I am a Type-Moon comic artist!

"Yes!"

After Iwamoto Yu finished speaking, he left, leaving Yoshikawa Taishi alone to slowly read the manga...

Yu Iwamoto, who was working outside, was a little restless.

He didn't know what the outcome would be...

The story in that comic was indeed good, but that was in his opinion. Everyone has their own aesthetic sense; what might be a masterpiece in one person's eyes could be nothing but garbage in another's.

He genuinely hoped that Fate/Zero could pass this serialization meeting.

He had made up his mind that even if the editor-in-chief rejected it, he would still try to win it over with the attitude of an editor. If he insisted on his opinion, he would still have a chance even if the editor-in-chief refused.

Then...

Time passed slowly, and an hour went by in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, what's wrong with you today? You look so restless." Takeshi Mogi said, looking at Yu Iwamoto, who had been fidgeting since the start of his workday, after returning with a glass of water.

"No, it's nothing, it's nothing."

"You're really strange...." Mogi Takeshi shook his head and ignored him; he still had work to do...

Two hours have passed.

There's still no news.

Yu Iwamoto was starting to panic...

Three hours have passed

He hadn't even eaten lunch, and the editor-in-chief hadn't come to call him. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

It turns out that the editor-in-chief was just as deeply immersed in this comic as he was.

Or is it...?

I'm trying to figure out how to convince myself to reject this comic.

"I think you'd better eat something, right?" Takeshi Mogi asked, looking at his colleague with a puzzled expression as he ate his lunchbox. He was usually such a calm and collected person; what was wrong with him today?

Did you take the wrong medicine? What's wrong with you?

"Sigh...it's nothing, you can eat, I don't have much of an appetite." Iwamoto Yu shook his head and stood up: "I'm going for a walk outside."

That being said, he actually just walked around the door for a while, smoked a cigarette, poured himself a glass of water, and then came back.

Nobody knows when the editor-in-chief will call him.

It would have been terrible if he hadn't been there at that time.

Four hours... five hours...

The sun has begun to tilt.

But there was still no news. Iwamoto Yu kept reassuring herself that it must be because the editor-in-chief was too engrossed in reading. But even so, she was still very anxious.

His heart kept pounding until clear intelligence was confirmed.

He hadn't done any work today, but he felt incredibly tired, much more tired than usual.

Then--

Very soon...

It's almost time to get off work.

In about half an hour, it will be time to get off work.

However, even so, there was still no news. His heart sank, and he could almost see himself going to work the next day.

When the editor-in-chief passed by and saw him, he casually remarked, "That comic from yesterday? No, it's not suitable for JUMC."

"Is Iwamoto Yu here?"

Just then—Shoji Yuto, the leader of Iwamoto Yu's group, pushed open the door and said.

"Ah, yes."

"Yes, Yuu Iwamoto, come here for a moment." Shoji Yuto, who wore glasses and weighed eighty kilograms, nodded and said, "The editor-in-chief wants to see you. It's an urgent meeting."

"Huh? An urgent meeting?"

"That's right, just as you thought. The editor-in-chief wants to hold a pre-serialization meeting about the comic you brought over earlier."

“...Yes!” Iwamoto Yu said with delight, never expecting to see a glimmer of hope at this moment.

"Pre-serialization meeting?" Takeshi Mogi asked the person next to him with some confusion, looking at Yu Iwamoto who was rushing over. "Um... have you ever heard of a pre-serialization meeting?"

"No." The person standing to the side glanced at Takeshi Mogi and then at Yu Iwamoto's back, saying, "But I can guess that guy must have brought some good manga... He's really lucky. First it was JoJo, and now what is it? It seems like he's met some amazing teacher."

"Is it another new manga?" Takeshi Mogi glanced over there, then looked away. "Ah, I need to work harder too, and try to sign a good manga artist!"

Chapter 51 The Possibility of Fate/Zero Serialization (31000 Recommendations)

"It seems everyone has arrived." Yoshikawa Taishi said, looking at the people in the room. "I just quickly made several copies of this manuscript. Everyone take one; we'll need it for tomorrow's serialization meeting."

“Tomorrow? Isn’t that too rushed?” a group leader said. “We’ve already received enough manuscripts this week.”

“Generally speaking, that’s true, but just like why I called you all here at this time,” Taishi Yoshikawa said to everyone, “this is a rather excellent manga…”

Is it really that exaggerated?

Iwamoto Yu looked at the current situation with some confusion.

Although he was called over, given his status, he had no room to interrupt.

I also don't understand why the editor-in-chief is so eager to bring *Fate/Zero* to the serialization meeting...

"Alright, stop arguing." Yoshikawa Taishi stopped them and said, "This only means we have the qualification to attend tomorrow's serialization meeting. Whether it will be approved or not depends on tomorrow. We're about to leave work today, so I won't say anything more to you. Go back and take a good look, and make a decision tomorrow! Also, Iwamoto Yu, stay behind. There's something I want to tell you."

soon.

It was time to leave work.

Yoshikawa Taishi flipped through the manuscript in his hand and said to Iwamoto Yu, "Did Kurokawa-sensei tell you which pen name you'll be using for this manga?"

