….
Japan.
….
I am slumped over my desk, forehead pressed against the cool wood, when my assistant Tanaka-kun gently shakes my shoulder.
"Kishimoto-sensei, it's almost six. We should head out."
My eyes feel like they have been rubbed with sandpaper.
Seventy-two hours.
That's how long I have been awake, minus a two-hour nap on Friday.
The final pages of Chapter 1 were delivered at 4:53 AM this morning - seven minutes before the absolute deadline, not because I didn't get enough time.
It was more like, no matter the time I get, it won't be sufficient to satisfy my trust to perfection. Maybe that is exactly why there is something like a deadline.
"Is it... is it really happening?" I mumble, my voice hoarse.
Tanaka-kun grins. "It's happening, sensei. Naruto is in Weekly Shonen Jump today. Your dream is real."
He is twenty-three, just a year younger than me, and he has been with me through six months of development hell - right after Regal-san left.
I sit up, and my back screams in protest.
The studio is a disaster - empty cup ramen containers stacked in pyramids, crumpled paper everywhere, screen tone scraps littering the floor like confetti.
My other two assistants, Yamada-san and Keiko-chan, passed out on the futons in the corner.
They earned that rest.
"Let's go buy it then." I say, standing on shaky legs. "Let's go see if anyone actually cares."
….
[6:15 AM - Family Mart, Three Blocks Away]
The morning air is crisp, and Tokyo is just beginning to wake up.
Salarymen in dark suits shuffle toward the station. A elderly woman sweeps the sidewalk in front of her shop.
Everything feels surreal, like I am watching the world through frosted glass.
The Family Mart's automatic doors chime as we enter.
And there it is.
The magazine rack, fully stocked with this week's Jump.
The cover features One Piece, Oda-sensei's series is dominating right now, as it should - his art is incredible.
But somewhere inside that 450-page magazine, buried among the popular giants, is my work.
Naruto.
My hand trembles as I pick up a copy.
It feels heavier than it should.
"¥260." the clerk says cheerfully, barely looking up.
I pay with exact change, and step outside.
Tanaka-kun is practically vibrating with excitement, but I can't open it.
"What if it's terrible?" I whisper. "What if I look at it in print and realize I have made a huge mistake?"
"Then we will know in about thirty seconds anyway." Tanaka-kun says. "Come on, sensei. You have been working toward this since you were fifteen years old."
He is right. I have been drawing manga in notebooks since middle school, sending submissions to Jump since I was eighteen.
Four years of rejection letters.
Four years of "not quite what we are looking for" and "please try again."
Then something he never expected happened.
An investor.
Why do I have a studio instead of working from my tiny apartment? Why I could afford proper drafting equipment instead of the cheap stuff I had been using.
That investment is why Yamada-san and Keiko-chan exist.
Regal-san hadn't interfered once.
He would send occasional messages - "How's it going?" and "Good luck with the deadline" - but never asked to see pages, never demanded changes.
He had just... believed.
On the first look he didn't look like someone who could change lives.
Because of Regal-san, I hired Tanaka-kun. Hired Yamada-san and Keiko-chan.
Rented a proper studio. Bought equipment. Ate actual meals.
And because Regal-san found Nanami-san first, I met someone who understood what it meant to chase impossible dreams while slowly starving in Tokyo.
Nanami-san got his voice acting career. I got my serialization. Both of us have a future.
Maybe, if Naruto gets an anime adaptation, Nanami-san could play a major role.
…let's not get ahead of myself.
….
The automatic doors chime as we exited the Family Mart.
My heart stops.
I flip to the table of contents.
My eyes scan down the list, and there it is:
[NARUTO - Kishimoto Masashi (New Series)] - Page 47.
The title page spreads across two pages.
Naruto, standing on the Hokage monument, orange jumpsuit bright even in black and white, that defiant grin on his face.
The title "NARUTO" in bold katakana. And underneath, in smaller text, my name.
Kishimoto Masashi.
"Sensei." Tanaka-kun breathes. "It looks incredible."
