Chapter 33: Picking Up the Manuscript

This wasn’t Sakamoto Ken’s first serialization.

His serialization in the previous life was purely original, and he even had someone cracking a whip to urge him on. The pressure was countless times greater.

Over the next week, Sakamoto Ken smoothly progressed the manga to Chapter 11.

On the editorial department’s side, the next JUMP main publication serialization spot had also been confirmed. The main reason was that Sangatsu Haru had voluntarily withdrawn.

According to her, she was preparing a big move. Once all the content was redrawn, the web version’s manuscripts would also be replaced, and then she would appear in JUMP in the most perfect state.

And the details of this, Sakamoto Ken had already found out clearly through his alternate account, “Meguro’s Most Devoted.”

In a private message on Twitter, Sangatsu Haru had sent him a reply.

Sangatsu Haru: 「Thanks for the support, Devoted-san! The manga is currently being redrawn from the beginning. This time, a very amazing artist has joined. I’ll post the news on Twitter as soon as it’s ready~」

Meguro’s Most Devoted: 「That’s great! Sangatsu Haru-sensei, can you secretly reveal some of the art?」

Sangatsu Haru: 「Well, it’s not impossible. After all, Devoted-san was the first reader to follow me. But you definitely can’t post it anywhere else.」

Meguro’s Most Devoted: 「Of course, I’ll just admire it myself.」

Sangatsu Haru: 「[Image][Image][Image]」

Sangatsu Haru: 「How is it? The first three pages of the first chapter. The rest of the content will be of this quality.」

Sakamoto Ken downloaded the images and zoomed in to examine them panel by panel.

The biggest change was the heroine’s image, especially the pantyhose part.

He knew all too well what level his own drawings were at back then. The pantyhose were just colored black.

But in the redrawn art by Haruna, the texture of the pantyhose, and even the translucent effect created by the joints of the legs and feet, were drawn in detail.

In one panel, the heroine was stomping towards the camera from a high angle. Here, the original perspective was broken, and the foot was deliberately enlarged further, to the point where the movement of the spreading toes was visible.

Because of this spreading motion, the fabric of the pantyhose was stretched, forming a space between the toes covered by a thin layer of fabric, and the individual lines of the fabric could be clearly seen.

This wasn’t drawn by Haruna, was it?

In the previous life, she didn’t draw manga, but they had been together for so long and were both at the Kanzaki Academy of Art. Sakamoto Ken knew her level.

Although Haruna’s drawing skills weren’t bad, they were definitely not at this level.

She must have hired an assistant, and a super-strong one at that.

Do you want to beat me that badly?

Sakamoto Ken knew this young lady’s thoughts all too well.

If there was no rival to stimulate her, she wouldn’t work hard at all.

But once stimulated, she would absolutely never admit defeat.

In short, she was a girl who wanted to be on top in everything she did. Even if you used brute force to suppress her and pin her to the bed, she would still have an expression of absolute refusal to admit defeat, enjoying it while cursing all the while.

Mio was still more obedient. She would wear whatever he asked her to wear and do whatever he asked her to do, even more obedient than a little puppy.

Sakamoto Ken had never been reborn before. Now that he was, he found that he would subconsciously recall things from his previous life from time to time.

Although he kept telling himself to shake off those psychological shadows, the things he had experienced with them were not so easy to forget.

This feeling, people who haven’t been reborn wouldn’t understand.

He gathered his thoughts and returned his attention to the work at hand.

It was now February 28th.

According to the serialization schedule, the first chapter of Chainsaw Man would be published in the March 9th issue of Weekly Shonen JUMP.

For weekly magazine serialization, the author generally creates the third week’s manuscript in the current week. Even in the most urgent times, there must be at least a week’s buffer.

The author submits the manuscript on Friday, and from then until the following Tuesday is the editors’ work.

If the author delays the manuscript, the editor might have to camp out at the author’s house for these few days to ensure that tasks like text proofreading, typesetting, and submission to the printing factory are completed before Wednesday.

Delaying manuscripts was almost commonplace, so it was difficult for editors to enjoy a full weekend.

Starting from Wednesday, it was the printing factory’s turn for plate making and printing.

