Full-time cartoonist

The Chuunin Exams chapter of "Naruto" is really exciting and can be said to be the best chapter of this manga.

The biggest feature of Naruto - the ninja's various ninjutsu are combined into a battle of wits and courage, which is fully displayed.

Therefore, Xiaozheng's performance before "Naruto" has always been very good. Although it is still not as good as "One Piece", he has firmly established himself as the second pillar.

"Prince of Tennis" and "Blind Football" are far behind.

But now, it has fallen to eighth place, which Higashino Hibiki cannot understand.

"Why?" he asked Yoshida.

"Judging from reader feedback, Orochimaru appeared out of nowhere and affected the progress of the Chunin Exams, interrupting the game that everyone was talking about." Yoshida answered.

Dong Yexiang suddenly said, "That's it."

He understood the peak duel between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, so he liked this character very much and brought the battle scenes of the comics to another stage.

Not to mention Kishimoto’s more portrayal of Orochimaru in the future.

Readers don't understand this, they just know that the plot they like very much is affected by Orochimaru, so they hate this character.

"It's really amazing." Hibiki Higashikata lamented. Readers' thoughts cannot be captured.

"Teacher, you must feel the same way now," Yoshida sighed, "Teacher, you and Kishimoto-kun are really in the same boat."

Dongye Xiang: "..."

…

"Teacher, Tori Akino-sensei, ugh."

In a bar, Masashi Kishimoto was drunk.

Hibiki Higashino just discussed Kishimoto with Yoshida this morning and was ridiculed by Yoshida.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, Kishimoto called and invited Hibiki to drink and talk.

Akimiya Akemi's belly was swollen and her brows were knitted together.

However, she heard that Kishimoto was unhappy and finally asked Hibiki to go to the appointment.

"A cup of oolong tea," Hibiki Higashino said to the bartender after arriving at the bar.

Hibiki sipped the oolong tea handed over by the bartender and observed Kishimoto, whose face was flushed.

"Hiccup, teacher... I went to the bar to have a drink..." Kishimoto burped. He squinted at Hibiki Hibiki and shook his head, sighing, "Mrs. Higashino is too strict. Teacher died violently in comics, and you are not allowed to drink to vent." one time."

The results of "Naruto" hit him hard, and now he is extremely decadent.

Not many are the same. They think it is a stroke of genius, but readers discard it like worn-out shoes. The strong contrast can easily affect the creator's confidence.

"I'm not depressed, and I don't need to vent." Hibiki touched the condensation on the wine glass, "But Kishimoto-kun, are you drunk?"

Before Higashino Hibiki came to the bar, Kishimoto was already drinking. I don’t know how much he drank.

"Teacher, don't be so harsh, hehe." Kishimoto giggled, "Xiao Zheng's score in "Paprika" is 13th, how...how can he not feel uncomfortable?"

"Paprika" was a hit, and Hibiki's reputation was damaged.

Now I am being ridiculed one after another.

"I'm so angry," Hibiki Higashino gritted his teeth, "Who asked me to sign a contract with Jump? I can't serialize it on other platforms at all."

The cartoonists contracted by jump cannot create works on other platforms during the serialization period.

One is to restrain well-known cartoonists from running away, and the other is to allow cartoonists to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their works and not let other things affect the quality of the cartoons.

Shueisha pays Hibiki Hibiki 100 million yen in contract fees every year, and the price of breach of contract is too high.

Hibiki Higashino doesn't want to cause friction with Jump, who is a pleasure to work with, because of trivial matters.

"Tch, I don't believe it." Kishimoto picked up the wine glass and drank half of it in one breath. "I don't understand the teacher's mentality, but I am really unhappy!"

"I want to surpass that guy Oda, I want to draw the best jump comic, I want to be the first person in the new century. But... but... hiccup."

"It's obviously developing very well. Everyone likes the Chuunin Exam. Slowly, the sales of single books have increased, and Xiaomasa's ranking has also increased...how come it's so sudden!"

He yelled, others looked over in surprise, and Hibiki apologized quickly.

"Sorry, his career has not been going well recently."

Others frowned and shook their heads, "Who is not like this?"

They vented a few words and then turned around.

