Chapter 6: An Unexpected Encounter in the Editorial Department
At seven o'clock the next morning, Naoto had a rare day off.
Because today, he was going with Mr. Kuniharu to the JUMP editorial department to discuss the signing of a contract.
To be honest, Naoto was a bit excited today. After all, whether it was in his previous life or now, the JUMP editorial department was a sacred place in the hearts of otaku. Countless industry bigwigs were all there.
Although this world had fewer excellent manga artists, many famous authors were still working here.
Like Teacher Kubo, Kishimoto, Sorachi the Gorilla, etc. He thought, if he went to the editorial department this time and met these long-established seniors, should he ask for an autograph on a piece of paper? Or should he ask for an autograph on something personal?
"Knock knock knock."
"Coming, coming, who is it?"
Just as Naoto opened the door, standing outside was Kuriko.
Looking at Kuriko, dressed in exquisite clothes as if she were going on a pilgrimage, Naoto had a strange expression.
"Kuriko, what are you… going to do?"
"Following you. Father was afraid you'd cause trouble today, so he asked me to watch you."
"The way you say that, do I look like someone who would cause trouble in the editorial department?"
"Aren't you?"
"Uh, can't argue with that."
At this moment, Naoto looked at his childhood friend. To be fair, Kuriko, after changing out of her school uniform, was a total beauty.
Her stoic expression, coupled with her cool temperament, made her beautiful face even more stunning.
Both the father and mother of The Saiki Family were very good-looking, and Kuriko had inherited the best qualities of both.
Normally, she didn't seem like much in her school uniform, but Kuriko in casual clothes truly made one's eyes light up.
"By the way, Kuriko, you wouldn't be intentionally coming with me, would you?"
Naoto was skeptical about Kuriko saying she was watching him.
After all, as childhood friends, he knew Kuriko's personality inside and out. She would never do more than necessary. He knew that Kuriko would rather laze around, eating coffee jelly instead. Especially since this was a request from her father, who basically had no status at home. Unless her father was willing to pay about a box of coffee jelly, Kuriko would never agree.
So, there was only one reason for Kuriko to come out—she wanted to go to the JUMP editorial department.
As a manga enthusiast, Kuriko had been to the JUMP editorial department more than once.
But those were only when her idiotic father forgot something or was about to be late, and she would follow along.
Kuriko had never had the time to properly explore the editorial department or get autographs from those famous authors.
This time, with a rare legitimate opportunity to go to the editorial department, how could Kuriko let this matter pass?
"Let's go, we'll be late soon."
"Hey! You still haven't told me if it's true!"
"Noisy!"
Facing Naoto's guess, Kuriko turned and walked out of his sight. However, based on Naoto's guess, he was probably right.
Soon, the group arrived at the JUMP editorial department.
To be fair, even if it was just a subsidiary of Shueisha, the JUMP editorial department looked exceptionally impressive at first glance.
Since it was working hours, many people could be seen entering and exiting the editorial department.
"Uh, who are these people?"
Although they initially came to ask for autographs from big names, Kuriko and Naoto were dumbfounded after arriving.
Because they didn't recognize any of these manga artists.
Normally, those manga artists didn't show their true faces, so most people, even if they saw them, probably wouldn't guess who these people were.
"Sorry, I didn't see clearly."
Just then, two teenagers walked towards Naoto.
At this moment, the two seemed exceptionally excited, so much so that they didn't see Naoto as they approached and accidentally bumped into him.
"It's okay."
Naoto initially didn't pay attention to the two teenagers, but after a while, he remembered, why were there teenagers here?
"Wait a minute, those two just now, they should be middle school students, right? Why are there middle school students here?"
At this moment, Naoto turned his head, looking suspiciously at the two teenagers who had already walked away. Could it be that they were also manga artists?
"Oh, Kuniharu, you're here. This must be the person you mentioned."
At this time, the Chief Editor of JUMP walked out of his office and happened to see Naoto looking back.
"Yes, Chief Editor, this is Naoto, whom I told you about. Naoto, this is Editor Sasaki."
Mr. Kuniharu quickly introduced Naoto after seeing the Chief Editor.
"Hello, Editor Sasaki."
"Hmm, hello. You seem very concerned about those two children?"
"Eh? Yes, I am."
Seeing that the Chief Editor had instantly seen through his thoughts, Naoto could only nod.
"Those two children are the newcomers who will be published with you this time, the Ashirogi Muto duo. They are very young, aren't they? They are still middle school students."
"Ashirogi Muto?!"
Naoto was stunned after hearing that name.
"Hmm? Is there a problem? Oh, right, this name is the pen name they just adopted. As for their real names, you'll have to ask them."
At this time, the Chief Editor thought Naoto was surprised that the two only had one name, and he carefully explained it to him.
However, what he didn't know was that Naoto's surprise at this moment was not about this at all.
Perhaps, Ashirogi Muto was not a famous figure yet. But in fact, the prototypes of these two were genuine industry gods.
As a manga enthusiast, Naoto naturally knew that these two were the main characters in Bakuman which was created by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.
The manga Death Note, which they also collaborated on, remained a timeless classic until Naoto's transmigration. Not to mention, Takeshi Obata was also the famous artist behind Hikaru no Go. It could be said that a large number of manga artists in modern JUMP were promoted by these two.
And in the manga, these two were not simple characters either. Although the Ashirogi Muto duo experienced many hardships and it took them ten years as manga artists to get their work animated, they had excellent connections within the editorial department, and almost all of the top authors were their friends.
They not only cultivated many excellent manga artists but were also the only rivals recognized by Niizuma Eiji, the future ace manga artist of JUMP.
Their strength should not be underestimated.
"Wait? Chief Editor, you just said that their work will also be published in this issue of the magazine?"
"Yes, their work, 'Two Earths,' is also an extremely wonderful short manga. If you've read it, you should like them."
However, the Chief Editor didn't know that Naoto's face immediately fell after learning this.
No way, he actually had to compete with Ashirogi Muto for this serialization spot?! You must be kidding!