Full-time cartoonist

"Xiaoyi, you're back."

Mitsuda Toru watched his brother running over and then froze on the spot, then said hello.

"Brother," Mian Tianyi came back to his senses and asked, "Are you watching "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day"?"

"Of course...what else?" Mitsuru looked at him strangely.

Mian Tianyi laughed awkwardly, "Haha."

"This animation is very interesting. The painting style is good and there are many details. There is always a layer of mystery in the plot that makes me very curious." After introducing it, Toru Cottona said: "It's a pity that this episode is about to end. Let's go together next time Look."

At this point, he suddenly remembered.

The plot just now was that Renta and the others collected rare Pokémon, which shows that Megumi's dream has come true.

Is he going to become a Buddha?

Mitsuda Toru hurriedly looked at the TV and said, "Yeah, don't affect my attention. This is the most important plot just now!"

On the TV, Jinta, Anjo Naruko, and Hisakawa Tetsudo were hugging each other, and Meima was also smiling.

This was not her wish, but she was very happy and the three companions became good friends again.

"That's true," said Mitsuru with emotion, "but as long as there is a harvest, it's not bad."

Seeing Mei Jian jumping up and down, he felt warm in his heart.

Compared to his naughty and mischievous brother, Mema in the anime is still sensible.

He stretched and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Cotton Wings nodded.

After Tetsu Mitsuda left, he watched "Unknown Flower Name" ed, "The cartoon that my brother watched directly after he got home..."

"Is "The Name of an Unknown Flower" really so attractive?"

This is his brother who is a U-17 athlete.

He couldn't understand.

…

Another two weeks passed, and several children came to Hibiki Hibiki's studio.

They were Akane Nakajima's playmates. As soon as they entered the work living room, their mouths opened wide.

"This is Zuo Wei!"

Hibiki placed several figures that were more than ten centimeters high on his desk. They were all made by Bandai and given to Hibiki.

Because of lack of space, he usually puts these in the storage room, but now that the children are here, he puts them out.

This is the Q version of Zuo Wei, stomping the floor angrily.

"so cute!"

Next to them are Sakuragi Hanamichi, Akagi Takenori, Mitsui Hisashi, etc.

"Wow, it's this figure!"

There was a little girl staring at the Mitsui figure with detachable front teeth, her eyes sparkling.

"I love this so much! It's a pity that it was all sold out at the time."

Hibiki Higashino is also very strange. I heard that this figure is very popular, and readers also like to persecute Mitsui?

"Then I'll give this to you."

Higashikata handed the figure to her.

He has quite a few of these figures, and they are basically all in the plural.

Hibiki Higashino would give away daily necessities such as water cups, short sleeves, and folding fans from "Slam Dunk" and "Soul of Chess" to his assistants and friends.

"Really!" The little girl raised her head, her face flushed.

"Um."

Before Higashino Hibiki could nod, he heard from the side——

"Wow! This is the manuscript for the next chapter of "Slam Dunk"! It's so awesome!"

The two little boys held the original manuscript of "Slam Dunk" and stared at it intently, making excited noises.

"Much larger than comic book size!"

“The content is also clearer!”

"The subsequent plot turned out to be like this! It's great!"

Higashino Hibiki quickly took back the manuscript. This kind of thing cannot be easily shown to others.

He doesn't know "Heaven's Gate", so there is no need to let children read the original manuscript of the comic.

"Tori Akino-sensei, let me see it again!" the two little boys begged.

Higashikata looked troubled.

See this scene. Akane Nakajima came over with her arms akimbo and gave each of the two little boys a kuri. Seeing them squatting on the ground and rubbing their heads in pain, Akane Nakajima was very angry. "You guys, please be quiet! Don't do things that make the teacher distressed! I understand." Yet?"

"Um...sorry."

"I'm just too excited."

Dong Yexiang breathed a sigh of relief.

But it didn't take long.

"Tori Akino-sensei, do you still have a figure of Oku Tsubasa here?"

Another child asked.

Higashino Hibiki looked over and saw that this time it was a collection of figures in the cabinet. He replied: "That's a treasure given to me by Mr. Takahashi."

His head hurts so much right now, a thirteen-year-old child is more difficult to deal with than a dog.

But it's normal.

For children, being able to enter the cartoonist's workshop is a very precious memory in their lifetime.

Everything you encounter is strange.

"Cartoonists need so many tools to draw comics."

some type of.

