Full-time comic artist

"What did Mom say?" Akemi Akimiya asked curiously.

In the unfamiliar room, Akemi Akemi felt a little nervous. She leaned against the headboard, close to Hibiki Higashino, trying to relax by feeling the familiar presence of him.

Higashino leaned close to her ear, his breath hot, and said, "We want a child."

As soon as he said those words, Higashino Hibiki could feel Akemi Akemi's body stiffen, then become hot and soft again.

She seemed to have no strength left and was about to shrink into the blankets.

"Mmm." Akemi Akemi nodded shyly.

More than a year into their marriage, the two of them still maintain the same level of freshness in their sex life as before.

Hibiki Higashino feels he will never get bored, but perhaps that's just because he hasn't experienced the seven-year itch yet.

Before going to bed, Akemi Akimiya, worried about pressing on or messing up her hair, braided two pigtails, one on the left and one on the right.

Under the dim light of the desk lamp, Akemi Akimiya's skin was smooth, her cheeks were flushed, and she possessed a pure and innocent beauty.

Higashino felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"Miss Akimiya, let me help you take off your clothes."

……

The day after moving, Higashino Hibiki visited the neighbors in the two adjacent villas with gifts.

One family is surnamed Miura, and the other is surnamed Miyano; both are families with both sons and daughters.

They were estranged, and the harmony between the Higashino family and the Nakajima mother and daughter that they had shared when they lived in the upscale apartment building was gone.

Higashino Hibiki didn't pay any attention and went home after putting away the gift.

Mrs. Miura looked curiously at Higashino Hibiki's retreating figure. "Isn't that Mr. Yoshino's villa next door? It was under renovation at the time, and I thought he would come to live there. I didn't expect it to be a young man."

Mr. Miura closed the door. "Who would know? It's none of our business."

……

Higashino Hibiki's Red Maple Villa has three floors and covers an area of ​​600 square meters.

The first floor has a living room, dining room and kitchen.

The studio is also there. When Higashino Hibiki starts serializing new manga, his assistants and editors will come to the studio. It's more convenient to have it on the first floor.

The second floor houses a study, a bedroom, a pre-prepared nursery, and a small studio where the Higashino couple would occasionally jot down their inspirations.

The third floor houses a rest and entertainment area, a gym, and a storage room.

The storage room contains storyboards and original manuscripts from "Hikaru no Go" and "Slam Dunk," figurines and toys gifted by manufacturers, and letters from readers.

Occasionally, Oda and his team would send Hibiki Higashino figurines, which now fill most of the 80-square-meter room.

The villa is 600 square meters, and most of the space is not being used, but it will be useful in the future.

Not long after the move, Sasaki brought Yoshida Koji to visit.

"Wow," Yoshida Koji looked at the villa, "What a big house! No wonder it's Tori Akino-sensei. I'll make sure that every manga artist I work with can afford a villa in the future."

Sasaki glanced at him, nodded, and said, "You must keep this idea in mind."

After ringing the bell, the two entered the courtyard through the main gate, while the villa's main gate remained open.

"It's so clean," Yoshida Koji remarked as he entered the hall.

"Because we just moved in," Higashino Hibiki replied with a smile.

The Yoshida Koji standing before me hadn't changed much since the last time we met; he had the naivety of a college student fresh out of school.

He invited Yoshida and Sasaki to sit on the sofa, made some tea, and casually asked, "Yoshida-kun, how's your work with Togashi-sensei going?"

"I've learned a lot." Koji Yoshida stood with his legs together, looking very nervous. "I still have a lot to learn about the editing profession."

"At first, I thought that editing was a job that involved working closely with cartoonists, chasing and collecting manuscripts, and discussing plot development with them. It seemed like a very romantic profession."

"Now we realize that doing just that is far from enough."

"Besides comics, we editors also need to pay attention to many other entertainment products to capture market trends and provide inspiration to the authors at any time; we also need to study what readers like and create tables to provide data feedback to the comic artists."

"To discover the talent of cartoonists and fill their gaps."

"In short, there is still a lot I need to learn."

Hibiki Higashino nodded in satisfaction. He believed that there were two types of manga artists: one type was the gifted type, who had a keen intuition, and whose works were very popular with readers.

One type is data-driven, which studies readers' interests and aligns content with trends.

When One Piece was all the rage, even Naruto had to learn from its style.

Because this is recognized by the market.

