Two years.
Two years was more than enough time for Rei to complete a manga.
Unexpectedly, Misaki's request was for him to release a new work within two years.
Life was short, barely a hundred years at most. Even if Rei worked himself to the bone every single day, he might not be able to bring even one-tenth of the masterpieces from his previous life into this world. How could he afford to waste two entire years?
Still, Rei wasn't prepared to say much at the moment. After all, properly completing Hikaru no Go was the most important thing right now.
By mid-February, the ninth volume of Hikaru no Go was rushed out just before the New Year.
Because each chapter of Rei's manga was at least forty pages long, every collected volume contained only three to four chapters. As a result, the complete Hikaru no Go series would likely end at twelve or thirteen volumes.
Now, it had already reached volume nine.
Across the entire series, average sales per volume were rapidly approaching nine million copies. If momentum held, it was very possible that Hikaru no Go would achieve an average of ten million copies per volume before serialization ended.
No matter how harshly fans criticized Shirogane for Sai's death, the influential figures within the manga industry had already come to a clear conclusion.
The long-term impact on Hikaru no Go was inevitable.
But in the short term, the effect was minimal.
Current fans still loved the manga and continued to hope for a future plotline in which Sai would somehow return.
Those who envied or resented Shirogane, who eagerly awaited Hikaru no Go's collapse, would have to wait until fan patience truly ran out.
As for Shirogane being flamed online?
What did it matter?
It didn't change the fact that on the day the ninth collected volume of Hikaru no Go was released, long lines once again formed outside bookstores across the country.
Then came the New Year.
Because the collected editions of Hikaru no Go had sold over seventy million copies nationwide, Rei received enormous royalties from Hoshimori Group.
As of now, pre-tax earnings from collected editions alone exceeded seventy million in local currency. After tax, nearly forty million still remained in Rei's hands.
Adding income from animation adaptations, live-action drama adaptations, copyright licensing, and merchandise revenue sharing, Rei's total earnings from Hikaru no Go over a single year approached fifty million.
This was despite the fact that the subject matter of Hikaru no Go inherently limited its commercial ceiling.
For Rei, that was more than enough.
He spent New Year's Eve alone, receiving holiday greetings from the two Yukishiro sisters, Misaki and Miyu, as well as from his homeroom teacher, his good friend Hana and Yui.
During the New Year period, Dream Comic did not suspend publication and continued its weekly serialization.
After Sai's disappearance and Hikaru's decision to abandon Go, the plot of Hikaru no Go shifted its focus to Isumi.
In the original manga, Isumi traveled to China, suffered defeat at the hands of young prodigies, and later returned to Japan to earn his professional rank.
At the same time, the story intercut with Hikaru's increasingly listless school life after giving up professional Go and withdrawing from competition.
The narrative unfolded along two parallel tracks: Isumi's repeated defeats abroad, and Hikaru's absence from matches, which deeply disappointed many professional Go players.
The atmosphere of the manga grew heavy and oppressive.
Even so, Hikaru no Go remained ranked first in Dream Comic's popularity poll.
Its weekly vote count gradually declined from a peak of 960,000 to around 890,000 in the most recent issue, but its position at the top remained unshaken.
Meanwhile, Source War Chronicle, ranked second, experienced a surge during the Spring Festival thanks to a climactic storyline, pushing its vote count up to 870,000.
For two consecutive weeks, fans of Hikaru no Go and Source War Chronicle reignited their arguments.
"This is Hikaru no Go's real strength. Honestly, being number one for just two months isn't that impressive."
"Exactly. Source War Chronicle held first place for three years, and its fans weren't nearly as arrogant as Hikaru no Go fans are now. Look at this mess. Shirogane made a massive mistake killing off a popular character. I'm betting this manga crashes within a month, and Source War Chronicle takes back first place."
"But Source War Chronicle never once exceeded Hikaru no Go's peak of 960,000 votes during those three years. Save it. I can't stop laughing."
"Teacher Laiden is Hoshimori Group's true number one manga artist. That Shirogane kid shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath."
"Enough with the Laiden praise. A manga that should've ended two years ago is being dragged out endlessly. Can you honestly say the plot quality over the last two years matches the first 150 chapters?"
"Heh. As if Shirogane is any different. What top-tier popular manga ends while its popularity is still high? Just wait. Hikaru no Go will definitely add world championships later. If Hikaru doesn't win seven or eight titles, you fans will never see the ending."
During the Spring Festival, Hoshimori Group's official website became a full-scale battlefield, as fans of Hikaru no Go and Source War Chronicle flooded the forums, attacking and criticizing each other without restraint.
