Editing Food Wars! was proving to be more challenging than Ren had anticipated. The main issue was the storyline involving emotions. In the later, chaotic parts of the manga, the romantic plotlines had become a complete mess. Ren's job was to bring those romantic elements back on track, which was proving to be quite the headache.
But while Ren was busy, the protagonist of Hikaru no Go, Hikaru Shindo, was also facing his own challenges.
"Please, God! Let time go back to the beginning!"
"Take me back to when I first met Sai!"
After Sai disappeared, Hikaru realized something crucial—he wanted Sai to always be by his side.
People are often like that—they don't cherish what they have until it's gone. But when it's too late, all they're left with is deep regret.
As the famous saying goes, "You don't know what you have until it's gone."
Hikaru searched everywhere for any trace of Sai.
He crossed mountains and oceans, and passed through countless crowds of people, but the Sai he once had vanished like smoke.
No matter where he went, he couldn't find Sai. Now that he truly loved and enjoyed playing Go, he was willing to give it all up if Sai could just come back.
Seeing Hikaru's lonely voice echo as he searched for Sai's footsteps and his lost, hollow expression, many readers couldn't help but feel for him.
"I used to find this kid annoying, but now he actually seems pretty pitiful."
"Yeah, Hikaru is so passionate about Go, but he's willing to give it up because Sai was more important to him."
"But what good is it now? He had a sincere friendship right in front of him, and he didn't treasure it."
Hikaru completely gave up on playing Go and vowed never to play again.
However, this is still a manga about Go, and even after making that decision, people from the Go world continued to reach out to him.
A former peer from the Go institute, Isumi, came to challenge him. Hikaru didn't want to play, but after being persistently urged by Isumi, Hikaru agreed. However, deep down, he kept reminding himself not to enjoy the game, believing that if he found joy in playing, Sai would never return.
As Hikaru touched the familiar cold, smooth stones and placed them on the board, he started to feel something.
"This move… That person used to play this way too…"
"I finally found him… The Sai I couldn't find anywhere was right here all along…"
Tears suddenly streamed down Hikaru's face as he gazed at the Go board in front of him.
Sai had been with him the whole time, silently hidden within the moves of the game.
Hikaru realized that the only way he could ever see Sai again was by continuing to play Go.
"It's been a while, Hikaru…"
Sai, dressed in his traditional hunting robes, appeared beside Hikaru, his eyes filled with warmth and nostalgia. "I'm back."
"Welcome back, Sai," Hikaru whispered, smiling through his tears, while Isumi looked on in confusion.
Yes, in Ren's version of the manga, Sai returned in the end.
Sai's purpose for remaining in the world had always been his pursuit of the "Divine Move."
But now that his obsession was resolved, he didn't want to part from Hikaru, and Hikaru felt the same way.
One symbolized the past, and the other the future. Perhaps their shared passion for Go had finally reached the gods, allowing them to reunite through the game.
In Ren's view, Sai's disappearance had already achieved its purpose.
He wrote Sai's departure because Hikaru no Go is, at its core, a story about growth.
No matter how beautiful the past may be, if one refuses to let go, they can't grow.
For Hikaru, losing Sai had been a crushing blow, but it forced him to step out of Sai's shadow and take his own steps forward. Hikaru emerged from this experience stronger and more independent.
This storyline also allowed Hikaru to carry on Sai's will and get closer to achieving the Divine Move.
To Ren, characters serve the plot. If a character's death enhances the story or the protagonist's growth, Ren wouldn't hesitate to let them die.
For example, Jiraiya in Naruto.
Jiraiya's death was necessary to set up the later "Pain Invasion" arc. Jiraiya had figured out Pain's secret and even managed to defeat one of the bodies without prior knowledge. Had he survived and returned to the village, Pain wouldn't have been able to infiltrate Konoha.
So, Jiraiya had to die.
But once his death had served its purpose, Ren didn't mind bringing back beloved characters.
Just like Jiraiya, who was eventually revived through Orochimaru's efforts in the final story arc.
Sai's role was similar.
His disappearance served as a key moment for Hikaru's growth.
According to Ren's plot, Sai never truly left; he was always by Hikaru's side. The problem was that Hikaru simply couldn't see him.
When Hikaru realized that continuing to play Go was the only way to reunite with Sai, they were able to meet again.
Xena, a middle school student, loved reading all kinds of manga.
Most of all, she loved the Porter's work, and Hikaru no Go was one of her favorite series.
Since the series began, Xena had been a loyal reader, never missing an issue.
But when Sai vanished from the story, she was deeply dissatisfied.
Now, as she watched Sai return, her emotions finally burst through, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
She couldn't even explain why she was crying—maybe it was the story, or maybe it was because of how long she had been holding her emotions back.
"I'm so grateful to the Porter!"
At this moment, all the fans of Hikaru no Go couldn't help but cheer.
"Wow, I can't believe the Porter actually changed! No deaths in Steins;Gate, and now Sai's back in Hikaru no Go!"
"What do you think, sir?"
"There's got to be something suspicious about this…"
"I feel like the Porter might be planning some big twist."
"Stop with the conspiracy theories! For now, I'm just happy to praise the Porter."
The next day, "Sai's Revival" became a trending topic.
This caused many curious netizens to widen their eyes.
Revival?
Are they saying someone came back to life?
Is that kind of technology possible nowadays?
One by one, they clicked on the topic and discovered it was about a character in a manga.
Some dismissed it, while others, intrigued, started reading Hikaru no Go and quickly became hooked.
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