I'm actually glad that Hikaru is in a slump at present. He deserves it. How could he dare to forget who introduced him to the Go world in the first place, who tutored him and encouraged him all along the way? I do concur that Akira might be the catalyst to reignite Hikaru's passion to succeed in the Go world. However, without Sai's guidance, Hikaru could never have achieved such lofty heights of success in such a short span of time.
In fact, part of the reason why I'm reading this manga after having completed its Anime version is a tiny glimmer of hope that the story in the manga would fulfill Sai's unresolved wish. Since the manga does continue from where the Anime left off, I had this faint hope. The other reason is simply that I'm missing Sai a great deal.