He is biased, of course.
He watched me draw it.
But seeing it here, printed, real - it's different from the manuscript pages.
The blacks are deeper.
The contrast is sharper.
Naruto looks like he could jump off the page.
We stand there on the sidewalk, reading through the entire chapter.
Seventeen pages.
Every panel I agonized over.
The opening with Naruto painting the Hokage faces.
Iruka-sensei's introduction.
The reveal of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Naruto eating ramen at Ichiraku.
"The dialogue reads well." I murmur, studying the word balloons. "The flow is good. Oh god, that background in panel three looks rushed—"
"Nobody will notice that except you." Tanaka-kun interrupts. "Sensei, this is good. This is really good."
….
[7:30 AM - Return to Studio]
Back at the studio, Yamada-san and Keiko-chan are awake, brewing coffee that smells like burned plastic. I hand them the magazine.
"We are published." I announce, and Keiko-chan actually squeals.
We pass the magazine around, each of us reading it silently.
I watch their faces, trying to gauge honest reactions.
Yamada-san nods appreciatively at the action sequence.
Keiko-chan laughs at Naruto's prank.
These are good signs.
"Okay." I say, clapping my hands together. "We can celebrate for exactly one hour. Then we start on Chapter 2."
"Sensei, you need to sleep." Keiko-chan protests.
"I will sleep when Chapter 2 is done. Yahagi-san is coming at three PM to review the name. I haven't even started the storyboards."
This is my life now. Every week, forever, or until Jump cancels me.
….
I am sketching rough panels when my phone rings.
It's Yahagi-san, my editor.
"Kishimoto-sensei! Have you seen the early reactions?"
My heart stops. "Reactions? From who? It just came out four hours ago."
"The Jump editorial floor. We always read the new series first thing Monday morning. The editor-in-chief read your chapter."
I can't breathe. Matsui-san, the editor-in-chief, the man who decides which series live or die. "And?"
"He laughed at the ramen scene. He said Naruto has a personality. Kishimoto-sensei, he said it shows promise."
Shows promise.
Not "it's brilliant" or "it's the next Dragon Ball." But shows promise.
It's enough, for now, it's enough.
"Thank you, Yahagi-san." I manage. "I won't let you down."
"Just keep doing what you are doing. Oh, and Kishimoto-sensei? Don't read the internet forums yet. Give it a few days."
Internet forums.
I had almost forgotten about those.
Places where fans gather to discuss the Jump series with brutal honesty. "Are they... bad?"
"They are mixed. Some people love the concept. Some people think another ninja manga won't work. Some people are already comparing it to other ninja series. Don't let it get in your head. The only opinions that matter are the survey results, and those won't come for two weeks."
Two weeks.
That's when readers will mail in their postcards ranking their favorite chapters from this issue.
That's when I will know if Naruto lives or dies.
….
My editor arrives precisely on time, carrying his own copy of Jump and a briefcase full of notes.
He is thirty-two, experienced, and has worked with three successful serializations before. I am lucky to have him.
"Congratulations on the publication." He says, bowing slightly. We bow to each other. "Now, let's talk about Chapter 2."
I spread out my storyboards, the "name", across the table.
Rough sketches showing the next seventeen pages.
Naruto stealing the Forbidden Scroll.
The confrontation with Mizuki.
Learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Yahagi-san studies them in silence for what feels like an eternity.
He makes small marks with a red pen, circles panels, and draws arrows.
"Good. You are a lot more prepared - the story arcs are mapped out like something from a seasoned pro. I guess having an investor really takes the pressure off a mangaka."
"You flatter me, Yahagi-san. But you are not wrong. It does help. With the money side handled, I can actually think straight and focus on the work."
….
We order pizza - an extravagance, but it's a celebration.
While waiting for delivery, I finally allowed myself to search online.
I boot up my computer, dial into the internet with that screaming modem sound, and navigate to 2channel, the massive Japanese forum.
There is already a thread about the new Jump series.
