Full-time cartoonist - #103 - Chapter 102 Hot Topics of Public Opinion

“Why?” Oda asked.

Higashino Hibiki said: “In such a hot weather, we don’t live in a basement, why would we buy a dehumidifier?”

“Yes.” Oda nodded confusedly.

He asked with some worry: “What about reimbursement?”

Higashikata sighed, “Okay… you can save it for next year…”

He took out 80,000 yen and handed it to Oda: “I am very touched that you can consider the studio. Thank you, Oda-san.”

“I should be the one saying thank you.” Oda burst into tears, “I learned a lot from Mr. Tori Akino. You and Akimiya-san always taught me, thank you!”

“Let’s work hard together, on the jump platform,” Hibiki Higashikata patted him on the shoulder.

“Um!”

Looking at the teacher in front of him, Oda nodded.

Tori Akino has always recognized himself very much and given him a lot of motivation. He usually draws comics and taught himself professional skills. I am really lucky.

In Tori Akino Studio, everyone is a friend and there is no distinction between superior and inferior. Oda sees this in his eyes and keeps it in his heart.

However, it would be great if one day my serial works could surpass Tori Akino.

…

It’s July 20th, and the professional Go competition is halfway through.

This time, Xiaochun completely lost.

Counting the previous ones, he lost a total of seven games.

According to the rules of professional Go competitions, he can already announce his withdrawal from the game.

Looking around the examination room, I saw that Odagiri had also ended the battle, and the child had won again.

This month, Odagiri only lost two out of twelve games. Among the contestants, ranked among the top three.

It is very possible to become a professional chess player.

And including the qualifiers, his chess skills have continued to improve in more than a month.

Xiaochun has always seen this.

He waved to Odagiri and walked towards the door.

After leaving the competition venue, he turned around, and sure enough Odagiri followed him.

Xiaochun threw the helmet to him, “Come on?”

“What are you doing? Uncle.” Odagiri asked in confusion.

Xiaochun said: “Don’t you want to go for a ride?”

“Yeah, I’ve forgotten so many games.”

Odagiri sat behind the wheel, hugging Koharu’s waist, enjoying the whistling wind.

Ten minutes later, the two came to a nearby park, parked the car, and took a stroll in the park.

Xiaochun couldn’t help but asked curiously: “How long have you been learning Go?”

“It’s been more than a year,” Odagiri thought for a while, “I became interested in Go after watching “The Soul of the Game” in March last year.”

“”Soul of Go”?” Koharu smiled and touched Odagiri’s head, feeling that his journey to Go was not over yet.

The new generation born because of him may rule the future Go world.

“Well, “The Soul of Chess” was born because of my uncle.” Odagiri raised his head and said.

This is also the reason why he is so close to Xiaochun.

In the summer of 1993, if Koharu hadn’t guided Tori Akino in the future, there might have been no “Soul of Go” and he wouldn’t have been able to get in touch with Go.

I can’t imagine myself without playing Go.

“Have you seen Bird Qiuye?” Xiaochun asked with a smile.

“I’ve seen him before.” Odagiri waved his hands and strode forward, “I met him at the book signing event. He is a very handsome and gentle big brother.”

“Yes.” Xiaochun nodded and said complicatedly: “When I first met Tori Akino, he couldn’t play Go, but now he can actually beat professional Go players. He is really a genius.”

“I have witnessed his growth with my own eyes, just like I saw you. Come on, Odagiri, I put my own Go path on you, and you must not fail.”

Odagiri looked at him complicatedly.

Not being able to become a professional chess player is really a very painful thing, and he feels the same way.

So he nodded and said seriously: “Yes, I will definitely do it.”

In the garden, the two people walked and stopped.

Talking about Odagiri’s growth.

“When I first started playing chess, because there were not many opponents who could play chess, and there was no teacher to guide me, my strength improved very slowly.

After a while, “Soul of Go” was serialized and sai appeared, and I realized that there was actually online Go.

You can play against chess players thousands of miles away.

This was the beginning of my progress. After a while, I met a chess friend on the Internet, who could also be said to be my first teacher.

Playing chess with him was the time when I made the fastest progress in my career besides being a college student.

Because of him, I barely qualified to be an auditor.

In fact, I have always wanted to thank him properly. After the vocational exam, I plan to contact Mr. Higashino again. “

At first, Xiaochun kept nodding to show that he was listening.

Seeing that he was talking for a long time, he picked up the water glass and took a sip.

As soon as I swallowed it, I heard the words “Teacher Higashino”.

Suddenly, it sprayed out in one breath, like a watering can, so finely that in mid-air, I even saw a rainbow.

“Who? Who are you talking about?” he asked in disbelief.

“Teacher Higashino, Mr. Hibiki Higashi.” Odagiri repeated the two sentences.

