46 [46] The Situation with the Previous Manga

It was an image of a green man, a man with spear in each hand.

The art style still seemed quite unusual for this era.

The fourth page featured a red-haired giant.

With red hair, red eyes, and a red cape, his muscular physique gave a more contemporary feel compared to the previous characters.

Then, on the fifth page, there was a man who looked strange, as if he was spitting out large eyeballs.

On the sixth page, there were several people, both male and female, young and old. They were all wrapped in black clothing with skull-like masks, obscuring their faces.

On the seventh page, a figure covered in black armor stood amidst scattered smoke.

Turning the pages further.

In an instant, everything became clear.

No longer just individual characters like before.

In a black night sky, there was a pitch-black void, as if something was flowing out from it.

Below, there was a long bridge that stretched between two places.

In the center of the illustration was a golden chalice.

In the background, one could faintly discern the silhouette of a white female figure, but it was quite faint.

And then—

The seven characters from before were holding their weapons as if they were in a battle!

The golden-haired girl held an invisible wind in her hands, golden ripples emanated from the golden man, and the green man held a yellow spear aimed at the golden-haired girl.

The red-haired giant, who was driving a cart, burst into laughter. The strange man with bulging eyes held a book in his hand, and black shadows surrounded him. In the sky, a man clad in pitch-black armor descended.

"Um, Kurokawa-sensei, who is the protagonist in this?" Iwamoto Yu couldn't help but ask when he saw this.

"There's no protagonist in this manga."

"Huh? No protagonist?"

"That's right. This time, it's an ensemble cast. Don't worry too much about it. Just read the story and share your thoughts."

Iwamoto Yu was momentarily surprised. Was it really that strong? They were planning to write an ensemble cast story?

Even if Kurokawa-sensei's art was excellent, did that mean his storytelling abilities had improved this much in one go?

To avoid embarrassment...

He didn't say anything and tried to reassure himself inwardly. After all, Kurokawa Kazuya was a genius. Maybe there were unexpected circumstances.

But... as he looked at the manuscript in front of him, and the large English letters "Fate/Zero" on the next page, he lost the courage to turn the page. He didn't know if this was the progression of a genius or the downfall of a genius.

In his view, Kurokawa Kazuya should stick to drawing JOJO continuously, creating Part 7, Part 8, Part 9... It would be better to keep drawing like that.

In each part of JOJO, the protagonist seemed to change, which prevented power inflation. In other words, as long as the story was well-told and Stand abilities continued to be developed, it should be possible to keep it going indefinitely...

But, instead, Kurokawa Kazuya kept creating new manga.

The previous one... honestly, in his opinion, the previous one was not as interesting as JOJO.

However, judging by the art style, he could only deduce that this was a transitional work for him, an attempt to surpass his previous creations. So, he didn't mind if it wasn't like JOJO. But if the next one and the one after that...

Oh, right, could it be that he wanted to create ensemble cast stories starting from the previous one?

Although the previous manga, "Battle Royale," had a clear protagonist, the depiction of that character was not significantly different from the others. It could be considered as having the foundation for an ensemble cast.

And now...

"What's wrong?" Kazuya asked as he noticed Iwamoto Yu hadn't turned the page.

"No... well, actually, I came this time to tell you about the situation with the previous manga, 'Battle Royale.' Although the editor responsible for it should come and discuss it, she asked me to come and talk to you on her behalf," Iwamoto Yu changed the subject.

"What happened with that manga?"

"Well... it's like this. Because of the content of that manga, the magazine received numerous complaints, and even meetings were held to discuss whether to cancel it."

"I see."

"Huh? Aren't you surprised? It was so interesting..."

"Just as you said," Kazuya smiled. "Perhaps it was because it was too realistic... I can accept something like this happening. Even if it gets canceled at some point, it's not surprising. I can always publish it online later. After all, it's my hard work, and I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

At worst, he can wait until the internet is developed and upload it online...

After all, he put a lot of effort into drawing it; he can't let it go to waste.

Iwamoto Yu opened his mouth to speak but swallowed his words. While a significant portion of the complaints about that manga were due to its bloody violence, the main reason was...

The frequent deaths of cute girls.

It was heartbreaking to see such adorable girls meet gruesome ends. This had sparked outrage among the readers.

The publishing company had received numerous letters and even threats, including a razor blade...

Looking at the serious expression on Kurokawa-sensei's face, Iwamoto Yu couldn't help but wonder if he had already anticipated these reactions. That might explain why he had said, "You don't need to bring me all the letters. Handle them yourself." Furthermore, the pen name on those letters was not "Kurokawa Kazuya" but a new one, consisting of a single word, "Kuro."

It was quite cunning and devious.

With these thoughts, Iwamoto Yu suddenly shivered and looked at the manuscript in front of him. "Um... for this one, should we use your identity as 'Kurokawa Kazuya' or 'Kuro'?"

"Well... for this one, let's go with 'Kuro.' After all, it feels quite different from the image of JOJO. As for whether it can be serialized and where, it doesn't matter."

Iwamoto Yu was stunned.

He mechanically lowered his head to look at the English letters "Fate/Zero" on the page. He suddenly had a bad feeling...

Could it be...

Could it be that, like with the previous "Battle Royale," all the cute girls would be killed off?

He already had a hint of fear, and now that fear had intensified. He was afraid to turn the page!

"Alright, there's nothing else, right? Take a look at it and see where it can be serialized—"

Iwamoto Yu swallowed hard. 'This is terrifying. Kurokawa-sensei must have no confidence in this manga, so he must think it's not suitable for JUMP. Then why did he call me over?'

With this fear in mind, he finally, under Kazuya's expectant gaze, turned the page to begin reading.

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