Full-time comic artist

Just then, he noticed Sasaki walking past him carrying a box labeled "Letter from a reader of 5 Centimeters Per Second".

What's going on here?

“Tori Akino-sensei asked me about the reader letters for ‘5 Centimeters Per Second,’ and I’ll deliver them to him now, and we can also talk about the finals,” Sasaki replied.

“Hmm,” Torishima Kazuhiko nodded, then suddenly reached out, “Don’t take the wrong one. Send the razor blade and the abusive letter over.”

To ensure the mental health and work well-being of manga artists, Jump will definitely screen reader mail and only deliver those deemed necessary to the artists.

Higashino Hibiki's previous reader letters were alright, but this time they were... unbearable to read.

After the finale of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno was heavily criticized by viewers. Kazuhiko Torishima felt that Akino Torishima might experience the same pressure that Hideaki Anno faced in the future.

Sasaki nodded. "I understand."

……

Akemi Akimiya has been feeling a bit depressed lately because of the plot of "5 Centimeters Per Second".

She felt the terror of time.

In "Cherry Blossoms", Takaki went through many hardships to find Akari, and Akari was still waiting for Takaki until midnight.

The two were deeply in love under the cherry blossom tree, and talked all night in the warehouse. After saying goodbye, they still longed to meet again.

But thirteen years later, this love story changed.

Love, longing, and eventually numbness; when we meet again, we are just strangers, leaving only a beautiful memory.

She's completely immersed in "5 Centimeters Per Second" and can't get out of it now.

The thought of losing all feelings for Higashino Hibiki in the future made her feel suffocated.

Hibiki Higashino could understand. After thinking it over, he realized that while love was important to Akemi Akemi, it wasn't the most important thing.

The most important thing, of course, is still the comics.

So he contacted Sasaki and obtained the letters from the readers.

Sure enough, Akemi Akimiya, who had been depressed, immediately brightened up after seeing the reader's letter.

She kept looking at the letter; Hibiki Higashino was having a long talk with Sasaki.

"The preliminary rounds for Slam Dunk will be over in a few months, and then the national tournament will be next, right?" he asked.

Actually, he was still a little worried that Hibiki Higashino would arrange for Shohoku to lose to Ryonan.

Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede improved significantly in their second year and competed again in the national tournament.

But that won't do. If they can't make it to the national tournament, then third-year students like Akagi and Mitsui will have to be removed from the story, and new character designs will have to be created. That would be a thankless and exhausting task.

Moreover, Mitsui, Akagi, and even Kogure Kiminobu are all characters with extremely well-developed personalities; abandoning them would be a huge waste.

The ratings for "Slam Dunk" will be halved.

So Sasaki subtly hinted that he was worried Higashino was a hothead.

“Of course,” Hibiki Higashino nodded.

This relieved Sasaki.

After that, his concern became when "Slam Dunk" would end.

Sasaki fell into deep thought, and after two and a half years, he wrote his way to the county-level competition finals.

Then there's the national tournament, and after that, there's a storyline where the protagonist enters his second year. Thinking about it this way, I could write for another ten years!

Sasaki fell silent, and Hibiki Higashino noticed that Akemi Akemi was looking at him expectantly, as if she had something to share.

She kept giving her meaningful glances.

Sasaki's meditation was not over, which made Hibiki Higashino a little anxious.

He stretched and said, "Ah, time to get ready."

Sasaki snapped out of his reverie and, seeing Higashino Hibiki rubbing his hands together, ready to make a big splash, swallowed back the question he wanted to ask.

There's no rush now.

"I'll take my leave," he said, standing up.

……

After seeing Sasaki off, Hibiki Higashino returned to his studio.

Akemi Akemi immediately skipped over to his side and asked curiously, "Is what this reader said true?"

"Let me see."

"Cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters per second, which is very slow, but this speed has been maintained for thirteen years."

The journey that cherry blossoms take over thirteen years is exactly 20498.4 kilometers, which is half the circumference of the Earth's equator.

