, and his student was Ōki Haruō.
When I stated my conditions: 「The Master must be an A-Class player or a titleholder」, I thought the Association President Gekkō might attend. I was indirectly referring to him. However, the one who actually came was his student.
I was happy that a famous figure known even to Akira had attended, but I truthfully wished that the Association President Gekkō had been the one to come. My first training match with my Master was with the Two-Piece Handicap (Rook and Bishop removed). I thought I was capable of defeating the [Expert] himself with a two-piece handicap, and there I realized that the Shogi I played was not sufficient when facing a professional player.
He continued to take my major pieces and return them to me, and I continued to attack without being able to break through his defense. After my repeated attacks, my King (Gyoku) was checkmated and defeated in a single moment. I had not realized my King was restricted the entire time. I regretted it deeply, felt extremely frustrated, and found myself crying and running out of the room.
When I returned to the room, I found only my grandfather there. Ōki had discovered that I learned Shogi by myself, stated that my method was ineffective, and talked about the Association President Gekkō and why he accepted this arrangement. I wished I could have talked to him about so many other things.
When I asked my grandfather why he let him leave so quickly, he told me that the Master had left a message for him.
「Master Ōki said that if you want to become strong, come tomorrow at ten in the morning to Shin-Imamiya Station on the JR Kanjo Line.」 (Grandfather)
The next day, I went to the location the Master specified and found the Master waiting for me, looking exhausted. It seemed he intended to go directly to Fukushima Station on the same line if I had not shown up. The Master then began to speak in a firm tone:
「I have decided to take on your specialized training. I will make you an invincible professional Shogi player... a professional Shogi player?」 (Ōki)
「Wait! Why did the end of the sentence become so vague?」 (Tenai)
「No, initially, I wanted to conclude the sentence dramatically: I will raise you to be an invincible Shogi player. But then I thought, as long as I exist, you won't be able to become an invincible Shogi player. That's why I changed it mid-sentence to an invincible professional Shogi player.」 (Ōki)
「That doesn't mean you are invincible either! I will definitely become one. An invincible Shogi player!」 (Tenai)
Since the lessons began, he forced me to call him "Master." At that time, I did not understand what he meant by "you won't become an invincible Shogi player as long as he exists," but now I understand it quite well.
In the Shinsekai Shogi gambling hall, I learned deceptive tactics, surprise attacks, and off-the-board tactics. Subsequently, my Master advised me to play online Shogi. I had played several times before my Master's advice, but at that time, all the opponents were weak and played for fun.
However, the site the Master recommended was different. On it, strong players seek strong opponents, they hunger for the points that boast their strength, and they fiercely compete for them. In this kind of environment, I continued to play on multiple interfaces.
Three interfaces, four interfaces, five interfaces... Now I have reached eight interfaces, and merely adding one board increases the pressure exponentially. If I look at the board and then start thinking, the available thinking time will not be enough, and I will not be able to win. This is because the unknown opponents behind the screen think of only one thing: snatching points from me.
Therefore, I did not have to think about just one position; I had to think about multiple positions simultaneously. I knew it would only be effective with extreme concentration, so I did my best to maintain my focus. However, when I got used to it, the concentration sustained itself automatically. ... I even became able to read moves without concentrating.
In the meantime, I also met Hinatsuru Ai, who shares my first name and is the same age as me. She is Master Kuzuryū's student. I felt, just by seeing her, that she would be my rival, but when I actually played against her, my strength was superior. Nevertheless, I lost my first game against Ai, a loss resulting from a violation that even I could not believe.
The Master did not expect the results of multi-interface play to appear so quickly, and he kept apologizing, but this power is astonishing. And online Shogi tells me that even with the use of this power, there are still those who are stronger. It is precisely for this reason that I can become much stronger.
When I reached a dead end playing on seven interfaces, I urgently asked the Master to show me his multi-interface playing method. At that time, I thought he would use his eighth-grade account, but he said he could not use it because all his accounts had been deleted after being judged to have played using a computer program.
Thus, the opponent the Master faced was that computer program. I still remember the shock of that moment when the Master won on all ten interfaces he played, with a Lance handicap (removing the Lance piece), against the program that humans are supposedly no longer able to defeat. Simultaneously, various thoughts ran through my mind.
My Master is usually an unreliable person, but he is the strongest among humans in Shogi. To the extent that no one can stand beside him. It is precisely for this reason that I believe he desired to have a student early on. The Master wanted to raise an opponent he could fight with all his strength.
When I considered it this way, the Master suddenly appeared to me as a pitiable person. Since no one can defeat my Master, he is training me with this much enthusiasm. I am certain my Master feels lonely. Therefore, I want to become so strong someday that I can face my Master.
My name is Yashagami Tenai. I am 9 years old (in the fourth grade of elementary school). And my future dream is to defeat the strongest Master in Shogi history.