My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

"Supreme, what should we say when we meet those teachers?"

"I don't know, I just know I'm panicking. My mind is a complete mess."

They had received the banquet invitation several days in advance, but when the day actually arrived, they felt incredibly nervous.

The thought of all those established seniors attending this banquet made my restless heart just wouldn't calm down.

That's normal, though. It would be strange if someone wasn't excited, since it's their first time participating in something like this.

Even a high school student like Naoto was incredibly excited when he found out he was going to attend the party.

Even though it was still early before the shuttle bus arrived, neither Gao Shi nor Qiu Ren had any intention of checking their phones. They were sitting on the sofa, motionless, watching the time tick by on the clock. The phrase "each day felt like a year" was probably the most fitting description for it.

However, once the two were seated in the ultra-luxury car, their behavior was even more exaggerated than that of straight people.

Sitting upright in the back seat of the car, I was curious about everything behind me.

The feeling of wanting to touch but not being able to is the ultimate torture for two boys who are only about fifteen years old.

After finally making it to the venue, the scene from before came to life.

Have we arrived?

"So this is where the party was held?"

Upon hearing the familiar voices, Naoto and Nanako turned around at the same time and saw Moritaka and Akito, who looked like country bumpkins visiting the city.

"Huh? Moritaka, Akito, you guys are here too?"

"Hey? It's Sister Nanzi and Brother Zhiren! And Editor Qimu too!"

Upon hearing Naoto's voice, the two of them also noticed Naoto and his group.

Upon seeing the outfits worn by Naoto and Nanako, the two of them were both stunned.

"Pfft, what were you two wearing when you came here?"

At this moment, Naoto almost couldn't hold back when he looked at Moritaka and Akito.

The main reason is that these two people actually came dressed in their usual casual clothes.

Okay, it's fine if they wear casual clothes, after all, these two are just kids, so we don't need to worry about that.

If possible, Naoto would like to follow the example of these two and come over in casual clothes.

However, no matter what, these two should at least dress up a bit, especially the tallest one, whose hairstyle is practically a bird's nest.

At this moment, Moritaka and Akito still had no idea what Naoto was laughing about. It could only be said that the two of them were completely unaware of these things and thought it was just a simple gathering.

However, Naoto is laughing a bit too soon. After all, they don't know yet that there's an even more outrageous guy waiting for them inside.

"ONE-sensei! You've finally arrived!"

When Naoto and the others gathered and were about to enter the venue, before they even stepped inside, they saw their former training instructor, Enguchi, running straight towards Naoto.

Ever since the last training camp, this guy has become a huge fan of straight people. His fanaticism is on par with that of a celebrity's die-hard fan.

Sure enough, before Naoto even arrived, this guy was already waiting at the entrance of the venue. It's absolutely outrageous.

In Yuankou's eyes, Naoto was the benefactor who helped him regain his confidence. Coupled with Naoto's meticulous guidance during the training camp, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe him as a mentor.

However, Naoto couldn't stand this enthusiastic guy. After all, it was really hard for Naoto to accept that someone older than him was so enthusiastic towards him.

"Wait, Ms. Yuankou, what's with your outfit?"

At this moment, Akito and Moritaka looked at Mr. Enguchi with eyes that resembled those of an old man on the subway.

Although it's still the same person, I feel like this outfit is getting more and more irritating to look at.

"Huh? You mean this? This is the cosplay outfit of my manga protagonist, Xiangxiang-chan."

When Naoto and the others heard this guy say such things without batting an eye, they felt like a TBT had suddenly been stuffed into their brains.

Although, at such banquets, you can see other authors dressed as their characters, participating in cosplay.

But... Ms. Yuankou, all your works feature girls selling their bodies, and you're dressed in women's clothing right now!

This adorable outfit, combined with his weight of over 180 pounds, makes one feel as if their eyes have been filled with chili water.

"Ms. Yuankou! Didn't we agree that you couldn't come wearing clothes like this?"

Just then, Sasahara, looking flustered, rushed out from inside with a set of clothes in his hand and quickly took Professor Enguchi away.

It's fortunate that editor Sasahara was there; otherwise, Naoto and the others might have vomited later.

"Huh? ONE-sensei, Ashirogi Muto-sensei? You're already here? What happened when I saw Sasahara-editor leave?"

At this moment, the newlywed wife, who had already arrived, walked towards the group with a glass of non-alcoholic champagne in a puzzled manner.

Seeing Eiji Niizuma in his signature thermal underwear set, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this outfit is still full of flaws, it's at least much better than some other people's cringe-worthy cosplay outfits.

It can only be said that abnormal clothing appears exceptionally normal in front of even more outrageous people.

"Oh, speaking of which, the outfit that Teacher Yuankou wore just now was really quite nice. How about I wear one next year?"

Just when everyone thought that Niizuma hadn't gone mad, Niizuma Eiji suddenly looked in the direction where Madoka-sensei had left and pondered for a while, as if he wanted to imitate her.

"No! My dear wife, calm down!"

Seeing that Shinzawa was about to have an attack, Naoto and Moritaka quickly stopped him.

