Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 31 made me feel completely smitten.
"Keiko Kaji invites you to join the group chat 'JUMP Author Exchange Group'."

When Ken Sakamoto saw the group invitation sent by Editor Kaji, his finger hovered over the screen for two seconds before clicking it.

Then, Keiko Kaji sent another message.

Kaji Keiko: "Sakamoto-sensei, I've invited you to join our JUMP author exchange group. The group is full of authors who serialize in JUMP magazines and their colleagues from the editorial department. You can exchange ideas with everyone."

Ken Sakamoto replied simply, "Okay, thank you, editor."

Then it switches to the group chat interface.

The member list shows 175 people.

Ken Sakamoto swiped up and glanced at the member list.

All the editors from the editorial department were inside; the rest were the writers.

At a glance, I spotted several familiar names.

However, most of them are pseudonyms that I don't remember, probably authors from web pages, monthly magazines, or other publications.

Well-known writers, especially older ones, don't join such large groups; they're too busy writing and attending various events.

Even in a group chat, they probably wouldn't speak much; there's likely a small circle of well-known writers.

At that moment, a name made Ken Sakamoto's fingers stop.

Kazuki Takahashi.

Upon seeing this name, Ken Sakamoto couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

In his previous playthrough, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! tragically died in 2022 while surfing at the beach, trying to rescue a diver caught in a rapid current.

When this news came out, card players all over the world sighed in dismay.

But at this time of year, Takahashi-sensei is doing well; he's probably on vacation at some scenic spot...

Creating such a work would have been enough to live off it for the rest of his life. Even the later comics and anime were only credited to him, with the actual work done by Naoto Miyoshi and several other writers.

Rebirth is like a moth flapping its wings... and it has to be a giant moth of that caliphate. The various effects it brings will change countless things, and it will definitely be enough to prevent that tragedy from happening again.

You didn't expect that, did you, Professor Takahashi? I managed to get Time Rewinder.

Just as Ken Sakamoto was reflecting on his feelings, several new messages popped up in the group chat.

Hamada Tsubaki: "Oh? A new person has joined the group. Welcome, welcome!"

Several other authors who didn't recognize Sakamoto Ken also sent welcome emojis.

Sakamoto Ken didn't want to appear too aloof, so he casually typed a line of text into the input box.

Ken Sakamoto: "Hello everyone, I'm Ken Sakamoto, a newcomer. Please take good care of me."

The message is sent.

Just two seconds after his message appeared, the same line was repeated verbatim.

March Spring: "Hello everyone, I'm newcomer Ken Sakamoto, please take good care of me."

"March Spring retracted a message."

March Spring: "Hello everyone, I'm a newbie, March Spring. Please take good care of me."

Ken Sakamoto: "..."

You're too lazy to even type?

However, spring arrives in March...

Ken Sakamoto stared at the name for several seconds, never expecting to meet her online so soon.

When he joined the group earlier, Ken Sakamoto had actually anticipated this, but he still didn't refuse Editor Kaji's invitation.

The idea was that since we'd have to face it sooner or later, we might as well start by engaging with it online, where there's a higher level of security.

You can't just come over and stab me through the Wi-Fi, can you?
Sakamoto Ken then chose to remain silent in the group chat, but kept an eye on the messages.

This guy will definitely be the first to lose his temper than I am.

Sure enough, a notification popped up at the top of the screen five minutes later.

It's a friend request.

……

Matsutocho, Shibuya Ward. Haruna Mikazuki sat upright, her whole demeanor somewhat stiff.

She gripped her phone tightly with both hands, her heart pounding wildly.

A few minutes ago, Tomohiro Ohno added her to that writers' chat group.

She joined the group immediately, and was just about to look up the member list when she saw Sakamoto Ken's notification that he had joined.

When Mikazuki Haruna saw someone post a message in the group welcoming the new member, she was thinking about how to greet them when she saw Sakamoto Ken post first.

So without thinking, she copied it directly, still moving the cursor to change the name inside, but her hand trembled slightly from nervousness and she accidentally clicked the send button...

It's okay, it's nothing serious.

Haruna ignored the contents of the group chat and clicked on Sakamoto Ken's profile picture to look at his personal information page.

After hesitating for a while, I finally pressed the "Add Friend" button.

March Spring: "Hello, I'm the author of 'Young Miss, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!', which is serialized around the same time as yours. I'd like to exchange ideas with you."

After sending the application, Haruna put her phone on the table, feeling as if all her strength had been drained away.

Her gaze fell on the sketchbook beside her, which was open and contained a sketch she had just finished... of a scene that she remembered vividly.

The painting depicts Ken Sakamoto completely naked, but unlike the previous scenes where only he was present, this painting includes another person.

A girl, also completely naked, hugged him tightly from behind, her cheek pressed against his back.

The girl's face was behind the boy, so it wasn't drawn; only a side profile was shown, but Haruna knew that it was herself.

Scenes from my dreams kept swirling uncontrollably in my mind.

She recalled how she had locked him in a hotel room under the pretext of urging him to finish his manuscript…

She remembered the feeling of the boy's warm hand caressing her skin...

A faint blush rose to the girl's cheeks, and her breathing became rapid.

The friend request has been sent, but it hasn't been accepted yet.

In her friend request message, Haruna mentioned that she was the author of "Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!", but in that memory, the manga was drawn by Ken Sakamoto, so she was plagiarizing it.

She wondered what if Ken Sakamoto was already working on the manga "Young Lady" at this point in time, perhaps already having a concept or character design that matched what she had published...

Then he would definitely show doubt, or even questioning.

This made her feel uneasy, so she couldn't help but gently shake her leg.

Haruna leaned forward slightly, her arms supporting her on the table, her waist swaying gently and unconsciously against the soft mesh of the chair.

"call……"

She exhaled a hot breath, her eyes fixed on the phone screen.

Time goes by every second...

at last!

A notification popped up, showing that the other party had accepted her friend request.

At the same time, a message was also sent.

Ken Sakamoto: "Hello / Handshake"

Oh, so aloof...

But this also made Haruna breathe a long sigh of relief.

His tone suggests that he doesn't remember anything about the manga "The Young Lady".

In that instant, Mikazuki Haruna felt a taut string inside her body suddenly snap and release.

An indescribable electric current rose from her tailbone, instantly spreading throughout her limbs and bones, making her feel weak all over. Her arms went limp, and she almost collapsed onto the table.

She gasped for breath, the cursor blinking in the input field, but her fingers were frozen on the screen, her mind blank, completely unsure of what to say.

The stalemate lasted for a full half minute.

Haruna chose to long-press to copy and paste.

March in Spring: "Hello/Handshake"

(End of this chapter)