Full-time comic artist

Five minutes later, Kishimoto returned with his bangs still wet.

His face was still flushed, but his eyes had become clearer from being dazed.

Upon reaching the bar, Kishimoto first bowed deeply to Higashino Hibiki, offering a sincere apology, before finally speaking his mind.

"I work hard to draw comics because I want to gain the recognition of readers."

"But readers' thoughts are too hard to guess. The harder you try, the easier it is to fail, and the more upset and painful it becomes."

"I thought you'd have experience, so I invited you to the bar for a get-together. But I'm troubled; I couldn't resist starting to drink beforehand, and I got a little tipsy. Don't take my drunken ramblings seriously."

Higashino nodded as he sipped his oolong tea and listened to Kishimoto Masashi's innermost thoughts.

Kishimoto finished his monologue and looked expectantly at Hibiki Higashino, hoping that he could teach him.

“I understand,” Higashino Hibiki replied after thinking for a long time. “It’s normal for you to feel resentful.”

"But it's too late to turn back now. The fact that Orochimaru was drawn in Naruto is undeniable."

"Kishimoto-kun, all you have to do is..."

Kishimoto swallowed hard and listened attentively.

"Stop listening to the readers' opinions, just keep drawing according to your own ideas!"

"But! That would defeat the purpose of ranking Xiaozheng!" Kishimoto exclaimed anxiously.

Serialized comics involve adjusting the structure of the work based on reader feedback to ensure its continued popularity.

Without considering the reader's perspective, the future of this work becomes uncertain and unpredictable.

"Believe in your heart, that's your magic." Higashino Hibiki said calmly, "You're a genius, your manga is a top-notch work, so just grit your teeth and keep drawing, and you'll find a new world."

Kishimoto seemed to understand, "Teacher, I understand what you mean. It's hard to control what readers think, so you still need to have your own ideas. Don't be influenced by what readers say."

“That’s right! That’s exactly it!” Higashino Hibiki finished his oolong tea in one gulp, stood up, and said, “Let’s go.”

……

After leaving the bar, a gust of wind made Masashi Kishimoto feel much better.

"Thank you, Mr. Tori Akino, I understand what to do."

Regardless, now it's a case of not turning back until hitting a brick wall.

"Ah."

Higashino nodded, went to the roadside, and hailed a taxi.

He wanted to take Kishimoto home first, since it was on his way anyway.

“The results for ‘Paprika’ were not ideal, but the teacher remained calm and composed throughout,” Kishimoto Masashi said, looking at Higashino Hibiki’s back with admiration. “I really wish I had that kind of composure.”

“Kishimoto-kun,” Hibiki Higashino heard this and turned around to point at him.

"Yes!"

"Akira Toriyama's serialized 'COWA!' has few readers who like it. What are your thoughts on this?"

"This...this is because Toriyama-sensei is drawing the manga he likes. He didn't consider the readers' feelings."

“That’s right! On Paprika, I share the same idea as Toriyama-sensei.”

……

In the taxi, Kishimoto secretly glanced at Hibiki Higashino. It turned out the teacher had already predicted the results of *Paprika*.

"He painted it for himself, not for the reader."

"What's wrong?" Higashino Hibiki turned his head and asked him.

"It's nothing." Kishimoto coughed lightly twice.

"Oh." Hibiki Higashino stopped talking.

The atmosphere inside the taxi turned cold.

The driver glanced at himself in the rearview mirror and smiled slightly.

He's the best at finding topics to talk about, and he usually has very pleasant conversations with passengers. Some passengers have even exchanged business cards with him and would contact him when they go out.

This is also a way to attract customers.

"Guests," the driver began, "do any of you read Weekly Shonen Jump?"

“Of course there is.” Kishimoto nodded confidently. “It’s something you absolutely have to see.”

"That's good." The driver said confidently.

Understanding the customer's interests is half the battle won in creating a pleasant conversation.

Next, we need to talk about their favorite works.

"Wow, the recent One Piece chapters are really exciting! The concept of Skypiea is so imaginative. Eiichiro Oda is amazing; no wonder he's the best-performing manga artist in Jump."

