Full-time comic artist

There is a basketball court near the park.

Some boys would come to play basketball from the teachers' families in Musashino, as well as from the accommodation area three kilometers away.

It's available today too.

Early spring is still quite cold; the Awakening of Insects has just passed.

These people, however, were wearing short sleeves and playing enthusiastically in temperatures of 8 degrees Celsius.

“Tori Akino-sensei!” Someone recognized Hibiki Higashino, the child of a middle-aged female teacher in the teachers’ dormitory.

"Is that Ms. Akino Mirai?"

The others put down their basketballs and ran to Higashino Hibiki, their bodies steaming with sweat, their stubble soaked with perspiration.

His eyes shone with youthful light, along with excitement and exhilaration.

"Hello." Higashino waved.

"Teacher, you must be graduating soon. It's such a shame." The child lowered his head.

Higashino Hibiki patted his head, feeling that it was wet. "Yeah, after all, I'm not a student anymore."

"I've joined the basketball team at Yan Yan Middle School, and I'm determined to make it to the national tournament!"

Higashino left, looking up with a determined gaze, waving his hand and shouting with conviction.

Higashino Hibiki didn't turn around, but raised his hand above his head and gave him a thumbs up.

"Keep it up!"

……

Keep moving forward.

Hibiki Higashino comes to this park to run in the early mornings, and she and Akemi Akimiya come to dance on the night of the Musashino School Festival.

With nostalgia in his heart, Higashino Hibiki arrived at the park entrance.

A young man stood there, holding a file folder, his expression showing unease and nervousness.

Higashino Hibiki was delayed by the children and arrived a little late, so he quickly quickened his pace and went over.

"Is this Kishimoto-kun? I'm Tori Akino Mirai. I'm sorry I'm late."

This person is Masashi Kishimoto. He is two years older than Hibiki Higashino, but because of his round, baby-faced appearance, he looks younger than Higashino.

Kishimoto panicked for a moment and said repeatedly, "It's okay, it's okay, I just arrived earlier."

After saying that, Masashi Kishimoto bowed deeply: "Tori Akino-sensei, I'm sorry to have troubled you this time."

Higashino waved his hand and said kindly, "You've come at just the right time; you've really been a great help."

It took less than ten minutes to walk to my new home.

Masashi Kishimoto is very talkative. After we got to know each other, he talked a lot about his current situation.

He is working on improving "Naruto" and hopes to serialize it himself.

When they were almost home, Masashi Kishimoto finally couldn't hold back and asked about Akira Toriyama.

He was a loyal reader of Akira Toriyama, and it was because of Toriyama's influence that he started drawing manga.

Higashino Hibiki was speechless. Could it be that this assistant also came because of Toriyama-sensei?

With a sense of helplessness, he could only tell Kishimoto about Akira Toriyama's recent situation, saying that Akira Toriyama was preparing to draw a short manga or something.

Upon arriving at the community, we passed the security guard post at the main gate, walked past lush vegetation, and came to the apartment building.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Kishimoto said, looking up at the apartment. “Tori Akino-sensei is really amazing, able to afford an apartment in such a high-end neighborhood.”

Higashino chuckled: "Oh ho ho ho, this wasn't bought by me, it's my wife's property."

Kishimoto looked at Higashino with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

The apartment building has six floors. The Higashino-Akimiya family lives on the fifth floor. There are two apartments on each floor. Higashino Hibiki's apartment is opposite Nakajima's, but he hasn't had a chance to visit him yet.

After taking the elevator to the fifth floor and opening the door, he led Kishimoto into the room.

"Wow, how spectacular!"

What Kishimoto was referring to was not the room's open view, abundant light, exquisite decoration, or expensive furniture.

Instead, you'll see five work desks as you walk from the entrance hall into the lobby.

It was covered with tools and some small ornaments.

The desktop was covered with draft paper.

"Hello, I'm Tanakai." Tanakai, who was drawing a comic, nodded in greeting. His bangs covered his eyes, so you couldn't tell if he was flustered.

"I am Masashi Kishimoto. Hello, senior. Please just call me Kishimoto." Kishimoto bowed.

"Kishimoto-kun, you can just call me Tanaka."

"Yes, Tanaka-san!"

"I am Akemi Akimiya, hello Kishimoto-kun."

