Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Faced with Hideaki Sorachi's praise, Eri Aragaki could only say...

"Who are these people...?"

Hideaki Sorachi then looked at Erina and the others next to Eri Aragaki, his gaze sweeping over the three girls, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.

Erina, Ayane Takeda, and Akane Natsume all glanced at them curiously but didn't say anything.

At this point, Eri Aragaki finally began to guess what Hideaki Sorachi was thinking...

Hideaki Sorachi suddenly came over and struck up a conversation, immediately complimenting her on her beauty, and then stared at the three girls beside her...

He was probably a single male cartoonist of his age who had developed feelings for these pretty girls.

Eri Aragaki felt a little helpless, but it was actually quite normal, wasn't it? Men would take the initiative to strike up a conversation with a pretty girl.

Moreover, they were probably the youngest-looking women present; the others, like Akira Amano and several female manga artists specializing in shoujo manga, all looked to be around thirty years old.

Having lived as a man in her past life, she understood this feeling all too well—seeing an attractive young man approaching her in social situations…

This is especially important because it's a year-end party for Shueisha, and everyone here is a colleague in the industry.

The stereotype of cartoonists is that they are homebodies and have difficulty finding partners, so it seems that people in the same profession are indeed more likely to be together.

Because they are both cartoonists, their hobbies and jobs are highly similar, making it easier for them to understand each other.

For example, Naoko Takeuchi and Yoshihiro Togashi are typical examples.

But when it happened to her, she felt uncomfortable.

It's not that she has any problem with Hideaki Sorachi as a person; she was quite fond of watching "Gintama" in her previous life, and could be considered a fan of Hideaki Sorachi.

But... it's just plain uncomfortable...

First of all, it's about her as a person... Her hobbies, once set in her previous life, haven't changed since she became a girl in this life.

She also dislikes being stabbed in the back.

Secondly... to put it bluntly, she's possessive of her food.

"These are my assistants."

Eri Aragaki said it casually, her tone becoming somewhat indifferent.

However, Hideaki Sorachi remained smiling, displaying an incredibly shameless attitude, showing no sign of giving up, and was about to continue the conversation with Eri Aragaki.

But just then...

"This must be Teacher Apologetic... Aki? You're here too?"

She looked up and saw Oda and Akira Toriyama, both wearing fish-head masks, walking towards her.

Oda's fish head mask still looks strange no matter how you look at it, and Akira Toriyama is walking next to him.

The two walked through the aisle between the buffet area and several tables, heading towards Eri Aragaki and Hideaki Sorachi. Oda, with his chin raised by his fish-head mask, nodded towards Eri Aragaki.

Chapter 112 Signature (4K)

"Akira Toriyama, Oda, and Editor-in-Chief Ibaraki..."

Hideaki Sorachi immediately asked formally, "Are you looking for Riko-sensei?"

Akira Toriyama is undoubtedly a super senior figure in the Japanese manga industry. Apart from Tetsuo Hara, Hirohiko Araki, Tsukasa Hojo, and others who can be considered his peers, everyone else is a junior in his eyes.

In fact, Tetsuo Hara and Hirohiko Araki are both a few years younger than Akira Toriyama, and can be considered his juniors.

Akira Toriyama debuted several years earlier than them, and he also achieved more in terms of success.

Oda is actually Sorachi Hideaki's senior. Although they are only 4 years apart, Oda debuted about 10 years earlier than Sorachi Hideaki.

Given Oda's current high status, with One Piece being a pillar of JUMP and consistently number one in sales, it's reasonable for Hideaki Sorachi to address him as a senior.

However, this is of course in formal occasions. In private, when you have a good personal relationship, you generally don't need to call someone a senior.

Hideaki Sorachi and Oda have a pretty good relationship, which can be seen from the way Oda addresses Hideaki Sorachi.

Hideaki Sorachi also heard what Oda had just said, and it was clear that he had come to find Eri Aragaki.

Akira Toriyama and Oda walked from one side of the venue through most of the banquet hall to the buffet area, their goal clear: to see Eri Aragaki.

"Yes, I'd like to get to know 'Not Eating Pears'."

Akira Toriyama immediately smiled kindly and said, "Did I interrupt your conversation? Why don't you continue chatting, and I'll come back later?"

“Teacher Akira Toriyama, you can just call me Aragaki. My real name is Aragaki Eri.”

Eri Aragaki quickly said.

"Ah, no, actually I just wanted to come and get to know Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi."

Hideaki Sorachi, now behaving himself, scratched the back of his head and said, "I'm going to go chat with Amano first."

He nodded to Eri Aragaki, then gave a slight bow to Akira Toriyama and Oda, before heading towards Akira Amano, his pace quickening considerably from when he arrived.

Yes, Akira Amano and Hideaki Sorachi are good friends. In several interviews, Sorachi mentioned his friends in the industry, and repeatedly referred to Akira Amano as "one of the few manga artist friends with whom he can speak the truth."

