Full-time cartoonist - #167 - Chapter 165 Xiangbei Reversal and New Year’s Party

Due to the height advantage of Xiangyang players and the coordination of top center Hanata, Xiangyang leads Shohoku by 11 points.

Shoyo’s coach and general Kenji Fujima is very satisfied.

On the Xiangbei side, due to their mentality and the pressure from the height of the Xiangyang players, they did not show their strength.

After Shohoku has Mitsui Hisahi and Miyagi Ryota, its strength is not as good as it was in the friendly match with Lingnan.

Miyagi’s height of 168 was suppressed miserably by Shoyo; when Mitsui was tightly defended, he also wanted to shoot a three-pointer to resolve the crisis, resulting in missed opportunities; Akagi was too nervous, facing Hanagata Tohru, and repeatedly failed. Go downwind.

As for Sakuragi Hanamichi, he is not worthy of expectations.

Yamamura Morimichi nodded silently while watching “Slam Dunk”. Shohoku has not yet adjusted well and has little competition experience. It is conceivable that he will not be able to show his strength against the strong enemy Xiangyang.

Hanaxing came to the basket again, bent his body, and prepared to jump and shoot. Akagi’s whole body stiffened, and he jumped up and stretched out his big hand.

He didn’t expect that this was a fake move, and Hanagata turned around sharply, preparing to break through Akagi.

Xiangyang was already leading by eleven points, and the entire basketball hall was cheering “Hanagata!” and “Xiangyang!”

The supporters in Xiangbei were silent and watched this scene nervously.

At this moment, a man appeared behind Hanaxing, picked up the basketball with his hand!

Hanagata’s attack was blocked. This person was Rukawa Kaede!

Every time Shohoku is downwind, the first person to stand up is always Rukawa Kaede!

He started to counterattack, ignoring Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others. Rukawa Kaede bypassed Xiangyang’s defense line alone and came to the basket.

But when they reached the basket, two Xiangyang players over 190 centimeters jumped up, and all Rukawa Kaede’s attack paths were blocked!

It was like facing a wall, he looked extremely small.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, Mitsui Hisashi and others are all asking Rukawa Kaede to pass the ball.

Rukawa Kaede ignored him. Facing the iron wall, he changed his movements several times in the volley, and finally shot into the basket from the Xiangyang player’s armpit!

“The ball is in!”

“Amazing!”

Xiangbei finally broke through from zero to two, and the status quo of being suppressed by Xiangyang was changed!

Rukawa Kaede’s cheerleaders also cheered at this time!

“Rukawa Kaede!”

“Rukawa Kaede!”

“L-O-V-E!”

“Rukawa Kaede!”

Rukawa Kaede, who joined Shohoku because he is close to home, is currently the most stable and reliable one in the team.

Yamamura Shoudao nodded.

When Sakuragi and the others asked Rukawa Kaede why he didn’t pass the ball, Rukawa Kaede said: “You guys are as hard as rocks. Of course I can’t pass it to you.”

This sentence made other people extremely angry!

Forget about Sakuragi Hanamichi, they are not trusted anymore!

Because of this, the status of Akagi and others finally adjusted back!

Facing Hanagata, Akagi showed his strength and used a fly swatter to block Hanagata for the first time.

Sakuragi Hanamichi followed closely with a fly swatter and successfully intercepted the basketball.

He broke through to the Xiangyang basket and prepared to perform well, but his shot failed and Rukawa Kaede made a tip-in, allowing the opponent to show off again.

After reading today’s comics, Yamamura Morichi became more and more excited. At the beginning of the New Year in 1997, he still liked “Slam Dunk”.

“Rukawa Kaede’s performance became the motivation for the counterattack. The stiff feeling disappeared, and Shohoku’s morale rose accordingly. Facing Shoyo’s long team, Miyagi’s fighting spirit was also ignited.”

Yamamura said to himself: “The content of the next chapter must be a counterattack! I really want to see it earlier!”

He looked at the time, it was seven o’clock in the afternoon, and said to himself: “It’s time.”

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he heard the phone ring.

“Hello, are you Mr. Yamamura Morichi? I’m Tomoda who came to pick you up from Shueisha. I’m downstairs at your house now.”

“Please wait a moment, I’ll be there soon.”

Shancun hurriedly put on his coat and ran downstairs.

Shueisha’s New Year’s party is here again. On Christmas Day in December, Yamamura’s new comic passed the serialization meeting and will be published on January 20th.

Forty minutes later, Shancun arrived at the hotel gate without any delay.

The style here is still the same as before. One street is full of black Toyota Crowns, and many industry elites in suits and ties are chatting freely.

Shancun, who was wearing a gray down jacket, walked in with a calm expression.

“Hey, long time no see.”