If Hoshimori Group's voting system had not required real-name authentication, both sides would probably have already begun mass-reporting each other's manga with negative reviews and low ratings.
However, the group's upper management was actually pleased to see this situation.
Fan conflicts generated buzz. Buzz created topics. Topics meant traffic.
Moreover, the author of Source War Chronicle, had held the number-one position within Hoshimori Group for three consecutive years because of this manga, and his attitude had grown increasingly arrogant. In recent years, he had become temperamental when dealing with the group's commercial requests, even refusing several promotional activities during the New Year period.
Shirogane's rise with Hikaru no Go also served as a reminder to him of how the relationship between a manga artist and the group should be balanced.
If you have ability, the group will allocate resources to you, and you will naturally become a top-tier manga artist.
But Japan never lacked capable manga artists. What many of them lacked was simply an opportunity to stand out.
February passed, and March arrived.
Rei's final semester of high school officially began.
It had been several weeks since the chapter in which Sai disappeared was serialized, and the anger of extreme fans had mostly subsided.
On the uphill road leading to school, flowers had already begun to bloom, their vibrant petals filling the air with fragrance.
Rei wore his school uniform, yet among the students walking uphill, he was undoubtedly the most conspicuous. Groups of students gathered around him, pointing and whispering.
Manga, television dramas, animation, how many high school students could truly remain untouched by all three? Anyone who managed that level of self-discipline was practically guaranteed success in life.
For everyone else, however, exposure was inevitable.
Anyone whose leisure activities included manga, TV dramas, or animation would unavoidably encounter this season's top TV drama, this season's top animated series, and the currently most popular serialized manga in Japan;
Hikaru no Go.
Within the school, more than half the students could be considered part of Rei's readership.
The semester-opening ceremony followed its usual routine.
However, this time, the school arranged something special.
After the teachers' speeches, Rei was invited, as one of the school's "outstanding students," to give a speech about his creative journey.
After all, a literary work created by a currently enrolled student being adapted into the highest-rated TV drama in the country was undeniably an educational achievement.
After the ceremony, when Rei returned to the classroom, Miyu came over on her own initiative. Her expression was complicated as she spoke.
"The Group has decided that Hikaru no Go will conclude within six weeks. My sister also told me that to fill the vacancy left by its conclusion, Hoshimori Group will hold a serialization meeting next week."
She paused briefly.
"My new manga will also be participating in that meeting."
"Then congratulations, Miyu," Rei replied after a short pause, smiling. "Do your best."
Miyu hesitated, then asked, "Don't you feel reluctant?"
"Reluctant?" Rei echoed.
"What's there to be reluctant about? The ending of Hikaru no Go was decided by me. For a top-tier manga, being able to freely determine its ending point as the creator, isn't that the best possible outcome?"
"This might be the best manga you ever create in your life," Miyu said quietly. "Most people would feel sad."
"Are you really that lacking in confidence in me?" Rei smiled.
"I'm still confident that I can create manga even better than Hikaru no Go in the future."
Miyu studied Rei's eyes carefully. There was no bravado there, no forced confidence. After a while, she leaned back in her chair, utterly deflated.
"Honestly… how can the gap between people be so large? We're the same age. I debuted earlier than you, yet you've already reached the top of Dream Comic. Meanwhile, I'm still worrying about whether I can even qualify for a serialization slot."
"Don't compare yourself to me," Rei said seriously.
"Leaving me aside, you're already one of the most talented young manga artists in Japan. At seventeen, you're qualified to submit work to a Dream Comic serialization meeting. Even if you fail this time, there's always the next time, and the time after that."
He continued calmly.
"Being able to get serialized in Dream Comic before the age of nineteen is already the mark of a rare genius in the manga world, something that appears only once every ten or twenty years."
"But how can I leave you aside?" Miyu replied helplessly. "You're always right in front of me. And every week, my sister goes to your place to collect manuscripts…"
She sighed.
"To use Hikaru no Go as an analogy, you're Sai, and I'm Akira. No matter how strong Akira is, he can never beat Sai."
Rei laughed.
"If I weren't such a staunch materialist, I'd seriously think you had a ghost like Sai teaching you how to draw manga," Miyu said, shaking her head. "You're unmatched in romance themes, and you can also dominate a Go sports manga…"
She extended her palm.
"Let's high-five. After all, next week's serialization meeting only exists because Hikaru no Go is ending. Pass some of your good luck to me, so my manga can inherit your slot."
Rei paused, then smiled and lightly tapped her hand.
"Go for it."