"The last time we met was at the Tezuka Award half a year ago, but I didn't expect you to be so cute, Aragaki."

Akira Toriyama then looked at Eri Aragaki, sized her up, and praised her with a smile.

"It's only been six months since we last met, but you're still the same as you were six months ago."

Eri Aragaki quickly said, placing the plate of steak she was holding on the empty table next to her to free her hands for speaking, "And Oda-senpai, nice to meet you, please take care of me."

"Please give me more advice."

Oda, still wearing that fish-head mask, spoke in a deep voice.

At this moment, seeing the situation, Ibaraki Masahiko, who was standing to the side, tactfully said, "Then I'll go and chat with a few friends first. The teachers can continue their conversation."

As the editor-in-chief, he has many people to greet today. He hasn't even spoken to Hojo Tsukasa and Araki Hirohiko yet, and Toriyama Akira just told him that he wanted to have a private chat with Buchiriko, so his presence here would only be in the way.

"Okay, Ibaraki, you don't need to worry about me."

Akira Toriyama smiled and waved to Masahiko Ibaraki, "I just came here to chat with some people. It's been several years since I've been here, and many people want to see me."

Ibaraki Masahiko nodded, then turned and took his leave.

"Oda, it's a situation like this, just take off your mask."

At this moment, Akira Toriyama looked at Oda wearing a mask and said helplessly.

He reached out and gently patted Oda's fish head mask. "We're not taking pictures in the venue, isn't it stuffy to wear this?"

Akira Toriyama and Oda have a very good relationship and a deep personal friendship.

Like Eri Aragaki, Oda was a loyal reader of Akira Toriyama since childhood, and even after becoming a popular manga artist, he still greatly admires Toriyama.

Akira Toriyama also thought highly of Oda, and the two became kindred spirits, often drinking and eating together.

The relationship between the two is less that of senior and junior, and more that of teacher and friend.

"Teacher, please don't make things difficult for me."

However, Oda persisted, saying helplessly.

He raised his gloved hand and pressed it against the chin of the mask to prevent it from tilting.

“Aragaki-san, Oda actually has his own concerns about doing this, please don’t mind him.”

Akira Toriyama seemed worried that Eri Aragaki would feel that Oda wearing a mask was disrespectful to her, so he explained, "It's because he recently received some bad news, so he's worried that continuing to appear in public will affect his and his family's lives and safety, which is why he's wearing this mask."

"I understand completely."

Eri Aragaki quickly said.

Anyway, she really doesn't mind this or anything.

"That's good."

Akira Toriyama smiled kindly, then suddenly seemed to remember something important, "Oh, right, I've come here to make a request."

Then he suddenly walked away and quickly went to the table with his name on it.

On the chair next to his table was a leather shoulder bag that looked quite old.

Then he opened his bag and took out a notebook and a pen.

"Actually, I'm also a reader of your comics, especially those two short stories, 'Wu Song' and 'Fog Hill of Five Elements,' which I really like..."

Then he went back to Eri Aragaki, handed her the notebook and pen, turned to a blank page, and said with a smile, "Could you sign this for me?"

"Huh? An autograph? For me?"

Eri Aragaki's eyes widened immediately. She pointed to herself, looking exactly like Benbo'erba from "Journey to the West" when he heard the Nine-Headed Insect order him to get rid of Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Akira Toriyama asking her for an autograph is as absurd as a pianist being approached by Mozart and asked, "I've heard your music, can I get your autograph?"

It's one thing if it's anyone else, but this is Akira Toriyama, and she's asking him for an autograph...

"Yes, and could you also draw a simple portrait of Wenren Yixuan for me?"

Akira Toriyama rubbed his hands together, looking every bit like a reader eagerly anticipating a manga artist's autograph. "I really love your manga."

However, Oda, who was standing to the side, seemed unfazed by this. He crossed his arms and leaned against the edge of an empty table next to him, probably smiling behind his mask.

Akira Toriyama's habit of collecting autographs from famous manga artists is quite an interesting topic in the industry, and it's not a recent development; it's a habit he's had for many years.

Akira Toriyama had absolutely no airs of a senior artist. If he liked someone's manga or a famous manga, he would go and ask for their autograph, and he did so with the seriousness of a young reader.

Oda, Kishimoto, and Kubo Tite have all signed autographs for Akira Toriyama, and even Hideaki Sorachi just now signed autographs for him.

When Hideaki Sorachi first got his hands on the serialization of "Gintama," Akira Toriyama approached him at a year-end party with the book for an autograph. Sorachi almost held the pen upside down at the time.

"Fine……"

Faced with Akira Toriyama's demands, what could Eri Aragaki say?

She couldn't possibly refuse; after all, this was Akira Toriyama, and she had grown up reading his manga.

Moreover, the other party was so humble, rubbing their hands and looking at her expectantly. It would be unreasonable for her not to sign.

All I could do was put down the plate I was holding, carefully place the plate still containing the steak on the table next to me, and then pick up the pen.