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw Teacher Arai, holding champagne and chatting with others.

Arai waved and greeted Yamamura Morido.

Shancun’s face drooped and he was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Continuing to walk inside, he saw Yoshihiro Togashi smiling strangely in the hall inside.

“Teacher Togashi.” Yamamura approached and greeted respectfully.

Although Yoshihiro Togashi’s “Level E” is an experimental work, it vividly demonstrates his talent.

The plot is elusive but coherent. Every time I read a new plot, Yamamura is hooked.

Yamamura particularly admires this kind of unconstrained work that doesn’t care about the rules of comics.

“伱…Oh, it’s Mr. Yamamura, hello.” Yoshihiro Togashi suppressed his smile, his eyes flickering. His introverted nature was acting up again and he didn’t know what to talk about.

He looked to the side and saw a group of people huddled together there. Togashi pointed quickly and said, “Teacher Yamamura, in the center is Teacher Tori Akino.”

“Tori Akino?” Yamamura was surprised. What were a group of people doing around him?

Togashi explained: “There are music CD distribution companies, picture book publishers, animation production companies, film companies, game companies, Bandai employees, DVD distribution companies… In short, they are all capitalists looking for profits.”

Shancun was shocked. It turned out that Tori Qiuye had unknowingly grown into the focus of the New Year’s party.

The benefits of his works make people in the entire circle drool, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

“It’s really amazing,” he sighed. “I watched Tori Akino grow up, but in an instant, he became a brilliant person.”

“Yeah,” Togashi nodded.

On the side, Takahashi Kazuki, the author of “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, watched this scene. Facing these big guys, he huddled in the corner and closed his eyes as he watched Hibiki Higashino being annoyed by countless people.

Seeing this scene made him extremely annoyed.

He really didn’t want to face it.

…

Higashino Hibiki put the business card in his arms and answered other people’s questions one by one.

“Mr. Tori Akino, “Slam Dunk” has been serialized for a year. When will it be animated?”

Hibiki Higashino didn’t answer, and the others smiled and said nothing. The animation company executive suddenly understood that before he knew it, “Slam Dunk” had already decided on the animation company.

Suddenly, his face turned red, but fortunately he had champagne in his hand to cover it up.

“If you need sponsorship, please let me know,” said another. “I’ll do what I can.”

“That’s right! Form an animation production committee! Just like “eva”!”

“Everyone worked together.”

Everyone looked at Higashino Hibiki eagerly.

“I don’t care about that.” Higashikata replied.

Although “eva” received poor ratings, its sales of peripherals and discs were astonishing.

And this part of the benefits is divided up by the sponsors.

A gluttonous feast also made these companies set their sights on other animations. “Slam Dunk” is even more of a focus.

“These are all judged by Sasaki-san.” Hibiki took a sip of champagne and walked out of the crowd on the excuse that he was hungry because he hadn’t eaten.

Toei and Shueisha are not short of money, and “Slam Dunk” will not lose money. Naturally, there is no need for an animation production committee to divide the profits among others. Only a fool can do that.

These people thought they were fools, and Hibiki was too lazy to deal with them. Looking at Yamamura and the cramped Togashi Yoshihiro, he walked towards those two people.

…

“Teacher Togashi,” Hibiki Higashino greeted, “And, Teacher Yamamura, good evening.”

“Hello,” Yoshihiro Togashi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hello, Tori Akino-sensei,” Yamamura Morimichi nodded in greeting, “The painting of “Slam Dunk” is very exciting. As expected of you, the progress is getting faster and faster. There was a sense of solemnity in the painting style because of “The Soul of the Game” , transformed into the vitality of high school students, closer to basketball comics.”

Higashino Hibiki was stunned for a moment, looking at Yamamura Shoudao in trance.

What’s going on with this guy? It would be a good thing if he didn’t ridicule himself, but now he actually said so many nice things,

Being flattered by him made Hibiki feel uncomfortable all over.

Yamamura Shoudao also covered his mouth.

“What’s wrong, I’ve been with Hidemi Kikuchi for a long time, and I’m used to praising Tori Akino.”

He felt that his personality had become lowered and he felt lost for a moment.

“Thank you… thank you,” Higashikata curled his lips and thanked him uncomfortably.

“Uh-huh.”

There was a chill between the two of them.

“Tori Akino-kun,” Yoshihiro Togashi interrupted the awkward atmosphere. He nudged Hibiki with his arm in a gossipy manner, with a look of inquiry on his face: “You have been very popular recently.”

“What’s hot?”

“What happened with Takeuchi-sensei,” Tomigashi’s expression became excited, “Is the thing between you and Takeuchi-sensei true? I’m really curious!”

Higashino Hibiki’s expression became weird. Why was Togashi so happy about the scandal between him and Takeuchi?

