Sai disappeared.
The news spread like wildfire through the Hikaru no Go fanbase.
Not only on the Hoshimori Group's official website, viewers of the currently airing second season of the Hikaru no Go TV drama and anime audiences also learned about the latest manga developments through countless channels.
Fans who had already read the manga were devastated.
Manga readers still stuck working overtime, who hadn't yet had the chance to buy the magazine, were anxious and tormented.
And for TV drama and anime fans, their world collapsed.
The three factions converged on the Hoshimori Group's official website, major manga forums, and the comment section of Rei's creator account.
Under normal circumstances, Hikaru no Go wouldn't have caused such a massive stir in Japan's media sphere. But today was different. The entire hot-search ecosystem was flooded by the frenzied reactions of these three waves of fans.
The phrase 'Sai is dead!' surged into the top five trending searches across major search engines.
While many passersby were still wondering who Sai even was, and why his death could dominate the hot searches, Rei's comment section was already completely overwhelmed.
"You scoundrel, where are you right now?"
"Damn it, he's on vacation now, we can't even ambush him at school!"
"Why did you make Sai disappear? What did he ever do to you?!"
"What the hell do you understand about Hikaru no Go? If you can't control the later plot, hand over the pen. I could draw with my feet and make this chapter ten million times better than yours."
"I'm crying myself to death. Sai's last words to Hikaru were that he was very happy. He was gentle until the very end."
"That's why he was so sulky in the previous chapters! Sai's greatest wish was to pursue The Hand of God, but after Hikaru played it, he probably realized, what he really wanted was to stay by Hikaru's side and watch him grow stronger."
"And yet this bastard couldn't even grant Sai that simple wish!"
"Is he really seventeen? Why does his heart feel colder than stone, without a shred of youthful empathy?"
"Come to think of it, Five Centimeters per Second was a tragedy. Tonight also ended with the male lead dying. Now Hikaru no Go kills off Sai, where is this manga even going? Is it heading toward a bad ending?"
"It's already a bad ending! Sai is gone, what's the point of continuing? Hikaru no Go has lost its soul!"
"Sai is gone. Originally, the manga had two core threads: Sai's pursuit of The Hand of God and Hikaru's growth. Now only Hikaru's growth remains, and Hikaru is already an unlikable protagonist. How can this manga survive?"
"Doesn't matter. Sai is gone. I don't feel like maintaining the ranking anymore. I'm not voting this week."
"I don't believe Shirogane would really let Sai disappear like this. Could this be another smokescreen? Maybe Hikaru will find a way to bring Sai back in a few chapters."
"Hey, Sai only turned into particles of light. No one actually said that turning into light equals death, right?"
"As long as Shirogane wants it to work, what kind of plot can't he force to work?"
"Wait, what if Sai didn't disappear at all?"
"What do you mean?"
"Remember the first chapter? Both Akari and Hikaru saw the Go board, but only Hikaru could see the bloodstains. Akaari couldn't. That means the bloodstains determine whether someone can see Sai!"
"Are you saying…?"
"Sai isn't dead, Hikaru just can't see him anymore. Maybe Sai is still by his side, but they can never communicate again."
"No, this is even more painful! That would mean Sai stays with Hikaru for his entire life, while Hikaru can never respond!"
"Please, Teacher Shirogane, look at public opinion! As long as you restore Sai in the next chapter, Hikaru no Go will stay number one on Dream Comic!"
All day long, Hikaru no Go-related topics dominated the trending sections of major search engines.
Naturally, Japan's manga review media seized upon this explosive subject, publishing article after article.
"A genius manga artist runs out of ideas, Shirogane's disastrous blunders in the latest Hikaru no Go chapter."
"A disaster-level narrative collapse: How a genius author killed his manga's most beloved character."
"Meticulous storytelling, or arrogance? Analyzing Hikaru no Go's future after Sai's disappearance."
"A manga destined for history falls from grace in one week. The latest chapter may be the worst manga chapter of the past decade."
"Brilliance or fatal mistake? The answer to Sai's disappearance may emerge in the coming weeks."
