Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"of course can."

"Well then, Kuroba-kun, the bounty will be deposited into the card you provided later. Let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point..."

Sasaki Sugi crossed his arms and pressed his mustache against it, his eyes flashing, and made the suggestion directly.

"Should we start a serialization?"

Kuroba Akira turned and exchanged a glance with Moe. Only after Moe nodded in agreement did he turn back to confirm.

"open!"

"Alright! Let's start discussing the rest of the plot!"

"Regarding this, please take a look at this story outline."

Kuroba Akira pulled out the story outline that Shiori had prepared. It was very thick, almost half the length of a light novel. She had gradually perfected it beforehand.

When she first started drawing, she only thought about the beginning and the end, which was like having a skeleton. While Kuroba Akira and the others were working on the original manuscript, she was not idle either. In addition to writing the main text of the sister game, she also filled in the flesh and blood of the story in the middle.

Sasaki Sugi wasn't surprised; as expected, the later story had already been conceived, otherwise, the foreshadowing for the later developments wouldn't have been laid out in the short story.

But this amount really surprised him.

Are young people these days...so well-prepared?

They'd be incredibly frustrated if I told them such a thick story outline couldn't be used.

Let's wait and see...

Sasaki Sugi took the story outline and began to read it.

Half an hour later.

After watching the ending of Sasaki Sugi, I was shocked for the third time today.

He pushed up his glasses and asked.

"...Did you really come up with this story, Kuroba-kun?"

The story is so well-developed.

The story unfolds seamlessly, from beginning to end. After reading the outline, Sasaki Sugi couldn't think of any other possible developments for the story, or rather, even if she could, none would be as good as this one.

What's going on with this group? Can they really be called 'newcomers'?

She's a supermodel in every way!

It was definitely the right choice to handle it myself... This is not something an ordinary editor can handle. If you're not careful, you might lose confidence, feel incompetent, or even develop the mistaken idea that editors are superfluous.

No, that's not it.

"Phew, so it wasn't... Wait, it wasn't?!"

This is a huge surprise, and the fourth time I've been shocked.

This story couldn't have been stolen, could it?

Kuroba Akira then began to explain slowly and deliberately.

"Actually, the original author of the story was someone else. She conceived the setting and development, but she couldn't draw at all and didn't know anything about storyboarding, so I just transformed the pure text story into storyboards."

"So, the Shirako in the original work is actually someone else?"

"That's right, but it's fine to say I'm Bai Zi, because we share the same pen name, so you don't need to worry about copyright disputes."

"Sharing a pen name..."

To be able to share a pen name, they must have a very close relationship.

Sasaki Sugi thought Kuroba Akira and Aizono Moe were a couple, but now it seems there's a third person involved.

Ah, youth... But this has nothing to do with creation, and he has no intention of asking further. Anyway, he can find out more about it once they get to know each other better.

"Oh, by the way, please keep this a secret, since the pen name Bai Zi is also used to write light novels."

"I know, it's Hurricane Bunko, right? I met Editor Mori once, but I really didn't expect that the most popular light novel author would come to challenge manga, and even win our short story award, and even start serialization... This is a plot that could be made into a TV series, Kuroba-kun."

"Thank you for the compliment. You and Editor Sen have the same discerning eye. So, what do you think of this story?"

"Oh dear... if the story has been perfected to this extent, it seems there's no point in me interjecting."

This was the first time Sasaki Sugi had ever seen such a 'well-fed' team.

The original author who only creates the written story, but who can transform the original story into a storyboard full of tension... um, Nihara?

Finally, the storyboard is transformed into the original comic artwork, requiring a solid foundation in drawing skills...

This is more like a division of labor in animation.

Each part was completed by a genius who did what they were best at, which is probably why the final product is so top-notch.

Just like a fine dish, it requires knife skills, seasoning, cooking time, and plating.

While master chefs who can perfectly execute every step of the process may be extremely rare, it is still possible to find chefs who excel in only one skill.

Can this collaborative model be replicated?

Instead of adhering to the traditional approach of having a single cartoonist create their own world, this project brings together cartoonists who excel at drawing but struggle with storytelling to collaborate with those who have wildly imaginative ideas but whose drawing skills still need improvement, to create an outstanding work together...

Actually, there have been collaborations between two people before, but usually it was only when the comic artists had repeatedly failed in their serialization and lacked storytelling ability that they were desperate and had no other choice but to make such a choice at the recommendation of the editorial department.

Most cartoonists have their own pride; no one wants to be just a tool for drawing.

However, this may not be the only option left unresolved.

Isn't there the best example right in front of us?

Speaking of this, Sasaki Sugi began to wonder how the two of them had started working together.

"Speaking of which, Kuroba-kun and Aizono-chan, what brought you two together? And how long have you been working together?"

If they can have this level of tacit understanding, they must have been working together for a long time. Maybe they are childhood sweethearts who dream of becoming comic artists together and have practiced hard for ten years to achieve their current outstanding level.

