After summer vacation began, the heat in the city felt unbearable.
But just as stifling as the temperature was the explosion in manga and anime market.
Once elementary, middle school, high school, and university students were finally free, anime expos and manga fairs popped up across major cities. Tankōbon sales soared, anime merch sold out everywhere, and weekend crowds filled every event hall.
Rei wasn't the type to lock himself indoors like a machine. Whenever he finished his manuscript work early, he slipped out to wander through the lively streets, browse merch booths, or quietly observe fans at exhibitions.
That was where he saw them, dozens of Hikaru no Go fans dressed in Sai's flowing robes, fluttering folding fans as they walked past.
Some even dyed their hair black and yellow attempting Hikaru's look… but most failed spectacularly, looking more like delinquent fireball punks than the bright, messy-haired boy from the manga.
The series had just reached its twenty-seventh chapter, covering Hikaru's earliest days after joining the Go dojo.
There he reunited with two people: Waya, the sharp, perceptive young player who had once unknowingly played Sai online.
Isumi, for years the strongest among the dojo's insei-equivalents, but unable to pass the pro exam.
And of course Ochi, a brilliant but harsh and brutally honest player, whose tongue was as sharp as his reading skills.
The moment Hikaru stepped into the dojo, he became a target for challenge after challenge.
He ranked dead last in Group Two, the lower-tier bracket of aspiring pros.
Chapters twenty through twenty-five focused on Hikaru's painful, stumbling climb upward, learning to overcome the fear of stones caused by relying too heavily on Sai's guidance, correcting his weaknesses, and sharpening his intuition.
Eventually, he broke into Group One.
And that immediately placed him into the Young Lions Tournament.
An official event mixing brand-new professional 1-dan players with the most promising dojo trainees.
For Hikaru, there was only one goal: Break into the top eight of Group One and earn the right to face Akira again.
In the tournament's first round, Hikaru was paired against a newly promoted professional.
After two years of Sai's teaching, endless matches, and nonstop dojo training…
Hikaru lost by only two points.
He failed to reach Akira in the next round, but ironically, that made Akira even more fixated on him.
How could the boy he crushed just over a year ago now stand on equal footing with a pro?
How could someone with less than a year of formal dojo training produce a move so sharp, so devastating, that it shifted the entire course of the match?
The more Akira thought about it, the more unbelievable Hikaru became.
During all this time, Hikaru no Go's popularity remained steady, hovering at sixth place every week.
The top five works had massive advantages: anime adaptations, games, merchandise, and massive fanbases. Even when Hikaru no Go came close, it always fell short by a margin, sometimes by over thirty thousand votes.
One week it briefly hit fifth place, but only because the fifth-ranked manga had a weak chapter. As soon as that series picked up again, Hikaru no Go slipped back a rank.
Then Wednesday, August 6th arrived.
The Dream Comic Journal hit the shelves.
Chapter 28 of Hikaru no Go was released with it.
That same morning, Marino woke up unable to sleep.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the character posters of Sai and Akira pinned proudly on her bedroom wall.
Honestly, as someone who had seriously studied Go during her childhood, reading a manga like Hikaru no Go gave Marino a level of immersion she rarely experienced anymore.
Especially the recent dojo and pro-exam arcs.
Back in junior high, Marino had been considered a local prodigy, the girl who crushed old uncles and self-proclaimed "park masters" with ease.
Her parents, convinced she had real talent, once took her to a professional Go dojo in the provincial capital for an evaluation.
She came back the very same afternoon.
Because she had been forced to resign mid-game by someone three years younger than her, ranked at the very bottom of the dojo.
That single crushing defeat ended her Go dream.
From then on, she focused on academics, studied hard, got into a top university, and now lived a perfectly stable life.
But, people don't forget the things they couldn't get.
Regret sits quietly, showing up at unexpected moments.
Otherwise, why would she, a woman who loved sleeping in, wake up every Wednesday at seven, just to read the new Hikaru no Go chapter the moment it dropped?
Her emotional projection onto Hikaru was intense.
More than once, she had fantasized, What if she had met someone like Sai back then? What if a ghost-level supergenius stood behind her board, guiding each move? Maybe she too could have walked the path of a professional.
In truth, people read manga to borrow another life.
She got out of bed, washed up, applied her usual elegant makeup, and headed toward the bookstore near her apartment.
She arrived exactly as the doors opened, bought the new Dream Comic Journal, and immediately flipped to Hikaru no Go.
The Young Lions Tournament had ended last chapter.
Naturally, the plot was now reaching the part every reader had been waiting for:
The Professional Exam Arc.
By all standards, Hikaru had now become one of the top aspiring pros.
He could even fight evenly with the weaker professional players, still losing, but forcing them to struggle, sweat, and feel genuine pressure.
Right before the exams began, a new character appeared: Tatsuhiko Kadowaki.
Years ago, he was one of the strongest amateur players in the entire country.
Everyone believed he was talented enough to pass the pro exam.
But due to family circumstances, he went abroad for several years.
Now he had returned, stronger than ever, determined to finally take the exam.
Before registering, Tatsuhiko walked near the dojo where Hikaru trained, wanting to warm up by challenging a few "soft persimmons."
But not a single trainee recognized him.
His ego took a direct hit.
"Hmph… fine. Just watch. You'll all see soon enough," Tatsuhiko muttered, thoroughly offended.
Marino almost burst out laughing.
The last ten chapters had been intense, nonstop high-level matches, character growth, and long discussions by Go professionals online.
So to suddenly have a character stroll in with this "I will crush some newbies to feel better" energy…
And the "soft persimmon" he was likely to pick?
In a world where Hikaru stood, and behind Hikaru stood Sai…
Marino couldn't help but grin.
"Oh no. I wonder who he'll challenge first."