Two days later, the fifth episode of the Hikaru no Go TV series officially aired.
It continued to firmly hold the top spot in television viewership for Japanese dramas this quarter, maintaining a stable 5.06% rating.
At the same time, first-week sales figures for the newly released fifth volume of the Hikaru no Go manga were announced.
In just one week, 2.87 million copies were sold nationwide across Japan.
Whether in manga volume sales, TV adaptation performance, or serialized magazine rankings, Hikaru no Go had without question become a top-tier manga in Japan.
Because of the explosive success of Hikaru no Go, Rei was now frequently featured in reports by major Japanese media outlets, his name appearing alongside many of the country's most established manga artists.
Before Rei, the most acclaimed young manga artist in recent years had been the creator from Story Journal.
Even she had taken four to five years to rise from debut to top-tier status.
Rei, on the other hand, had debuted just last year.
So far, only one year and four months had passed.
Calling this pace "riding a rocket" would still be an understatement.
It was closer to outright cheating.
How could anyone grow like this?
And now, Hikaru no Go had climbed to third place in the rankings of Dream Comic.
So what came next?
What would happen to The Wanderer, currently ranked second?
And Source War Chronicle, which sat firmly at number one?
It was important to note that both of these works were national phenomena.
Their average volume sales exceeded 13 million copies, with total cumulative sales surpassing 300 million copies.
From a commercial standpoint, it was difficult to imagine a Go-themed manga like Hikaru no Go surpassing such giants.
But rankings in Dream Comic weren't determined by sales alone.
In terms of magazine popularity;
Was it possible that Hikaru no Go could truly unseat them?
Naturally, manga media outlets across Japan were not about to miss such a hot topic.
Regardless of whether the praise was premature, they praised first and analyzed later.
"Hikaru no Go Surges Forward, Shattering the Three-Pillar Manga Structure That Has Dominated Dream Comic for Three Years!
Fist Armor Falls, What Will Become of Source War Chronicle and The Wanderer?"
"Small Investment, Massive Returns: Hikaru no Go TV Series Investors Reap Huge Profits!"
With an initial investment of only 20 million yen, less than half of the first season had aired, yet investors had already earned nearly 40 million yen in GG revenue sharing.
"Average Volume Sales Continue to Skyrocket!"
As of publication, Hikaru no Go's average per-volume sales had surged to 5.67 million copies.
If current momentum continued, sales were projected to exceed 8 million by year's end, and possibly reach 10 million next year.
As of today, Hikaru no Go's cumulative sales in Japan had surpassed 25 million copies.
Conservatively estimated, the 17-year-old manga artist Shirogane's total income by November would exceed 26 million yen.
"From Five Centimeters per Second to Overnight Fame, Shirogane's Rise Is Built on Skill Alone!"
In an era where class solidification limits opportunity in many industries, the manga world remains ruthlessly fair: without skill, success is impossible.
For those with talent, however, it remains one of the fastest paths to prominence.
"Will Hikaru no Go Challenge for Second, or Even First, Place This Year?"
Will this young genius debut at the peak, or will his momentum stall at third place?
For Hikaru no Go, even reaching the top of Dream Comic once would be a historic achievement.
It would set a brand-new record.
The youngest author ever to rank first in one of the six major manga journals.
Previously, that record stood at 24 years old.
Media coverage and critical discussion surrounding Hikaru no Go flooded every platform.
And from the moment it broke into the top three, Its battlefield was no longer limited to Dream Comic alone.
Instead, Hikaru no Go would now enter the sightlines of senior editors at the six major manga publishing groups, along with industry professionals across the entire market.
From this point on, it would inevitably be compared against the top-ranked works of other journals, not just in terms of popularity, but in commercial value, long-term potential, and overall heat.
And on this front…
Rei knew very clearly that Hikaru no Go suffered from an inherent disadvantage.
Its subject matter.
Hot-blooded battle manga was, without question, the undisputed king of all genres.
In his previous life, Slam Dunk could be considered the pinnacle of sports manga. Yet even so, its commercial value had still fallen far short of works like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Even if Hikaru no Go truly reached the top of Dream Comic's popularity rankings, its commercial value would very likely remain below that of the current fourth-ranked Fist Armor.
And manga publishing groups were, first and foremost, commercial enterprises.
The importance they assigned to a work depended solely on one thing, Profit.
If not for the limitations of its genre, then with Hikaru no Go's current level of recognition and public discussion, the Hoshimori Group would likely have already dispatched a full team to negotiate long-term IP development plans with Rei.
Rei silently recalled a sentence he had once read:
"In Japan, serializing any genre of manga can make you a first-tier artist. But to stand at the very top of the industry, only hot-blooded battle manga can take you there."
He stared at the media analysis articles on his screen, lost in thought.
"There's no point dwelling on this now."
"The priority is simple, Hikaru no Go must reach the top. It's already third. Stopping at third place is not an option."
Rei exhaled deeply and lowered his gaze to the manuscript drafts spread across his desk.
In truth, Hikaru no Go's serialization had already entered its mid-to-late stage the moment Hikaru became a professional Go player.
What followed would be a succession of highlights:
Friendly matches between newly promoted professionals and veteran titleholders.
The New First Dan Tournament.
Hikaru's gradual pursuit of The Hand of God.
And then, Sai's disappearance.
For the next two to three months, the story would remain at a continuous climax.
But that climax would end abruptly with Sai's departure.
In his previous life, the disappearance of Sai had caused a massive shock to Hikaru no Go's popularity, triggering widespread fan protests and dissatisfaction.
And in this world, Rei didn't believe this world's Japanese readers would react any differently.
Once Sai's disappearance was serialized, the popularity curve would most likely mirror that of his previous life.
And Rei himself would soon bring this manga to a close.
To put it bluntly, when should a manga like this end?
It was impossible for the protagonist to truly become the world's undisputed number one.
If the story were forcibly stretched across hundreds of chapters, even the greatest works would eventually be diluted into mediocrity.
The Prince of Tennis was a perfect example.
When fans spoke of its later "killing tennis" era, most remembered it less as a serious sports manga, and more as unintentional comedy.
In contrast, the creator of Slam Dunk, upon realizing he could no longer surpass the emotional peak he had already created, chose to end the story decisively.
He didn't allow it to fade in the eyes of readers.
That was why, decades later Slam Dunk was still regarded as a masterpiece.
Still a classic.
Rei contemplated these issues repeatedly before finally letting out a long sigh.
Within the next few weeks, he would submit the storyboard drafts concerning Sai's impending disappearance to the editorial department.
Up until now, his cooperation with Hoshimori Group had been smooth.
The editorial team had consistently honored their agreement, never interfering with the direction of the story.
But this time was different.
This time, Rei was preparing to erase the soul of Hikaru no Go. And he had no idea, what kind of reaction Hoshimori Group would have.