My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

"It's unbelievable that a Tezuka Award winner would come to Jump."

Upon hearing this news, Akito and Moritaka were somewhat incredulous. However, what did the Tezuka Award winner's visit to Jump have to do with inviting them? They really couldn't think of any connection.

"You want me to jump? Sure, but I have one condition: give me the privilege of canceling any manga in half."

Just as the three were wondering what was going on, they suddenly seemed to hear something incredible from the editor-in-chief's office.

In the editor-in-chief's office, the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief were looking at the boy with serious expressions. That somber gaze was probably only seen when he aspired to become a manga artist.

The deputy editor-in-chief was also looking at the young man with a headache.

Looking at the expressions on the faces of the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief, Hattori, as a new editor, was terrified.

Just by standing here, he could feel his boss's anger.

The right to cancel any manga series? That's incredibly audacious! In all the years since Jump started, no one has ever dared to make such a request. Does Eiji Niizuma even realize how outrageous this demand is?

However, when faced with the serious expressions of the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief, Eiji Niizuma acted as if nothing was wrong, completely ignoring the situation. This kind of personality from the genius manga artist was truly a headache.

Are all these genius manga artists afflicted with this kind of quirk? Eiji Niizuma is like that, as are Moritaka and Akito—they simply won't listen to advice. In comparison, only Naoto seems slightly better. At least he doesn't make any outrageous demands, and he generally listens to what the editors say, except for the oil painting aspect, which gives them a headache. But at least for him, oil painting is both a hobby and a way to increase his fame—a win-win situation. Can't you guys learn from him?

However, the two editors did not immediately refuse Eiji Niizuma's request. Instead, they went along with it and made a condition.

Upon hearing the conditions proposed by the two editors, Eiji Niizuma immediately became interested and agreed without hesitation.

"This is really interesting. I accept the challenge!"

At this moment, Hattori was completely dumbfounded. Did these people really have no problems with their brains?

Chapter Twenty-Five: Requests and New Challenges

"Hey, what's going on in there?"

"I wonder, that new wife seems rather difficult to deal with."

"To be honest, the editor-in-chief is making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, he's just a cartoonist."

"But he's a Tezuka Award winner."

Outside, everyone was straining their ears, listening intently to the sounds coming from inside the office.

Eiji Niizuma actually wanted to obtain the right to cancel an entire manga at will—that's absolutely astonishing. This kind of privilege is practically like becoming a local tyrant.

If the editor-in-chief agrees, it means that Eiji Niizuma will suddenly have the power of life and death over all the JUMP manga artists, and even the currently popular vampires in JUMP could be wiped out in one fell swoop.

The editor-in-chief wouldn't be so crazy as to agree to this, would he?

The moment Eiji Niizuma walked out humming a song, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Huh? Could it be that you are ONE-sensei?"

When Eiji Niizuma walked out of the office, he immediately saw Naoto sitting on the sofa.

"you are?"

Looking at Eiji Niizuma's unrestrained and peculiar outfit, with two quill pens stuck in his back, making him look like a little angel, Naoto felt that it looked strangely familiar.

"My name is Eiji Niizuma, and I'm going to defeat you and become the number one manga artist in JUMP."

When Naoto asked her question, Eiji Niizuma did nothing and simply replied to Naoto, which immediately made the abdominal editor behind him cry.

Grandpa, can't I just call you grandpa? Please, don't cause trouble, okay? You're not even a serialized manga artist yet! And you're already going to go this far, now you're trying to make an enemy of JUMP's top manga artist, is this really necessary?!

"Defeat me and become JUMP's number one manga artist? Interesting. I accept this challenge. Eiji Niizuma, right? I have a feeling you should be able to become JUMP's ace manga artist."

Naoto was not angry at Eiji Niizuma's words; he did not hear any provocation in Eiji's language.

I suppose that's really what he was thinking.

At the same time, Naoto also remembered who Eiji Niizuma really was.

In Bakuman, although Ashirogi Muto is the protagonist, he is by no means the strongest manga artist among the manga artists who have appeared so far.

Eiji Niizuma is portrayed as an angelic figure in the manga, possessing incredible strength.

In the end, he managed to crush all the other manga artists. Compared to Naoto, this guy was more like a manga artist with a cheat code. With just one work, Crow, he became invincible, quite like the manga artists Naruto and Bleach back in the day.

Later on, it even reached the point where the comic itself was fighting against itself, which was simply outrageous.

In particular, his single-minded, innocent, and single-minded attitude towards comics makes Naoto feel that if given enough time, he could at least become a manga master like Akira Toriyama, if not a manga god like Osamu Tezuka.

"Really? ONE-sensei, you're such a kind person! I believe we can definitely become great rivals!"

Seeing Naoto's affirmation of him, Eiji Niizuma was overjoyed and quickly shook hands with Naoto.

"Phew~ That's great."

Seeing that Naoto wasn't upset by Eiji Niizuma's words, Editor Hattori finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's remarkable that a straightforward person can be so understanding and magnanimous.

Fearing that this guy might say something outrageous again, Editor Hattori quickly took Eiji Niizuma away.

Under his new wife's lingering gaze, Naoto was speechless with exasperation.

"What on earth is going on here? That guy named Niizuma Eiji is way too arrogant!"