"Hello, Ms. Akimiya!"

After getting to know each other, Hibiki Higashino learned about Masashi Kishimoto's abilities in detail, and he said with a smile, "As expected, Kishimoto-kun's arrival has been a great help."

"Where."

Since he could draw manga right now, Higashino Hibiki didn't hold back and took out some paper for him to draw the background for the latest chapter, which was also the chapter that started the national tournament.

"Oh! The national tournament has begun!"

Kishimoto looked at the storyboard with excitement in his eyes. "Back in college, my classmates said my manga was boring, that it was just something I created to please myself, and that it couldn't compare to 'Hikaru no Go' at all. After that, I started studying my teacher's manga."

"As expected, Hikaru no Go is so interesting!"

"Slam Dunk is great too!"

"I learned a lot, such as how to set up the plot and how to keep the reader interested."

"Just like the events before 'Slam Dunk,' Shohoku High School, missing Sakuragi Hanamichi, achieved a 1-1 tie in their practice match against Changcheng High School, one of the top eight schools in the country!"

"Sakuragi, who has practiced 2 mid-range shots, must have undergone a complete transformation in his abilities."

Therefore, the Xiangbei basketball team is stronger than the top eight in the country.

"Tori Akino-sensei's inclusion of this passage cleverly allows readers to understand Shohoku's strength and makes them even more eager to see Shohoku's performance in the national tournament!"

Masashi Kishimoto excitedly said a whole string of things.

Tanaka and Akemi Akemi looked at each other in bewilderment. Could it be that another Oda has arrived?

"Quiet down, Kishimoto-kun," Hibiki Higashino patted Kishimoto on the shoulder. "You understand very well, but please be quiet for a moment."

"Yes, yes, teacher," Kishimoto breathed a sigh of relief, trying to calm himself down.

Then he sat down at his workstation near the door.

……

The storyboard begins from the perspective of Yohei Mito.

This character has always been popular. He appears in very few episodes and is a character outside the basketball framework, yet he always manages to rank in the top five on the popularity charts.

Masashi Kishimoto also liked Yohei Mito very much, believing that the character had the potential to become the protagonist.

During the holiday, Sakuragi and his friends took the train to the game. The gymnasium was empty. Mito Yohei was trying to shoot, but he kept missing.

Haruko was very grateful to Yohei and others for their intensive training of Sakuragi.

When Haruko first met Sakuragi, she thought he was a basketball genius.

Sakuragi embodies Haruko's basketball dreams, on the train bound for Hiroshima.

The schedule for Shohoku's matches has been released.

The first match is against Toyotama High School, a formidable opponent.

But that's nothing compared to the second match, which was a heavyweight contest.

Sanno Industrial High School in Akita.

This school has been a top powerhouse in the country for three consecutive years!

"Huh? Is the second opponent this strong?"

Kishimoto was taken aback.

"Shouldn't this be our opponent in the finals? Or the semifinals?"

"That's strange."

"They've run into the first place so early. Is Mr. Akino planning to make Shohoku exit early and wait for next year's competition?" Kishimoto muttered to himself as he flipped through the storyboards.

"If we win, the rest of the competition will be a foregone conclusion. There's a lack of passion for climbing to the top."

If they can defeat Sannoh, then Shohoku's third-round opponent will be Aiwa High School.

Aiwa High School is also a strong team, with a player named Dai Moroboshi who even Shinichi Maki takes seriously. They were among the top four last year.

This is absolutely a group of death.

The Shohoku team, who were focused on Sannoh and Aiwa, were making one person very unhappy: Toyotama's captain, Kishimoto.

Kishimoto...

"Eh!" Kishimoto Masashi was startled. He looked at the "Kishimoto" in the manga who looked like a thug who was trying to provoke Shohoku, and was taken aback.

"It must be a coincidence, it's a coincidence."

"Tori Akino-sensei is so kind; it's not that she dislikes me."

He gently comforted himself twice, looking at the original manuscript.

"After all, although there aren't many people with the surname Kishimoto, there are some."

Kishimoto was very unhappy, and it was also related to the team's evaluation.

Toyotama is an A-level team, while Shohoku is only a C-level team, and their only well-known player is Takenori Akagi.

This undoubtedly angered Sakuragi and his three teammates, who were already brimming with confidence even before the match had started.