OOO

"Intelligence Without Ambition is a Bird without Wings!"- Salvador Dali

OOO

(Masamune pov)

I looked at the Japanese-style building, which seemed as if it was from ancient times, truly a piece of beautiful art, but this is simply the building where the Shogi tournament will take place.

Shogi, a complex strategy board game, is widely popular game even now in Japan, it was now considered a step towards achieving a higher status in Japan.

If someone could become a 6-Dan, that is a professional rank, they would almost instantly achieve greatness merely because of the fact, of how complicated the politics behind it has gotten.

It Acted more as a game to look out for potential recruits who would then later be groomed to be the strategist or chief executive officers of various corporations, or simply erased because of Their dangerous potential.

I walked in with my family while wearing traditional clothes from the imperial era, the conditions to enter this tournament were stricter than Chess, Although they also utilized an elo measuring system and some similar methods but the selection process was drastically different.

Only fifty players could participate in the tournament, thirty-two will be seeded players, meaning they will be selected from their achievements from the past year, i.e. outstanding performance, a lot of matches won, being a title holder, and so on.

The other eighteen will be deserved for the preliminary tournament winners from last year or so.

The tournament will be played in a bracket system similar to the chess tournament, each game will typically last ninety minutes.

But that's actually nothing compared to challenging a major title holder which typically can go on for several days...

Today, in this tournament, the true elites of this game called Shogi will be present, it will be broadcasted all over the world, although chess has its charm but what I truly enjoy about shogi is the function where it lets captured pieces be reused by the player who captured then while the match is going on.

Truly makes this game more special in my heart, I thought while I bowed in politeness towards my first opponent, he was an old man, but his demeanor was dignified and he was sharp, truly a follower of tradition, he returned the gesture even if I was young.

To veterans like him, we are simply the young blood who will carry the future even if it looks hopeless, only via games like this will they feel alive.

I motioned politely for the old man to do the piece toss, and he nodded with a hum as he toss five pawns, this would determine who goes first and it seems I did, as three unpromoted pawns were shown.

The game started, and we took our time until I pretended to make an amateur mistake that caused the old man to furrow his eyebrows, after thinking for some time he resisted the urge to capture my piece, which was a mistake that he learned after I managed to capture many of this pieces and finally I managed to win.

After respectfully and politely thanking each other, the match for the first round ended, Shouri was already waiting for me outside, as I was in Block A while shouri was in Block B.

Surprisingly they didn't try to put me in the same block as my sister, but I guess they were greedy seeing how popular our chess match got.

Soon after a break, the second round began, I won against A1 while shouri won against B15, they were pretty easy considering, it took us less time to win against them, and how they were stressed out, which is a bad thing while playing a complex game such as this.

There was also an Announcement stating Yumeko's fight against A23, which meant she was in the same block as me, I am looking forward to finally meeting her today, her set of skills will be useful in the future.

The third round began but it was a quick Match for me since the opponent resigned after a few moves... Like man at least show some dignity... I was also slightly Jealous when I saw Shouri having a match against the current holder of professional Ryūō, which is the annual title given to the winner of the last Shogi tournament.

 I could tell just by looking at her, she was having a fun time so my tiny jealousy vanish, we both wanted to fight her,  Nakashizu Soyo, renowned as  Akihabara's "Ukeshi" aka Champion, was the youngest woman to hold that title at the mere age of 13 which was four years ago and she has been holding that title since then.

Her other identity is, she owns the largest maid cafe franchise in Japan, the neko neko brand... But that's beside the point, she is actually giving shouri a challenge, I could easily deduct she would at least in shogi beat the shouri before she awakened her Unique skill easily but now I smiled as I saw after a full seventy minutes Shouri won... And by a good margin as well.

I could see them coming out of the room together, it seems shouri made a friend, if I had to describe Nakashizu Soyo she can be described as a natural Asian beauty but with a fierce aura around her especially with her ginger-long hair, a plump chest, and the way she carefully walks towards us.

[Picture here, also posted in discord]

"It's nice to meet you again, Ayaka-Sama, Hasumi-sama, I would like to use this moment to say Thank you for the help back then and also for taking our cases for a discount over the years" Soyo first bowed to my aunt and mom while showing her gratitude.

Oh? I smell a hidden plot!

"UmU, You don't need to thank us about it, in this cursed world, we women need to look out for each other, especially considering how young you were back then" Mom casually replied without thinking too much about it.
 

"As Ayaka-sama said, You don't need to worry about it, if you need help in the future, consider it done, especially since you seem to have gotten close to Shouri-sama," Aunt Hasumi said with a professional tone.

"UmU, Soyo... First Friend... nii meet Friend... " Shouri nodded at Aunt's last words and introduced her as her new friend, I am honestly surprised.

"Ara~ is that so~? Yus! We need to celebrate today for Shou-chan meeting her first friend!, Soyo-chan you must also join us!" Mom immediately started planning a feast and inviting a stranger to our house...

Also... Shouldn't you be worried my sister is hanging with a suspicious adult?!? Well, I technically already know about her and mom knows her personally but still... This is going too fast!!