Both types of authors require highly professional editing assistance.

Hibiki Higashino sometimes adjusts the content of his manga to reflect changing times, and in such cases, it's necessary to consult with the editor.

Sasaki has always done a very good job.

Now that Koji Yoshida has realized this and taken the first step, he will always grow.

Higashino Hibiki felt that his next editor would be the new editor in front of him.

……

The three of them chatted for a while longer, and then Sasaki handed over his work. From now on, the person in charge of contacting Higashino Hibiki would be Koji Yoshida.

"Mr. Tori Akino, may I visit your studio?" Yoshida raised his hand and asked loudly after the conversation was over.

"You don't need to be so reserved," Higashino nodded with a smile. "Of course you can."

He stood up and led the two into the studio.

The studio has five work desks, three of which are empty.

There were two tables close together by the window, covered with tools, clearly in use.

Akemi Akemi is drawing a manga, and Hibiki Higashino was just helping her.

"Mr. Sasaki, welcome," Akemi Akemi looked up at the sound. She wanted to smooth her hair, but then realized her hands were covered in ink, so she gave up. "And who is this?"

Sasaki introduced, "It's Yoshida-kun, the editor who will take over my work with Tori Akino-sensei."

He then introduced Akemi Akemi to Koji Yoshida, saying, "This is Akemi Higashino, the wife of Mr. Akemi Tori."

Yoshida bowed deeply and greeted him.

Akemi Akemi tilted her head in surprise. Koji Yoshida had medium-length hair and dressed very fashionably. If Akemi Akemi saw him on the streets of Shibuya, she would think he was a rock musician.

Surprisingly, Yoshida was quite polite.

"Hello, Yoshida-kun." Fortunately, Akemi Akemi reacted quickly and didn't rudely.

……

Yoshida looked at the workbench, his eyes sparkling.

Yoshida: Slam Dunk originated from here!

Higashino waved his hand: There's nothing here.

Looking at the half-finished manuscript on the workbench, Yoshida asked Higashino Hibiki with delight, "Tori Akino-sensei, is this a new work you're preparing? May I take a look?"

Hibiki Higashino shook his head helplessly. He glanced at Sasaki, his eyes saying, "Why are all you editors like this?"

Sasaki was slightly embarrassed. He explained, "I'm working on Akemi Akemi's manga, 'Sakura Quest'."

Akemi Akemi raised her hand slightly and nodded.

"I'm sorry," Yoshida Koji apologized disappointedly.

……

After the editorial handover, some time passed.

Hibiki Higashino, who had been reading Weekly Shonen Jump, finally saw that manga in the opening manga section—

"grim Reaper"!

With this, the three pillars of Future Jump are now complete!

Initially, "Bleach" did not perform well. Hibiki Higashino followed it for several weeks, but it only achieved the popularity of an average newcomer's work.

Before entering the Soul Society, Bleach was indeed lacking, consisting of fragmented short chapters and isolated stories.

Higashino Hibiki stopped paying much attention to it.

……

"Kubo-kun," editor Asada came to Kubo's studio to show him Kosei's grades, "Kosei's ranking has risen this time, to 10th place. Keep up this ranking and keep striving for volume 30."

The ranking of the main characters is the foundation of Weekly Shonen Jump, but it also has a downside: it is not conducive to slow-burning works.

Therefore, Jump has a new work protection period, and the ranking within 10 chapters does not affect the serialization of the manga.

It will be canceled if the ratings are not good after 10 episodes.

The performance of "Bleach" did not meet Takanori Asada's expectations, but it was still better than "Zombie Fan".

It could be serialized for many years.

"30 volumes? Will it take 6 years to draw?" Kubo Tite was in a dilemma. He was an impatient person who liked novelty. He expected Bleach to end in 3 years.

After editor Asada left, Kubo's expression turned grim.

"Only 10th place? That's in the double digits..."

Newcomer Masashi Kishimoto ranked second, while Eiichiro Oda also reached his peak upon debut, with his first manga becoming a pillar of Jump.

Only he, who is of similar age, had his previous comic series canceled, and he is still working hard to prevent it from being canceled.

"What exactly is the difference between me and them?"

He suddenly recalled the New Year's party at the beginning of the year.

At that time, he was not good at socializing and did not greet his seniors, not wanting to be looked down upon by them.

This inexplicable sense of pride makes Kubo Tite feel a little regretful now.

"If it had been at the New Year's party..."