"So, are Shirou's adoptive father Kiritsugu and the Kiritsugu from the one-shot manga really the same person?"
Inside the studio, after finishing the latest chapter of Fsn, Rin also felt somewhat confused.
However, she had already received confirmation regarding this question from Akira.
It was just that—
Rin looked at the manga manuscript on the desk; it was the manuscript for the second half of "Emiya Kiritsugu," which had just been finished today.
In the manga, to save the citizens, Emiya Kiritsugu was forced to kill his own adoptive mother, blowing up the plane filled with magical beasts where she was.
In truth, she didn't like his way of doing things; in her eyes, it was far too extreme.
Besides, was there really no other way to achieve a perfect outcome for both sides?
Did he really have to kill his own adoptive mother with his own hands?
To this, Akira's answer was, "Perhaps there was, perhaps not."
"It's just that for the Emiya Kiritsugu of that time, it was the optimal solution he could think of."
Regarding this answer, Rin chose to maintain her own opinion.
She could probably understand his choice, but she still didn't agree with it.
But then again, the performance in the manga where Emiya Kiritsugu's emotions collapsed on the spot after killing his adoptive mother was indeed moving.
And at the end of the manga, the moment his expression finally turned into silent determination, one couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
After killing his adoptive mother, Emiya Kiritsugu had probably erased his own feelings as well, becoming a cold machine that only pursued so-called justice, right?
—Logically, that should be the case.
Because of this, she found it hard to believe that this gentle-looking adoptive father Kiritsugu in Fsn and the Kiritsugu from the one-shot manga were actually the same person.
It felt like more than just a difference in personality; even his character had changed.
Could they really be the same person?
So she couldn't help but ask curiously, "So, what exactly did he go through to become the way he is in Fsn?"
Hearing this, Akira smiled and said, "As for that, please look forward to it."
Though he said that, given the current serialization progress of Fsn, Fz would certainly have to wait a bit longer to be served.
Speaking of which, now that the second half of "Emiya Kiritsugu" was finished, he didn't seem to have much to do besides the regular serialization of Fsn.
So, should he find something else to do?
Hmm...
But before that, he felt it was better to take a good rest for a few days.
Thus, the time soon came to the day the shōsei results were announced.
This week, the ranking for Chapter 16 of Fsn was 2nd, One Piece was 3rd, and the 1st place was actually yu-gi-oh!.
He hadn't had the time to catch up on this manga yet, but after skimming through the content of this chapter of yu-gi-oh!, he could understand why it reached the top.
It was now at Chapter 148, and in the duel of this chapter, Seto Kaiba summoned Obelisk the Tormentor.
Although he hadn't read the manga, he had played yu-gi-oh! cards as a kid in his past life.
Of course, back then, they were just flicking them around for fun.
Even so, he still remembered that Obelisk the Tormentor was one of the "Three Egyptian Gods"; in short, it was an incredibly badass card, similar to the climax of a battle arc in other manga.
Additionally, the shōsei ranking for Chapter 5 of naruto published this week was in jeopardy again, dropping straight to 14th place.
The reason was actually quite simple.
This chapter was part of the classic "Team 7 Bell Test" plot, depicting the battle between Naruto and Kakashi, and contributing one of Naruto's famous scenes, "One Thousand Years of Death."
More importantly, Naruto was teased and suppressed by Kakashi throughout the entire chapter.
Although Kakashi would become a super popular character in Naruto later on, right now he was just a supporting character who had just appeared and hadn't been fleshed out much.
A newly introduced supporting character not only suppressing the protagonist but also teasing him maliciously—the reading experience might indeed not be very pleasant.
However, he felt that another major issue was the cliffhanger.
At the end of this chapter, Naruto used the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu; one of the clones launched a sneak attack from behind and grabbed Kakashi, and the other clones immediately swarmed him, as if a turning point was beginning to appear.
If the chapter had ended there, the reading experience would likely have improved significantly.
Unfortunately, Kishimoto chose to end it even later, where Kakashi mysteriously swapped places with Naruto, causing all of Naruto's attacks to hit himself.
Now it had become a complete humiliation.
From this, it could be seen that during his rookie period, Kishimoto Masashi's abilities in various aspects were indeed still a bit immature.
But overall, his excellent portrayal of action during fights was already starting to show; it just depended on when he would have his epiphany.
Additionally, besides the regular shōsei results report this week, Hisashi also brought a piece of news that caught him very much by surprise—
"An author dialogue? With Oda-sensei?"
Akira hadn't expected to suddenly hear Eiichiro Oda's name from Hisashi, and he was momentarily taken aback.
"That's right."
Hisashi explained with a smile, "Actually, since last year, Shonen Jump has been planning a large-scale event called 『Jump Festa』, similar to Shonen Jump's own exhibition."
At the 『Jump Festa』 venue, Jump-related manga merchandise will be sold in advance, there will be displays of original manga art, stage plays performed by anime voice actors, and announcements of important future information for Jump-related works.
So far, the event is being prepared smoothly and is expected to officially open in early December.
Since it's the first time Shonen Jump is holding such an event, the higher-ups are taking it very seriously.
They might even have Weekly Shonen Jump combine an extra issue number at that time to give the authors a break, so they can attend as well.
"An extra break?"
Akira was a bit surprised, then sighed, "That really is taking it seriously."
"Of course."
Hisashi agreed with a smile, and after introducing the background, he finally moved on to the main topic—
As the undisputed pillar of Shonen Jump today, and with its anime having just recently aired, One Piece is naturally one of the key projects on display.
Not only that, but the first movie for One Piece has long been in production and is scheduled to be officially released next March.
Shonen Jump plans to announce this news first at 『Jump Festa』.
To this end, they have also planned to produce an interview video for Eiichiro Oda, answering questions about manga creation, the anime and movies, as well as his life.
This video will also be played at 『Jump Festa』, serving not only as promotion but also as part of the fan service.
"But just recently, Shonen Jump suddenly had a new idea."
"Specifically, the higher-ups want to change the previous simple Q&A video into an author dialogue between Shonen Jump series creators."
Oda-sensei goes without saying; he is the absolute protagonist of this project.
And as for the author talking with him, they certainly can't be one of those famous Manga Artists with a higher status than his, as that would overshadow him.
"So the higher-ups felt that among the several rookie authors currently serializing in Shonen Jump, you, being the most popular, would be the perfect fit to have a dialogue with Oda-sensei."
After explaining the whole situation, Hisashi asked him with a smile, "So, what do you think?"