"Yes, he said to use the pen name 'Black'..."

“No way.” Yoshikawa Taishi immediately shook his head and said, “Call him in a bit and explain this to him. If this manga is published in other magazines, it doesn’t matter which pen name you use. But if it’s registered on JUMC, you can’t use this pen name. If you have to use it, it’s best to use [Kurokawa Kazuya] or just create a new pen name.”

"Huh? Why?" Iwamoto Yu was taken aback.

"That pen name 'Black' is already ruined, at least it was before that battle royale comic was finished, you know that. And even if it had ended, it was destined to be a mixed bag of praise and criticism, it's normal for either side to prevail."

Yu Iwamoto nodded, agreeing.

The comic's gore and violence, its depiction of human nature, its illogical yet strangely realistic plot, and its art style that clashes with contemporary trends... all prove this.

"Right now, the manga serialized in Weekly YOUNGJUMC is under immense pressure. As you know, the daily complaints and threats are piling up. The reason it hasn't been canceled is quite ironic: Weekly YOUNGJUMC is currently propped up by this rather bizarre and unorthodox manga. Even if it's negative news, it is still news. Without a new and better manga to support it, hastily canceling this manga might not just kill off a single manga, but an entire magazine. However, none of this can change the fact that the pen name 'Black' is being rejected by a segment of readers in the short term."

Yoshikawa Taishi paused for a moment before continuing.

"So, let's talk about a reader facing the same manga under different pen names... If the manga is published under the pen name 'Black,' the dark atmosphere of the very first chapter is enough to make many readers abandon it immediately. Especially the experiences of the little girl, Sakura... Many people might think that 'Black' is an incorrigible manga artist who has drawn such disgusting things again. In that case, they will abandon the manga, and even abandon JUMC magazine. Afterwards, no matter how much others say that the manga is interesting or good, the preconceived notions formed at the beginning are not so easy to change. Even so, only a portion of them will come back, and the rest will have given up forever. Furthermore, in this process, we will also have to bear enormous pressure from readers; there will probably be no shortage of complaint letters."

"However, using the pen name 'Kurokawa Kazuya' would be different. First of all, Kurokawa-sensei's JOJO has been serialized in JUMC for some time now, and the story has entered its second part. The new protagonist, Joseph Joestar, has shown a brilliance that is different from Jonathan's and even from the traditional protagonists of JUMC. This brilliance is undoubtedly very attractive, as can be seen from the rankings in the last two JOJO chapters, which means—it will undoubtedly bring a lot of initial popularity to this 'Fate/Zero'. Even though Jonathan died in the last part, it was a glorious death, which was sad but also very moving. So... even if you see the little girl Sakura's experience, you will feel sad but also believe that she will definitely be saved. After all, Kurokawa-sensei previously praised the Golden Spirit in JOJO."

“Uh…but…” Iwamoto Yu hesitated for a moment, “But, that little girl…until the very end…”

"That's right, she wasn't saved, and even the person who tried to save her met a rather tragic end. But... at that time, everyone was probably too engrossed in the story to talk about these things."

It's like a scam...

Yu Iwamoto's lips twitched slightly.

"Um... what if Professor Kurokawa doesn't want to change it?"

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that…” Yoshikawa Taishi shook his head. “I can only say this: if we use the pen name [Kurokawa Kazuya] to publish Fate/Zero, it might become a fairly famous medium-length manga. Moreover, given the completeness of the story… and Kurokawa-sensei’s speed in creating manga, there’s no need for him to deliberately draw the later parts and prevent it from being completed.”

"If we use the pen name 'Kuro' to publish it, it will deter countless readers from the start, and there's even a possibility that it will be canceled prematurely. Using a completely new pen name adds to the unpredictability. In other words, it's best to publish it under the pen name 'Kurokawa Kazuya,' or at the very least, make him use a completely new pen name. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Iwamoto Yu nodded and said, "I will definitely do my best!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but admire the editor-in-chief. He thought, "The editor-in-chief truly lives up to his title." A veteran of the comics industry for over a decade, his vision was far more far-reaching than that of a "newcomer" like himself who had only been in the business for a few years.

Chapter 52 JOJO! I'm Not Human Anymore!

"Iwamoto-san..." Kurokawa Kazuya answered the phone: "What's the matter calling at this hour?"

"Hmm? A pen name..."

Kurokawa Kazuya put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and thought for a moment: "Alright, then let's use the name [Kurokawa Kazuya]."

After hanging up the phone, Kurokawa Kazuya checked the time, pushed back his chair, and stood up: "It's about time, time to go to sleep."

Although he failed yesterday, he felt that he was not far from success.

Now it's time to see what happens today.

Will we succeed today?

After washing up, with steady breathing, Kurokawa Kazuya lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Then--

Having learned from his previous experience, he already knew how to get the Stone Mask as quickly as possible.

Next up is a quick experiment!

......

"The Stone Mask is gone?" Jonathan asked, utterly bewildered. "What happened? Who took the Stone Mask?"

Stone Mask —

Five years ago, when I was fighting with DIO in the room, my blood splattered on it.

Later--

The stone demon's face has changed.