….
Kishimoto leaned back, rubbing his temple. "It's true… she doesn't really drive anything yet."
"Then give her something that scares her." Regal said quietly. "Something to overcome, fear makes people real."
The pencil started moving again, this time faster, looser, like Kishimoto's mind was racing ahead of his hand.
Regal said nothing more, just sat back, satisfied.
The best way to change a story wasn't to rewrite, it was to remind its creator of what it could be.
Kishimoto began sketching notes in the corner of the page, fast, his eyes lit with quiet excitement.
It was working.
Regal wasn't rewriting Naruto.
He was just… brushing the dust off the bones that were already there.
Filling blank spots, shoring up loose beams before the whole thing went public.
And with Regal's quiet financial backing, new pens, fresh manuscript paper, a rent stipend, Kishimoto could focus fully without exhausting himself doing part-time jobs like most rookies.
In three months, Kishimoto would submit Naruto's one-shot to Shonen Jump.
And when it hit serialization, it would be stronger than it ever could have been alone.
Regal smiled faintly at his broken frog sketch, then glanced at the boy in goggles grinning from Kishimoto's page.
Yeah. This one was going to change the world.
….
The reality of manga creation differed significantly from how most outsiders imagined the process.
Unlike novels where authors typically completed entire manuscripts before publication, or films where scripts underwent extensive development before production began -
Manga serialization operated in a unique hybrid model that balanced advance planning with organic development.
For a series hoping to achieve serialization in a major publication like Weekly Shonen Jump, Kishimoto would need to present what the industry called a "name" - essentially a detailed storyboard covering the first several chapters, complete with rough panel layouts, dialogue, and pacing notes.
This would be accompanied by character design sheets, a general story overview covering the first major arc, and enough world-building documentation to demonstrate that the series could sustain long-term serialization.
But beyond that initial foundation, manga development remained deliberately flexible.
Reader response surveys determined which series continued past their initial trial periods, and successful series often ran for years beyond their creators' original plans.
This meant that while Kishimoto needed a solid beginning and clear character concepts, the long-term story structure would evolve based on audience reception and editorial guidance.
Currently, Kishimoto had developed detailed concepts for approximately the first thirty chapters, enough to cover the academy training, team formation, and initial mission arcs that would establish his protagonist's world and relationships.
He possessed rough outlines extending through what he envisioned as the first major tournament arc, but the specifics remained fluid and subject to revision based on how readers responded to the characters and themes he introduced.
This development stage represented the perfect opportunity for collaborative refinement.
The core creative vision remained Kishimoto's, but details could be enhanced, potential problems could be addressed, and story elements could be strengthened without compromising the authentic voice that made the work distinctive.
Regal understood that direct criticism of Kishimoto's work would likely trigger defensive reactions that could damage their developing creative partnership.
Instead, he had structured their conversations as collaborative explorations, approaching potential story problems as shared creative challenges rather than flaws requiring correction.
The manga drawing lessons served multiple purposes beyond Regal's genuine interest in understanding the medium.
The intimate creative collaboration built trust and mutual respect that made Kishimoto more receptive to discussions about story development.
More importantly, it positioned Regal as a fellow creator rather than simply an investor or critic, someone who understood the challenges of bringing fictional worlds to life.
"You know." Regal had said during one of their morning drawing sessions. "I have been thinking about your protagonist's motivation structure. The desire for recognition and acceptance - it's universally relatable, but I am curious how you plan to evolve that motivation as he grows stronger and gains the acknowledgment he initially craved."
Such questions allowed Kishimoto to explore potential story developments without feeling pressured to accept outside suggestions.
Rather than presenting solutions, Regal raised considerations that helped Kishimoto think through long-term character development and identify areas where his current plans might benefit from additional depth or complexity.
One of the most significant structural issues in Kishimoto's current development concerned the power progression system that would govern his protagonist's growth throughout the series.
The concept of chakra and ninja techniques provided an excellent foundation, but the long-term implications of the power scaling hadn't been fully considered.
"Power systems in serialized fiction." Regal observed during one of their story discussions. "Face unique challenges because they need to support character growth over potentially hundreds of chapters. How do you maintain dramatic tension when your protagonist becomes increasingly powerful?"
This question had identified what would eventually become one of the most challenging aspects of long-form shonen storytelling.
If the protagonist's power grew too quickly, later opponents would require increasingly absurd abilities to maintain challenge.
If power growth remained too limited, readers would become frustrated with lack of progression.
Kishimoto had initially planned a relatively straightforward progression where his protagonist would gradually master more advanced techniques.
But their conversations had revealed the need for more sophisticated approaches - power systems that created internal limitations, abilities that came with significant costs, and strength that required emotional or philosophical growth rather than simple training.
"What if the most powerful techniques demanded not just skill, but understanding?" Regal had suggested. "Forms of strength that could only be achieved through genuine connections with others, or through resolving internal conflicts that parallel the external challenges?"
Such discussions helped Kishimoto develop more complex relationships between character development and power progression, creating a system where emotional growth and combat ability remained interconnected throughout the series.
Another area where collaborative discussion had identified potential improvements involved the development of compelling antagonistic forces that could sustain reader interest across multiple story arcs.
Kishimoto's initial concepts focused primarily on external threats, enemy ninja, rival villages, and malevolent organizations seeking power or destruction.
"The most memorable villains." Regal had noted. "Are those who represent genuine philosophical alternatives to the protagonist's worldview, rather than simply being obstacles to overcome. What if your antagonists believed they were creating a better world through methods that your protagonist found morally unacceptable?"
This perspective had encouraged Kishimoto to develop more sophisticated opposition characters, figures whose goals might be sympathetic or even noble, but whose methods created genuine moral complexity.
