My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

"Then let's leave it at that. I'll find some time to go to the hospital later."

Naoto hung up the phone and began to think about how to comfort Moritaka.

The system also played a significant role in enabling me to create works during high school, in addition to my familiarity with the plot of the comics I was drawing.

It's difficult to create the artwork you want quickly and accurately without a systematic approach.

Moreover, I have Nanzi by my side, who can help me recover when I'm extremely tired.

Compared to that, the highest level really has nothing.

Having no one to truly confide in about one's inner exhaustion is the most unbearable form of torment, both mentally and physically.

Actually, if possible, Naoto was thinking of inviting the tallest girlfriend over, but in the current situation, how could he possibly invite Azuki? After all, he doesn't have her contact information.

"Huh? But I can get Azuki from Akito too. Oh well, I'll contact Akito first."

Chapter 99: Advice from a Naoto

Inside the hospital, Gao Zhong was staring blankly at the ceiling above him.

His thin right hand twitched from time to time; deep down, he still wanted to keep drawing.

He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, even though his body was extremely exhausted. His mind was filled with thoughts of his manga's plot, and he couldn't let go of it.

Just now, Editor-in-Chief Sasaki gave him an ultimatum: either suspend publication or drop out of school—one of the two options.

Gao Zui knew that no matter what, his parents would never let him drop out of school, so there was really only one path he could take: to take a break from school.

In fact, editor Sasaki originally wanted to cancel the manga outright. This was only achieved after the author argued strongly for the manga's return. The author promised to resume serialization once he recovered.

But in fact, Gao Zhong knew that with his own abilities, after such a long hiatus, he would definitely have to cancel the series in the end.

This is simply the difference between chronic death and immediate death.

The heartbroken Moritaka didn't show it when everyone was around, but when Moritaka asked his parents and best friend Akito to leave, tears still streamed down his face.

The feeling of having to give up when you're so close to your dream is truly unbearable.

For a boy who is only fifteen years old, it will probably take a long time to recover from such a blow.

"Supreme, are you awake?"

Just as Gaozuo was silently crying, the door was suddenly opened.

In a moment of extreme urgency, he could only quickly wipe away his tears.

When the highest-ranking person saw that it was Naoto who walked in, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Straight Man Bro? What brings you here?!"

At this moment, Naoto looked at the reddened eyes of the boy, and even without looking closely, he could roughly guess that the silly boy must have been crying alone just now.

"I heard you were hospitalized because you were working too hard, so I came to see you."

Naoto, seemingly oblivious to Moritaka's reddened eyes, placed the fruit basket on Moritaka's bedside.

"So you found out too? I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

Gao Shi never expected that news of his illness would reach Naoto's ears.

The thought that I tried to imitate a straight person and ended up in the hospital makes me feel a little embarrassed.

"Hey kid, what's the big deal? You've already called me brother, of course I have to come and see you. But I didn't expect you to end up in the hospital because you were working too hard. That's enough. Anyway, you still need to take care of your health."

Moritaka didn't react to Naoto's words, just silently staring at her fingers. At this moment, Naoto continued, "It must be painful to have your manga canceled. But don't resent the editor-in-chief; he's doing it for your own good. After all, he's really worried about you because of your uncle's situation. You're only a first-year high school student; you have plenty of time to create. It's okay; even if this one is canceled, there are other opportunities to create."

"But why can you do it, Naoto-san? You were a high school freshman last year, so how come you were able to serialize two manga while also handling key animation and even participating in art competitions? Why can't I even do one manga?"

Despite the earnest advice of a straightforward person, Gao finally snapped.

The worst thing between people is comparison.

Especially comparisons with competitors.

Even though she's already a high school student, compared to Naoto, she feels like a complete failure.

She should have had a higher starting line than the straight people.

I have an uncle who is a cartoonist. He even received a ministerial award when he was seven years old, which is much better than Naoto, who started his career later in life.

But no matter what, I can't do everything that Naoto does.

Even after pushing herself to the point of being hospitalized, she still couldn't keep up with Naoto's pace, which made Moritaka hate herself even more.

Even at its original peak, there was a period when it remained like this.

After the Detective Suspect was canceled, he and Akito created a manga called Daibaku Fandou.

However, since the two believed they couldn't defeat Eiji Niizuma, they actually cut him down themselves.

This is a very rare thing in the entire JUMP series.

In fact, this impatient personality only improved slightly after he dropped out of his top university to focus on drawing comics.

To compete with Eiji, to compete with Akito, and even to compete with oneself—that is the highest level of character.

"So, you draw comics just to prove you're better than everyone else?"

Faced with the loudest roar, Naoto simply said one sentence.

"Mitsuo, I know you are very talented. Just in terms of drawing skills, even Eiji is a step below you. Your drawings are exquisite and very good. I always believe that you can become an excellent manga artist."