I scroll through the comments:
> Naruto? Another ninja manga? How original. /s
> The art is actually pretty good. Character designs are memorable.
> I don't know, the fox demon thing seems interesting. Might have potential.
> Nobody will ever top Rurouni Kenshin. Why do they keep trying ninja/samurai series?
> That ramen scene made me hungry lol
> Calling it now: cancelled within 20 chapters.
> No way, the kid has the demon sealed in him? That's actually a cool twist.
My hands are shaking. I close the browser.
"Sensei?" Keiko-chan is watching me with concern. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I lie. "Just... reading feedback."
"Yahagi-san said not to." she reminds me gently.
"I know."
The truth is, I am terrified.
Naruto feels real to me.
His loneliness, his determination, his dream - it all comes from somewhere deep inside me.
The isolation I felt growing up.
The desire to be acknowledged.
What if nobody cares? What if all those years of dreaming about being a mangaka were wasted? What if I am not good enough?
….
Can't think about that now. Chapter 2's penciling starts tonight.
I pull out fresh B4 manuscript paper, clip it to my light box. Yamada-san sets up beside me to start in the background.
Tanaka-kun organizes the screen tones.
Keiko-chan preps the inking tools.
My G-pen scratches across the paper. Naruto's face emerges from the blank white, line by line. His eyes - defiant, hopeful, alive.
"You are going to make it." I whisper to the drawing. "I am going to make you famous. I promise."
It's a ridiculous promise.
I am a nobody mangaka with one published chapter.
The odds of Naruto becoming anything significant are astronomically low.
Most new series fail. Even good ones.
But I draw anyway.
….
[Next Day]
Yahagi-san calls at noon.
"Kishimoto-sensei, I have preliminary feedback from some retailers."
My stomach drops. "Already?"
"A few major bookstores track which series customers are discussing. Naruto got mentioned. Not a lot, but it got mentioned. People are curious about the kid with the demon fox."
"That's... good?"
"That's very good for a first chapter. Most new series get zero buzz. You've got something here. Now we just need to nurture it, grow it, and pray the survey results don't kill us."
After he hangs up, I sit there staring at my storyboards for Chapter 3, which I haven't started yet because I am still finishing Chapter 2.
People are curious.
It's just a spark, the tiniest one.
But sparks can become fires if you feed them right.
I pick up my pen and get back to work.
Naruto's story is just beginning.
And so is mine.
….
My phone rings as we are walking back.
Unknown number.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Kishimoto-san?" A familiar voice. American accent. "It's Regal. I hope it's not too early."
I check my watch. 6:45 AM here means it's... "You are calling from California?"
"A friend in Tokyo sent me an early copy. I read it three times." His voice is warm. "Kishimoto-san, you did it. Naruto is everything I hoped he would be."
My throat closes.
"That ramen scene." Regal continues. "Where Iruka sits down next to him. That destroyed me. That's the whole manga right there - the moment someone chooses to see you. To sit beside you. That's what this story is about."
I can't speak. Can't make words work.
"I know you are terrified about the rankings." Regal says gently. "I know you're wondering if anyone will care. But I am telling you now - they will. This has something special. You have something special. Keep going. Keep believing."
"Thank you." I manage. "For everything. For believing when—"
"No." He interrupts. "Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for making this real. The world needs Naruto. More than you know."
After we hang up, I stand there holding my phone, tears running down my face.
Tanaka-kun pretends not to notice.
….
The survey results come in.
Yahagi-san calls me at 9 AM. "Ninth place. Out of eighteen series."
Ninth.
Not first.
…and not even top five.
"For a debut, that's strong." Yahagi-san continues quickly. "You are safe. Naruto continues. This is good news, Kishimoto-sensei."
I hang up and stare at my desk.
Ninth place. Is that good? Is that enough?
My phone buzzes. Text from Regal:
"Heard about ninth place. Perfect position. Not too high to stop improving, not too low to panic. Now you climb. One chapter at a time. One reader at a time. You've got this."
I read it five times. Pin it above my desk.
He is right. This is just the beginning.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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