Cherry blossoms are falling, and thirteen years later, the two people's hearts have reached the farthest distance on Earth.

I don't know if this is a coincidence, but if it is, I'm very touched. Akino-sensei is a very romantic person; she subtly and gradually foreshadowed why Akari and Takaki had become estranged.

“What a genius,” Higashino Hibiki shook his head, and as Akemi Akemi pressed on, he patted her head. “If you’re willing to believe it, then it’s true.”

……

Akemi Akemi read the reader's letter for a long time, and afterwards her mood recovered.

The match between Hainan and Lingnan is coming to an end.

To the surprise of all readers, Ryonan was incredibly powerful.

In the second half, the score gap widened to 15 points at one point.

Kiyota Nobunaga's dunk finally broke Ryonan's rhythm, and Hainan gradually caught up with the score under Maki Shinichi's attack.

Ryonan's offensive player, Fukuda, was substituted by Ikegami Ryoji due to his poor defensive ability.

The two sides traded blows, and the score gradually became even.

After Jun Uozumi was ejected for a technical foul, Ryonan ultimately found themselves at a disadvantage.

On the other side, Sakuragi Hanamichi left the gymnasium.

The game between Shanghai Nankai and Ryonan on the court made him anxious, so he returned to the Shohoku Gymnasium to practice shooting.

Coach Anzai found him and trained with him, but suddenly fell ill, suffering from angina and collapsing to the ground unconscious.

"How dangerous! Could it be..." Kuraki Riko exclaimed in surprise.

She was a devoted reader of Ryonan basketball team stories. Sendoh Akira had supported the collapsing Ryonan, and just as she was getting excited, the story shifted to Sakuragi.

I was just feeling down.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but worry.

"Could it be that after writing '5 Centimeters Per Second,' Akino Tori took a liking to writing depressing stories? Is he planning to have Coach Anzai die of illness?!"

Although it's a sport, the current situation is terrifying.

After all, the only person present was Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Sakuragi has always been an unreliable person; can he really provide emergency relief to Anzai?

Swallowing hard, Kuraki Riko's expression turned serious as she continued reading.

Mitsui's shoelace came undone, Rukawa encountered a black cat, and Miyagi Ryota was chased by crows.

Everything was a bad omen.

When Akagi and the others arrived at the hospital, they saw Sakuragi Hanamichi's trembling back.

He turned around, tears welling up in his eyes.

"What about the coach? How's Coach Anzai?"

It seems that everything is as Kuraki Riko guessed.

"No way!" She covered her mouth.

Turn the page again, and the comic ends.

……

It was a good-natured joke; Coach Anzai is fine.

However, thanks to Sakuragi Hanamichi's timely rescue, otherwise things would have been really bad.

"Hey! Sakuragi!"

"Sakuragi Hanamichi?"

The others were stunned; this was not something Sakuragi Hanamichi could do.

Sakuragi Hanamichi decisively dealt with Coach Anzai's situation, called an ambulance, and then notified Mrs. Anzai and Akagi.

When Sakuragi was in junior high school, he returned home after a fight and found his father sick and collapsed in the entryway. He immediately ran out to try and contact the nearest hospital.

However, he was stopped by some thugs, which caused his father to miss the best time for treatment and pass away.

Because of this, he knew how to do it, and because of this, he was so heartbroken.

The match between Lingnan and Hainan has gone into overtime.

However, Hainan was stronger and ultimately defeated Ryonan in overtime.

Although they haven't played against Buri yet, Hainan is sure to win, maintaining their 17-year winning streak!

Therefore, Shohoku's ultimate opponent is Ryonan.

The winning team will advance to the national tournament!

This is definitely going to be a tough match, and the readers are eagerly anticipating it!

……

But right now, Hibiki Higashino is walking the streets of Shibuya.

He's going to attend Yamamura Morimichi's wedding.

Higashino Hibiki was really envious of him, so he prepared a gift and arrived at the scene quickly.

Just as he was about to go inside, he unexpectedly saw Yoshihiro Togashi.