Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

Fushimikawa was surprised: "So fast?"

"Time waits for no one, Fushimi-kun. Ikkyu's manga starts serialization on September 1st, so we must hurry up," Fukuda instructed. "As newcomers, we need to get off to a good start, otherwise, who knows when we'll be able to make it big."

Fushimikawa nodded: "I understand."

With his fan-made comics in hand, Fukuda bid a reluctant farewell, saying before leaving, "You should focus your energy on 'Ikkyu,' and stop participating in these unnecessary activities."

……

After a long conversation, Toshiki Takei gained a deeper understanding of Mitsuru Adachi.

This newcomer is currently working as an assistant to manga artist Yumi Ishii and also has the idea of ​​submitting his work to Weekly Shonen Sunday.

This greatly surprised Takei Toshiki, who immediately handed his business card to Adachi Mitsuru.

"Bring your own comics to Shogakukan tomorrow, and we can discuss it in more detail."

Mitsuru Adachi never expected that the doujinshi convention he was assigned to attend by his brother would lead him to meet a mentor.

"Okay, thank you, Editor Wuju."

Toshiki Takei waved his hand; he had perfectly achieved his goal of participating in the CM exhibition.

He should be even more grateful to Mitsuru Adachi.

You don't have to look at other creators' works for the time being.

It's impossible for a newcomer to be more talented than Mitsuru Adachi, right?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

So just enjoy the exhibition.

There are at least many young and beautiful female college students, which is quite pleasing to the eye.

"If Fujio Akatsuka knew, he would be so envious, hahaha."

……

More and more people are visiting the CM exhibition.

The space allocated by the school is not enough; it's crowded with people everywhere.

Everyone was happily chatting and sharing their favorite comics and interesting doujinshi. This resulted in a long queue forming in front of Fushimi River.

The people at the back of the Fushimikawa company holding the identification signs were becoming increasingly difficult to see.

"Try to Say Goodbye" is not selling well.

Just then, Onishi arrived, and Fushimikawa asked him to tell the people at the back of the line not to queue anymore, as there were no more books to sell.

Keep in mind that only two hours had passed since the start of the event.

"It would have been fine to print 1000 copies back then, what a pity."

He shook his head, forced to resort to scarcity marketing.

"Why is that? I heard this doujinshi is very interesting."

"I really want to buy a copy."

"This is terrible."

Those who can't buy it are always in demand, while those who arrive late complain.

But there's nothing we can do about it; Fushimikawa doesn't know magic and can't conjure up copies.

Twenty minutes later, he finished his day as a booth owner at CM Comic Con.

……

Maki Fujiwara, together with Tomoyuki Fukuda, found Toshiki Takei resting in the shade of a tree.

"Thank you for your hard work, Fukuda," Toshiki Takei had already forgotten about "Trying to Say Goodbye".

He said kindly, "You're free to do whatever you want now. Whether you're looking for talented newcomers or finding your favorite comics or doujinshi, it's all up to you."

Fukuda Tomoyuki, however, was somewhat unwilling to give up. He had queued for a long time to finally get his hands on "Try to Say Goodbye," so how could he let his efforts go to waste?

So he took out the comic book and insisted, "Take a look at it first."

“Hmm…” Takei Toshiki pondered for a moment, “Alright then, you’ve already bought it, it wouldn’t be right for me not to take a look.”

He looked somewhat reluctant, as if he had no choice.

He flipped through the book hastily...

But soon:

"Wow, the storyboard is really well done. It captures the desolate atmosphere of summer."

"The artwork is also superb; the characters' expressions of disappointment, distress, and sadness are very well done."

"story……"

After watching "Try to Say Goodbye" again, he finally immersed himself in the story.

Unlike the first time, this time Toshiki Takei looked at it carefully, and only after a long time did he turn to the last page.

"It's a really interesting story that brought back many memories of my past. In that respect, this short story is better than many ongoing manga," he remarked. He received an even greater surprise than when reading Mitsuru Adachi's manga.

"There really are people who surpass Mitsuru Adachi. Coming to CM Comic Con was totally worth it."

Seeing Takei Toshiki's excited expression, Fukuda Tomoyuki sensed something was wrong.

He swallowed hard, blaming himself for going to all that trouble earlier.

Sometimes, you have to be more wary of editors from the same publishing house than editors from other publishers.

Just as Fukuda expected.

"Whose masterpiece is this?"

Toshiki Takei couldn't resist flipping to the cover of the manga and seeing the name Oikawa.

"Take me to this Mr. Oikawa, I want to talk to him."

Alarm bells rang in Fukuda's mind: "Looking for what? What are we looking for?"

Takei pinched his chin, pondered for a moment, and then made a decision.

"Aikawa-sensei's level is high enough to be a serialized manga. We must seize this opportunity; he is our hope in the battle against magazines."

"Take me to him quickly."

His tone left no room for change.

"Haha..." Fukuda laughed awkwardly twice, looked around, and found that the stall in the northeast corner had disappeared. He finally perked up, "His comics are sold out, and he has disappeared without a trace."

"Hmm?" Takei Toshiki frowned. "No matter what, I have to see him."

Fukuda ignored him and turned his head to whistle.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh..."

Even if it means being disrespectful to a senior he has long admired, he must protect Fushimikawa!

"Wait...wait..."

Maki Fujiwara, who had been hiding, raised her hand with a strange expression.

"Isn't the pen name Oikawa Ni the same as that of Fushimikawa, a member of our manga club?"

Wu Ju was very excited: "You know him too!? Where is he now?"

"He sold out of his doujinshi, so he should be resting in the activity room right now, right?"

"Please lead the way."

……

As Fujiwara Maki had suspected, Fushimikawa was drinking water and resting in the activity room.

"You sold out of doujinshi so quickly, Chuan-ge, you're amazing."

"500 copies? That must be the most copies of doujinshi printed by the manga club, right? It's already sold out! Arima is still struggling to sell his 100 copies of the work under the scorching sun."

Everyone in the activity room praised the ups and downs of the river.

The atmosphere was very peaceful.

Even if someone has a dark side, they can only keep those thoughts to themselves at this point.

'No matter how well it sells, he's still just an amateur, not a real cartoonist.'

He dared not say it out loud.

"You're too kind, everyone. I'll also be attending the celebration banquet for the perfect opening of this CM Comic Con. We can have a proper chat then."

He was a little sleepy and wanted to close his eyes and rest.

As for the victory celebration banquet, as the one who proposed it, he had to join in the fun at least once.

"Okay, we'll be quiet."

However, things did not go as Fushimikawa had planned.

The door to the activity room was flung open with a bang, and three figures walked in.

Leading the way was the club president, Fujiwara Maki, and a middle-aged man hurriedly rushed out from behind her, shouting to everyone in the manga club.

"Which one of you is Fushimi-kun? Let's talk about your serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday."

The quiet activity room instantly became lively because of the intrusion of outsiders.

"Serialized...!"

All eyes were on Fushimi River.

Chapter Nineteen: I'll Draw Doraemon?!

The word "serialization" is so alluring, yet so distant.

It is the dream of many members of the manga club, yet an unattainable reality.

So everyone stared blankly at Fushimi River, wondering what had happened.