Chapter 4: The Rook's Gambit

## The Rook's Gambit

**Chapter 4: The Rook's Gambit** is the 4th chapter of the 1st volume and the 4th chapter overall of The Black Box 3.

## Summary

### Kosh Dojo

Searching for Matcha, Hish goes outside to find her training other karate masters in the Okinawa region, including Bikru and Peep. He scolds his fellow masters for having Matcha stay up late because she has school the next day and Peep responds by making perverted comments towards Matcha. Hish kills Peep in retaliation, slicing Peep's head in half. Matcha watches, traumatized.

### Raritan River

Bhayna and Prith are searching for Joe in the river after his school bus crashed. They find Joe deep underwater, but safe inside a bubble. Bhayna infers that the bubble is a sign that Joe truly is the Chosen One. Prith sends his long head deep into the river and fishes Joe out. Bhayna mysteriously disappears after Joe lands safely on their boat and Prith fills him on what has happened since their encounter a couple of days ago. They see a spaceship land on an island nearby and decide to investigate it.

This spaceship happens to be the Q-Tip, hijacked by the Agent Tai, who forced the crew to land on Nun Cove in search of the Applebottom Cube. Tai exits the ship, keeping Jebediah at gunpoint, and catches sight of Prith and Joe in the distance, heading towards Nun Cove.

### Konkus™ Hideout

Leader of the East Okinawan Konkus™ Yakuza (EOKY), Tora, announces to his fellow gangsters that he senses a disturbance in the karate spirit. He believes they have lost one of their members, Peep (Peep was in fact killed by Hish). All the gangsters, including Mamo and Fikku, are in disbelief. Tora declares that the EOKY must locate Peep's killer and execute him by throwing him into the Konkinator. Fikku is concerned that this act will violate the ancient Konkus Yakuza Bushido Code, but Tora doesn't care and goes ahead with the plan anyway.

## Characters in order of appearance

* Hish Kosh
* Matcha Kosh
* Elmo Bikru (debut)
* Master Peep (debut)
* Prith
* Bhayna
* Joe
* Tora (debut)
* Mamo (debut)
* Fikku (debut)
* Jebediah
* Agent Tai

## Trivia

* **Cover Characters**: Agent Tai, Prith
* **Chapter Name Meaning**: Scholars have debated the meaning of this chapter's title. Here are many possibilities.
	+ "The Rook's Gambit" may be a reference to the idea of a gambit in chess, in which a player sacrifices material in order to gain an advantage.
		- Hish sacrifices Peep's life to gain an advantage in Matcha's safety.
		- Prith sacrifices his rotting head to save Joe from the Raritan River.
		- Tora sacrifices violating the Konkus Yakuza Bushido Code to avenge Peep's death.
	+ It's important to note that there is no such thing as a Rook's Gambit in chess, so the title may not be related to chess at all. The title may refer to the TV series "The Queen's Gambit". Both series feature young female prodigies.
	+ Rooks are also referred to as castles. The Kosh Dojo and the Konkus™ Hideout are both considered castles.
* This is the second chapter in the entire The Black Box series to be rated M for Mature.
* This is the second chapter in The Black Box 3 to have color. In this case, Peep's blood is colored red.