"UmU I would gladly accept that kind offer, also You must be Masamune-san, I apologize for not greeting you earlier, but please be assured I feel honored to have finally gotten the chance to meet you, youngest World chess champion-san~" Soyo looked at me and then said with fiery competitive eyes...

She would have probably challenged me by now if anyone wasn't around near me... Yeah... Definitely " Hello, Soyo-san, Nice to meet you, please take care of me and my sister in the future" I calmly replied but I gave a glance towards Aunt Hasumi to do something.

But alas she ignored me... BETRAYAL!  

 "Your sister told me that you were more skilled than her, if it is truly so, I would kindly request a match after this tournament is over" Soyo politely yet upfront said to me after seeing me being polite...

"Well, I wouldn't say I am greater than my sister by that much, but sure, we can have a match afterward, I don't mind" I answered since the conversation was going in the direction I initially wanted.

She is one of the pawns, I chose, she would be very useful in collecting information... So this is optimal... No great chance to connect with her.

Afterward, we talked for some time and got to know each other more, she got all pretty well with Mom and Aunt, probably because of whatever connection she had, and going by how nobody is mentioning it so far since the beginning, it is probably pretty sensitive.

The surprising thing was how quickly she became close with my sister, they are practically behaving like older and younger sisters now... I sweatdropped at how easily this went...

Soon the fourth round took place and I was actually up against a veteran player, an 8-dan she was very skilled and crafty and it was somewhat hard but I nonetheless won, as I wasn't being too serious, probably would have won in at most ten moves.

Shouri's Opponent directly resigned under pressure, which is understandable considering who shouri fought against before, although It did make her gloomy for some time since she wanted to have a fun match.
 

Thankfully Soyo suggested they play casual matches until the time was over since I was still having my match at the time...

In the fifth round, which is also the semi-finals... I finally met one of my other targets... Jabami Yumeko, Although different than the anime one, who was sort of degenerative, yet she still was exceptional as she would be able to quickly spot weaknesses of her opponent and even be able to tell if they are cheating, truly a masterpiece...

"This was indeed unexpected... I never thought no... it was foolish of me to assume you wouldn't be participating in this tournament going by how you played your chess matches, I should have noticed sooner the pattern of how you played chess, it resembled that of a shogi player who is playing chess, Truly magnificent" she praised me with a chuckled, indeed... She was truly abnormally smart...

Hehehehe...

"But enough said! let us begin! For our battle will be Legendary!" She loudly declared which could be considered rude but it was ignored considering we were both around the same stage.

The surprising thing is, she didn't make it this far last year, as she, unfortunately, encountered Soyo early, but it didn't seem to discourage her considering she fought against an 8-dan last match and won by a decent margin, she has shown great progress going by her public match data.

But I decided to amuse her, as I wanted to test- "Stop going easy on me! be serious!" She declared, she noticed it pretty fast, good good.

"Oh, why would I? I don't see the need to be serious" I said to her in a teasing tone, which is sort of true, it's not that I am not serious but I measure my seriousness in a game by percentage, so to her, I might appear arrogant and taking this as an easy game.
 

"Arrogant! Arrogant! But you have the skills to back it up, so I won't say much, I will make you take me seriously-" Before she could finish I put forward three fingers, she was confused by my gesture.

 But I said loud enough that anyone can hear it " For three minutes I will only play defensively, if you could at least capture one of my pieces, I will gladly be more serious against you".

She was stunned by the statement but she soon started laughing, she wasn't laughing because it was funny, she was laughing because she was furious, very much so, exactly what I intended...

"...Hahahaha! good! Very good! You have successfully pissed me off... Then I will make you surrender within that three minutes, if I don't, then I will do whatever you want me to do" She at first laughed and then said with a cold year childish tone.

Good... This should help her grow as a person... I smiled as I tossed the five pawns as thus... Let this game begin...

OOO

(Third pov)

The audience was in an uproar, as the Professional players were discussing in hush tones in a room dedicated to them.

"Aya~ Kids these days are so arrogant and haughty, sigh, what happened to our younger generation... Sigh, I worried for the future..." Said one of the participants who didn't even make it past the first round.

"Right? Right? What are the hosts doing, they should be disqualified already for showing such unprofessional behavior! It's an insult to our culture" Said another who lost against Yumeko in the second round.

But there were defenders among them as well mostly the ones who played against the twins, as they claimed: "Just be quiet and watch the match, Masamune-Dono wouldn't have behaved that way if he didn't have a reason, didn't you see how well behaved and polite he was so far?!".

The argument was getting heated as time passed while the board was being set until... "Silence..." a Commanding tone yet with a very quiet voice even lower than the loud voices in the room stated.

But it almost had an instant effect as if their life depended on it as the entire room turned eerily silent... As only quicken heart rates were heard.

There sat a man in a navy Admiral outfit, with calculating eyes as he looked at the display at the front while sitting at the back of the room...

