Chapter 4: The Stunning "Bloodline"
"I'm home."
In the evening, Kuriko's father, Saiki Kuniharu, returned home, dragging his tired body after a day of work.
It's quite something, Kuriko's family could easily become top-tier wealthy in Japan, or even the world.
However, Kuriko's father, Kuniharu, preferred to work hard every day rather than use his children's powers to enrich the family.
Perhaps, this is the lifestyle of a broad-minded person. Or perhaps it's simply because his family is already very wealthy and doesn't need extra money for this and that.
"Welcome home, Dad."
Saiki Kurumi, Kuniharu's wife, offered a cool towel to her hardworking husband.
"Phew~ I'm alive again."
Feeling the cool touch of the towel, Mr. Kuniharu felt alive once more.
"Ha~"
"Dad, is something wrong?"
As the family sat at the dining table, Saiki Kuniharu couldn't help but sigh. Even with the delicious meal prepared by his beloved wife, he had no desire to eat a single bite.
Seeing this, Mrs. Saiki couldn't help but ask her husband.
"Ha~ Nothing, it's just that recently... Hattori's subordinate seems to have a very talented manga artist duo, and I feel a bit pressured."
T/N - (Hattori is the editor of the two main characters of Bakuman)
As an editor at JUMP, the work is extremely demanding.
Don't think that only manga artists are exhausted at JUMP; in reality, editors, in addition to having their own performance evaluations, are often responsible for many, many things.
For example, if something happens to a manga artist under their charge, they are the first ones to go and resolve it.
Even if they encounter a delayed submission, they have to bear the pressure and contact the printing factory. A slight mistake could lead to a work crisis.
And having an outstanding manga artist under one's wing is also a great honor for an editor. The more famous the manga artist under them, the higher the editor's status in the workplace.
"A very talented manga artist duo?"
"Yes, both of them are still only middle schoolers. But one of the members of that duo, his uncle, was very talented. Damn it! Hattori got his hands on them!"
Mr. Kuniharu couldn't help but down the beer on the table, frustrated at losing two potential manga artists from his team.
"By the way, why haven't I seen Naoto recently? Is he alright?"
Speaking of which, Mr. Kuniharu was also an open-minded person; he would forget about such things as soon as he mentioned them.
It was only then that Mr. Kuniharu remembered he hadn't seen Naoto at their house in a long time.
The Saiki family deeply sympathized with the plight of Naoto's family.
In fact, after so many years of being neighbors, the Saiki couple had long treated Naoto as their own child.
After the Yamamoto couple passed away, the Saiki couple often invited Naoto to their house for meals, but recently, they hadn't seen Naoto, and they were a little afraid that something might have happened to him.
"Nothing, it's just that he's recently become obsessed with drawing manga."
"Drawing manga?"
Hearing Kuriko's words, the Saiki couple were stunned. Naoto, that child, had talent for drawing manga?
"Here, this is his manga. I brought it out from Naoto's room."
With that, Kuriko handed the finished manga drawn by Naoto to her father.
Initially, Mr. Kuniharu didn't pay too much attention. After all, how amazing could a manga drawn by a high school student be? Most high school students' drawings, in their eyes, were good enough if they even looked like people, and they would be thankful for that.
However, the moment Mr. Kuniharu saw Naoto's manga, he was stunned by the scene before his eyes.
A silver-haired girl stood atop a tall building, surrounded by the city lights.
It was just a simple composition, yet it made him feel as if he were truly there.
Although Mr. Kuniharu hadn't even read the manga yet, he was already captivated by the artwork.
No matter what, purely from a drawing skill perspective, this was top-tier in the industry.
With this level of drawing skill, even if the plot was utter garbage, it would be enough to become a professional artist and earn money.
"Did Naoto really draw this? You're kidding, right?"
Mr. Kuniharu still couldn't believe it and quickly flipped to the next pages.
In his opinion, a good first drawing didn't necessarily mean the drawing skill would remain consistent throughout. It was like writing an essay; you might maintain good handwriting at the beginning.
But later, as you get more and more tired, your writing starts to become sloppy.
Many artists' later works become a mess.
But what shocked Mr. Kuniharu was that Naoto's drawings not only didn't become sloppy but instead became increasingly exquisite.
The art style wasn't simply 'human-like'; it was the kind that, at first glance, you would deeply fall in love with.
And because this was a short story created first, this time it actually integrated nearly three chapters of "Bloodline."
The story content was also very simple.
Middle school student Yaren gets caught in a war between the Holy Land and the Bloodline because of his ghost sister. To rescue his sister Yaren, Yaren voluntarily becomes Liloe's blood servant and unintentionally becomes close friends with school bully Sage. Later, Yaren and Sage are attacked by Eagle Eye and others from the Mixed Brigade's Ninth Squad. On the verge of death, Yaren is embraced by Liloe, moved by his plight, and becomes a newborn Bloodline.
T/N - (Localization, so the names of the character's name won't be exactly the same as the original Bloodline story.)
The plot seemed simple, but in reality, it was very captivating.
The clues it introduced were also very clever.
Yaren constantly conversed with his sister, but in reality, his sister had long passed away; it was actually his sister's ghost that had been by Yaren's side all along.
And because his sister was a ghost, it led to the appearance of people from the Church, who seemed to be guardians of humanity.
The Church captured Yaren's sister, forcing him to sign a contract with a vampire.
And the vampire princess Liloe, after drinking Yaren's blood, annihilated all members of the Church.
However, Yaren's school bully friend, believing Yaren to be dead, joined the Church. It was precisely because of this that these two friends, by a twist of fate, became enemies.
Such a story was a typical shonen tale.
Mr. Kuniharu hadn't seen such a good shonen manga in a long time.
Moreover, the design of the female protagonist, Liloe, was also very appealing; a mysterious vampire princess, it was as shonen as a plot could get.
Actually, the original "Bloodline" from Naoto's world, known to everyone was Ai Ou's third arc. Before that, "Bloodline" actually had two other arcs, which existed as prequels.
However, these two arcs circulated very little online, and most people's memories still focused on the most classic "Holy Demon Illusion" arc.
And the plot of the mobile game started from the first arc.
At this moment, Mr. Kuniharu was still in shock; he wished he could run to Naoto's house right now to discuss this manga with him properly.