Full-time comic artist

Mitsui subsequently suffered repeated heavy blows and was badly beaten.

Sakuragi was sent flying by a top hook from Tetsuo. Tetsuo was practically a fighting expert; he was born to fight.

However, Sakuragi didn't care at all.

Mitsui struggled to his feet, only to be knocked to the ground again by Yohei's several hook punches.

He was trembling all over, but he still refused to give up. He used all his strength to slowly get up.

Kanda Takehito's opinion also changed. Although Mitsui Hisashi's character was questionable, he was indeed very tenacious and persevering.

Mitsui was beaten black and blue by Yohei, with blood splattering everywhere.

Both Kogure and Miyagi were stunned.

Yohei grabbed Mitsui Hisashi by the collar and said, "I'll stop bothering the basketball team and you're not allowed to come to the gymnasium."

Mitsui Hisashi was breathing heavily, staring at Yohei with unyielding eyes.

Sakuragi saw through Tetsuo's fighting style, turned the tables, and sent Tetsuo flying with a single punch, quickly avenging Kakuta, Yasuda, and the others.

His fist slammed heavily into Iron Man's face, a satisfying act of revenge.

Aside from Rukawa Kaede's part, he only gently stroked Tetsuo's face.

This behavior greatly angered Rukawa Kaede.

Mitsui and Tetsuo lost to Yohei and Sakuragi.

……

Yohei said to the exhausted Mitsui, "Say it, I won't come here again."

Other negative factors led to the idea of ​​retreating.

Mitsui used all his strength to lightly punch Yohei in the face, making his stance clear.

"Why are you so persistent, Mitsui?" The other delinquents couldn't understand.

Kanda Takehito couldn't understand it either.

What was Mitsui Hisashi really thinking?

He clearly beat Miyagi up badly too. For a delinquent, if they haven't suffered any losses, they should run away with their tails between their legs when they're at a disadvantage.

Why be so persistent?

At this moment, many readers who have read this far are also filled with doubt.

Takasugi was also indignant that Miyagi Ryota had been badly beaten by Mitsui's despicable methods, but seeing Mitsui now, he no longer felt angry and instead developed a strong curiosity about the character.

The story of Mitsui has already been elaborated upon extensively. What was Mitsui's past?

He knows the location of the gymnasium, he knows Yasuda of the Shohoku basketball team, and even in the current storyline of the manga, Mitsui knows Kogure, who stepped forward to stop Yohei.

He clearly knew the basketball team members, so what was the story between Mitsui Hisashi and the basketball team?

Curious, in short, extremely curious.

Many readers think this way.

They couldn't wait to look at the comics.

After physics class, Takenori Akagi returned to the gymnasium.

He glanced at the current situation and immediately understood.

He walked up to Mitsui Hisashi, raised his hand, and slapped Mitsui across the face.

It was obvious that Akagi knew Mitsui, and he was not surprised by the current situation.

The story is about to be revealed, and readers are eagerly awaiting the next installment... but it's only to be continued...

"Huh! It's over?"

"Tori Akino Mirai really knows how to keep us in suspense!"

"What exactly happened?!"

Kanda Takehito was also about to lose his temper, deliberately leaving the suspense for the next chapter. Is this what a manga artist is like?

However, without realizing it, he gradually forgot his inner emptiness and instead became curious about the subsequent comics.

"Tch, I definitely won't watch the next chapter."

He was heading home from the park when he came to an open space and saw several children playing basketball.

They had a lot of fun even though it wasn't a basketball court.

A hint of nostalgia flashed in Kanda Takehito's eyes. He tucked Jump under his arm and turned to go to the internet cafe.

……

Slam Dunk began serialization at the end of January this year, and now, in mid-August, more than six months have passed.

Slam Dunk has also reached its 30th chapter.

Editorial Department of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Kazuhiko Torishima sat at his computer desk, looking at the data and nodding repeatedly.

Starting in April, "Slam Dunk" stabilized Jump's declining sales figures, and sales subsequently increased every month.

450 million copies, 457 million copies, 464 million copies...

As of now in August, the latest weekly sales figures show that the number of copies sold has reached 476 million.

