"Who are you?"

An Tengwu couldn't help but asked doubtfully.

"First meeting, editor Itang, I am the author of "Dragon Ball", Akira Toriyama."

Higashino Hiroyuki stepped forward and said.

"Are you Akira Toriyama? Oh, hello, this is the first time we meet. I am Takeshi Anten from the JUMP editorial department. Teacher Akira Toriyama, what kind of coffee would you like to drink?"

"Just plain, add some sugar."

An Tengwu was suspicious, but he was also well-informed and experienced, and he did not do anything rude.

"OK, just a second."

The waiter wrote it down with a note, exited the private room and closed the door.

"Teacher Akira Toriyama, you are really young. Are you really a student?"

After the waiter left, An Tengwu looked at the school uniform on Higashino Hiroyuki and couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I am a high school student in school, but I am over 18 years old. Age is not a problem. Or, Editor Itan, do you think the comics were not drawn by me?"

"It's really unbelievable that "Dragon Ball" was written by a high school student. People in our editorial department all believe that it is the work of a famous writer."

Higashino Hiroyuki saw An Tengwu's concerns, and An Tengwu didn't hide his thoughts.

"I would like to know, Mr. Akira Toriyama, have you ever published works in other comics magazines under other names?"

An Tengwu thought for a while and asked again.

"No."

Higashino Hirosawa shook his head.

"Well, more than ten years ago, a cartoonist's scrap manuscripts were stolen by his assistant and then submitted to our magazine. The magazine accepted and published them, which eventually caused a big trouble. Although it is very rude, I really feel bad about it.

I believe that comics like "Dragon Ball" were drawn by a high school student with no submission experience at all, so I hope Mr. Akira Toriyama can prove that Dragon Ball is your work."

"I'm extremely sorry for saying such things to you, teacher, but please understand my difficulties!"

An Tengwu said with embarrassed sincerity.

The magazine's acceptance of stolen works is a matter of principle related to the reputation of the magazine. Although he felt that it was too much to question Higashino Hirosawa's theft of other people's works in person, An Tengwu still had to bite the bullet and ask, not taking any chances.

.

Otherwise, he, who is responsible for the review, will bear the greatest responsibility. Losing his job is 100% possible, and he may even never find another job in this industry.

"Proof? Did you bring a pen and drawing paper? I have already started drawing the content of Chapter 5. If I draw a page for you now, does it count as proof?"

Higashino Hirosawa did not blame An Tengwu.

If it were him, he would do the same thing.

After all, if you miss a manuscript, the magazine will not go bankrupt, but if you use a stolen manuscript, you will lose your job.

How to do it is naturally self-evident.

"Yes, yes, thank you, teacher."

An Tengwu said quickly, taking out a pen, paper, ruler and other drawing tools from the information bag on the side.

When he came over, he brought his drawings and tools with him, ready to work while waiting.

At home, Higashino Hirosawa can complete a page of drawings in about five minutes. In front of An Tengwu, he would not draw so fast. It took about 20 minutes, and what he drew was only a rough draft, and he still needed to spend time on post-repairs.

.

The style of the entire draft is exactly the same as the first four chapters.

An Tengwu watched from the sidelines, becoming more and more surprised and shocked as he watched.

Even if you have painted once or even several times, this speed is too fast and you are very skilled!

Before Hirosawa Higashino started writing, an idea even flashed in his mind.

Couldn't this person have been prepared and practiced drawing a page many times in advance?

But watching Higashino Hirosawa finish the painting from beginning to end, this thought disappeared without a trace.

Although I don’t know how Higashino Hirosawa did it at such a young age, there is no doubt that this high school student has mature and superb painting skills that countless manga authors do not have!

"Teacher Akira Toriyama, you are really a genius! Please forgive me for being disrespectful just now!"

An Tengwu said with great admiration.

With such skill at such a young age, he really has found a treasure!

"Thank you, Editor An Teng. I wonder what else I should prepare next?"

Higashino Hirosawa took a sip of coffee.

While he was drawing the manuscript, the waiter had already brought him coffee.