At this moment, Akito said somewhat unconvinced, "They actually want to defeat ONE and become the number one manga artist in JUMP? They haven't even dared to say that yet!"

However, Naoto knew that if he didn't step up his game, he might actually be taken down by that Niizuma guy. That guy was a genuine prodigy.

After Eiji Niizuma left, Naoto, Moritaka, and Akito went into the office together.

All three of them were eager to know whether the editor-in-chief had agreed to Eiji Niizuma's request.

However, faced with the questioning looks from the three people, Editor Sasaki simply sighed deeply.

"No way, you really agreed?!"

Upon seeing the editor-in-chief sigh, the three of them panicked; this was too absurd.

This request is simply ridiculous.

It wasn't so much about being afraid of being killed, but rather about being dissatisfied with the preferential treatment they received.

Admittedly, the Tezuka Award is a highly prestigious award, but that doesn't guarantee success in Weekly Shonen Jump.

After all, short comics and long comics are completely different concepts. If the editor-in-chief really agrees to such a request, it will undoubtedly cause dissatisfaction among all the writers, including the three of them. As the saying goes, it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. If the other party can make such an unreasonable request, it will inevitably cause many JUMP comic artists to leave.

"Ahem, everyone, calm down. Things aren't that simple."

Seeing the somewhat annoyed expressions on Naoto's and the others' faces, the deputy editor-in-chief quickly explained, "Actually, the editor-in-chief could be considered to have agreed, or he could be considered to have disagreed, because there is no precedent for this kind of thing in the past of JUMP. Therefore, on this basis, we made an agreement with Niizuma-kun."

"Promise?"

"That's right. If the new wife wants to obtain this power, then she must demonstrate her talent. Her manga must become the number one new manga in JUMP."

Upon hearing the deputy editor's words, Naoto began to understand.

The number one new manga? In other words, if Eiji Niizuma wants to gain the power to cancel any manga, he must become the number one manga in that issue.

But what does this have to do with the three of them? After all, all three of them still have comics being serialized at this time, so they can hardly be considered newcomers.

"Ahem, actually, the main reason we invited the three of you here is to ask you to create a new manga to counter Niizuma-kun. If Niizuma doesn't get first place, then he has to join JUMP and become a manga artist in peace. Currently, only the three of you meet the requirements for newcomers."

"But there are only so many slots in JUMP's serialization, aren't there? If the new manga is just for targeting Shinzawa, that would be too much trouble."

While I understand the editors' approach, Naoto himself is quite averse to this kind of thing, since it's a lot of work for a manga artist.

I'm afraid only the two of us, these two greenhorns, are eager to try.

"Don't worry, if the results are excellent, we've already discussed it with the people at Monthly and JUMP+. If the results are good, we can arrange for it to be serialized there, which will also reduce the pressure on you a lot. Of course, you don't have to serialize it if you want; you can arrange the ending at any time."

Upon hearing the editor-in-chief's words, Naoto realized that both of them had come prepared.

The fact that even the people on both sides have already made arrangements suggests that the new wife has been making this request for quite some time. And it's quite obvious that these editors have even considered the possibility of failure.

"But editor-in-chief, what good would this do us? Putting aside the issues with Niizuma, having to serialize another manga would put a lot of pressure on us right now."

After hearing Naoto's words, Akito and Moritaka quickly calmed down.

Yes, we're just middle school students right now, and even serializing one manga has exhausted us. Naoto's older brother is still a high school student; I imagine he's under even more academic pressure.

Publishing another comic series doesn't bring them any benefits at all; it seems like they're the ones who lose out.

"Don't worry, you won't be treated unfairly in this matter."

At this moment, the editor-in-chief, who had been silent all along, actually spoke. And when he uttered his next sentence, the three of them were completely dumbfounded.

"Shueisha has already studied and discussed this matter. Whoever wins the newcomer popularity ranking next time will have the power to cancel a manga at will."

Such great courage ignited the fighting spirit of the three.

It seems that, no matter what, next time, I'll have to have a good fight with this future JUMP manga artist.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Single Volume Release

Although he promised the editor-in-chief to draw a new comic, to be honest, Naoto still doesn't know what to draw.

When it comes to interesting comics, Naoto has a lot in his head.

But to defeat Eiji Niizuma's manga, only a classic that has stood the test of time would suffice. Naoto has absolutely no clue about that kind of manga yet.

But right now, Naoto has something even more important to him than that.

That is, the first volume of The Vampire is finally going to be released.

What does the release of a single volume mean for a comic artist?

Let's put it this way: Jump has weekly popularity rankings, which are like weekly and monthly exams. Unless things are really bad, nobody will say anything.

However, the release of a single volume is like a final exam or even an entrance exam.

A manga artist without collected volumes, no matter how successful they are, can only be called a popular manga artist. Only when collected volumes achieve a certain level of success can they be called a bestselling manga artist.

Throughout history, countless cartoonists have been stuck at this stage, unable to become truly enjoyable cartoonists.

If you overcome this hurdle, you'll be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate; if you don't, you'll be a dead fish.

The world of cartoonists is just that cruel.

While Naoto's track record suggests the release won't be a complete flop, if he wants to become the Number One in the manga world, then he naturally needs to produce some good results, right?

Naoto looked at his recent online reputation and suddenly felt something was off.