Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

The decision made by Miraisha quickly reached Nagano Nori's ears.

"Going all in on heavy assets? That's not a choice a new publishing house should make."

The reason why Weekly Shonen Jump can move into a dedicated building, purchase warehouses, and store supplies is because Jump is backed by Shueisha, which has a strong financial foundation, allowing it to use ample funds to mitigate risks.

Mirai-sha is different.

With working capital of only one or two hundred million, investing one-third of it in the accumulation of heavy assets could easily lead to a cash flow crisis.

Once magazine sales decline and there is no new revenue, paying for printing and shipping becomes a problem.

The possibility of publication being discontinued is possible.

"I don't know what Fujiwara Maki is thinking. Should I say she has a strong sense of crisis? Or does she like adventure? In any case, this is a good thing for us."

“Hmm,” Nakano nodded, “Hopefully they’ll lose their composure.”

At this point, they have given up hope that "Masked Ninja" can resist "Naruto" from eroding their readership.

Anyone who reads these two comics will understand that they are not equal.

While "Kamen Rider" pioneered a new direction, it is far inferior to "Naruto" and is not even in the same league.

It is irresponsible to place your hopes on Kaiji Imai.

"Any promising talents have emerged in this year's Tezuka Award?" Nagano asked.

Nakano shook his head: "It's all average, no talent has emerged."

“It’s like this again,” Nagano Nori sighed.

"I really don't know where Hirokane Kenshi and Adachi Mitsuru came from. Creators who can carry a magazine have actually been signed by a small company like Mirai-sha."

They have monthly awards for their "Jump" series, and countless other new talent awards, but in terms of discovering new talent, their achievements are not as good as Mirai-sha's.

The thought of falling behind due to bad luck filled Nagano Nori with bitterness.

Nakano scratched his cheek; he had no idea what was going on.

After all, their "Jump" magazine had only been launched for a short time, and Go Nagai and Hiroshi Motomiya had already joined.

We're all in the same boat.

Nakano said, "I've heard people say that both Hirokane Kenji and Adachi Mitsuru served as Oikawa-sensei's assistants, so perhaps that's one of the reasons."

“How could that be?” Nagano Nori shook his head. “Drawing manga is about talent. No matter how good your teaching skills are, you can’t make a mediocre person draw a popular manga. Unless…”

"Unless something..."

“There will be a third or fourth Mitsuru Adachi in Oikawa.”

……

"A plenary meeting, just thinking about it gives me a headache."

In Adachi Mitsuru's studio, as he listened to editor Kamei gesticulate wildly as he described the grand scene of the plenary meeting, Adachi Mitsuru's first thought was that he couldn't be bothered to attend.

Right now, he has a very unusual thing to do, which requires him to be completely focused on creating.

Kamei said, "Oikawa-sensei was there. Although he didn't say much, he was involved throughout the whole process."

"The teacher really has a lot of energy," Adachi exclaimed in amazement.

He also wants to face the double impact of "Touch" and "Black Jack," which will make the teacher feel a sense of urgency.

Surprisingly, that person calmly went to attend some kind of plenary meeting.

What does this have to do with cartoonists?

Surely the direction of development wasn't decided by Mr. Oikawa?

How is that possible?

Shaking his head to forget the absurd idea, Adachi Mitsuru looked at Kamei Osamu with a serious expression.

"Editor Kamei, there's one thing you must promise me."

"What?" Kamei Osamu asked, puzzled. "What direction is it about?"

"Of course, it's comics!"

“That’s absolutely no problem,” Kamei Osamu waved his hand. “Didn’t I say that you’d decide the main storyline for the rest of the manga? After all, this is a story approved by Oikawa-sensei.”

……

"Absolutely not!"

At the Oikawa Studio, editor Osamu Kamei, along with Toshiki Takei, the editor-in-chief of Future magazine, all came to visit, asking for favors.

After his anger subsided, Osamu Kamei looked distressed: "The original meaning of 'TOUCH' is 'Baton Touch,' a relay race. Mitsuru Adachi had decided from the beginning that his twin brother Kazuya Uesugi would pass away, and Tatsuya would take over his baseball dream and feelings for Minami Asakura, so that Kazuya could finish the youth that Kazuya should have had."

The original title of "Touch" is "TOUCH", which means "touch out" in baseball terminology.

Fushimikawa was unaware that there was such a deeper layer of meaning behind it.

Adachi Mitsuru didn't even say it himself, was it because he was worried that I would stop him?

Fushimikawa stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

He underestimated himself as a time traveler.

“I understand,” Fushimikawa nodded. “The current highlight of Touch is the love triangle involving brotherhood. The younger brother, Kazuya, is deeply in love with Minami Asakura, and Minami in turn loves the older brother, Tatsuya.”