“This world is really small…” Xiaochun murmured to himself.

“It turns out that besides me, there are others who have entrusted their path as a chess player to you.”

He shook his head, feeling very emotional.

“Higashiya also has his own troubles. It’s true that he can’t spare time to play chess due to his work. Well, I’m balanced.”

After putting down the last stone, Xiaochun felt relaxed.

“Do you know Mr. Higashino?” Odagiri asked in surprise.

“Of course we know each other, we are very familiar with each other.” He waved his hand, “Where are you going? I’ll take you there.”

“Go back to Ki-in,” Odagiri said.

“Uncle Xiaoharu, who is Mr. Higashino?”

“Ask him then, he will definitely give you a surprise.” Xiaochun remained mysterious.

“Tch,” Odagiri said unhappily, “I will know one day.”

…

Riding motorcycles, they returned to the competition venue.

But from a distance, he saw a reporter at the entrance of the chess academy.

Maybe he came to take pictures of today’s professional examination.

Xiaochun didn’t care.

Worried about affecting the other party, he stopped thirty meters away.

But he watched the other person walking towards him.

“Hello, I am a reporter from TV Tokyo. Can I spend some of your time?”

The reporter turned the microphone to Xiaochun who was in a daze.

After reacting, he began to be interviewed by reporters.

The story with Tori Akino and his own Go career. More is the evaluation of the work “Soul of Chess”.

Koharu became more and more confused, but Odagiri behind him was very excited and attracted the attention of reporters.

When asked about the relationship, Xiaochun answered truthfully.

Unexpectedly, the reporter became excited and called them the real Tsubaki and Shindo Hikaru.

After the reporter left, Xiaochun had not yet recovered.

“Uncle, she called me Shindo Hikari!” Odagiri was very happy.

…

In August, Hibiki Higashino saw this interview on the TV station and almost choked.

After asking director Tetsuya Endo, I realized that it was originally for the promotion of the second season of “Ghost”.

Unexpectedly, I found a good gimmick.

“Such a dramatic thing will definitely be explosive!” Tetsuya Endo said happily.

“The ratings will be great!”

Just as he said, since this news was broadcast, more and more news has been broadcast centered on Koharu and Odagiri.

For example, in a Go club, I interviewed old customers about their opinions on Xiaochun.

“Xiaochun has been playing chess very hard. In our club, if there is an opponent, he will play chess. If there is no opponent, he will memorize the chess records. He treats himself like a college student. He is very hard-working. In order to take the professional Go exam, he gave up his job and went to the construction site. Moving bricks. He’s really amazing.”

A gray-haired old man said this.

On the other side, there was also an interview with Shinoda 4th Dan about his views on Odagiri.

“He is indeed a child who has made rapid progress and also likes to play chess. There are only a dozen or so dedicated students in the college every year like him. He has only learned chess for more than a year. Who does he look like in “The Soul of Chess”? If so, it’s Shindo Hikaru as expected.”

With this interview, the popularity is getting bigger and bigger.

At the construction site where Koharu was, Odagiri’s parents couldn’t escape.

Even here, there are reporters coming to interview Higashino Hibiki.

It’s late August.

The three participants who have obtained professional chess player qualifications have already been selected.

The youngest among them is fourteen-year-old Odagiri!

In this regard, the Kiyuan directly called him in his own newspaper – “The real Shindo Hikaru, Odagiri Hatsudan.”

It is really rare that this young man is at the center of public opinion and his mood has not been affected. He has maintained a good record of only two defeats and has become the first stage of his career.

During the interview, the reporter asked: “Excuse me, Odagiri Shodan, is there a Fujiwara Sawei in you?”

“I wish I had,” Odagiri said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t. But when I was playing chess on the Internet, there was a gentleman who taught me like a teacher. He was probably my Fujiwara Sao.”

The reporter asked for the other party’s account name.

Odagiri kept silent.

Worry about how it will affect the other person’s life.

Recently, he has been so annoyed that he has been delayed in his daily Go study.

Because this time he has entered the first stage of his career, the topic has become hot again.

Higashino Hibiki also saw Koharu on the TV show. He sat stiffly and answered the host’s questions.

There was no freshness in the process, but the ratings actually increased significantly.

So more and more programs began to invite Xiaochun.

Later, chessboard manufacturers came to Xiaochun to advertise.

But he refused. He thought that he was not even a professional player and did not have the qualifications.

During the busiest time, he appeared on Yamazaki Ming’s second segment of the show and then never appeared again.

The news reporter kept following up and discovered that he had returned to the countryside and taught children who wanted to learn Go.

Became a teacher.

The contrast was so shocking that he refused to be interviewed ever since.

It has finally come to an end, but the news that the second season of “Soul of Chess” was released in October has remained in the hearts of many people.