NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: 6: The Strongest of This Era?
Hearing Hakuto's words, Ginko pondered for a moment before calmly repeating four words.
"I don't accept disciples"
"Hahaha... So you still remember, Ginko."
"I do."
"Those four words made four-year-old me ride the train for two whole hours."
"So stop thinking about useless things during a match and take this seriously, you idiot!"
Ginko snapped her folding fan shut and, treating it like a stick, smacked it straight onto Hakuto's head.
Hakuto winced from the pain, instinctively shrinking back. He quickly nodded in agreement, finally focusing on the game.
Several minutes later, Ginko studied the board with a serious expression, murmuring to herself.
"Seventy moves..."
After a long silence, she let out a quiet sigh and spoke in a low voice.
"I lost."
Hakuto wiped away a thin layer of sweat from his forehead, then looked at Ginko and offered her some encouragement.
"Ginko, you're really strong—stronger than anyone I've ever played against!"
Hearing this, Ginko slowly stood up and walked over to Hakuto, staring at him with visible displeasure.
Hakuto, confused, braced himself and asked cautiously,
"What's wrong?"
Ginko looked him straight in the eye. Because of their height difference, even with Hakuto seated, she wasn't much taller than him.
Seeing his puzzled expression, she mercilessly lifted her foot and stepped down on his thigh.
"Do you know why I'm stronger than anyone you've ever faced?"
Hakuto let out an awkward chuckle. Though he already knew the answer, he still played dumb and replied,
"Because Ginko is just that strong?"
"That's because, aside from me, you haven't played against anyone else in years!"
As she spoke, she pressed down harder with her foot. Hakuto could feel the pressure on his thigh.
Honestly, how strong could a middle school girl be? Especially when she wasn't even using full force.
Even though he felt no real pain, Hakuto put on a pained expression and pleaded dramatically,
"Please, Lady Ginko, have mercy..."
Hearing this, Ginko scoffed and withdrew her foot—still clad in sleek black stockings—before sitting back down across from Hakuto.
"Hakuto… do you know what it means to win in just 70 moves?"
"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."
"Don't call me that in such a weird way."
Ginko tapped Hakuto's forehead with her fan, then began explaining.
"A normal match lasts around 130 moves..."
"But finishing in seventy..."
She hesitated for a long moment as she looked at Hakuto's clueless expression before continuing,
"That usually only happens in a completely one-sided game."
"When I say 'one-sided,' I mean something like a first-dan pro crushing an amateur."
Hakuto listened to Ginko's words in confusion. After a long silence, he finally asked,
"But Ginko, don't you also win matches in just a few minutes?"
At this, Ginko locked her gaze onto him, staring intensely.
"So, Hakuto, are you comparing me to those female pro players?"
Seeing the dangerous look on her face, Hakuto quickly corrected himself.
"Of course not... I just meant that you have an incredible talent for shogi."
Ginko's expression softened—she was clearly pleased by the compliment.
In truth, Hakuto fully understood what she meant.
After all, Ginko was hailed as the most gifted female shogi player in a thousand years in Sakuragaoka.
At just 14 years old, she had already become the strongest female player of the era.
And given a little more time, the strongest of this era would be rewritten as the strongest in a thousand years.
The White Princess of Naniwa… a truly terrifying presence.
However, Hakuto still didn't quite understand why Ginko was so shocked by the idea of winning in just 70 moves.
After all, most of the people he played against rarely lasted more than 100 moves against him.
And even when they did, it was mostly back when he had just started learning shogi.
"By the way, Ginko, your junior should be competing for the Ryuo(Dragon King) title soon, right?"
At that moment, Hakuto casually changed the subject in an attempt to steer the conversation away.
Ginko gave a small nod and replied calmly,
"Two weeks from now. Tokyo venue."
She had to admit, her junior, Kuzuryuu Yaichi , had an impressive talent—even she was moved by it.
But then again, there was always someone stronger out there... Ginko cast a fleeting glance at Hakuto.
She firmly believed that the person who had been playing shogi with her for ten years now—whether in terms of talent or sheer strength—was not just among the strongest of this era...
No. He was the strongest.
And she didn't feel like that was an exaggeration at all.
Due to various circumstances, Hakuto had been stuck in an information cocoon when it came to shogi.
He had no formal teacher, nor had he ever undergone systematic training.
His strength seemed to have grown entirely on its own, as if it had simply materialized—a phenomenon others could only envy.
Shogi was a game of constant learning, of growing through endless matches.
But Ginko had never seen Hakuto study a single shogi book. Even the most basic rules, he had picked up just by playing against his elementary school classmates.
And over the past ten years, the strongest opponent he had ever faced was none other than Ginko herself.
How could she even begin to describe this situation…?
Ginko thought for a long while before finally reaching a conclusion.
If all shogi players were like fish in the ocean—
Then amateur players were the small fish and shrimp, while professional players were the larger fish.
Players with world-shocking talent, like herself, were the most dangerous predators in the sea—tiger sharks, giant squid, whales—each a ruler in their own domain.
But Hakuto was different.
He lurked in the deep sea, a being so vast that few could even catch a glimpse of his true form.
If Ginko was the killer whale, a dominant force of the ocean, then Hakuto was a serpent...
And not just any ordinary snake.
No, the image in Ginko's mind was clear—he was Jörmungandr, the World Serpent.
A monstrous being so enormous it could coil around the entire Earth.
That was the kind of existence Hakuto was in her eyes.
As she watched Hakuto quietly resetting the board, Ginko couldn't help but imagine—
What if Hakuto entered the Shoureikai (the professional training league)?
Perhaps all shogi players would live under his shadow, forced to marvel at his monstrous talent.
"That wouldn't be so bad either..."
Ginko muttered to herself as she gazed at Hakuto.
She had brought it up many times before, but he remained completely uninterested in the idea of going pro.
It was as if the only reason he continued playing shogi was exactly as he had always said—
"I only keep playing because of you, Ginko."
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