By mid-January, Rei also received a nomination invitation for the Japan Annual Best Comic Award.
Of course, the arrival of this nomination did not exceed Rei's expectations.
In fact, if anyone in all of Japan who paid even a little attention to comics were asked to choose the best comic of the year in their hearts, nine out of ten would choose Hikaru no Go.
After all, both its achievements and its reputation were undeniable. Among all the comic works born this year, Hikaru no Go completely dominated its contemporaries in every aspect.
Every professional in the Japanese comic industry, including Rei himself, understood this clearly.
The nomination was merely a formality. Even if he popped champagne at halftime, no one could say anything.
For fans of Hikaru no Go, however, their recent focus was not on awards, but on the plot itself.
It could be said that these past few weeks were the most agonizing period for fans since the serialization of Hikaru no Go began.
Although the comic's pacing was entirely normal, fans who were desperately waiting to see the outcome of the match between Sai and Toya Koyo could no longer endure it.
For several consecutive days, they flooded Rei's creator account with comments, demanding that he stop dragging things out and update more chapters next week.
At school, Rei had completely become a celebrity.
Every day after class, large numbers of students from other grades and classes gathered outside his classroom, craning their necks just to catch a glimpse of him.
As for things like underclassmen confessing to Rei, just like in manga clichés, it happened on average once every half a month.
Of course, most people paid attention to Rei for only one reason.
They wanted to know what would happen next in Hikaru no Go.
The Japanese comic industry had deep roots, and young people were the main audience for manga. Even within schools, there were enormous numbers of fervent Hikaru no Go fans.
They waited for Rei every day with no ulterior motive. It was simply the pure enthusiasm of fans toward the creator of Hikaru no Go.
As for students who didn't read manga, they often watched TV dramas or anime instead.
Coincidentally, the most popular anime of the current season and the most popular TV drama of the past two seasons were both Hikaru no Go.
In today's schools, students who had not been influenced by Hikaru no Go were actually in the minority.
Even some older teachers, who still held traditional views and scoffed at comics, watched the TV drama adaptation of Hikaru no Go with great interest. They proudly told others that Shirogane, the creator of the series, was a student at their school.
Outside the school, things were even more exaggerated.
Most fans would not go so far as to block the school gates, but Japan's population was large. Even a very small percentage of overly enthusiastic fans amounted to an enormous number.
As a result, every day at dismissal time, nearby police officers came to the school gates to maintain order and ensure Rei would not be surrounded or harmed.
Rei could only apologize repeatedly to the officers. There was no real solution.
He couldn't exactly transfer schools with the university entrance exams approaching. All he could do was grit his teeth and continue commuting every day.
However, while Rei was being overwhelmed by fan enthusiasm as Hikaru no Go approached a critical point in its plot, something else was happening behind the scenes.
At the Japan Go Association, the famous match from Rei's previous life, the game between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol, which Rei intended to adapt into Hikaru no Go, was brought by Rika to her master's school for research, with Rei's permission.
Although Rika's own skill level was only average among professional Go players, female professionals were relatively rare, and women were still at a disadvantage in Go.
More importantly, Rika's teacher was a towering figure in the Japanese Go world of the previous generation.
Many of the Go records she had previously collaborated on for Hikaru no Go were completed with the assistance of highly skilled senior and junior disciples, as well as her master, because her own strength alone was insufficient.
But this time was different.
When Rika brought this Go record back, the expressions of everyone studying it changed dramatically.
The playing style and techniques from Rei's previous life did show slight differences compared to modern Japanese Go, but overall, they were not outrageous.
Rika herself did not feel anything too shocking. She only thought the game was interesting and impressive.
But among her fellow disciples and teachers, several were professional 9-dan players.
Just by looking at the board, they broke out in a cold sweat.
The level of the player controlling the white stones was already terrifying, clearly possessing world-class skill.
And yet, despite this, White was suppressed by Black throughout the game, completely unable to find a solution, falling into a massive disadvantage during the middle game.
In fact, any professional Go player with sufficient strength could tell that once the game entered the middle phase, White had virtually no chance left.
"Brilliant!"
At one point, Rika's teacher finally understood the intention behind the empty triangle move, and Zenji's eyes lit up.
