During the shogi workshop, Harunobu and Morio have a heated analysis based on Shimada's board setup of his losing qualifying match of the tournament the previous year. However, Shimada silences them with a game record that stated a checkmate within forty-five moves. Rei adds that the board setup is unsettling. Shimada invites Rei over the following afternoon. Rei learns that Shimada lost the first two title matches in Tokyo and Nagano, while the sixth title match is in Shimada's hometown of Yamagata...