Tatsuya, who initially intended to let his younger brother have his happiness, gradually developed a determination to compete with him for Minami Asakura's affections. At this point, Mitsuru Adachi decides to have Kazuya die, which makes the story's structure incomplete.

What kind of plot is this? The main storyline that had been built up over a long period of time was completely cut.

Or was it something the author had planned from the beginning?

Touch has already achieved good results, competing with Black Jack for second and third place.

Mitsuru Adachi insisted on making a big splash, which, in Osamu Kamei's view, would obviously affect the sales of "Future".

After all, some of the readers of "Future" don't like fighting and killing, but only like youthful romance, and they all came for "Touch".

If Touch collapses and there's no replacement in Future, it will cause huge losses.

This is especially true given the future heavy investment in assets by the society.

No wonder Takei Toshiki couldn't sit still and came with Kamei Osamu, wanting him to make a move.

“That’s right, he’s just messing around, but he won’t listen to my advice. Adachi-sensei listens to you the most. If Oikawa-sensei were to step in, he would definitely be able to change his mind.”

Faced with Kamei Osamu's expectant face, Fushimikawa simply apologized.

"I understand how you feel. But I refuse!"

"what?"

"Giving manga artists enough creative space is something I promised from the beginning. Touch is Adachi Mitsuru's own business, so it should be up to him to decide, right?"

"But!"

"There's no buts! I need to focus my energy on Naruto, how can I have time to make things difficult for Adachi Mitsuru?"

Fushimikawa's attitude was firm, so Kamei Osamu turned his pleading gaze to Takei Toshiki.

Takei Toshiki rubbed his forehead and said to Fushimikawa, "Actually, I'm on your and Adachi Mitsuru's side. It's all because of Kamei that he insisted on asking me to come over."

"Editor-in-Chief!" Kamei Osamu exclaimed anxiously, "You didn't say that before!"

"I've only just figured it out now," Toshiki Takei said calmly. "The three-protagonist model might not be a good thing for the story's development. Letting Kazuya die is a good solution."

Fushimikawa was taken aback; he had underestimated his editor.

Indeed, Toshiki Takei is a veteran, and he has mentored many well-known manga artists.

His judgment on comics and the market is certainly superior to that of elites like Osamu Kamei.

He had a clear understanding of the problems with "Touch" and came up with a solution in the same way as Mitsuru Adachi.

Fushimikawa said from the bottom of his heart, "You're really amazing, Takei-san."

"This is the first time I've heard you praise me, really..." Takei Toshiki's cheeks flushed, and he turned his head away, "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Oikawa..."

Faced with the decision of the two management members, Osamu Kamei felt utterly powerless.

He had thought he could unite with the higher-ups and put pressure on Mitsuru Adachi to change the decision regarding Kazuya's death.

But now that he has discovered that he is the weaker party, how could Kamei Osamu not despair?

Fushimikawa said, "I have said from the beginning that Touch is a work that can rival Naruto."

"Yes, that's right!" Kamei Osamu's hope rekindled, and he nodded repeatedly. "Sir, your thinking is absolutely correct. Look, Touch is now firmly in the top three, barely making it into Naruto. But if Kazuya really dies, this manga could very well fall out of the top ten!"

"Only third place," Fushimikawa shook his head coldly. "How can it compare to Naruto? The current Touch is far inferior!"

He looks forward to the transformation of "Touch".

"Stop talking. I've always had high expectations for Mitsuru Adachi's creative abilities. The new main storyline will be more interesting. I don't have time to waste with you when facing such a competitor."

……

In Fushimikawa's memory, the story of Touch, up until Kazuya's death, is the content after chapter 60.

But now, with only half of the 60 chapters published, Mitsuru Adachi is about to unleash this trump card.

"Does he really want to win that badly?" Fushimikawa muttered to himself. "Or is it that I'm putting too much pressure on him?"

The current storyline of Naruto is the Chunin Exams arc, which is the pinnacle of the entire series.

Besides the storyline of Class 7, the Forest of Death also depicts many battles.

Gaara's brutal crushing of the Amegakure trio, the chaotic battle between multiple village teams, and the heavyweight Orochimaru's confrontation and fight with the examiner Anko.

The vivid imagery and intense action created a powerful impact, earning it a strong following among readers.

They really enjoyed the Chunin Exams, finding the storyline of the ninjas showcasing their unique skills very interesting.

Especially after Akira Toriyama joined, the battle sequences in Naruto reached a new level.

The charm of Dragon Ball lies in its fight scenes.

Although Akira Toriyama has not yet reached his full potential, his charisma is already undeniable.

Fushimikawa continuously absorbed Akira Toriyama's experience, learning from his assistant how to draw better battle panels.