The next day, at the Hoshimori Group editorial department, Misaki once again felt the strange, scrutinizing gazes of her colleagues.
If the previous success of Hikaru no Go, which had reached the top spot, had caused envy and even jealousy toward her as a young editor, then now those same people were clearly gloating.
Any normal person could understand the importance of Sai's character in the manga Hikaru no Go.
Even if Sai's role were to diminish in the later stages, with the story focusing on Hikaru's growth, they could have simply kept him by Hikaru's side as a symbolic presence, a mascot, even.
Why make him disappear?
Wasn't this absurd?
It was one thing for a young manga artist to be naïve and indulge in artistic impulses.
But for an editor to be unable to rein in such outrageous ideas from her assigned artist, and to allow Hikaru no Go, the top-ranked manga in Dream Comic, to move in this direction, this already spoke to Misaki's inadequacy as an editor.
"She's just a mediocre editor who got by on luck."
Misaki could more or less read those thoughts in their eyes, but she couldn't be bothered to refute them.
Of course she relied on luck.
Without luck, could she really have met a genius like Rei?
And wasn't luck itself a form of strength?
A billionaire who became rich by winning the lottery was still more successful than a multimillionaire who struggled their entire life.
Those who failed to understand that, who despised opportunity and luck, insisting only on grinding their way upward through effort alone, were simply naïve.
However…
Setting luck aside, Misaki believed the greatest difference between herself and the other editors in the department was that she dared to take risks.
Their ingrained mindset was that a manga artist would likely produce only one massively popular work in their lifetime, and once such a work appeared, its commercial value should be exploited to the utmost.
But Misaki didn't see things that way.
While Hikaru no Go was indeed exceptional, Rei's future potential far exceeded the value of Hikaru no Go itself.
This manga ending here might very well signal the early arrival of Rei's next classic masterpiece.
Sitting at her desk and waiting for the release of the latest ranking results, Misaki gradually steadied her emotions.
At 9:30 a.m., as usual, the editors in the department immediately opened the email the moment it arrived.
And the rankings for this issue disappointed many of them.
Hikaru no Go, Total Votes: 943,215
Source war chronicle, Total Votes: 895,321
Although Hikaru no Go's vote count had declined compared to the previous week, the same was true for its biggest competitor. As a result, Hikaru no Go remained in first place, with source war chronicle still second.
"Two consecutive weeks at number one!" Misaki clenched her fists unconsciously.
Hikaru no Go would not run for much longer, so it was impossible for it to replicate source war chronicle's three-year reign at the top.
In fact, once Hikaru no Go concluded, source war chronicle would inevitably reclaim the throne.
However, at least while Hikaru no Go was still being serialized, Misaki absolutely did not want to see it overtaken.
Due to its genre, Hikaru no Go's commercial value naturally fell short of long-running battle shōnen like source war chronicle.
But if Hikaru no Go could maintain first place until its final chapter, it would set an unprecedented record.
That alone would silence the critics.
Those same people loved claiming online that Hikaru no Go's recent plot developments proved Rei had run out of ideas.
Then let them witness how an "exhausted" Rei would bring Hikaru no Go to its conclusion.
In the days that followed, after manga readers finished venting their outrage, it was the turn of TV drama and anime fans to erupt.
Still in the early stages of the story, these viewers saw manga fans spreading news online about Sai's eventual disappearance, and their world collapsed.
Sai… could he really disappear?
If Hikaru no Go lost its ghost, would people really just watch characters play Go?
Don't be ridiculous, Shirogane-sensei.
Over the past few days, fans of Hikaru no Go's anime, manga, and live-action adaptation stopped arguing about adaptation quality altogether.
They united, directing their anger squarely at Shirogane.
At the same time, numerous manga media outlets and critics jumped on the trend, heavily criticizing the "fatal flaw" of Sai's impending disappearance in Hikaru no Go's latest plot.
At this moment, nearly everyone in the manga industry, and countless readers across Japan, were fixated on the newest chapter of Hikaru no Go, the most popular manga in Dream Comic.
Aside from the editor-in-chief of Hoshimori Group and a handful of senior executives, very few people knew that Hikaru no Go was already approaching its end.
Everyone was wondering whether there was some hidden twist behind the recent controversy.
Soon, late January arrived, and with it came another Wednesday.
This week's cover of Dream Comic underwent a drastic stylistic shift once again.
The entire cover featured only a single character.
Sai.
Dressed in white, he gazed upward at the "light" pouring down upon him, his expression a mixture of reluctance and relief.
The color page illustration, personally drawn by Rei, was exquisitely detailed. The moment most fans saw the cover, a sharp pang struck their hearts.
Just the image alone carried an overwhelming sense of sorrow.
Mizuki stood in front of the bookshelf, staring at the cover for a long time before finally reaching out, picking up the journal, and walking toward the cashier.
After returning home, she held the journal in her hands and spent nearly half a minute bracing herself mentally before tearing open the plastic seal and flipping to the serialization of Hikaru no Go.
The story continued directly from the previous week.
When Sai saw the bloodstains on the Go board fading away, his expression instantly turned flustered.
But Hikaru noticed nothing.
He even prepared to play Go with his grandfather, wagering a thousand yen on the match.
Standing beside him, Sai hurriedly called out.
"Hikaru, let's go back now. Play Go with me! You can play Go with Grandpa anytime."
