Go for It!

"Anyway—Natsume, when they draw the matchups, you've got to wish for a good one!" Horikawa Kaori reminded him earnestly. "Sometimes, playing well isn't as good as being matched well. That really is an eternal truth!"

Natsume Chikage actually agreed with her.

In certain situations, gaps in strength could indeed be made up for by luck.

Though such opportunities were rare.

Still, how exactly was he supposed to wish for a good draw...?

Not wanting to dampen Horikawa Kaori's spirits, he smiled gently.

"I think so too."

Just then, a clear, penetrating announcement began looping through the venue.

[The competition is about to begin. Contestants in the first round, please follow staff instructions and proceed in an orderly manner to assemble in the center of the venue!]

[The competition is about to begin. Contestants in the first round, please follow staff instructions and proceed in an orderly manner to assemble in the center of the venue!]

Hearing the announcement, Horikawa Kaori stood up nervously.

"Then I'll go compete first."

Natsume Chikage offered his sincere wishes.

"May you win your first match!"

Horikawa Kaori nodded gratefully.

"Thank you."

With that, she hurriedly jogged toward the restroom—she needed to take care of her bodily needs before the match.

After all, players usually were not allowed to leave freely during a shogi match.

This was to prevent cheating.

There had once been incidents where players used a trip to the restroom as an excuse to seek outside help through their phones or look up game records for a way to break the deadlock.

As a result, the Shogi Association now imposed strict controls on electronic devices for participants.

Even if someone needed to use the restroom midway through, they had to be accompanied by a staff member.

To avoid such trouble, she thought it best to prepare in advance.

Before long, Natsume Chikage saw Horikawa Kaori hurriedly return to the venue and merge into the crowd waiting for the draw in the central area.

Seeing this, he could not help being a little surprised—he had not expected the drawing to be held on-site.

It seemed the organizers placed particular importance on randomness.

But on second thought, it was not hard to understand.

This tournament had brought together shogi players of every rank.

If absolute randomness could not be ensured, it would probably discourage quite a few participants—after all, no one wanted to face a professional player in the first round. That would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

While the players prepared for their matches, the large screen in the center of the venue began broadcasting a live interview with the beautiful host, Sawada Rika.

On the screen, Sawada Rika wore a standard professional suit as she stood in a temporary interview area. Behind her, staff bustled about while players gradually took their seats.

With a professional, engaging smile on her face, she spoke smoothly to the camera.

"Hello, viewers. I'm Sawada Rika from Tokyo Television, reporting live from Tokyo Shogi Hall on the highly anticipated Rising Star Shogi Challenge!"

The camera panned across the packed venue at her gesture.

"As you can see, this tournament has drawn enthusiastic participation from a great many shogi players from all over the country. The number of applicants has far exceeded that of previous regular competitions, and the atmosphere here is incredibly lively!"

Sawada Rika turned gracefully and gestured toward the eye-catching tournament format chart hanging to one side of the venue.

"This tournament features an exciting and innovative format!"

"All participants, regardless of rank, will begin from the same starting line and face a brutal single-elimination tournament!"

"Only players who make it into the top sixteen will advance to the even more intense best-of-three stage!"

Her tone grew more impassioned as she emphasized the tournament's highlights.

"Even more noteworthy is the tournament's generous prize system!"

"A first-round victory earns a prize of 10,000 yen, and every consecutive win after that directly doubles the prize money!"

"And the total number of participants in this tournament has reached 2,048."

"This means that if a player remains undefeated before reaching the semifinals, every quarterfinalist will receive the astonishing reward of 2.56 million yen!"

"And after reaching the semifinals, the prize money for each victory increases by an astounding four times!"

"The two players who advance to the final will each receive 10.24 million yen!"

"And the ultimate champion will claim the grand prize all to themselves—40.96 million yen!!!"

At just the right moment, the camera captured several participants preparing to enter.

Professional shogi players from Division A happened to appear on screen.

"Of course, huge prize money also meant unprecedented challenges!"

"This tournament had gathered masters from all sides: experienced amateur dan players, formidable Apprentice League members, and possibly even professional players or titleholders competing for the prize!"

Sawada Rika's expression turned playful and suspenseful.

"Even more excitingly, none of the first-round matches had been arranged in advance. They would be decided later through—an on-site drawing!"

"Each player's fate would be revealed the instant the lots were drawn!"

"Would they draw an evenly matched opponent, or have the misfortune of running into a top-tier powerhouse?"

"This unknown suspense was also one of the biggest highlights of the tournament!"

She turned her gaze toward the players' preparation area.

"At this moment, the players are storing their personal belongings under the staff's guidance and making their way in an orderly fashion to the center of the venue, preparing to take this crucial first step—the drawing!"

"Let us look forward to seeing which lucky players avoid the strongest opponents, and which highly anticipated seeded players clash ahead of schedule!"

The camera finally settled on the transparent cylindrical lottery drum in the venue.

"The box of fate is in place, and the first-round matchups of the Rising Star Challenge are about to be revealed—Sawada Rika of Tokyo Television will continue to bring you updates!"

"An exciting showdown is about to begin—will the ultimate winner earn the right to challenge the reigning Dragon King? Let us wait and see!!"

Natsume Chikage had not studied the tournament format closely before. He had assumed it was simply a straightforward consecutive-win format with doubled prize money.

He had not expected the prize money to increase fourfold starting from the semifinals.

The champion's prize money was an astonishing 40.96 million yen.

It seemed the organizers had truly spared no expense this time.

Just then, a little girl who looked to be around ten years old arrived near Natsume Chikage, holding an elderly man's hand.

They looked around and found that most of the seats were already occupied—either by spectators or contestants.

The nearest empty seats happened to be right beside Natsume Chikage.

Furukawa Masahiro, white-haired yet full of vigor, asked politely:

"Young man, no one is sitting here, right?"

"If you don't mind, may we sit here?"

Natsume Chikage gestured for them to do so.

"Please, go ahead."

Furukawa Masahiro nodded slightly.

"Thank you."

With that, he led his granddaughter to the seats beside Natsume Chikage.

Furukawa Ayuo exclaimed in delight, "Grandpa, the prize money is actually 40.96 million yen! That's so much money—it's enough to buy a car for our family~"

"It certainly is," Furukawa Masahiro said with a kindly smile.