He looks like an outsider, wanting to see his own jokes.

“Speak quickly.” Togashi urged.

“Of course it’s fake,” Higashino Hibiki patted him on the shoulder, “If Mr. Togashi falls in love with Mr. Takeuchi in the future, please don’t care about me and just move forward.”

“How could I possibly fall in love with someone else,” Togashi muttered.

But looking at Higashino Hibiki’s determined expression, he himself became less determined.

At the age of thirty this year, he still likes to play games, mahjong, eat, drink and have fun, and has not yet had the idea of ​​finding a girlfriend.

But this time, he hesitated.

Hibiki ignored him, looked around, found Torishima Kazuhiko, and walked over.

“Oh, Tori Akino-kun, I’m looking for you too.” Torishima Kazuhiko said, “There is something I want to trouble you with.”

Higashikata replied: “Please tell me.”

…

The New Year’s party officially began. The attendant poured champagne for everyone. Under the auspices of Bo Yoshihisa, Torishima Kazuhiko began to speak.

“The most important magazine of Shueisha is definitely Jump,” Kazuhiko Toshima raised his head and spoke in a serious tone, “Last year’s Weekly Shōnen Jump was the most dangerous moment in twenty years. “

He recalled: “I was asked to reverse the sharp decline in sales, but I actually wanted to refuse. Because this is a very difficult thing. With the development of the times, reading comics is no longer a rare entertainment content. To reverse the It is very difficult to move with the tide of the times.”

There was applause at the scene, but Higashikata quietly watched him show off.

“From 650,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.”

“But fortunately, I finally did it despite the pressure!” Torishima Kazuhiko clenched his fists, “As of now, Jump’s weekly circulation has returned to 5.1 million copies!”

There is thunderous applause and the jump is safe so that everyone can make money.

Torishima Kazuhiko was so high-spirited that he just needed to say, “I am the king of the world”!

He changed the jump.

“All of this is inseparable from the efforts of writers. I thank you all for your hard work over the years.” Kazuhiko Toshima mentioned some benefits, such as increases in annual contract fees and bonuses.

“Also, in critical moments, save Jump’s work, “Slam Dunk”!”

Everyone’s eyes, with jealousy and envy, greed and longing, were all staring at Higashino Hibiki.

“Thank you Tori Akino-sensei for your hard work.”

“yes.”

“It’s really awesome.”

“I heard that the single volume sales of “Slam Dunk” have reached 2.6 million copies.”

Many people were whispering to each other.

Toriyama Kazuhiko’s lips moved slightly, but until the end, he did not say anything about Hibiki Hibiki’s right to “determine the completion of the work on his own.”

He is not trying to break the contract, but what he says here will cause other writers to have opinions.

After Kazuhiko Toshima finished his speech, Yoshihisa Azari waited for the applause to subside before continuing: “Next, Mr. Tori Akino, on behalf of the writer, will lead everyone in a toast.”

Higashino Hibiki raised his champagne, and following his actions, others also raised their champagne.

“Cheers!” Dong Yexiang said loudly.

“Cheers!” everyone shouted in unison.

Next is free time.

In front of the buffet table.

“In previous years, I was the writer’s representative,” Akimotoji shook his head, “but this year I became this young boy.”

Next to him, Araki Hirohiko was holding a piece of milk and looking at Hibiki Higashino with a smile: “After all, he is the current leader of jump, and “Slam Dunk” is an incredible work.”

“Well,” Akimoto Haru nodded, and he sighed: “I have seen another talented writer, and there is a shadow of Akira Toriyama in him. I am really old.”

“Teacher, you are getting stronger with time,” Araki said with a smile: “On Jump, we are the only ones who enjoy serialization, and they are still far behind.”

“Hahahaha.” Qiu Benji laughed.

…

Feeling the focus of other people’s eyes on him, Higashino Hibiki felt calm and composed.

Unexpectedly, Toriyama Kazuhiko asked him to be the family representative. Hibiki Hibiki wanted to refuse at first.

In the end, he pushed her hard and had to agree. He didn’t even have time to have dinner.

Walking to Hirohiko Araki and Haru Akimoto, Hibiki picked up the dinner plate, picked up the fried noodles, seafood, etc., stacked them high, then sat down next to him with satisfaction, and started eating happily. .

“Eat less at night,” Araki said. “It affects your sleep, makes you easy to gain weight, and is not good for your stomach.”

“Yes,” Higashikata nodded, but did not put down his chopsticks and continued to eat.

Araki shook his head.

According to his experience, Higashino Hibiki, who is only twenty years old, is really a bit mature.

These were all bad living habits, and he was heartbroken to see them.

“When you get older, you’ll understand the seriousness.”

Thanks for the reward.