Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master Chapter 431: The Hundred-Man Slaughter
Previously on Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master...
『Upper right corner star point! Upper right small knight approach! 3-3 invasion! The forcing move! 5-5!』
“Uoooooh, take that! And this! Hiyah!”
Why? Why am I sprinting through the streets of Japone while playing Go?
“Whoa… go get ’em, Big brother~”
“This is quite a sight, isn’t it…”
Over a hundred long tables with Go boards were lined up in the middle of the road. On each board, skilled Japone Go players, young and old, both townspeople and kingdom samurai, sat playing against Tre’ainar through me.
A simultaneous hundred-board match against the Go players of the Japone Kingdom.
I dashed from one end to the other, placing black stones exactly where Tre’ainar instructed, then returned to the start to make the next move. Repeat.
“Guh, ngh……”
“Wh, what is this? My formation is being split apart!?”“Incredible… this is a guidance game… he’s testing me.”
“Hoh! To grant me a handicap stone, how many years has it been… Hah!? This move!?”
“Ugh, to play at this level while managing a hundred-board match against even me…”
Every time I make a move, the opponents facing me react one by one, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to all of them.
Anyway, all I can do is focus on not messing up Tre’ainar’s instructions as they fly at me without pause.
『Fufu, excellent! Playing 100 consecutive games would be impossible without the child’s stamina and concentration. The rhythm is adequate as well. I can enjoy this without reservation. There are some considerably challenging players among them…… likely professionals…… and the master of the one called Makushita is quite impressive as well! Tis been ages since last my skills have tingled so!』
Tre’ainar seemed thoroughly pleased with my efforts.
Wait… how did this happen?
Well……
“Huh?! Wh …… what is this?”
All I did was play one game of Go with the guy named Makushita. That’s all.
It’s not like I showed off the Great Magic Spiral or any other technique to intimidate the crowd.
And yet……
“…I thought he might be a devil of Go…but he’s actually a god.”
“Truly, it was as if we witnessed the strokes of a god……
“We were treated to something truly splendid……”
“A god…… …… ugh.”
The people of Japone—townspeople and Kingdom Samurai alike— knelt down and bowed to me.
No, seriously, it was just too abnormal.
“Whoa… whoa~……”
“Big brother… you ‘both’ might have gone a bit too far this time……”
Both Espie and Slayer were totally freaked out.
“…Shinobu’s discernment was genuine, after all… For such an entity to exist…”
And even Shinobu’s brother was moved to his knees. Why is this happening?
Anyway, the passion the Japonnese had for the game of Go and their reactions were far beyond my imagination.
And the troubling part? These guys don’t stop at just being moved.
“Excuse me, Onii-san…… no, the Great God of Go……”
“Huh?! G, God?! Me?”
“Please grant this old man’s dying wish…… if you would …… as a parting gift for the afterlife, play one game with me.”
To my surprise, he bowed his head and asked me to play with him too.
Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two people.
“That’s not fair! Me too!”
“Wait, I’m Makushita-kun’s sensei!”
“Then what about me? I placed in the Go tournament the other day…”
“Hey hey, me too! I wanna play tooooo!”
One after the other, requests to play poured in. Those who had been kneeling now insisted that they wanted to play, swarming around me and each claiming to be the one who would do so.
“Wow, hey, hey, calm down!”
“Ugh, you guys, just back off already! You’re making Big brother uncomfortable!
“Honestly, I won’t tolerate anyone causing trouble for Brother.”
I’ll be crushed if this keeps up.
Even Espie and Slayer realized that things were getting out of hand and stepped in to stop them.
But, their words fell on deaf ears among the excited people of Japone.
I never imagined they’d go this far just to play against Tre’ainar… I’m not that good at Go, so I don’t know, but I guess it must mean that much to the Japonese people.
『Fuhahahahaha, dear me, what helpless bunch of humans you are… willing to go to such lengths just to face me?』
Tre’ainar grinned, not seeming entirely displeased.
Wait, during the Great War, if Tre’ainar had just demonstrated his Go skills instead of fighting Japone, wouldn’t the Demon King Army have won……?
『Hmm, it cannot be helped. Child, let us indulge them.』
「Eh, eh? No, even if you say that…… taking on all these people, how long would that take!? Even if it’s an instant kill, playing one-on-one with each of them would be impossible…」
『What~, Then we can just play them all at the same time.』
「…… Huh?」
And so, Tre’ainar cheerfully proposed……
And so it was decided……
“Guh…… I resign.”
“…… I have no moves left.”
“No way…… a complete defeat……”
“How can someone this strong exist? There’s no way to win…”
“Hopeless… but, what is this? This feeling of refreshment…….”
“Completely outmatched… yet, it makes me want to play Go even more… and it makes me love it even more…”
That’s how it turned out.
We had volunteers set up Go boards for a hundred simultaneous matches.
I never imagined I’d end up running around like this.
