Game 2

Hanging Pawn is the second chapter of Haruto Ikezawa's Mononofu. It was published in the 42nd issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, on September 21st, 2015.

Summary
Takara Shinobu started learning shōgi enthusiastically. Kazuki commented that it is impossible for Shinobu to become a pro since he started learning too late. Yasukane, who taught Shinobu shōgi to increase his confidence, now felt uneasy. After receiving a call from Shinobu's father, who asked Yasukane to take care of Shinobu and not to let him indulge in "weird" hobbies, Yasukane finally banned Shinobu from playing shōgi.

Yasukane and Ginga then got prepared to leave as they had 3 dan tournament games on the day. Keishi explained to Shinobu that 3 dan players in Shōreikai need to go through a tournament lasting half a year and only 2 out of the around 30 players can be promoted to 4 dan and become professional players. Kazuki also added that Yasukane spent 10 years in trying to become pro and would have to leave Shōreikai once he reached 26 years old. If that happens, all his efforts would go unrewarded. This made Shinobu realize how cruel the shōgi world is.

After Yasukane left, Keishi asked Shinobu to play a shōgi game with him, stating that one should follow one's own heart rather than listening to other people's words. They played a game in which Keishi had a handicap with all pieces except pawns and king removed. However, Shinobu turned out to be bad at keeping a global view and lost to Keishi. Despite the loss, Shinobu enjoyed the game very much and requested a re-match. This time Shinobu showed his great focus during end game and defeated Keishi. Both Kazuki and Minato were impressed.

They received a text message from Yasukane. Keishi remarked that meant both Ginga and Yasukane won today's tournament games. The custom is to go to one sushi restaurant to celebrate. There, Yasukane commented he knew Shinobu would keep on playing shōgi despite his ban, recalling to himself the arguments he had with families over the choice to become a shōgi pro player. However, Yasukane gave Shinobu one task, as Shōreikai only accepts the top amateur players in the country, and applicants have to play against some of the best pro players, he asked Shinobu to become the top amateur player in Tokyo first. Shinobu happily agreed.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Takara Shinobu
 * Keishi
 * Kazuki
 * Minato
 * Naoi Yasukane
 * Ginga
 * Shinobu's Father (flashback)