The children each found a place of interest. Hibiki Higashi had some free time and looked at the three assistants.

Akimiya Akemi looked very happy and was drawing flowers with two little girls.

She is very patient and looks like a good wife and mother at first glance.

The other two are...

Tanakai shrank his body and restrained his presence so as not to let the children notice. In this room, he was like an ornament, motionless, for fear of accidentally attracting attention.

As for Masashi Kishimoto, he is immersed in painting. Some children were curious, but he ignored him.

It's really of no use at all.

Higashino Hibiki walked to Kishimoto and looked at it carefully for a while, only to realize that Kishimoto was drawing the storyboards of "Naruto".

Chapter 8 "Determination to swear by pain".

Higashino Hibiki was startled. He was deeply impressed by these words. It was also the first time that the high-end combat power of "Naruto" was revealed.

Back then, Kakashi and Zabuza kept using the clone technique, and Hibiki was stunned as he watched the battle between the two old men.

It turns out that this is how ninjas fight, and I have a new understanding of "Naruto".

It caught his eye instantly.

…

"Tori Akino-sensei!"

There was a sound in his ear, interrupting Higashikata's thoughts.

What Kishimoto drew now was different from the final version, and it looked particularly interesting to him, so he couldn't help but be fascinated.

A little girl named Xiaohui asked: "Is this how the comics are drawn?"

She whispered, pointing at Kishimoto.

Hibiki pulled her away and said, "This is just part of drawing comics."

First the script, then the storyboards, and finally the original drawings.

Drawing the original manuscript is even more complicated. There are many steps, including line drawing, tracing, and dots...

The little girl was dizzy after hearing this.

"so hard."

Unknowingly, a lot of people were listening to Higashino Hibiki's introduction.

"It turns out that the comics we read were so hard to draw."

They sighed.

Higashino pointed at Kishimoto and said, "Yes, just like that uncle. He has been working hard to draw comics since high school."

Most people are like this, and those who can become Kishimoto are also very few among the minority.

Most people work hard until they are in their thirties, and that’s when it’s time to give up.

Some have entered related industries, and some cannot survive in big cities like Tokyo, so they can only return to their hometowns and start to stay away from comics.

Every night when they go to bed, I wonder if they will shed tears. Will you regret it?

Drawing comics is a waste of energy. Basically every attempt takes more than two months, and every failure costs at least 500,000 yen.

Only those who can overcome difficulties and realize their dreams can become cartoonists.

"It's really hard."

There are many people like Takahashi Kazuki who have been working hard for half their lives, but there are only a few people who get what they want in the last ditch effort like him.

The children listened in shock, feeling for the first time the powerlessness of adults and the cruelty of reality.

It was almost dusk, and the children were about to go home. They were reluctant to leave Hibiki Hibiki's signatures and gifts, but they still waved and said goodbye in the sunset.

Parents unexpectedly felt that their children seemed to be somewhat mature.

"As expected of a writer." They sighed.

Staring at the children's backs, Hibiki began to regret, had he said something too terrible?

"I will work hard to learn comics!"

At the end, Higashino Hibiki heard a child say this.

He planted a seed today. Whether it will sprout or not will depend on what happens next.

…

Two more days passed.

Yahagi heard that Masashi Kishimoto had drawn the storyboards for the eighth episode of "Naruto" and brought the storyboards he drew to Hibiki Hibiki's house.

"Mr. Editor, you also drew the storyboards?" Hibiki Higashino was very surprised. This should be the job of a cartoonist.

Yahagi scratched the back of his head, not caring, "If Kishimoto-kun and I both draw storyboards, we can compare the two and find the advantages that have not been found. This is more effective than empty discussions."

Dongye Xiang invited him into the house, filled with emotion.

"Just like Toriyama Kazuhiko discovered Toriyama Akira and Takahashi Toshimasa trained Togashi Yoshihiro, Mr. Yahagi, you are also the mentor of Kishimoto Masashi."

Hibiki Higashino had never heard of an editor who could do this.

Yahagi was very happy to hear Hibiki Hibiki say this. This was a very high compliment.

He said: "Tori Akino-sensei, you are joking, you are trying to make me happy."

"I said that sincerely." Higashino Hibiki's expression was serious.

Yahagi was stunned for a moment, then said after a while: "Thank you."

…

Higashino Hibiki made two copies of Kishimoto and Yahagi's storyboards and handed them to them. He took one copy and looked at it himself.