Instead of simple good-versus-evil conflicts, the story could explore competing approaches to creating peace, protecting loved ones, or building just societies.
The revision process had led to antagonists with personal connections to the protagonist's world, characters whose tragic backgrounds explained their current choices without excusing their harmful actions.
These developments created opportunities for redemption arcs, philosophical debates, and emotional complexity that elevated action sequences beyond simple combat encounters.
Long-form serialization presented unique pacing challenges that differed significantly from other narrative formats.
Each individual chapter needed to provide satisfying story progression while contributing to larger arc development and overall series momentum.
Balancing immediate reader satisfaction with long-term story development required careful structural planning.
"Tournament arcs are popular in shonen manga." Regal had observed. "But they can become repetitive if they are just a series of escalating fights. How do you use competition formats to reveal character development and advance larger story themes?"
This discussion had helped Kishimoto reconceptualize his planned tournament sequences as opportunities for character exploration rather than simple power demonstrations.
Each competition could reveal different aspects of characters' personalities, create new relationships and rivalries, and introduce story elements that would become important in later arcs.
Similarly, their conversations had addressed the challenge of maintaining ensemble cast development while keeping the protagonist central to the narrative.
Rather than sidelining supporting characters as the main character grew stronger, the revised story structure created ongoing roles where teammates and rivals continued contributing meaningfully to major story developments.
Kishimoto's initial world-building had focused primarily on the immediate environment where his protagonist would begin his journey, the hidden village, the ninja academy, and the basic political structure that governed ninja society.
But serialization success would eventually require expanding this foundation into a comprehensive fictional universe that could support years of storytelling.
"Hidden villages suggest a larger political landscape." Regal had mentioned it during one of their discussions. "What are the historical conflicts that created this system? How do economic factors influence relationships between different communities? What happens when the current political balance becomes unstable?"
These questions had encouraged Kishimoto to develop more detailed background information about his fictional world's history, economics, and social structures.
Rather than inventing details as they became necessary for plot development, advance planning could create consistency and depth that would enhance reader immersion and provide rich source material for future story arcs.
The enhanced world-building had also addressed potential logical inconsistencies in how ninja abilities interacted with broader society.
If individuals possessed supernatural powers, how did normal civilians relate to ninja communities?
How did economic systems function when some people could perform tasks that would normally require complex technology or large groups of workers?
Perhaps most importantly, their collaborative discussions had helped Kishimoto develop more sophisticated approaches to emotional stakes that could sustain reader investment across extended story arcs.
Initial concepts had focused primarily on external goals - becoming stronger, protecting the village, defeating enemies - but long-term serialization required deeper emotional foundations.
This exploration had led to more complex character psychology that could support ongoing internal conflict even as external challenges were resolved.
The protagonist's relationship with power, responsibility, and identity could evolve throughout the series, creating new sources of dramatic tension that didn't depend solely on increasingly powerful enemies.
The revised emotional framework had also enhanced supporting character development, giving each major character distinct internal struggles that could intersect with and support the overall narrative themes.
Rather than existing primarily to facilitate the protagonist's growth, supporting characters possessed their own compelling arcs that enriched the overall story experience.
Throughout these collaborative refinements, Regal's financial support had provided Kishimoto with the creative freedom necessary to implement improvements that might otherwise have been compromised by economic pressures.
The monthly payments covered not just basic living expenses but additional resources for research, reference materials, and professional development that enhanced the overall quality of the work.
On top of it, rather than feeling that his work was being altered by external demands, Kishimoto experienced the discussions as opportunities to explore and strengthen ideas that had originated from his own creative instincts.
With serialization targeted for three months from their current collaboration, Kishimoto possessed sufficient time to implement the refinements they had identified while maintaining his original creative schedule.
….
As evening approached, the reality of Regal's departure became unavoidable.
Kishimoto felt a mixture of gratitude and anticipation that he'd never experienced before.
The week had provided not just financial security but creative validation from someone whose opinion carried genuine weight in the global entertainment industry.
More importantly, it had given him the confidence to pursue his ninja story with the kind of ambitious vision that he'd previously considered unrealistic for an unknown artist.
Knowing that someone with Regal's track record believed in the project's potential made risks feel like investments rather than potential disasters.
"The story you are developing." Regal said as he carefully packed away the drawing materials they'd shared throughout the week. "It's going to change how people think about ninja narratives. Not just in Japan, but globally, I am honored to have been part of its development, even in this small way."
Standing in his doorway, watching Regal disappear into Tokyo's evening crowds, Kishimoto realized that the strangest week of his life had also been the most important.
The mysterious benefactor who had entered his world like something from one of his own stories had provided not just financial support but creative inspiration that would influence everything he produced going forward.
The ninja story would continue developing, but now it carried the confidence that came from knowing someone who understood global entertainment had seen its potential and chosen to invest in its success.
One hundred billion yen, Kishimoto thought one more time, shaking his head at the continued impossibility of such numbers.
And he spent a week learning to draw manga from me.
Some stories, he reflected as he returned to his drawing board, were too strange for fiction.
….
On side note, Kishimoto got to know that Regal's film, [Spider-Man: Web of Desity] dubbed version being released in Japan too.
So he booked himself a ticket.
And he watched it, his only thought was -
Did Hollywood always made this kinda of films?
As a Japanese person who grew up with anime and manga, it was truly the first time for him to watch one in a theatre.
But watching the film made him think, isn't this storytelling slightly similar to Manga?
The filming quality of Japanese live action is no way near what Regal film had, he still felt like he was watching something so familiar.
Alas, only now did he understand whom he had been working with for the past week.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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