I forgot to add this in the afterword, but...
There are real stakes to Nagasawa's rank issue. The reason why Hayashi wanted to give him space to grow was because in the world of shogi is because he wants Nagasawa to officially turn professional. All ranks below 4-dan are considered amateur, but 1-dan to 3-dan are considered "apprentice professionals".
That said, for males one needs to win through a complex system called "Shoreikai" under the age of 26 and below to be considered "professional", but females have it easier, depending on the association (26 years old for Japan Shogi Association, 46 years old for Ladies Professional Shogi Association)
Even then, there are ways to go professional once you go past the age limit, but there are not a lot of people who have successfully done such a feat. Which means, if Nagasawa lost his chance, he would have to remain an amateur (in title) in shogi forever.