Inside the Studio, the three assistants stared at Kai in surprise.
Sunlight was streaming through the window, spilling across him.
The young man was smiling, completely absorbed in a manga, his work forgotten.
It was a stark contrast to his usual relentless self.
Had the explosive success of Death Note gone to his head?
Kai didn't notice their stares. His full attention was on One Piece.
The mountain bandit Higuma kicked Luffy off the boat, and the terrifying Lord of the Coast appeared.
Watching the sea king about to swallow Luffy whole, Kai couldn't help himself.
"What? Shanks still lost his arm to the Lord of the Coast? What an embarrassing plot point."
Still?
The assistants exchanged glances, wondering what was going on with him.
Luffy put on the straw hat, said goodbye to Shanks, and the adventure that would last over twenty years was about to begin.
Kai didn't know if it was nostalgia or something deeper. He sighed, the feeling a tangled mix of happiness and bittersweetness.
He closed his eyes and sat with the emotion for a long time, only opening them after half a minute.
Before he could even set the magazine down, he flinched.
All three assistants were staring at him with an intensity that bordered on menacing.
"What?" Kai held the thick issue of Weekly Shonen Jump against his chest like a shield, looking wary.
"Is One Piece really that good? You're completely hooked, Sensei." Majima raised his hand and asked.
Average art, unique style, but a strong plot. That was his assessment.
It was a solid opening for a Jump manga, but was it worth this level of devotion?
"It's very good," Kai nodded.
"The Gum-Gum Fruit, the pirates, the promise between Luffy and Shanks. All of it is fantastic. It would be even better if Shanks hadn't lost his arm, though."
He was still hung up on that.
"I'm so jealous!" Amasaki clenched his teeth, imagining it. "I want Sensei to praise me too. Sensei, who is a millionaire."
"Praise?" Kai looked at him.
He really should encourage his assistants.
Whether it was to boost their motivation or develop their skills, it would go a long way.
"Amasaki!" He pointed straight at him.
"Yes!" Amasaki snapped to attention.
"You seriously make me happy! Your art skills are terrifyingly strong. Since you joined, the quality of Death Note has reached a whole new level. I couldn't do this without you."
Kai was laying it on thick, and Amasaki was drinking every word.
He clenched his fists, buzzing. "I'm overflowing with power!"
Kai didn't stop. "Amasaki, you're a genius born for manga. You will absolutely land a serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump. I believe that completely."
The more Amasaki heard, the weaker his legs got, until he melted onto the table like a puddle.
"Thank you, Sensei. That felt so good."
Kai set him aside and turned to Majima.
"When we first met, I thought you were pretty unreliable."
Yuta nodded in agreement.
Majima touched his hair and listened patiently.
"But Majima, you showed me what it means not to judge a book by its cover. Under that wild exterior is a rock-solid core. The studio runs as smoothly as it does entirely because of you."
Majima nodded, face calm. Under the table, his leg was bouncing at full speed. "I think so too."
"Your fundamentals are solid, and your instinct for story isn't bad either. Keep at it, and your time will come."
Majima kept a straight face. His knee slammed into the underside of the table with a loud bang.
"And Yuta." Kai turned to the last person.
Yuta crossed his arms, signaling him to stop. Didn't Kai know what kind of person he was?
He was just an ordinary guy with nothing special going for him.
No matter what Kai said, it wouldn't get to him.
After all, it would just be empty encouragement.
Lies don't buy sincerity.
Kai ignored him, walked straight over, opened his arms, and hugged him tight.
"Thank you for going along with my nonsense all these years. You've worked so hard."
Yuta's mouth fell open. The tears nearly came.
He returned the hug with trembling hands.
Even ten minutes later, his chest was still warm. If he dropped dead right now, he'd die happy.
...
Half an hour later, Heishi arrived at the Studio.
The moment he stepped inside, he froze.
The assistants looked like they'd been injected with adrenaline. Every one of them was drawing at maximum intensity.
Kai sat in the main seat, frowning and drawing as usual.
"I was worried I'd walk in on sensei playing games and the assistants slacking off because of the Death Note numbers."
Heishi stated his concern openly.
He smiled. "I didn't expect everyone to be this fired up. How about this? Tonight, drinks in Shibuya, my treat. Sound good?"
Drawing manga was backbreaking work. A group meal to decompress was always welcome.
But the assistants had their heads buried in their manuscripts, completely absorbed, as focused as NPCs.
Nobody acknowledged Heishi.
Only Kai looked up.
"Heishi-san," he said without thinking, "you really are a dedicated editor. Coming all the way out here, spending your time and energy. This isn't even part of your job. You've gone to so much trouble..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
He was the manga artist. Heishi was the editor.
Kai didn't need to butter him up. If anything, it was the other way around. The editor should be the one keeping the manga artist happy so serialization went smoothly.
It was just a habit he couldn't shake.
But seeing Heishi moved to the point of tears, Kai figured no harm done.
As long as the result was good.
Jump's editor-in-charge system was designed to turn manga artists and editors into partners. Bind the artist through the editor, form a united front of personal loyalty and shared interest, and launch new works together.
Kai didn't dislike it.
Just because of Heishi, barring some disaster, he would keep serializing in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Even if beautiful editors from rival magazines tried to lure him away.
"Heishi-san, I've sacrificed so much for you," Kai sighed.
"Huh?" Heishi didn't follow.
He sat down on the sofa and picked up the Asahi Shimbun.
The entertainment section had a full spread on Death Note's sales figures.
Heishi was thoroughly satisfied, nodding as he read.
The studio settled back into silence.
Back to normal.
...
The following Monday.
Weekly Shonen Jump went on sale.
Among a crowd of students, Ando grabbed a copy.
Walking out of the store, he flipped through the magazine.
"Oda-sensei's One Piece is ranked first." He looked up, stunned. "It actually surpassed Death Note in the reader rankings. He really kept his mouth shut about it. Didn't even show off to us."
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