At a tense gathering, outsiders jeer at Ebony House for sending a child to compete in a high-stakes Go match. Three challengers demand best-of-three: beat any one of them and you get the prize; lose and Ebony House will belong to them. They escalate by taunting house members, threatening that anyone who touches a piece will "lose a finger," and mocking Mr. Smith for producing no champions. Only two others and the kid volunteer to play. The kid vows to prove himself, but Mr. Smith's silence leaves the house's fate and the match unresolved.