"Only a seventeen-year-old dares to write such a story. While the internet condemns Sai's disappearance as a blunder, the author claims it's a deliberate rejection of utilitarian, fan-pleasing storytelling."
"A character appears when needed and exits when needed. Sai has already guided Hikaru onto the path of Go, but for Hikaru to become truly great, he must walk it alone."
The frenzied backlash from fans and the mixed reactions from the media did not affect the operations of the Hoshimori Group editorial department the following day.
Although many colleagues still looked at Misaki with barely concealed schadenfreude, the reality was that, Hikaru no Go's performance did not unfold the way they had expected.
This week, Hikaru no Go once again topped the magazine rankings with 923,564 fan votes.
Meanwhile, Source War Chronicle, which ranked second, continued its downward trend, recording 875,628 votes.
The reason was simple.
In the previous two weeks, Source War Chronicle had experienced a temporary surge because its fans felt threatened by Hikaru no Go. That sense of crisis had driven its voter count past 900,000. But once Hikaru no Go officially surpassed it, much of that tension dissipated. Readers without strong voting habits returned to quietly following the manga without participating in polls, causing Source War Chronicle's numbers to fall back to their usual level.
Hikaru no Go, however, was a different case.
Fans were cursing Rei, but very few were actually criticizing Hikaru no Go itself as a poor work or accusing it of having a "bad ending."
Even with Sai's disappearance, Hikaru no Go was still far from a bad ending, because the undeniable core of the manga was Hikaru himself.
Readers directed their anger at the creator, "Shirogane," but after venting their frustration, their support for the manga hardly declined. Those who voted continued to vote. Others, rather than raging online, simply waited, hoping Shirogane would somehow mend the plot and bring Sai back.
This was the fundamental difference between a masterpiece manga and an ordinary popular one.
The loyalty and tolerance of their readership were entirely different.
When a masterpiece delivers an uncomfortable plot turn, readers are willing to endure it, trusting that the author will eventually bring the story full circle. But for an average hit manga, even a mildly displeasing development can drive readers away, after all, the market is flooded with alternatives. Why should anyone indulge you?
Despite the intense controversy, the online outcry, and the wave of mocking media coverage the day before, Hikaru no Go still claimed first place this week.
The editors of the Hoshimori Group couldn't help but question their own judgment.
Where were those fans who swore they wouldn't vote anymore?
Where were the readers who declared they would abandon the manga altogether?
Could it be that everyone was simply bluffing, trying to scare Shirogane into changing the plot?
How could a manga so fiercely criticized still surpass 900,000 votes and remain at the top?
"First place… again?"
Listening to Misaki relay the results over the phone, Rei let out a long breath.
He glanced at the half-finished manuscript on his desk and spoke quietly.
"But fans' patience will fade eventually. After Sai's disappearance, their biggest expectation is no longer the story itself, it's when Sai will come back."
Just like Goku's countless deaths in Dragon Ball in his previous life, readers no longer reacted to those moments with shock, but with a single question: How will he be revived this time?
Many Hikaru no Go fans were now thinking the same way.
"Once fans are absolutely certain that Sai won't return," Rei continued, "the manga's popularity will drop very quickly."
"Since you understand that," Misaki couldn't help replying, "you shouldn't have let Sai disappear in the first place."
"I know his disappearance will cause a significant drop in popularity," Rei said calmly. "But I also know that if Sai had stayed by Hikaru's side forever, constantly helping him improve, his character would never achieve true sublimation. He would become nothing more than a tool, a Go-playing machine."
"And then Hikaru no Go would never become a classic."
"Fluctuations in popularity are temporary," Rei added with a faint smile.
'Even twenty years later, people still remembered Hikaru no Go in my previous life. That's what truly matters. That's proof the manga touched people's hearts.'
"You'll be eighteen in a few months," Misaki finally said. "You'll be an adult soon. I trust your judgment."
Then she added dryly, "One last piece of advice, wear a mask if you go out during winter break. If you get recognized and beaten up by extreme fans and miss a manuscript deadline, I'll be the one in trouble."
"Understood," Rei replied, then paused. "Oh, Editor Misaki, Hikaru no Go will most likely conclude within two to three months. You and the Group should prepare yourselves mentally."
"Understood."