Full-time comic artist

"Arai-sensei, you're here too!"

Yamamura Morimichi waved to the side, where his partner, Arai, was chatting with the others. Hearing the sound, Arai waved back.

The mountain villager smiled and walked over.

Higashino looked around and saw that Akira Toriyama was once again surrounded, and he could see that he was getting annoyed.

Akira Toriyama saw Hibiki Higashino, his eyes lit up, he put down his champagne, apologized to the person next to him, and then walked through the crowd toward Higashino.

The company employees stared at Higashino Hibiki with surprise. Higashino Hibiki smiled at them and went to greet them.

“Your manga is quite interesting,” Akira Toriyama praised. “I haven’t seen this type of manga in Jump for a long time.”

"Thank you."

Akira Toriyama's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "You have completely done what you told me back then, which is truly remarkable."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Higashino felt he was just being perfunctory and grabbed his arm, saying, "Please wait a moment."

Akira Toriyama's face fell. "You're not going to pester me too, are you?"

Hibiki Higashino took out a copy of Dr. Slump from his pocket. "It's just for an autograph."

“That’s easy.” Toriyama Akira breathed a sigh of relief. He led Hibiki Higashino to the dining table with a big smile. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet. I can finally fill my stomach.”

He looked at the delicious food and his mouth watered. Higashino Hibiki also took out his plate and was ready to dig in.

Chapter 39 The Older Generation

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Akira Toriyama, along with Hibiki Higashino, found a group of senior colleagues chatting together.

Osamu Akimoto, who has been serializing "Kochikame" since 1976 with an exceptionally long run, is 41 years old, looks quite kind, and can talk a lot;

Katsura Masakazu, 31, who is currently serializing "DNA2", is echoing Akimoto Osamu;

There's also the renowned Yoshihiro Togashi, who, like Akira Toriyama, stands at the pinnacle of Jump.

Yoshihiro Togashi is only twenty-seven years old, in the prime of his life, with long hair and a touch of artist's temperament.

Shy and rarely speaks.

After standing and chatting for a short while, he rubbed his lower back, leaned on the back of a chair, and sat down to rest.

Akira Toriyama walked over with Hibiki Higashino. He gritted his teeth, braced himself on his thighs, and tried to stand up.

Higashino Hibiki quickly stepped over and helped him up.

"Mr. Togashi, I heard you have back pain. You don't have to push yourself."

He smiled gratefully, a few beads of sweat on his forehead. "It's not that serious yet."

At 27, he hadn't even started dating Princess Naoko Takeuchi yet; they probably hadn't even met.

My health is alright.

He is not the character Hibiki Higashino is known for, the one who is hated by readers for his unresolved plot holes.

“Akimoto Osamu, Katsura Masakazu, and Togashi Yoshihiro.”

Akira Toriyama introduced Hibiki Higashino to them, "This is a newcomer to Jump, Akino Mirai."

Katsura Masakazu and Hibiki Higashino nodded in a friendly manner, while Yoshihiro Togashi smiled.

"Oh, you're Tori Akino-kun," among the three, Akimoto Osamu was particularly interested in Higashino Hibiki. He scrutinized Higashino Hibiki carefully and asked curiously, "Are you really just a high school student?"

Higashino nodded. "He's 17 this year and a student."

Osamu Akimoto clicked his tongue in amazement and exclaimed, "That's really amazing! The manga is drawn so well. If I were at your level, I would have been serializing it for many years."

Yoshihiro Togashi also said, "When I was serializing Yu Yu Hakusho, I had to come up with a lot of ideas to make up for my poor drawing skills. After that, I spent a lot of hard work learning from everyone's techniques, and it took a year before I finally managed to make it passable."

“It’s not as good as you all say,” Higashino Hibiki glanced at Toriyama Akira. “I was able to serialize it because I was learning from Toriyama-sensei.”

"Don't be so modest." Akira Toriyama patted Hibiki Higashino on the back. "Higashino-kun, you're making me a little scared. I feel like the newcomers are much stronger than our generation."

“Yes,” Akimoto said, “I don’t know how much longer I can continue serializing. The future belongs to you young people.”

Higashino Hibiki was speechless. He could believe it if others said it, but Akimoto Osamu…

He said, "It might continue for almost 30 more years."

Akimoto Osamu laughed heartily and waved his hand, "How could that be? You really like to make me happy."

Akimoto Haruto was having a bad time, but Hibiki Higashino noticed that Akira Toriyama and Yoshihiro Togashi both had darkened faces.