Here it comes, the driver said confidently, glancing at the rearview mirror.

People who like Jump will naturally like One Piece.

Talking about One Piece can expand on the topic and keep passengers excited.

He was ready to see Masashi Kishimoto's excited reaction.

but……

"Oh..." Kishimoto, who had been quite interested, now became indifferent.

He even looked out the window, appearing unwilling to communicate.

"Boom."

A strand of the driver's carefully styled hair suddenly popped out.

Despite his unstable mindset, he maintained his professionalism.

"That can happen."

"What a troublesome customer."

He twisted his neck, his competitive spirit rising, determined to get Kishimoto to start talking.

"One Piece is certainly interesting, but it's still not as good as Slam Dunk. That's my youth."

He slightly raised his head and looked behind the car.

“That’s right.” Kishimoto responded, “How can Oda, a mere nobody, compare to Tori Akino-sensei?”

“Slam Dunk was number one for five years,” Hibiki Higashino chimed in. “If Slam Dunk hadn’t ended, One Piece wouldn’t have been able to rise to the top.”

He leaned forward slightly, excited to start a conversation.

Because of "Paprika," he has been hit hard lately, and it's rare for him to hear praise.

Give me more!

"Oh!" the driver cheered, and the other person, who had always been aloof, was also swayed by him.

He struck while the iron was hot, saying, "After finishing 'Slam Dunk,' Akino-sensei's new work, 'Death Note,' is equally interesting. I heard that the collected volumes have sold like hotcakes."

“That’s right, that’s right,” Higashino Hibiki said repeatedly, “It has already sold more than two million copies.”

Kishimoto looked at Hibiki Higashino and said, "It took One Piece three years to achieve this level of success. Oda is far behind! The intellectual battles in Death Note are simply the pinnacle of mystery manga!"

The driver smiled; it seemed these two liked the manga "Death Note."

He had an idea: to provoke the customer's anger and let him vent it, which was another level of conversation.

He looked in the rearview mirror and said, "Death Note is the most amazing manga in recent years, but Akino Tori isn't paying attention."

Higashino asked, "What do you mean?"

"That's Paprika, of course!" the driver said, spitting as he spoke. "His work was doing so well, but Akino Tori started causing trouble. He started drawing bizarre, incomprehensible pieces. He should have used that time to polish Death Note. Now that Paprika is doing poorly, is he satisfied?"

In the past, when he talked to passengers about Paprika, they would criticize Akino Toriyama, and he would agree with them.

Passengers getting a good laugh through their rant is more effective than having a long conversation.

The driver confidently crossed the traffic light, chattering away, oblivious to Higashino Hibiki's grim expression in the back seat.

"Paprika is Tori Akino's worst-performing manga. He must be at a loss now, haha."

After crossing the traffic light, he waited for Higashino Hibiki's approval.

But then a cold snort was heard.

"Humph!"

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that Higashino Hibiki was already lying on the seat, looking out the window, looking dissatisfied and silent.

"Boom."

Another strand of his hair stood on end.

The driver was devastated; he didn't know what he had said wrong again.

"Is he one of the rare people who likes Paprika?"

"Alright, alright, stop talking," Kishimoto said, trying to calm the driver down.

"Excuse me," the driver said, bowing slightly.

Since neither Akino Mirai nor Oda Eiichiro were satisfied, he could only suggest someone else.

"Naruto is also very interesting, especially the Chunin Exams arc."

“That’s right.” Kishimoto nodded smugly. “Kishimoto-sensei draws very well. You can see that his drawing skills have been improving all along. His expansion of the manga’s world view is very well done. A wonderful ninja world appears before our eyes. He is a genius.”

Kishimoto said a lot of things, which finally boosted the driver's confidence.

"This person really likes Naruto."

He has an idea.

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” He observed the section of road. “It was a really exciting test. I got goosebumps just looking at it.”

"Haha," Kishimoto laughed.

“But,” the driver repeated his old trick, “Orochimaru interrupted all of this. And that character is disgusting. I really don’t know what Kishimoto was thinking.”