My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

Because they don't know these cartoonists at all.

Normally, cartoonists don't show their true faces, so even if an average person sees them, they probably wouldn't be able to guess who they are.

"Sorry, I didn't see it clearly."

Just then, two teenagers walked towards Naoto.

The two were so excited that they didn't even see Naoto when they came over and accidentally bumped into him.

"It's ok."

Naoto didn't pay attention to the two boys at first, but after a while, he realized that there were boys here.

"Wait a minute, those two people were probably only in middle school, right? How come there are middle school students here?"

Naoto turned around and looked at the two boys who had already walked away with a puzzled expression. Could it be that they were also manga artists?

"Oh, Guochun, you've arrived. This must be the person you were talking about."

Just then, the editor-in-chief of JUMP walked out of his office and happened to see Naoto looking back.

"Yes, editor-in-chief. This is Naoto, whom I told you about. Naoto, and this is editor Sasaki."

Upon seeing the editor-in-chief, Qi Mu's father quickly introduced him to Naoto.

"Hello, Editor Sasaki."

"Hmm, hello. You seem to care a lot about those two children?"

"Huh? Yeah, that's right."

Seeing that the editor-in-chief could see through his thoughts at a glance, Naoto could only nod.

"Those two kids are the newcomers who appeared in the magazine with you this time, the Ashirogi Muto duo. They're quite young, aren't they? They're still in junior high school."

"Ashirogi Muto?!"

Naoto paused for a moment after hearing the name.

"Hmm? Is there a problem? Oh, by the way, this name is a pen name they just used. For their real names, you should ask the two of them."

At this moment, the editor-in-chief thought that Naoto was surprised that the two of them only had one name, and carefully explained it to him.

However, what he didn't know was that Naoto's surprise wasn't about this at all.

Perhaps Ashirogi Muto isn't a famous figure right now. But in fact, the real-life inspirations for these two characters are true industry giants.

As a manga enthusiast, Naoto naturally knows that the prototypes for these two characters are Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba, respectively.

The manga Death Note, a collaboration between these two, remained a timeless classic until Naoto's time travel. Not to mention, Takeshi Obata was also the renowned illustrator of Hikaru no Go. It's fair to say that a large number of manga artists in modern Shonen Jump were mentored by these two.

In the manga, these two are not simple characters either. Although Ashirogi Muto and his partner went through many hardships and it took them ten years to complete the anime adaptation of their work, they were very popular in the editorial department, and almost all the top writers were their friends.

It not only nurtured many outstanding manga artists, but was also the only rival that Eiji Niizuma, the future ace manga artist of JUMP, took a liking to.

Their strength should not be underestimated.

"Wait a minute? Editor-in-chief, you just said that their works will also be published in this issue of the magazine?"

"Yes, their short comic 'Two Earths' is also extremely wonderful. If you've read it, you'll probably like it."

However, the editor-in-chief was unaware that Naoto's face fell immediately upon learning of this.

No way, I'm actually going to be competing with Ashirogi Muto for this serialization slot?! Are you kidding me?!

Chapter Seven: My name is ONE!

We followed the editor-in-chief into the editorial office building.

Soon, the scene inside was fully visible to Nanko and Naoto.

The editorial department during working hours was, to be honest, quite different from what they had imagined.

They originally thought that as the editorial department of JUMP, it should be a place with a strong otaku culture, with all kinds of comic book merchandise piled up throughout the company.

But once they went inside, they found that it didn't look much different from any other company.

Aside from the information displayed in the corridors, such as posters for the latest Naruto movie and the latest One Piece merchandise, the editors at work are not much different from other office workers.

"Sit down."

Sitting on the sofa, editor Sasaki placed the original manga manuscript that Naoto had drawn on the table and looked at Naoto with a somewhat serious expression.

At this moment, both Nanko and Saiki's father left on their own initiative and did not stay by Naoto's side.

To be honest, this situation made Zhi Ren feel a little uncomfortable, much like being invited to a teacher's office for a talk.

"So, Mr. Naoto, are you sure you want to submit this manga to our JUMP?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

When asked by the editor, Naoto answered somewhat nervously.

"Is that so? Although it's a bit redundant to ask, are you sure you can do everything a cartoonist can do? You know, you're still just a high school student."

Editor Sasaki looked at Naoto seriously at this moment, and it was indeed true that Naoto's manga had great potential.

However, as a high school student, balancing academic studies with drawing a high-quality comic every week is a pressure that most people cannot bear.