At over fifty years old, he had essentially semi-retired from the Go world. Go is an extremely demanding game that places immense pressure on calculation ability. Even if experience accumulates with age, how could the reaction speed of a fifty-year-old brain compare to that of younger players?
Go matches have time limits. In the same amount of time, you might think thirty moves ahead, while a younger opponent could think sixty or seventy.
However, in a non-match setting like this, with ample time to study the record, an old veteran like Zenji could see far more than those younger 9-dan players.
The more he looked, the more excited he became.
In his eyes, the strength of the black stones was a despair as deep as night itself, yet this move by the white stones was like a blade of light tearing through the darkness.
He had played Go his entire life and had never made such a move.
"Who exactly are these two players?" Zenji asked, turning to his disciple.
"The player using white… even if I faced him in my prime, I would probably lose. And yet he was suppressed throughout the game by the one playing black. If not for this move… this game, this..." Zenji's voice trembled with excitement.
"I don't know," Rika replied. "Teacher Shirogane, whom I work with, said the game was played by his friend and another person. Neither of them wishes to reveal their identities, so he absolutely won't disclose any information."
Rika looked somewhat bewildered.
Zenji's expression dimmed slightly upon hearing this. Then he spoke again.
"What a pity. But Rika, why did you bring this game to our club?"
"It's just that Teacher Shirogane said his Go skill is limited, and you, Teacher, also know my skill level. If he's going to serialize this game in the manga, he's afraid that the manga audience won't understand it. So he plans to invite you, a top Go player, to help record a video explaining this game, to help Hikaru no Go manga fans understand this move, and why it can be called The Hand of God in the manga. Of course, he will cover the costs."
"The Hand of God…"
Zenji was about to retort that such a thing didn't exist, but he couldn't bring himself to.
Because if he himself didn't possess that level of skill, how could he refute it?
Especially since that particular move was now appearing more and more vividly in his mind.
"I understand. You can leave this matter to me," Zenji said softly to the disciples beside Rika.
Rika's expression froze.
?
Is Master really that agreeable?
"Rika, continue to cooperate well with that kid named Shirogane," Zenji said.
"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, the benefits that Hikaru no Go has brought to the Japan's Go world are something that five world championship trophies can't compare to. Just for the contribution he has made to the Go industry, I will grant that kid's request. And tell him not to mention money, I will only participate in Hikaru no Go by helping out for free."
Rika's expression became solemn upon hearing this.
"I understand."
"And…" Zenji coughed.
"Tell that kid named Shirogane that I hope there will be more of Sai in the later plot. The TV series seems to be all about that kid named Hikaru playing Go, which is boring."
Rika's expression became extremely strange.
You, a top Go player in the country, are also following the Hikaru no Go TV series every week?!
Doesn't that mean the Go records I helped design for Hikaru no Go are being seen by my teacher every week?
This… is a bit embarrassing!
He won't discover how bad I am, will he?
A few days passed, and time came to Wednesday again.
Starting from 6 a.m., a large number of Hikaru no Go fans, without sleeping, began actively participating in official website forums and discussion boards.
"Just waiting for the bookstore to open at 8:30."
"I hope Teacher Shirogane, you don't lose your mind and let Toya Koyo win! If you do, I'll definitely rush to your school and scold you."
"Actually, I don't want Toya Koyo to lose either! This character is quite charming. Can't Go end in a draw?"
"The reason why Black gives komi as 7.5 points instead of an integer is precisely to prevent a draw!"
"It's not that a draw can't happen. In special circumstances, Go can actually end in a draw. For example, if a triple ko occurs and the game can't be finished, it's ruled a draw. But there's no way Teacher Shirogane would design the game like that, right?"
"I completely can't guess the direction of this manga's story now. Do you guys think Sai can really find The Hand of God in this game?"
"He should be able to, right? If he can't find it in a game against Toya Koyo, then Sai might never find it."
"But if he does find it, where will this manga go?"
"If he finds it… then he finds it. Sai fulfills his wish and continues happily playing Go with Hikaru."
"That makes sense!"
"Then I hope Sai can find the Hand of God he wants in this game!"
"Teacher Shirogane, I'm cheering for you! Even though it's useless to say this now, I hope that the chapter you drew weeks ago won't disappoint me today!"