Although it's still far from Jump's peak of 653 million copies sold, this is already a very good result.

This was beyond Torishima Kazuhiko's expectations.

Mirai Toriaki's "Slam Dunk" unexpectedly became popular, quickly reaching number one in popularity. The impact of the work continued to grow, once again breaking through the boundaries of manga.

Tori Akino Mirai is only 24 copies of Jump magazine's circulation away from completing a work.

What seemed so far away back then is now within reach.

Torishima Kazuhiko was very excited when Sasaki came looking for him.

"Is there something you need, Sasaki?"

“I think it’s time to prepare for the release of the Slam Dunk manga,” Sasaki said calmly.

Torishima Kazuhiko nodded, agreeing that striking while the iron was hot was the right thing to do.

"In the sequel to Slam Dunk, a new chapter's explosive moment is about to unfold." Sasaki is very confident about this.

"By then, the popularity of 'Slam Dunk' will definitely reach new heights. So releasing the collected volumes is a very correct choice."

Torishima Kazuhiko glanced at Sasaki; he had always valued this subordinate highly.

When Miki Toriaki submitted her work to "Hikaru no Go", the person she contacted was Sasaki.

Entrusting the painstakingly unearthed Tori Akino to Sasaki was Torishima Kazuhiko's choice.

Sasaki's vision did not disappoint Torishima Kazuhiko. After watching "Hikaru no Go", Sasaki believed that Torishima Akino would become a pillar of Jump in the future.

Looking at Sasaki, Torishima Kazuhiko said, "I had the same thought. But I'd like to know, what sales figures do you think the first volume of 'Slam Dunk' will achieve?"

“Please let me think about it,” Sasaki said.

After a while.

"It might reach more than 200 million copies."

Chapter 146 A Tribute to the Once-Glory Mitsui

A work that becomes a hit overnight and sells more than 50 copies of its standalone edition is already considered very good.

Sasaki now actually believes that the first volume of "Slam Dunk" can reach two million copies in a short time, which surprises Torishima Kazuhiko.

Because that's what he actually thinks too.

"Sasaki has excellent taste."

Looking at his subordinate, who was neither humble nor arrogant, Torishima Kazuhiko was even more satisfied with him.

However, Kazuhiko Torishima feigned surprise and asked, "The first volume sold over 200 million copies in a short period of time. How can you think that? To my knowledge, there has never been a work like that before."

In the Japanese manga industry, it's questionable whether there are even 20 works that have achieved an average volume sales of over 200 million copies.

This is a Japanese manga, not just Jump.

Moreover, it sold over 200 million copies when the first volume was released.

Neither Dragon Ball nor Yu Yu Hakusho can do that.

The 1983 release of "Fist of the North Star" has only managed to sell an average of 200 million copies per volume to date.

“In the past, there was a wide variety of works,” Sasaki said with a somewhat helpless expression. “Now, there is practically no one in Jump that can compete with Slam Dunk, so readers’ willingness to buy is concentrated on Slam Dunk.”

"There's also Akino Tori's future appeal. As a boundary-breaking manga artist, his influence extends beyond just Jump readers."

"Ultimately, it's my approval of Mitsui Hisashi's chapter. This chapter will be a new breakthrough for 'Slam Dunk'."

"It's not impossible for the first volume of Slam Dunk to sell 200 million copies."

Torishima Kazuhiko nodded.

"Could you summarize the plot of 'Mitsui Hisashi' in 'Slam Dunk' for me?"

Sasaki's repeated mentions of the new chapter piqued Torishima Kazuhiko's curiosity.

Moreover, he needs to make some judgments regarding the decision to publish the "Slam Dunk" manga.

Sasaki laid everything out.

Torishima Kazuhiko slammed his fist on the table and stood up; he had made his decision.

"Since you approve of it so much, the first edition of Slam Dunk Volume 1 will have 1 million copies. We will be prepared to reprint it at any time, depending on the sales."

"Yes." Sasaki clenched his fist, turned around, and left.

Watching Sasaki's retreating figure, Torishima Kazuhiko felt his passion burning. In this day and age, it was truly rare to find a work like "Slam Dunk," and he had to do everything in his power to support it.

……