Think about the pairing of Makoto Moritaka and Akito in the original work; they almost didn't make it through high school.

Under intense pressure, he almost lost his life, which forced them to stop updating their comic book series.

Even professional manga artists at JUMP have died from overwork due to the intense workload.

Back then, the highest-ranking uncle also passed away due to severe physical exhaustion caused by high-intensity work. It was precisely because of this that editor Sasaki himself did not really want Naoto to become a manga artist now.

"There's another thing, and that's why you want to become a cartoonist. Do you really consider this job a sacred profession?"

Faced with the editor's aggressive attitude, Naoto took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I can do it. Not for any other reason than that I love comics, which is why I chose to become a comic artist."

"Oh?"

The editor looked at Naoto with some surprise. He hadn't expected that a high school student could answer so resolutely.

"Editor-in-chief, you've probably seen my drawings. Judging solely from my drawing skills, I think they're quite good. Although I'm currently short on money, I could easily use these skills to become a novel illustrator or take on freelance work for game companies. Those jobs would be much easier in terms of both workload and working hours. I could even submit my comics to two other companies, or even to a monthly magazine—those would all be good options. But I still chose to become a manga artist, and I chose JUMP. Because, you see, I want to become the world's number one manga artist!"

Upon hearing Naoto's words, the father and daughter of Saiki, who were secretly eavesdropping from behind, were immediately stunned.

The two initially thought that Naoto simply wanted to make money by drawing comics, but now they both sensed Naoto's ambition from his words.

"I admit that I started drawing comics simply because my family was really broke. But when I finished my first drawing, the emptiness in my heart was filled with that sense of satisfaction. I really, really love comics."

At this moment, what Naoto said to the editor was entirely his most genuine feeling.

The sense of satisfaction is stronger than ever when you see one vivid character after another emerging from your pen.

"The world's number one cartoonist?"

The editor-in-chief stared blankly at the young man in front of him. He had seen many cartoonists who made grand pronouncements and many exceptionally talented creators.

But when he saw Naoto in front of him, he couldn't help but feel that this young man might actually succeed.

"So no matter what, thank you for this opportunity. Whatever the final result, at least I have tried my best. Even if I fail, I will continue to work hard until the day I achieve my dream."

Seeing that Naoto's attitude was so firm, Sasaki, the editor, ultimately swallowed back the words he was about to say.

In an era when comics are beginning to decline, it is perhaps precisely these people who are passionate about comics who can revitalize the industry.

Regardless, since he has already demonstrated his will, he doesn't recommend giving this young man a chance.

"So, have you decided on a pen name yet? Although using your real name is also possible, it could cause some unnecessary trouble."

"Hmm, a pen name?"

Before coming here, Naoto had thought of many pen names, but none of them felt quite right.

After careful consideration, Naoto finally wrote down his pen name on the paper.

“ONE?”

Looking at this unique pen name, the editor looked at Naoto with great confusion.

"Only one! No one! Perfect one! That's the meaning of my pen name. If I'm going to do something, I'll do it the best. I'm going to be the only, number one, one of the perfect people in the comic book world."

After much deliberation, Naoto finally chose his pen name.

ONE's art style is like that of an elementary school student, yet he has created memorable characters like One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100.

Even though ONE was struggling to make ends meet and had to work odd jobs back then, he never gave up on his comics and eventually became a comic master admired by the younger generation.

A cartoonist driven by interest; indeed, Naoto wants to become a cartoonist like that too.

Because there is no trace of ONE-sensei in this world.

So Naoto chose to become ONE.

"ONE, I hope you can truly become the ONE in your heart."

Thus, Naoto's pen name was finalized.

What kind of storm will the name ONE stir up in this world?

Chapter 8: JUMP Release

Monday is the day when Weekly Shonen Jump is released again.

As a favorite among Japanese teenagers, many teenagers flock to buy JUMP every Monday morning.

In fact, it's not just teenagers; many adults also enjoy these comics. After all, many of these comics are part of their childhood memories, something they've been reading since they were little.

After buying comics, teenagers usually bring them to school to read with their friends, and then discuss the sequels to classic comics, as well as reviews of new comics.

However, Makoto Shinkai and Akito Takagi do not belong to any of the above categories.

As readers, this time they were more inclined to be like a comic book author, wanting to see how their work fared.

"Great! Look! Our work has actually been published in JUPM! It's like a dream!"

"This isn't a dream! Akito, look at our creation!"

Seeing their hard-earned artwork actually featured on the JUMP stage, these middle school students couldn't wait to shout excitedly in the street right now.