In the days that followed, the average single-volume sales of Hunter × Hunter officially broke through fourteen million copies and continued advancing toward fifteen million.
At this point, its average sales on Dream Comic were still slightly behind Source War Chronicle.
However, in weekly reader votes and popularity rankings, Hunter × Hunter had already surpassed Source War Chronicle by an overwhelming margin.
It could only be said that overtaking a work that had accumulated five or six years of serialization achievements naturally required time. But anyone with a discerning eye could see that this gap would not last long.
Throughout April, the first four episodes of One-Punch Man Season Three aired in succession. At the same time, the Hunter × Hunter manga intensified the confrontation between Kurapika's team and the Phantom Troupe.
The two works exhibited completely different temperaments.
Hunter × Hunter was heavy, restrained, and somber.
After entering the Yorknew City arc, one memorable character after another emerged, on both the protagonist's and antagonist's sides.
Uvogin, brutal by nature yet absolutely loyal to his comrades.
Nobunaga, indifferent to the lives of others but unwaveringly devoted to the Troupe.
Chrollo Lucilfer, the calm, elegant, and unfathomably dangerous leader.
And Hisoka, the traitor hiding his madness behind a grin.
In truth, within this arc, Gon himself felt more like a peripheral figure.
The most successfully crafted characters were the Phantom Troupe members and Kurapika.
And market data confirmed this observation.
In recent popularity surveys related to Hunter × Hunter, Kurapika and Chrollo Lucilfer were consistently the two characters who advanced to the final round of "most charming character" polls.
By contrast, One-Punch Man thrived not because of a handful of deeply sculpted characters, but because of its sheer density of memes.
Its overall tone was light, absurd, and relentlessly humorous.
It was the kind of anime that made viewers laugh while watching, and continue laughing long after the episode ended.
The memes born from each episode didn't fade away; they accumulated, evolved, and resurfaced repeatedly within the fan community.
In the ongoing Monster Association arc alone, aside from King's ever-expanding collection of legendary misunderstandings, discussions surrounding Boros, the power ceiling from Season One, had once again become active.
It was common to see fans endlessly arguing over questions like:
Could Boros wipe out the Monster Association by himself?
Could Boros in his first form defeat Orochi?
Would Centipede Elder even survive a single blow?
Unless the author explicitly provided an answer, such topics routinely generated thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of replies.
And this phenomenon was the unmistakable sign of a work transitioning from mere popularity into a cultural phenomenon.
It was exactly like One Piece in Rei's previous life.
Each week, fans didn't actually discuss the current chapter. Instead, they endlessly debated power hierarchies: the Four Emperors versus the Admirals, peak Whitebeard versus peak Akainu, arguments that persisted for more than a decade without resolution.
Later, when the plot depicted Rocks defeating an Admiral solo, Admiral fans introduced the concept of "Civilian Admirals."
When Garp chased down the young Four Emperors, Emperor fans retaliated by inventing "Apprentice Emperors."
In a sense, One-Punch Man had once achieved global popularity for precisely this reason, its worldbuilding naturally provoked endless debate.
Of course, what made One Piece a legend was its ability to sustain that level of discussion across decades of serialization.
And the reason One-Punch Man eventually declined in Rei's previous life was equally clear: after the Garou arc, the redraw manga drifted into an increasingly incoherent and directionless storyline.
Rei glanced at the heated debate posts flooding the forums and let out a soft sigh.
"But at least the Monster Association arc and the Garou arc are enough," he murmured, "to make One-Punch Man globally popular on this plane as well."
As for Hunter × Hunter, its growth in average single-volume sales had indeed slowed somewhat.
For it to truly claim the position of number one in Japan's manga industry, it still required one decisive catalyst.
The anime premiere in July.
April passed, and May arrived.
Temperatures in the Tokyo region rose rapidly. On campus and in the streets, people's clothing grew lighter and cooler.