The average sales volume of "Naruto" single volume is about 800,000 copies, which is not as good as the more than 2 million copies of "Death Note", but it is also among the best among the Jump comics.

And this sales volume is constantly rising, and it may not be long before it exceeds the 1 million achievement.

But now, all good development has been cut off.

It's normal for Kishimoto Masashi not to be reconciled.

This was also the first time he suffered a setback since his official serialization.

"I can understand how you feel, but you have to cheer up..." Hibiki patted Kishimoto on the shoulder, trying to comfort him.

Kishimoto interrupted him, "Ah, the teacher finally told the truth. You feel uncomfortable too, don't you? Stop holding on, haha."

He pointed at Hibiki Higashikata and laughed.

"Do you really want someone to empathize with you?" Hibiki Higashi asked coldly, "Or do you want me to be as sad as you?"

Kishimoto was stunned.

He hesitated for a while, then patted his cheek, "Sorry, Mr. Tori Akino, I'm drunk. I'm going to wash my face and sober up."

After five minutes passed, Kishimoto returned with wet bangs.

His face was still red, but his eyes became clearer from blurred.

When he arrived at the bar, Kishimoto first bowed to Hibiki Hibiki and apologized solemnly, and then said what was in his heart.

"I work hard to draw comics because I want to be recognized by readers."

"But it's so difficult to guess what the reader is thinking. The harder you try, the easier it is to fail, and the more sad and painful it becomes."

"I thought the teacher would have experience, so I invited you to come to the bar to get together. But I was very distressed and couldn't help but start drinking in advance. I became confused while drinking. Don't take my drunken words seriously."

Higashino nodded. He drank oolong tea and listened to Kishimoto Masashi's inner thoughts.

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

"I understand," Hibiki replied after thinking for a long time, "It's normal for you to be unwilling."

"But the matter has come to this, and there is no turning back. It is a fact that Orochimaru was drawn in "Naruto", and it cannot be changed."

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

Kishimoto swallowed and listened carefully.

"Stop listening to readers' ideas and draw according to your own ideas!"

"But! The meaning of Xiaozheng's ranking is gone!" Kishimoto was worried.

Serial comics are about adjusting the structure of the work based on feedback from readers to ensure that it remains popular.

Without the reader's feelings, the future of this work becomes chaotic and immeasurable.

"Believe in your own heart is your magic." Hibiki Higashino said calmly, "You are a genius, and your comics are top-notch works, so if you keep on drawing, you will have a new world."

If Kishimoto has something to say, "Teacher, I understand what you mean. It's difficult to control readers' thoughts, so you still have to have your own ideas. Don't be affected by readers' comments."

"That's right! That's it!" Dong Yexiang drank the oolong tea in one gulp and stood up, "Let's go."

…

After leaving the bar, Masashi Kishimoto felt much better after being blown by the wind.

"Thank you, Toriakino-sensei, I understand what to do."

No matter what, I just won’t look back until I hit the wall.

"Um."

Dong Yexiang nodded, came to the roadside, and stopped a taxi.

He wanted to send Kishimoto home first, so he was on his way.

"The results of "Paprika" were not ideal, but the teacher always looked calm," Masashi Kishimoto looked at Higashino Hibiki's back with admiration, "I really hope I have such determination."

"Kishimoto-kun," Hibiki Higashino heard and turned back to point at him.

"yes!"

"Few readers like the series "COWA!" serialized by Akira Toriyama. What are your thoughts on this?"

"This...this, Toriyama-sensei is drawing the comics he likes. He doesn't consider the readers' feelings."

"That's right! Toriyama-sensei and I have the same idea about Paprika."

…

In the taxi, Kishimoto secretly looked at Hibiki Hibiki. It turns out that the teacher had predicted the results of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" in advance.

"He drew it for himself, not for the readers."

"What's wrong?" Dong Yexiang turned his head and asked him.

"It's okay." Kishimoto coughed twice.

"Oh." Dong Yexiang stopped talking.

The atmosphere in the taxi became colder.

The driver looked through the rearview mirror and smiled.

He is the person who looks for the most topics to talk about. He has a great time chatting with passengers on weekdays. Some passengers even exchanged business cards with him because of this and would contact him when they go out.

This is also a way to attract customers.

"Guests," the driver started, "are you watching "Weekly Shonen Jump"?"