At this moment, Gao Shi looked at Naoto with some confusion, not understanding what Naoto was talking about.

"Zui, your dream is to finish the anime adaptation before you turn eighteen and then propose to your girlfriend. But you shouldn't put the cart before the horse. You know what happened to your uncle. Even if you risk your life to continue serializing this manga, what then? Your body can no longer support your drawing. Look at yourself, how much your drawing skills have declined since you started high school. Even if you were allowed to continue serializing it, or even if you actually got it adapted into an anime, what then? You'd end up with a serious illness and be unable to draw manga anymore. Is that the result of your efforts?"

"No, I didn't..."

"Mitsuo, your talent shouldn't be buried. As long as you persevere, it's only a matter of time before it gets animated. Besides, you know how worrying your recent situation is. Even Akito can't stand it anymore. Are you really going to gamble your future on this manga that might never even fulfill your dream?"

After hearing Naoto's words, the highest level of tears finally fell.

He knows it all.

In fact, he had been deceiving himself all along.

With his health in such a poor state, even if he tries his best, how can he compare to his healthy self? He just doesn't want to admit it.

"Besides, it's just a hiatus. You don't need to be so scared. It's not like there aren't comics that become even more popular after a hiatus. What you need to do now is take care of your health and work hard. Don't think about so many things. You're a high school student now, don't make so many people worry about you. Is it to gamble on a dark future now, or to rest well and strive for a better tomorrow? Think about it carefully."

After saying that, Naoto also left the room, intending to let Moritaka think it over carefully.

He knew that after this hardship, he would definitely grow stronger.

He will become even stronger then.

By then, I'll probably have to take this guy seriously.

Chapter 100: The Existence Called "Master Teacher"

After finishing up with the matters at the top, Naoto returned to the campus the next day.

After all, Naoto is now a second-year high school student. Although he doesn't have to worry about the future like a third-year student, Naoto is still very busy, even busier than before.

After entering their second year of high school, Naoto's class was reorganized. The students, who should have been separated, were reunited thanks to the power of a certain Qi Shen.

Naoto, Sakuta, and Kusuko are still in the same class, and their homeroom teacher is still Ms. Matsuzaki.

While cheating with one's abilities is a bit outrageous, at least none of the three seemed to mind, given their good relationship and lack of desire to separate. There are indeed some new faces in the class now.

"Haha, I'm a junior in high school now. It feels so unreal lately."

"Doesn't feel real? What do you mean?"

"I feel so bored at school every day, I always feel like there's nothing to do."

"You think it's boring simply because Mai-senpai is at work and not at school, right?"

Naoto has seen through Sakuta, this guy who abandons his brothers once he gets a girlfriend. He's practically going crazy if he doesn't see Mai for a day.

"No, I just feel a bit uneasy because things have been a bit calm lately."

For Sakuta, things have been quite normal lately. After all, he's still not used to not having those weird teenage ailments anymore.

However, Sakuta will only have some peace and quiet for a while. Although Futaba is no longer in this world, Mai's sister and her junior, as well as other people, are still here.

Sakuta's miserable days are not going to pass so easily.

"Peace is good, long live peace!"

The two sat on the balcony, quietly enjoying their lunch, feeling very relaxed and content.

"Excuse me, are there any seats left here?"

Just then, the two seemed to hear another person's voice.

A handsome young man with black hair was standing next to them. However, despite his good looks, he had a pair of dead fish eyes, which made him look rather unattractive.

The boy was holding a sandwich and a bottle of milk, clearly intending to have lunch there.

However, what caught Naoto's attention even more was the boy's calm and collected demeanor, which was somewhat similar to Sakuta's.

"Wait, I remember you, you're from the class next door, your name is..."

"Hachiman Hikigaya, nice to meet you."

Although he was recognized by others, the boy named Hachiman remained calm and composed, as if he didn't care about anything.

"Oh, you're from the class next door. I'm Naoto Yamashita, and this is Sakuta Azusagawa."

"I know you guys. The most famous manga artist in school, Naoto Yamashita, and Sakuta Azusagawa, who dared to confess to a big star on the playground."

Hachiman Hikigaya naturally recognized the two, as Naoto and Sakuta were incredibly famous at school, and even their girlfriends were extremely well-known.

At first, Hachiman was a little taken aback when he saw the two of them. These two were practically the most popular and outgoing people in the entire school. He had never imagined he'd run into them.

Since the place where I had lunch before was occupied, I had to find another place today. Unexpectedly, I ended up running into Naoto and Sakuta.

So, are there still seats available here?

"Yes, come sit here."

After hearing Sakuta and Naoto agree, Hachiman unceremoniously sat down on the ground and began eating his lunch.