After Rei personally introduced several senior students from his academy to Illumination Animation Company, placing them into entry-level positions within the One-Punch Man and Arcane production teams to gain experience and strengthen their résumés.
His reputation within the academy underwent a complete transformation.
However, situations where girls with various intentions approached Rei, as they had last semester, had become extremely rare.
After all, it was already common knowledge throughout the class and even the academy that Rei was "taken."
Rumors spread everywhere that he was dating Miyu, the famous beauty from the economics department.
And the most convincing part was this: when either of them was asked about it, neither ever denied it.
That silence alone was enough to confirm everything in people's minds.
"It has to be you!" Miyu complained indignantly. "Ever since the rumor about us dating spread across the school, not a single person has dared to confess to me for three whole months!"
That afternoon, Rei and Miyu happened to run into each other in the cafeteria. They ate lunch together, then walked side by side along a quiet campus path.
All around them, students whispered, covered their mouths, and pointed with barely concealed excitement.
Miyu even deliberately adjusted her angle, as if afraid they wouldn't get a clear photo.
"It's the same for me," Rei said with a smile. "A lot of girls who used to randomly add me on chat apps or sit near me during public classes have completely disappeared. They probably realized they couldn't compete with you."
"Forget about them," Rei waved it off. "By the way, I still haven't officially congratulated you."
She looked at him with a grin.
"I heard from Editor Misaki. Your manga finally got approved for animation. Hoshimori Group invested over fifty million, right? And it's scheduled to air in January next year?"
Miyu's eyes lit up.
"If I remember correctly, your Arcane is also scheduled for January next year, isn't it?"
"What's wrong?" Rei asked, amused. "Do you think the Touch of Glass anime has any chance of competing with Arcane?"
"Why not?" she said stubbornly. "The entire Japanese animation industry keeps saying you're invincible. That every work you release becomes a hit and never flops."
She snorted.
"But I, Miyu, refuse to believe that. People say things decline after three peaks. Your Hikaru no Go, One-Punch Man, and Hunter × Hunter just keep getting bigger and bigger. By the time Arcane comes out, maybe it's finally time for you to fall, and become a stepping stone for others!"
Rei laughed.
"Let Touch of Glass break into the magazine's top ten first before you talk like that."
"That's just waiting for the anime to bring traffic to the manga. Hunter × Hunter hasn't even been animated yet and it's already number one. Don't make excuses."
She suddenly stopped and looked at him.
"Rei, can't you say something nice for once? My work just got an anime adaptation. Can't you just praise me a little?"
Rei paused.
Then his expression turned serious.
"Honestly… I really hope your work can surpass Arcane after it airs."
Miyu froze slightly.
"That would mean I get to witness another masterpiece," Rei continued calmly. "It's just that…"
He sighed softly.
"The possibility is very low."
He didn't say "zero."
Because in his previous life, there had been Demon Slayer.
That manga hadn't been particularly popular before its anime. Even after the anime started, its rise was slow, until the production quality completely transformed it.
The anime studio elevated everything: emotions, pacing, atmosphere, even fight choreography.
The legendary Mugen Train movie, which topped Japan's box office, had entire battle sequences conceptualized and expanded by the animation team.
Many of its most moving moments simply didn't exist in the original manga.
So Rei never denied the possibility.
If Touch of Glass encountered the right production team, it really could explode.
"Is Arcane really that good?" Miyu asked, curious now. "You sound incredibly confident."
"Yes," Rei replied. "Very good. Taking everything into account, story, animation quality, production conditions, it should be the best work since my debut."
He smiled faintly.
"You can look forward to it. But don't use Arcane as your benchmark."
"For Touch of Glass, aim for something realistic."
"Try to become the second-highest-rated animated work of the season next January."
Miyu narrowed her eyes, then laughed.
"I've noted your words."
"If Arcane flops after it airs," she said cheerfully, "don't blame me for coming back to mock you."
Rei laughed as well.
"I'll be waiting."