The thought of my new wife going crazy and cosplaying the heroine of my work is enough to make me completely doomed.

Most importantly, this person is definitely going to drag them along.

I don't want to play these tricks with this person!

Chapter 93: A Night of Stars (Part 2)

"There are so many comic artists here, Naoto-kun, do you know any of them?"

"Uh, Supreme, to be honest, we were classmates. If you don't know someone, how could I possibly know them?"

"But Naoto-kun, aren't you the most amazing person in JUMP right now?"

"Being the most skilled doesn't necessarily mean I know any senior figures in the industry."

Standing in a corner of the venue, the four socially awkward individuals, including Nanzi, looked around at the crowd and felt somewhat lost.

Compared to the social butterfly who was a certain new wife, the rest of them really didn't know how to interact with these people, so they could only stay in the corner and start eating.

At least, the stuff here is pretty good.

In fact, during the observation process, everyone also discovered that those who were always gathered with a large group of people and chatting happily were generally not cartoonists. Usually, these people were editors or publishers talking to each other.

As for the real cartoonists, only a few of them gathered together; most of the others had no intention of talking.

Actually, this kind of thing is quite normal. After all, 80% of comic artists are socially awkward or otaku. It would be a bit much to expect such people to have many friends.

Having a few people you can get along with in the meeting room is already quite good.

In fact, even the most accomplished members of the group only formed this group of friends many years after becoming manga artists. Right now, they are complete newcomers at the event, and nobody recognizes them.

Just as the group was thinking that since they were there, they might as well make the most of it and at least focus on cooking, Naoto suddenly saw an acquaintance walk in from outside.

And this acquaintance also saw Naoto as soon as he came in.

"Hey, Naoto-kun, it's been a long time!"

"Mr. Kubo! You're here too."

The stylish man walking towards them was none other than Mr. Kubo, who had provided them with a great deal of help during the summer vacation.

"Of course, after all, I'm a regular here. Oh right, I forgot to congratulate you, the anime adaptation was a great success. By the way, the final volume seems to be released tomorrow."

"Yes, that's right, it's tomorrow. By the way, Mr. Kubo, did you come alone today?"

At this moment, Naoto noticed that it seemed that there was no one else with Kubo-sensei. Could it be that Kubo-sensei came alone today?

Logically speaking, someone as seasoned as Kubo should have brought a few people with him. After all, many authors, according to Naoto, come in groups, and Kubo-sensei has always been quite well-liked.

"Ah, well, I actually came with Sorachi-sensei, but he's at the entrance with a senior colleague. Oh, they've already come in."

"what?"

At that moment, Naoto followed Kubo-sensei's gaze and saw two people walking into the room, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Naoto, Moritaka, Akito, let me introduce you. This guy is Sorachi-sensei. I'm sure you've all heard of him. He's a super famous guy."

At that moment, Mr. Kubo pulled over a slightly chubby, somewhat comical-looking fat man.

"Sorachi-sensei? Sorachi Gorilla?"

After reciting the so-called Sorachi, Nanzi casually mentioned the gorilla in the following sentence.

Okay, to be fair, this face does look somewhat similar to the gorilla in the comics.

The one right in front of me is actually the legendary Sorachi Gorilla?!

"You're actually Sorachi-sensei?! The creator of Gintama?!"

When Naoto saw the Sorachi gorilla in front of him, he immediately looked like he had seen his idol.

If we're talking about Naoto's favorite authors in the JUMP series, Sorachi and Kubo are definitely among them.

His creation, Gintama, is a prime example of a comedic masterpiece.

Unlike typical comedy manga, the deeper meaning behind Gintama's humor is what truly captivates audiences.

Back then, after watching the Gintama anime, Naoto spent about half a month reading the Gintama manga and benefited a lot from it.

As a long-running manga that started in 2004 and ended in 2018, after Bleach and Naruto ended, Kochikame also ended. At that time, JUMP was basically supported by Umi and Gintama.

It can only be said that Sorachi-sensei is truly amazing. He is one of the idol manga artists for Naoto (a Japanese manga artist).

"Hey, Kubo-sensei, you flatter me. What kind of famous manga artist am I? Among us, I'm probably the weakest one. This must be the famous ONE. I'm Sorachi, nice to meet you."

Everyone felt relieved to see Sorachi Gorilla speaking to them in such a humorous way. After all, Sorachi Gorilla was incredibly famous, and most people's impression of him was based on the gorilla in the manga. They thought he was a man of few words, but it turned out he was quite nice.

Speaking of which, the popular Japanese magazine *daVinci* publishes its annual "booking of the year" project, which ranks the most popular manga artists of the year, divided into male and female categories. In the 2012 male category, Hideaki Sorachi ranked fifth, with Eiichiro Oda, Takehiko Inoue, Yoshihiro Togashi, and Hirohiko Araki taking the top four spots. This demonstrates just how popular he is.

"Ahem, it seems I really am getting old. These young people nowadays are all so amazing."

At this moment, a man who looked to be about forty-five or forty-six years old, who came in with Sorachi Gorilla, spoke with some emotion.