"Unbelievable, a manga has been drawn for decades..." Yoshihiro Togashi muttered to himself, his legs twitching.

He has recently developed a strong aversion to Yu Yu Hakusho, and the longer he draws it, the less he wants to draw the manga.

It doesn't feel like my own work anymore.

I want to submit the storyboard directly for serialization.

"It would be great if we could paint whenever we wanted and rest whenever we didn't."

Higashino Hibiki heard his dream and remained silent for a long time.

Akira Toriyama was also trembling, covering his mouth as if he wanted to vomit.

These two pillars of Jump are anything but easy to manage.

At this time, Hibiki Higashino also felt sympathy for Nobuhiko Horie.

……

They were chatting and began sharing techniques from Hibiki Higashino's manga, which Higashino listened to patiently.

A man walked onto the stage; he was none other than the spirited Nobuhiko Horie.

Jump's sales are rising steadily, reaching new historical highs, each time a new miracle.

He announced the official start of the New Year's party.

The waiter moved among the crowd, distributing champagne to everyone. When he reached Higashino Hibiki, Akira Toriyama stopped him, took a carton of strawberry milk from the table, and handed it to Higashino Hibiki.

"You can drink this."

"Thank you, Toriyama-sensei." Hibiki Higashino accepted the gift with both hands.

"Now, let's have Mr. Akira Toriyama, on behalf of the writers, lead everyone in a toast!"

Horie Nobuhiko's voice fell.

Akira Toriyama raised his glass high and shouted, "Cheers!"

Everyone followed suit and raised their glasses. Higashino Hibiki raised his strawberry milk glass and shouted, "Cheers!"

He stood out from the crowd.

Higashino Hibiki didn't care at all, inserted a straw and savored it carefully. The milky flavor, sugar and strawberry pieces tasted very good.

After taking one look at the brand, Higashino Hibiki was immediately drawn to it.

"Hahaha, Higashino, you really are still just a child, drinking milk here!" Yamamura Morimichi pointed at Higashino and laughed heartily, relieving his frustration.

"I'm still a child." Higashino Hibiki drank the strawberry milk in one gulp, squeezed it flat, startling Yamamura, and then threw it into the trash can.

Shueisha's New Year's party is quite interesting; at least they're willing to spend money.

Many prizes were displayed on the stage, and each person was given a number plate.

Then the machine draws numbers.

"Number 61! Is the winner here?!"

“Sigh,” Yamamura Morimichi sighed. He was number sixty, just a little bit short.

The grand prize was an arcade machine, which he had been eyeing for a long time.

Many classic arcade games were just released this year, including "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs," "Violent Storm," and "Raiden II"...

Since I started drawing comics and writing a new book, I haven't had time to go to the arcade.

It would be so cool to have an arcade machine in the studio.

"Unfortunately, I'm number 60... Wait!"

I am number 60, so number 61 must be...

He turned his head and looked at Higashino Hibiki, who had raised his hand to the side.

"Oh, it's me," Higashino Hibiki said to Yamamura with a smile.

He walked onto the stage, and before the host could even ask, he pointed directly to the arcade machine that Yamamura Morimichi had been eyeing for a long time.

"Oh! You went straight for the first prize, how generous of you!" the host exclaimed excitedly, livening up the atmosphere.

Higashino looked at Yamamura, whose eyes were red with envy, and curled the corners of his mouth.

After stepping down, I communicated with the staff and arranged to be delivered to "Yoshiwara-sou" tomorrow.

Higashino Hibiki was a huge success at this New Year's party!

Before the New Year's party ended, Yoshihiro Togashi easily signed his name, but Kazuhiko Torishima looked terrible. He took out a pen and scribbled furiously while muttering to himself, "One day, I will kill Akira Toriyama!"

In a harmonious and happy atmosphere, the adults gathered for the second time. Higashino Hibiki ignored Yamamura Morimichi's pitiful eyes and returned to his dormitory.

My roommates were still awake and waiting in the living room.

As the door opened, they rushed forward as if welcoming a hero.

Hibiki Higashino knew it wasn't for him.

So he took out a signed copy of the book from his pocket and handed it to the two men.

"Alright, alright, it's time to wash up and go to bed," Higashino Hibiki yawned, he was very tired.

"Oh, right, there's a surprise tomorrow."

He decided to put the arcade machine in his living room as a way of thanking them for agreeing to let him take up space.

When he finally went up to the second floor, he saw Yoshii Yamahisa, who seemed to want to say something, but hesitated at the end.