"There is nothing special to explain. I have a contract here. You can take a look at it first. If you have any questions, just ask me. Once there are no questions, we can sign the contract."

"Toriyama Akira-sensei, your "Dragon Ball" has passed the serialization vote at the editorial department's serialization meeting this morning. After signing the contract, it will enter serialization status soon."

An Tengwu took out a bound contract from the information bag.

During the serialization meeting of the editorial department in the morning, the editorial department discussed "Dragon Ball" and unanimously agreed that it can be serialized.

An Tengwu has obtained authorization from Squad Leader Morita. If there is no other contract with the "Dragon Ball" author, he can sign him on the spot.

"Okay, let me take a look first."

Many authors of novels and comics don't know how to read contracts and just sign them when they see them. Higashino Hirosawa doesn't dare to be so rash.

There are not many pages in the contract, and Higashino Hirosawa can read it very quickly.

The contract stipulates that the cartoonist needs to open an account at a designated bank to use it as a payment account, etc. Many of the terms are fine.

However, when he saw the terms of the "JUMP Cartoonist Exclusive System", Higashino Hirosawa couldn't help but frown.

"Editor Itan, can this exclusive clause be removed?"

After thinking about it, Higashino Hiroyuki said to An Tengwu.

According to the exclusive terms, once he signs a contract with JUMP magazine, he cannot publish any works in other magazines.

This is of course unacceptable to Higashino Hirosawa.

"Remove the exclusivity clause? Teacher Toriyama Akira, this exclusivity clause is not for you personally. It will be attached to all authors who have signed a contract with the magazine. For this reason, the magazine will pay you, teacher, an additional 240,000 yen for the exclusive clause every year.

Contract fee, even if you don’t serialize or contribute, you can still get this money as long as you are still within the contract period.”

"And teacher, if you have other works that you want to submit, you can submit them to us. It is often the case that the author of a long series will serialize some short stories."

An Tengwu explained patiently.

Exclusive clauses will indeed restrict comics authors and make some authors feel uncomfortable.

But this is also the most fundamental guarantee for the development and growth of JUMP.

JUMP can achieve the top position among all comic magazines, and its exclusive clauses play a big role.

Only those authors who have signed exclusive terms can JUMP invest resources in cultivating them without any scruples.

It is also because of the exclusive terms that the author will devote himself wholeheartedly to drawing good works.

In fact, for most comic book authors, although the exclusive condition is uncomfortable, it is not unacceptable.

Being able to sign a contract with JUMP is the dream of many comic book authors. It is impossible for a comic book author to serialize more than two works at the same time.

Therefore, although the exclusive clause is uncomfortable, it is not unacceptable.

But Higashino Hirosawa couldn't do it. He couldn't accept the exclusive clause.

Even if JUMP thinks highly of him, Dingtian will agree to serialize two comics for him, not more.

This doesn't fit into his plan.

In fact, it is unlikely that he would serialize two works at the same time.

"Editor An Teng, as you can see, I can actually draw sketches very quickly. I have drawn many different types of themes during practice before. I didn't plan to submit them before, but I will slowly do so in the future. These themes are not suitable for

Published on JUMP."

"I can't sign the exclusive terms that limit my life, but I can only publish the name Akira Toriyama on JUMP and won't use it to submit other articles, and I can guarantee that I won't use this name to associate or promote my other works.

, if there is a breach of contract, you can set the liability for breach of contract very heavily, it doesn’t matter.”

Higashino Hirosawa thought for a while and proposed a compromise plan.

You cannot sign by a person, but you can sign by a pen name, "Aki Toriyama", and do not publish works in magazines other than JUMP.

"Teacher, listen to me..."

An Tengwu was no longer a new editor, so he naturally knew that the matter would not be solved so easily. He tried hard to persuade Hiroyuki Higashino to accept the exclusive terms.

But Higashino Hirosawa couldn't accept it and was deadlocked for a while.

"Let's do this, teacher, please wait a moment and I'll call back to the magazine to ask."
To be continued...