I have to say that Yahagi’s content is more in line with the final version of “Naruto.”

He expressed Zabuza's momentum and paved the way for Naruto and Sasuke to join forces to save Kakashi in Chapter 9.

Kishimoto didn't think about it that much.

As far as the plot is concerned, he is a bit outrageous. Kakashi's character as a teacher was completely wiped out by him, and he was at a disadvantage throughout the competition with Zabuza.

He seemed to want to describe Zabuza as an overwhelming enemy, and did not take into account the protagonist's setting at this time and the gap between him and the Jonin.

"Mr. Yahagi's is more interesting." After Hibiki read it, he found two people staring at him, so he spoke directly.

Nowadays, Kishimoto is still too immature and has poor control over the plot. Without Yahagi as an editor, the manga "Naruto" might not exist.

"The version edited by Yahagi makes me look forward to the next chapter even more. Kishimoto-kun, yours is too hard."

He set up a one-eyed dragon Kakashi, and subconsciously thought that Kakashi should be at a disadvantage.

Also for the sake of Uzumaki Naruto's limelight without considering the rationality of the plot.

"That's it..." Kishimoto smiled and touched his chin in distress, "Mr. Yahagi thinks so, too."

Ever since he started drawing "Naruto", he has been questioned by Yahagi many times, and every time the ending proves that Yahagi is right.

Kishimoto originally wanted to draw a ramen-themed comic, but now that he thinks about it, ninjas are indeed more popular.

He wanted to draw Uzumaki Naruto as the nine-tailed fox, but Mirai Tori Akino greatly appreciated the idea of ​​a jinchūriki.

Friends in college say that he is not suitable for drawing comics...

Thinking of this, Kishimoto leaned back and said depressedly: "It's really difficult to draw comics!"

"Why do you have this idea?" Hibiki Higashino asked strangely: "It is normal for comics to communicate with editors, and it is normal to make modifications. For example, Mr. Toriyama changed the main plot of "Dragon Ball" from an adventurer to a martial artist. "

"Hey! Is that so?" Kishimoto sat up. He thought carefully about Toriyama Akira's cooking skills and realized that there was indeed such a thing, and he immediately became motivated.

After all, Toriyama Akira has to listen to the editor's opinion, so this is normal for him as a newcomer.

Kishimoto asked: "Did Tori Akino-sensei also modify the manga settings?"

"Of course not," Hibiki Higashino shook his head, "Mr. Sasaki rarely has any objections. After all, my comics are perfect."

Kishimoto: "Hey!"

"Indeed." Yahagi catered, "Tori Akino-sensei is a genius. There has never been a young genius cartoonist like him."

Kishimoto: "Hey!"

He complained endlessly, "You have everything going smoothly, how can you have so many emotions to comfort me..."

While the editor was still there, he made modifications according to Yahagi's opinions, and gradually it became a version that Hibiki Higashino understood.

"That's it, no problem." Yahagi nodded.

"Sorry to trouble you again, Mr. Yahagi." Kishimoto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sometimes it's so magical," Hibiki Higashino couldn't help but look at the storyboard, "I actually met you and Oda, a pair of twins."

"Naruto" and "One Piece" are both the pinnacle of Japanese comics. By chance, they all studied here, and Higashino Hibiki couldn't help but sigh at the magic of fate.

Beat him to death, and he wouldn't have imagined that he would be here today.

Kishimoto foolishly said, "The teacher is very optimistic about me."

After all, "One Piece" currently sells an average of about 1.2 million copies of a single book, making it a real hit.

Although it is still far away from "Slam Dunk", which sold an average of 3.8 million copies per book.

But as the most popular comic under "Slam Dunk", "One Piece" has amazing potential.

As a royal and passionate comic, the world view of "One Piece" has not yet been developed, and there are countless contents that readers want to see that have not yet been drawn.

No one can imagine the future of Eiichiro Oda, except Hibiki Higashino.

Kishimoto likes him to Oda very well.

"That's right," Hibiki Higashino said, "It's still unknown whether you will surpass Oda one day."

Yahagi was surprised. Although he was optimistic about "Naruto", he had not reached this point.

It’s hard to say whether it can be serialized. As a newcomer, Kishimoto is also likely to be cut in half.

It will be considered a success if it can be serialized for five years.

Judging from Akino-sensei's tone, "Naruto" will become a long-form manga and the backbone of Jump.

This future is really exciting.

It's a genre you can tell just by looking at the name, and the story line is told through options.