Soon three minutes passed and surprisingly or not, Masamune kept his word, and yet... He didn't lose a single piece... That quickly made the people who wanted to voice out their protest after this Match, swallow hard, as everyone looked at the screen with fear and reverence.

It wouldn't have caused such a reaction if it wasn't for the fact, Yumero played extremely well, enough to easily beat most of them in the room and even give a hard time to the truly professional.

yet... what made even those professionals take a deep breath... And broke out in cold sweat when Masamune almost immediately won...

They realized Masamune wasn't simply defending in the last three minutes, he was very carefully laying down a deep web of traps that would capture its prey and snap its neck instantly when it is set up...

The man who silenced the room before stood up and quietly walked out as on the screen it showed how Masamune simply left the room after whispering something into the stunned Yumeko's ears.

OOO

"Do you mind taking me to the men's toilet? It's urgent..." Masamune asked the person standing outside the door as he pretended to fidget, indicating how urgent it is, the employee nodded his head absentmindedly as he lead this boy... No... This monster to the toilet.

As the employee was standing outside waiting for Masamune, he suddenly felt dizzy and then went into a trance-like state as he ignored a suspicious man entering the toilet.

OOO

"Ahhhh... Finally, inner peace..." Masamune loudly said as he finished his urgent business inside the toilet.

He exited the toilet as he went to wash his hands, unaware of the danger lurking behind him until he said... "Are you gonna shoot already? Even if you are invisible wearing that cloth over you, you are still radiating a steady heartbeat even if it's very quiet and slow" with a calm tone as if he already expected this.

"..." but nothing not even a movement was detected in the room.

"mate... I know you are there, or... do you want me to specify you? Hmmm, lemme guess" Masamune teasingly said yet again seemingly talking to someone yet no one other than himself was in the room...

"ah! I know! You must be Tatsuya Kondou, the lifetime Ryūō title holder... Or you don't go by that anymore, perhaps... You Might now...be called Yami no Shogun ( Shogun of Darkness), the hidden protector of Japan who silently erases any threat towards Japan... Is that an accurate description?" Masamune turned and looked directly at where he assumed... No, he knew where Kondou would be...

"... Sigh... As I thought... You truly are an anomaly, a Threat to Japan's safety..." A Middle age man suddenly appeared in front of Masamune while pointing a futuristic long sniper rifle with a silencer atop.

Wearing the same Navi admiral outfit as the mysterious guy from before... No they are the same person...

[Picture here, also posted in discord]

"But am I truly a threat to Japan? I don't remember doing anything...wait!... wait! I know it's probably because of Grandpa Samuel... While that is suspicious but it doesn't mean I am a threat to Japan..." Masamune calmly said even though he was facing a life-and-death situation...

"... Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't shoot you..." Kondou asked in a cold tone that would have caused ordinary people's temperature to drop...

" Because... You can't... Killing me brings too many complications especially because it would endanger Japan... And inevitably destroy Japan if I didn't exist..." Masamune slowly answered while the sniper rifle was still aimed at his head.

"... How sure are you?" Kondou asked after a silence... While fixing the aim at Masamune's head

"So sure that I am willing to bet everything, you wouldn't kill me..." Right when he finished speaking a narrow bullet missed his face by an inch.

".... You are abnormal, your heart rate doesn't indicate you are afraid... Instead, it showed spikes of... Excitement? I also don't sense an ounce of fear that should be expected from you..., but that only makes me wanna erase you even more... You don't seem human... You don't feel... Human... What... are you?..." Kondou for the second time in life, seemed lost on what to do...

"But, you still won't kill me... Because you know only I can save this world... especially Japan..." Masamune tempted kondou, which seemed to have some affect as

"...How will you save it then?" Kondou was curious... He truly wanted to erase this anomaly yet... Something inside him took root, a spark of something... Something called desire...

"Simple, by ruling this universe, of course," Masamune answered with a shrug but Kondou wasn't satisfied with that answer... He wanted to know... So

"... You... Whatever you are... What do you truly want?" Kondou suddenly coldly asked as his eyes turned sharp,

His instincts told him to erase this kid yet his Desire told him he would regret doing that... So he asked that question directly to decide what he will do next...

"What do I want? Hmmm, that's a difficult question... Considering I am very very greedy... But if I had to pick what I most want..." Masamune pondered as he slowly said to Kondou as if teasing him...tempting him... Even though his death is so close...

"I want this Reality... No, I want all the Realities!, I want to rule over them as the SUPREME EMPEROR!!, AS THE ONE TRUE SUPREME BEING!!, ZEHAHAHAHA~" Masamune suddenly stated with a crazed smile as a suppressive kingly aura radiated from his core soul...

The sniper rifle trembled a bit... Until... It slowly lowered itself... The hidden desire inside Kondou's heart won... A desire to serve under a Worthy Emperor...

Tatsuya Kondou... Had fallen... No, he finally found his purpose...

OOO

Word count:- 3185

This is probably my favorite chapter so far... By the way is my story boring? Or should I continue at the same pace? There will be soon a timeskip again after a few chapters more

Anyways join my discord server: https://discord.gg/b7P23h894H