Sai's expression was anxious, almost desperate.
Just reading this line, the heavy stone that had been weighing on Mizuki's heart for an entire week finally crashed down.
No… Shirogane-sensei…
"What are you talking about?" Hikaru said impatiently. "You and I can play Go anytime! It's rare for me to see Grandpa, of course I want to play with him!"
Ignoring Sai completely, Hikaru walked toward his grandfather.
"Hikaru… I might disappear very soon."
Mizuki's eyes immediately reddened.
"You've been alive for a thousand years, how could you just disappear?" Hikaru scoffed. "You're just saying this to make me pity you so I'll indulge you, right? Sai, you've been way too willful lately."
Mizuki clenched her fists in anger.
Hikaru… you brat. You've been reading Hikaru no Go for a whole year, three years have passed in the story, and you're still this immature? How can you say something like that?
Sai fell silent and simply followed behind Hikaru.
"Hikaru doesn't understand…"
Sai whispered to himself.
The story then shifted.
Hikaru received an invitation to serve as a guidance opponent at a Go event, where he once again encountered Seiji Ogata.
Mizuki quickly turned the page. The appearance of this segment slightly eased the suffocating sorrow from earlier.
In the drunken match, Sai utterly crushed Seiji Ogata, and Hikaru took the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
After the event, Sai followed behind Hikaru, and his inner monologue surfaced once more.
(Why… why isn't it me?)
(Why does only Hikaru have a future, while I must disappear?)
Sai's eyes grew increasingly sorrowful.
Tears welled up in Mizuki's eyes. She had a dreadful premonition, once the story reached this point, it was like a river flowing east. How could it ever be turned back?
She cursed Shirogane furiously in her heart, yet she couldn't bear to look away from the page for even a second.
Sai watched Hikaru walking ahead, bathed in light.
(I can't help but envy the future Hikaru possesses.)
(And I don't want to be separated from him.)
On the black-and-white page, delicate brushstrokes depicted tiny white specks of light beginning to rise from Sai's body, slowly dispersing.
(I don't want to be separated from him… I really don't want to…)
Tears dropped onto the page as Mizuki's nose burned painfully.
Upon realizing he was about to disappear, Sai wasn't thinking about The Hand of God at all, he simply didn't want to leave Hikaru.
Later that night, back at home, Hikaru felt drowsy in the warm evening breeze.
At Sai's insistence, he forced himself to stay awake and began a new game of Go with him.
With heavy-lidded eyes, Hikaru stared at the board, placed a stone, then waited for the position indicated by Sai's folding fan, helping him set down another piece.
Half-asleep, Hikaru failed to notice that Sai, sitting across from him, was gazing at him intently, while more and more white specks of light rose silently from his body.
"On the path toward The Hand of God, my role is complete."
Sai closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again.
As if remembering something, he leaned forward and called out softly.
"Hikaru… Hikaru… can you hear my voice?"
But Hikaru, sitting opposite him, was already on the verge of sleep, propping his chin up with one hand.
Look at him.
Are you even human?
Hikaru.
Your best friend is about to disappear.
Right in front of you.
And yet, in the final game of his life with you, why are you so careless?
Mizuki clutched the manga journal tightly, stood up from her chair, and completely lost control. Tears and snot streamed down her face together as her emotions overflowed.
"Hikaru… can you hear me? I am very happy…"
Sai's words echoed on the page.
Mizuki froze.
Sai's final words to Hikaru were that he was happy.
Happy… to be with Hikaru.
And it was precisely because of that happiness that he was unwilling to leave.
The manga panel slowly pulled back.
Hikaru, propping his cheek with one hand, was still waiting patiently for Sai to make his move.
But the figure sitting opposite him, the last trace of Sai, quietly dissolved into countless specks of white light, scattering and fading into the human world.
"Hey… it's your turn."
After an unknown amount of time, Hikaru stirred from his doze and spoke, staring at the Go board where the folding fan had never appeared.
"Hey, Sai! I said it's your turn!"
"Sai!"
Hikaru suddenly looked up.
But in front of him was nothing.
Sai's figure had vanished without a trace.
A gentle breeze drifted into the room, carrying with it a single petal that floated down and landed softly on the Go board.
Mizuki turned the page with trembling hands, only to see the final page of the chapter.
The chapter title was written there, stark and merciless.
"Farewell, Hikaru!"
Mizuki finally broke.
She hugged the manga journal tightly to her chest and sobbed aloud.
"Is this something a human could write?!"
"Shirogane… you're not human!"
"I will never forgive you in this life! I'll never read your works again! Just you wait, I'm unfollowing you today!"
This manga, Hikaru no Go, had only one moment like this.
But that single, devastating moment was enough to be remembered by fans for ten years.
Mizuki was already considered relatively composed. Many other Hikaru no Go readers had collapsed into tears halfway through the chapter.
Even professionals in the Japan's manga industry were left utterly stunned.
Everyone had assumed that Shirogane was merely setting up a smokescreen, a deliberate controversy to boost buzz and discussion.
So… you were serious?
This was a manga ranked among the top ten in popularity nationwide. Even though its average volume sales weren't yet explosive due to its short serialization period, surpassing ten million copies was only a matter of time.
And this is how you chose to write it?
...
Read 50+ chapters ahead @[email protected]/Ashnoir