Shogi Reborn: Mind's Gambit

The first match between Ai Hinatsuru and Ten'i Yashajin began with Ai taking the first move. Over the past few days, Ai had been playing against other kids at the dojo, improving her skills dramatically. Using her advantage as the first player, she launched an aggressive offense, which Ten'i skillfully defended, eventually dismantling the attack.

"Is her style similar to Kumogohan-san's, where she neutralizes attacks with defense?"

"Not quite. She started as a defensive player, dodging and deflecting attacks. But recently, she's shifted toward a more balanced, defense-oriented style."

"Oh, that really reflects her mentor's preferences, doesn't it?"

"I try to encourage an attacking style in our training games, but she just won't become an offensive player."

As their mentors casually chatted on the sidelines, the match turned into a fierce battle. When this happens, the difference in knowledge narrows, and the raw skill and depth of reading become decisive factors.

Ai thought, "Everything's going just as I planned." Meanwhile, Ten'i thought, "I've let her think it's going as planned."

Ten'i had decided to draw out Ai's full potential before shutting her down. However, this approach unwittingly opened Pandora's box.

"Wow, the game has shifted straight from the opening to an intense endgame with sharp moves. No wonder the Dragon King took her on as his disciple."

"What's amazing about Ai is her ability to take the game to a decisive finish. I doubt there's anyone her age who can match her in the endgame."

"It's rare for you to speak so highly of someone. But you know, Ten'i is formidable in the endgame too."

The two Ais analyzed the chaotic board, calculating their next moves. The balance slightly favored Ten'i, thanks to her advantage from the opening, but Ai's relentless pursuit was astonishing. Seeing Ai swaying her head as she muttered, "This, then this, then this…" made Oak Tree mutter "Wow…" in awe. But neither Ai nor Ten'i paid him any attention—they were utterly absorbed in the game.

The match was neck and neck, with neither player yielding an inch. But then, something unexpected happened to Ten'i.

"What… what is this?"

Ten'i, who could handle up to seven simultaneous games without issue, suddenly felt her brain redirecting all its resources to predict the developments of this single match. It started to feel overwhelming. While she had sometimes found a single game insufficiently engaging, this was the first time she'd experienced such an anomaly.

"Am I… sensing the power my mentor talked about? I can see the effectiveness of the pieces intuitively?"

She began to see multiple board positions overlaid on the actual shogi board. These phantom boards moved on their own, and the positions she was trying to analyze seemed to materialize as a palpable sensation.

At that moment, the alarm signaling her remaining time began to beep. It was a blitz match with limited time. Flustered, Ten'i grabbed a knight from Ai's captured pieces and placed it on her side of the board.

"Huh?"

"…What?"

The moment Ten'i made the move, she realized she had committed a massive blunder. Taking her opponent's piece and playing it as her own was an unprecedented foul. Yet, in this room, this kind of foul wasn't entirely unheard of.

"Oak Tree! You've turned your disciple into a living saijin!"

"Calm down, Kuzuryu. This was probably the first time she's experienced this. She'll get used to it eventually. Besides, that knight placement will actually happen in about ten moves. Still, a foul is a foul. This game goes to Ai."

When Saijin Rai faced Sora Ginji in the past, he committed a similar foul, placing a piece that was destined to be his captured piece onto his opponent's board. Ten'i's foul mirrored that incident uncannily.

Oak Tree had already identified the cause. Having grown accustomed to multitasking, Ten'i's brain had begun functioning autonomously when she focused on a single position. It enhanced her primary thinking processes with supportive mental tasks. For Oak Tree, this was a critical milestone, and Ten'i had just passed it.

"Talent is a Terrifying Thing"

"Talent truly is terrifying. It's far quicker than when I mastered it."

(This speed is insane. Youth really is something special.)

"…You realize that remark about youth would come across as seriously creepy, right? Good thing you didn't actually say it out loud."

To Oak Tree's surprise, Ten'i began harnessing her brain's "resource overflow" far sooner than expected. In her subsequent matches against Ai, she struggled to control her newfound ability but still managed to dominate, winning five games in rapid succession.

It didn't take long for all eight of Ten'i Yashajin's accounts to reach the sixth dan ranking.

Ten'i's debut at the dojo might have had its ups and downs, but overall, it seemed to go smoothly. Aside from losing her first match to Ai, she won every other game and even awakened to a new level of skill. She cleared the challenge of simultaneous seven-board play at the fifth-dan level and is now working on eight-board play at the sixth-dan level. She's beginning to catch up to Sora Ginji.

…Honestly, her growth is astonishing. For a third-grader to already possess the skills of someone at the first dan level in the Shōrei-kai is mind-blowing. I'm running out of ways to describe how insane this is.

Initially, I thought it'd be great if she could manage six-board play at the fourth-dan level by the time the May training exam came around. But here she is, having already cleared seven-board play at the fifth-dan level. Her progress is just too rapid.

At this rate, it might make more sense for her to join the Shōrei-kai at the same time Ai does, instead of waiting until May. Or maybe she doesn't even need to—she's likely to crush the preliminaries for the Mynavi Open and qualify directly.

However, that's only if she's aiming to become a women's shogi player. If she's aiming to become a professional player, things will be different. The Shōrei-kai entrance exams take place every August, and with her current skill level, Ten'i could likely pass the third-kyū exam. By the time of the exam, she might even be ready to attempt the first-kyū level.

"In any case, she should enter the Mynavi Women's Open for now. Speaking of which, it's time for her to give me an answer."

"It's a choice between the Shōrei-kai and becoming a women's shogi player, right? …I'll join the Shōrei-kai."

"Ah, that's the look of someone thinking, 'If I stay in the cushy world of women's shogi, my talent will rot.'"

(Well, it's true. This is a world where even someone who quit the Shōrei-kai at sixth kyū can win a title. Compared to that, the women's shogi world really is cushy.)

"…Seriously, do NOT say that out loud. Even Ten'i hasn't said it."

(I know, I know.)

"Alright then. But for now, go enter the Mynavi Women's Open and face Sora Ginji."

"…So you're saying I need to become the challenger for the Queen title?"

"If you can't manage that, you won't survive in the Shōrei-kai. Sora Ginji doesn't play in the preliminaries. If you can't handle the other women players, don't expect to climb the ranks in the Shōrei-kai either."

"Can Ten'i make it through a single-elimination tournament?"

(That's questionable. In the original story, she did, but I'm not sure if the current Ten'i is at that level yet. Is she guaranteed to make it through if she's Shōrei-kai first-dan level?)

"The level of women's shogi players is rising every year. Even if she has the skill, her mental state could be a problem."

(Still, I think she'll pull through. Watching Kuzuryu become the Dragon King convinced me of that.)

With that, Ten'i decided to take the Shōrei-kai entrance exam. Until then, I'll teach her everything I can. And if she can take the Queen title on top of that, it'll be proof that my guidance wasn't wrong.

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