『Fufufufu, truly impressive, Japone. Even the onlookers provide sound, well-structured moves… It appears there are new standards I was unaware of, quite illuminating… I shall absorb it all… Fuhahaha, to learn and grow even in death… This is an unexpected development, even for me!』Even so, Tre’ainar faced this multitude of opponents without the slightest confusion, let alone a struggle—he emerged victorious in every single match.It was, quite literally, a hundred-man slaughter.Furthermore, he didn’t merely overpower them with brute force.He engaged them in ways that offered lessons, experimented with new techniques for amusement, and left them thoroughly satisfied, perhaps even deeply moved.“…… Astounding… Surely some of those players were professionals, right?”“Y-yes, that’s correct… but this Onii-san is also incredibly skilled, isn’t he? Moving that fast and playing every game without a single error…”While I was participating, I remained stunned, yet gradually, a sense of happiness began to bloom within me.Espie and Slayer grasped Tre’ainar’s presence, but they could neither perceive him visually nor comprehend his words.Not a single soul in Japone was aware of Tre’ainar’s existence.Yet, in this manner, I managed to allow numerous individuals to sense Tre’ainar’s presence.Though only I could see Tre’ainar, his existence was undeniable.Thanks to the Japone people’s overwhelmingly enthusiastic reactions, I, too, was able to truly feel that fact once more.“… This is the move of hope that reshapes the world… There exists a profounder realm within the world of Go that I have yet to uncover… I never imagined I would discover it in this fashion…”And before I realized it, only one opponent remained. However, even that particular game was rapidly drawing to a close.Moreover, judging by the opponent’s reactions, the situation appeared utterly unshakeable.Despite this, not a single trace of unease marred his expression.『Hmm, so this individual is the Master of that Makushita… a remarkably fine player indeed. Several levels superior to Shinobu… A beautiful game record has been etched. This one will undoubtedly grow even stronger. Continue your efforts.』From the profoundly content Tre’ainar came accolades for his opponent.And his opponent, too, ceased his play and bowed his head respectfully.“Phew…… I would relish the chance to continue, but… I have no desire to tarnish this exquisite game record with any further wasted moves… I suppose this is sufficient… I concede!”As the sun began its descent, we had just accomplished the “Japone Hundred-Man Slaughter.“However, even though the term “Hundred-Man Slaughter” carried a violent connotation, for the Japone people…“Unbelievable… absolutely incredible, this foreigner! Who could he be!?”“Ah, I long to play again… oh, but perhaps it would be presumptuous for someone as inept as I…”“Well, a move just occurred to me while playing…”“Oh, me too! Hey, since we’re at it, why don’t we lay out all the games we played against him and review them?”“Splendid idea! Rather than rushing into a rematch, let’s first reflect upon this encounter!”“Actually, what if we were to compile all the game records from this multi-board match and create a book?”“Whoa~~~, I’m already getting excited just contemplating it!”Everyone’s eyes sparkled with this infectious enthusiasm.Well, it’s a sentiment that is difficult for me to fully grasp, but witnessing their sheer delight, perhaps allowing Tre’ainar to engage them was indeed a worthwhile endeavor.Tre’ainar also appeared to be in exceptionally high spirits…“Ugh… a complete defeat, I must admit. I still have so much to learn… Even sensei… was utterly vanquished, I say…”“Hmm? Ah, Makushita…”“That Shinobu… ugh… my feelings for him were apparently not misplaced… I acknowledge it, I declare…”Makushita uttered this with a solemn expression.Come to think of it, that was the original point of contention, wasn’t it?Still, when it comes to Go, it is Tre’ainar’s prowess, not mine, that is on display, and I feel terribly apologetic for the misunderstanding.Setting that aside, when he first appeared, I perceived him as quite an arrogant individual, but I never anticipated he would become so humble when the subject turned to Go.In Japone culture, the game of Go is not to be taken lightly…“Speaking of which, isn’t that Onii-chan Shinobu-chan’s special someone? So then… if Shinobu-chan and that Onii-chan were to marry and reside in Japone from now on… wouldn’t that mean they could play with us again?”“”””Ah…………””””Those were the words that someone present unexpectedly murmured.Who uttered them was not the primary concern.The issue was that those very words…“No, don’t just go ‘Ah’!”…had somehow resonated with the Japone populace, eliciting a collective response of, “That’s actually a rather good notion.”“Hahahaha, that’s quite a predicament, Big brother. Well, I believe Shinobu dear would make a fine wife… but residing here, though ~”“Indeed, we are on the cusp of embarking on an adventure… Permanent settlement seems… Well, perhaps having it as a temporary base might be acceptable, I suppose……”And now, even Espie and Slayer were reacting in such a manner—give me a break.No, I mean, I wouldn’t object to Shinobu either… but I probably shouldn’t voice such sentiments so carelessly… considering Kron and the others must also be taken into account……“A-anyway, it’s grown quite late, so we ought to be heading back! We journeyed all this way for a social outing, and the sun is nearing its descent.”“””””EEEEEEEEEEEEEHH~~~~~”””””“I said, stop with the ‘Eeeh’!”Who would have ever guessed it would unfold this way.
My assumption was that the entire nation languished beneath the king's oppressive rule, causing widespread suffering. Yet, it appears the populace here retains the capacity for joy and merriment.
Witnessing this vibrant aspect of their lives offered me a sense of… unexpected solace.
However, to be entirely candid, it would be prudent to avoid igniting further complications, conclude our stay prematurely, and depart from this place.
Perhaps now, I might be able to discreetly extricate myself, with the incident concerning Shinobu’s brother conveniently forgotten…