"Of course." Kishimoto nodded confidently, "This is a must-see."

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

Understanding the customer's interests is half the battle to having a pleasant chat.

Next, you need to talk about the works they like.

"Ah, the recent content of "One Piece" is so exciting. Sorashima's ideas are so wild and unconstrained. Mr. Eiichiro Oda is so awesome. He deserves to be the cartoonist with the best jump score."

Come on, come on, the driver looked at the rearview mirror in the car with confidence.

People who like jump will of course like "One Piece".

Just talking about "One Piece" can expand more content and make passengers excited.

He was prepared to see Masashi Kishimoto excited.

But……

"Oh..." Kishimoto, who was originally very interested, suddenly became indifferent.

He even looked out the window, as if he didn't want to communicate.

"Boom."

The driver's carefully groomed hair exploded into strands.

He was mentally unstable but still maintained his professionalism.

"This will also happen."

"What a troublesome guest."

He twisted his neck, becoming more competitive and determined to get Kishimoto to start talking.

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

He raised his head slightly and looked behind the car.

"That's right." Kishimoto responded, "How can Oda, a mere Oda, compare with Tori Akino-sensei?"

"'Slam Dunk' has been number one for five years," Hibiki Higashino added. "If "Slam Dunk" hadn't been completed, "One Piece" wouldn't have made it."

He leaned forward slightly, feeling excited about chatting.

Because of "Red Hot Chili Peppers", he has been hit a lot recently, and it's hard to hear compliments.

Have more!

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

He struck while the iron was hot, "After Mr. Tori Akino finished "Slam Dunk", his new work "Death Note" is equally interesting. I heard that the single volume has sold like crazy."

"Yes, that's right," Hibiki Higashino said repeatedly, "More than two million units have been sold."

Kishimoto looked at Higashino Hibiki, "It took "One Piece" three years of serialization to achieve this result. Oda is so far behind! The wits plot of "Death Note" is simply the pinnacle of mystery comics!"

The driver smiled. It seemed that the comic these two liked was "Death Note".

He has an idea, provoking the customer's anger and letting him vent it, which is another level of chatting.

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

Dong Yexiang asked, "How to say?"

"Of course it's "Red Hot Chili Peppers."" The driver spat. "Obviously, his grades were very good, but Tori Akino was having trouble. He started painting strange and misty works. He might as well spend this time polishing "Death" "Notes". Now that the results of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" are poor, is he satisfied?"

He used to talk to passengers about "Red Hot Chili Peppers", and those people would criticize Akino with words and words, so he responded.

The passengers scolded happily, which was more effective than talking freely.

The driver confidently passed the traffic light and kept talking. He didn't see Hibiki Hibiki, who looked ugly in the back seat of the car.

"'Paprika' is Tori Akino's worst manga. Is he at a loss now? Haha."

After passing the traffic light, he waited for Hibiki Higashikata's approval.

But I heard a cold snort.

"snort!"

The driver looked at the rearview mirror and found Hibiki Higashikata already lying on the seat, looking out the window with a dissatisfied expression and saying nothing.

"Boom."

Another strand of his hair exploded.

The driver's heart collapsed. He didn't know what he said wrong again.

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

"Okay, okay, stop talking." Kishimoto intervened and asked the driver to stop.

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

Tori Akino Mirai and Oda Eiichiro were not satisfied, so he could only talk about another person.

"Naruto is also very interesting, especially the Chuunin Exams chapter."

"That's right." Kishimoto nodded proudly, "Mr. Kishimoto's paintings are very good. It can be seen that his painting skills have been improving, and his expansion of the comic worldview is in place. The wonderful world of ninjas emerges before our eyes. He is a genius."

Kishimoto talked a lot and finally boosted the driver's confidence.

"This is someone who likes Naruto very much."

He has an idea.

"Yes, I thought so too." He observed the road section, "It was such a wonderful exam, I got goosebumps when I saw it."

"Haha." Kishimoto smiled.

"It's just," the driver repeated his trick, "Orochimaru interrupted everything. This character is still disgusting. I really don't know what Kishimoto was thinking."

"Uh..." Kishimoto shut himself up and stopped talking.

He sighed quietly and closed his eyes.

"Boom."

The driver's hair was blown out.

He is also autistic.