"Oh, well, Mengmeng really loves shonen manga, especially shonen boom. I happened to see that you guys were looking for short stories, so I thought I'd give it a try and got everyone together to create a work... As for the collaboration period, if we're talking about manga, this is my first collaboration with Mengmeng. We've only worked together on illustrations for light novels before, um... maybe only for three months?"

"..."

Sasaki Sugi was shocked for the fifth time and was completely speechless.

That's too casual!

And this is actually their first collaboration!

Are all geniuses this unreasonable?

Chapter 415 A Cartoonist Leading the Era

"So, I have no problems with the story. After you two go back, you can draw the storyboards for the first three chapters and let me review them. I will take them to the serialization meeting for evaluation... Well, there shouldn't be anything else I need to remind you of."

Although the story and artwork of this manga are top-notch, what Sasaki Sugi found most incredible was the intense and exciting panel layout that fully unleashed the tension.

He hadn't seen this level of paneling in a long time; the last one was Dragon Ball, which is now used as a textbook example by most battle manga.

Ultimately, storyboarding is the concrete manifestation of imagination, and comics can be described as the 'art of still frames'. It is not enough to simply have a good spatial imagination. Without the aesthetic ability to select the 'best frame' from the frame, it is difficult to draw storyboards that are 'stunning'.

According to Sasaki Sugi, if one were to rank the geniuses of these three, he would say that Kuroba Akira is the most talented, because manga artists with this kind of paneling ability are extremely rare.

To put it extremely, even if it's just a boring story with very rough artwork, if it has great paneling, it can still be considered a 'good-looking comic'. Of course, being interesting is another matter entirely.

What Sasaki Sugi didn't know was that this wasn't Kuroba Akira's innate talent, but rather the result of his accumulated reading experience.

Just as Kuroba Akira was able to create light novels with novel themes that were ahead of their time by relying on his experience reading light novels, the comics with more advanced panel layouts that he had read also became a powerful reference for him when creating his own panel layouts.

He didn't achieve enlightenment through talent, but rather by absorbing the experience of his predecessors, just like learning the knowledge in textbooks during compulsory education, learning all the excellent things that had already been summarized.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, he is essentially a collection of genius cartoonists for the next fifteen years, which naturally surprises those who are unaware of the situation.

These are all hidden assets that Kuroba Akira possesses. Even without plagiarism, his leading experience alone is enough to make him a leader in this industry.

It should be said that it was precisely because Akira Kuroba did not choose to plagiarize that he was not limited by the 'framework of the original work' and was able to incorporate more excellent elements into it.

This also allows Akira Kuroba to make his own judgments about everything related to the work, instead of being a brainless plagiarist.

Just like copying a classmate's homework versus doing your own homework, the difference lies in the process of independent thinking.

"Wait a moment, Editor-in-Chief Sasaki. Actually, we also have something we'd like to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is it? You can bring up anything. As long as there's anything our editorial department can do to help, we'll do our best to assist the cartoonist."

"Regarding the length of the serialization, if possible, I hope the editorial department will not forcibly extend the length of the work because of its popularity."

"what?"

They're actually going to shorten the article!

This was completely unexpected for Sasaki Sugi, because a major characteristic of sports manga is its longevity.

Not to mention the high school storyline, it could also become a storyline after they become professionals. Moreover, depending on the level of detail in the story, a single match could potentially be drawn into dozens of chapters, which in real time would be a whole year. If there are several such important matches, it could take several years.

It should easily surpass 300 chapters. As long as its popularity remains strong, this work will become another evergreen in the Shonen Boom series.

But he did the opposite!

They are the complete opposite of those cartoonists who try to achieve long-running series through sports comics.

"...Can I hear your reasoning? In my opinion, based on the outline you gave me, even if some unimportant plot points are omitted, this is still a super long work that can be serialized for more than 300 chapters."

"That's right, but I plan to speed up the plot of this work, condense the story, and finish it in about a hundred chapters."

"One hundred chapters... that's a bit short, especially since this is a sports manga. Is it really going to end in just one hundred chapters?"

"Yes, although it's not all the storyboards, I've already come up with the storyboards for the first ten chapters based on the story outline. These ten chapters will be about one-tenth of the whole story. Even if some new plot ideas are added in the middle, I think the total length of the comic will be around one hundred and fifty chapters."

If they work year-round without a break, they can update about fifty chapters a year, which means it will be completed in less than three years.

"and……"

Kuroba Akira glanced at Moe, and after feeling Kuroba Akira's gaze, Moe also turned to look at him. However, not understanding Kuroba Akira's meaning, she adorably tilted her head, a question mark appearing above her head.

"I don't want Mengmeng's first serialization to become 'the only well-known work in her life'."

"Well?"

Moe didn't quite understand the meaning of Kuroba Akira's words; her level of understanding hadn't reached that point yet. But Sasaki Sugi did get it.

"...I see, that's indeed a very important reason."

He was once again surprised that Kuroba Akira, a mere high school student, could think so far ahead, even considering the 'career lifespan' of a manga artist.