Chapter 29: The Beginning of Cooking Master Boy
After settling things with Meili and the others, Naoto immediately took Kuriko back home.
Upon returning home, Naoto didn't waste any time and immediately started drawing manga.
To promote Bamboo Moon, he naturally had to draw a food manga. There were many well-known food manga in the world today.
Like the 'Shokugeki no Soma' from back then, and the long-enduring 'Kodoku no Gourmet', both were excellent subjects.
However, Naoto chose to abandon both of the above.
To be honest, it wasn't that these two weren't good, but they didn't suit Naoto's style.
Let's put it this way, 'Shokugeki no Soma' was amazing, but its art style was truly too explicit. It could be said that a large portion of the people who read the manga weren't reading it for the food. This was different from Naoto's original intention of drawing manga. Besides, he didn't want his works to be tainted by those… unsightly expressions.
'Kodoku no Gourmet' was very good, especially the TV series, which was incredibly popular on a certain small TV channel, with each episode having over thirty million views. The uncle's exclusive emojis and memes were even popular across the entire internet; almost no one didn't know about this show.
But Naoto had read the original manga back then. Not only did the feeling completely differ from the TV series, but the sense of loneliness was something Naoto couldn't experience. After all, he wasn't a single man anymore. And Naoto wanted to recommend Chinese food, so why even draw 'Kodoku no Gourmet'?
Therefore, Naoto set his sights on another manga.
That was 'Cooking Master Boy', a childhood memory for those born in the 2000s.
Its wild imagination and creativity have endured for so many years.
Any fan-fiction food novel basically couldn't bypass this hurdle.
Things like the Five-Star Mapo Tofu, or the Comet Fried Rice, have been played with for so long without getting old.
To draw this manga, the difficulty was indeed not small.
But Naoto was confident that with this manga, he might really be able to defeat Niizuma Eiji.
The next day at noon, the JUMP editorial department received the manga sent by Naoto. When they saw what Naoto had sent, everyone in the editorial department's minds were in a state of confusion.
"What? ONE-sensei has already finished drawing?"
"No way, it's been less than a week since the Chief Editor asked him, right? Does this person not need to think?"
From agreeing to the request, to determining the theme, and then to the ideas for the first chapter, the entire process took less than a week. What kind of divine speed was this?
Of course, if these people knew that Naoto had only taken one day to finish the first chapter, they would probably go crazy.
"Could it be that ONE-sensei just handed it in casually to appease the Chief Editor?"
"It wouldn't be that bad, would it? After all, ONE-sensei's manuscripts are very strict; it's said that every time he submits a manga, there's no room for revision."
"Indeed, ONE-sensei's work ethic is one of the best, but this speed is a bit too fast, isn't it? He's still a high school student, does he not need to go to school?"
After careful consideration, the editors found it even more absurd. Could anyone really serialize two manga while still attending school? What kind of superpower is this!
"Ahem, no matter what, let's take a look first. After all, it's ONE-sensei's work, so it probably won't disappoint us."
At this moment, it was the Deputy Chief Editor who spoke up.
As he said, no matter what, they had to look first. As the current number one on the popularity rankings, he probably wouldn't tarnish his own reputation, would he?
When everyone opened the envelope together, what greeted their eyes was this time's cover.
Regardless of what was said before, but upon seeing the cover, everyone could confirm one thing. That was, the quality of this manga was truly high.
Naoto's manga drawing skills had always been continuously improving.
However, because there was no reference point, even the editors found it difficult to pinpoint where the manga's improvement lay.
But when Naoto switched to a different manga this time, the editors immediately noticed Naoto's progress.
That drawing skill, which was even stronger than the first chapter of 'Bloodline', now showed its advantage.
"Cooking Master Boy? A food manga? ONE-sensei's new work this time is actually a food manga?!"
"A mangaka who draws shonen manga actually went to draw cooking manga?"
Don't blame these editors for being surprised; after all, most mangaka, after finishing one manga, generally don't choose other genres to create. Short story mangas are fine, but for long series, you really can't find many who change themes.
Someone like Naoto, who went directly from shonen to cooking manga, is even rarer. Akin to swatting flies with a sledgehammer. In the case of Naoto, with his cheats, the sledgehammer was more like a electric swatter.
What exactly is he doing? Is it really okay?
Just as everyone was about to voice their objections, they noticed that the Deputy Chief Editor was silently turning to the next manuscript.
Less than a minute later, all the editors fell silent.
The content of the first chapter of Cooking Master Boy was quite simple.
Aside from some settings, it was essentially the story of Liu Mao Xing of Kikuka Restaurant, along with his sister, driving away his former senior apprentice, Shouan.
Kikuka Restaurant, once the best in the Sichuan region, had fallen into decline after the death of Chief Pai.
Shouan, who had once apprenticed under Chief Pai, now wanted to take over Kikuka Restaurant and become its master.
Fortunately, with the help of Governor Li, Liu Mao Xing had the opportunity to compete with his senior apprentice, and in the end, with a dish of magical Mapo Tofu, he defeated Shouan and saved Kikuka Restaurant.
Although the story's background is in the China, it's not incomprehensible to the Japanese. Moreover, rather than saying Cooking Master Boy is a cooking manga, it's more like a shonen manga that combines cooking and adventure; it's just that the fighting style has changed from traditional combat to cooking.
"Gurgle~"
After reading the manga, the editors' first reaction was hunger.
"Wait, why am I hungry now, even though I just ate?"
"Just now, I think I smelled the aroma of Mapo Tofu. That spicy, numbing sensation, the beef bursting in my mouth—why does it feel so real?"
"I can't take it, I'm so hungry, I want to eat right now!"
"Damn it! Mapo Tofu, I really want to eat it! Where's a Chinese restaurant nearby?!"
Hearing the wails of the surrounding editors, the Deputy Chief Editor was also not feeling well.
That spicy and fragrant aroma seemed to genuinely waft around his nose.
The sound of the iron wok stir-frying, the aroma when the dish was served, the taste of the food as it entered the mouth—everything felt so real.
Fortunately, the nearby editors were all suffering from hunger, otherwise, if his stomach rumbled, it would have been embarrassing.
At this point, the Deputy Chief Editor no longer hesitated and directly took the manuscript into the Chief Editor's office. This manga was simply divine!