Different manga chapters, color pages, and advertisement pages were all combined and finally bound into a volume.

By Friday, the printing factory would pack millions of magazines and transport them to various logistics nodes across the country. Then, over the weekend, they would be distributed layer by layer to bookstores and convenience stores.

This final step was usually completed in the early hours of Monday morning to ensure that the magazines were ready on the shelves when the stores opened.

The entire process was seamless, and once it entered the printing factory, no content could be withdrawn. Otherwise, it would be a very serious work accident.

Therefore, during the manuscript rushing stage, the pressure on authors and editors was immense.

But none of this had anything to do with Sakamoto Ken. His manuscripts were already enough for more than two months of serialization, and soon he would have enough for two tankobon volumes.

The cover, color pages, character designs… all of these were organized and sent to Editor Kaji, but they were still only in digital format. For web serialization, the manuscripts scanned by Sakamoto Ken himself at the convenience store printer were acceptable, but for the main publication, they were not quite enough.

Therefore, Kaji Keiko had to come to Sakamoto Ken’s house to take all the original manuscripts back.

Just after 1 o’clock, Sakamoto Ken received a call from Editor Kaji.

“Sakamoto-sensei, are you free this afternoon? I’m coming over to pick up the original manuscripts,” Kaji Keiko said.

“I’m available. Editor-san, you can come over anytime,” Sakamoto Ken said.

“Okay, then I’ll confirm the address again.” Kaji Keiko looked at the navigation information and said, “13, Umeda 4-chome, Adachi Ward… is that correct?”

“Editor-san, you can just navigate directly to Myo-o-in,” Sakamoto Ken said.

“Myo-o-in?”

“It’s that temple, with a large cemetery next to it,” Sakamoto Ken said.

“Ha… a cemetery?” Kaji Keiko was slightly startled.

“Yes, and the temple has free parking. It’s not easy to park in front of the apartment I live in,” Sakamoto Ken said.

“Alright then, I see Myo-o-in on the map. I’ll be right over,” Kaji Keiko said.

Sakamoto Ken organized the original manuscripts at home. An ordinary author would have at most three chapters of original manuscripts before serialization, while he had eleven.

They were all B4 size manuscript paper, and the paper was thick. Stacked up, it was thicker than three manga tankobon volumes, weighing a hefty three or four kilograms.

Soon, in about twenty minutes, the phone rang again. The caller ID showed Kaji Keiko’s name.

“Sakamoto-sensei, I’m nearby, but… which intersection should I turn in from?” Kaji Keiko asked.

“Editor-san, what buildings are around you?” Sakamoto Ken asked.

“An elementary school. I just passed the school gate,” Kaji Keiko said.

“Alright then, Editor-san, just wait in front of the elementary school. I’ll be right there.”

Sakamoto Ken hung up the phone and looked at the time. 1:30.

Editor Kaji was truly dedicated, still working at this time on a weekend.

Holding the manuscript paper, Sakamoto Ken pushed the door open and went out.

After turning through an alley so narrow that even a K-Car would have to be careful, he saw the gate of Adachi Ward Umejima Daini Elementary School ahead.

Turning his head, he saw a white Toyota sedan parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing.

At this moment, the car started again, drove forward a few dozen meters, and stopped beside Sakamoto Ken.

The car window rolled down, and Kaji Keiko smiled at Sakamoto Ken. “Sakamoto-sensei, why don’t you get in the car first? Where is that parking lot?”

Sakamoto Ken directly handed the manuscript in his hand to the car window. “I’ve brought the manuscript. Editor-san, you can just take it.”

Kaji Keiko shook her head and said, “Since I’m already here, I can’t just take the manuscript, can I? I’ll also take the opportunity to talk to you about the animated short video promotion later.”

“Hmm… alright then.” Sakamoto Ken nodded and walked towards the passenger seat on the other side.

Actually, he didn’t really want to get in the car.

Getting into a woman’s car, and with her driving, this kind of thing…

He always felt it would trigger very serious consequences.

After all, the beginning of the cleaver ending in his previous life was when Mio saw him get into Haruna’s car…

(End of Chapter)