....
[Japan]
Mid-October 2016.
The newly established Everleaf-Shueisha office, a joint development office in Tokyo, was running in full swing.
In the main room, Masashi Kishimoto sat with the fresh, unfinished B4 manuscript page.
He is thirty-two years old, and a confident veteran mangaka.
Yet, the weekly grind of a flagship Shonen Jump serialization never truly got lighter.
It merely became a more familiar kind of weight.
On the desk before him lay the draft for Chapter 148.
It was mid-October, exactly three years and one month since Naruto had officially begun its serialized run in September 2013.
The progression of the manga had been going according to their earlier framework.
And currently, ’The Gaara Rescue’ arc had concluded cleanly at Chapter 140, and now, they were in the absolute thick of the ’Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance’ arc.
In Chapter 148, Kishimoto’s G-pen was tracing the terrifying geometry of the Nine-Tails’ four-tailed transformation.
The exact moment Naruto’s skin began to tear under the corrosive pressure of his own sealed demon.
He still remembers what Regal has told him three years ago–
-A director makes his film twice.
Once on the storyboard, and once in the editing suite.
A mangaka does it every week on the drawing board-
Kishimoto looked up as the heavy oak doors of the conference room opened.
Zephyr Oulworth stepped through first.
The founder of Everleaf Press carried himself with an older publisher’s dignity. Though his health had forced him to cede the day to day operations through years, he remained steady.
Beside him walked Kun Gao, the CEO of Crunchyroll.
Behind them came Keiko, a senior bilingual editor from Shueisha’s international division, who bowed respectfully and slid into the translator’s seat near the corner of the low mahogany table.
"Kishimoto-sensei." Zephyr began, offering a polite, formal bow that the mangaka returned instantly. "It is a privilege to meet you here in your homeland. Gwendolyn sends her warmest regards from Beverly Hills. She is currently overseeing the final print allocations for the sixth volume, but she insisted that I personally deliver her congratulations on reaching your third year."
Keiko translated the English, preserving the warm, respectful tone of the elder publisher.
"Thank you, Oulworth-san." Kishimoto replied in Japanese, gesturing toward the empty leather chairs. "Its all because of your amazing publishing abilities."
Zephyr said, taking his seat and adjusting his glasses. "Our resources confirmed this morning that the domestic and international tankōbon sales have officially contributed to the franchise’s multi billion dollar valuation. But–
"Today, we are here to discuss further adoptions."
Kun Gao opened his ledger, spreading several highly detailed visual sheets across the table.
On the top sheet, printed in bold, silver Katakana, was the tentative production slate for the Naruto anime adaptation.
"Let’s talk about the state of the medium from our side, Kishimoto-sensei." Kun Gao chimed in.
He had spent the last two years transforming Crunchyroll from a capital-constrained niche service into the dominant global gateway for animation.
"Since Regal’s acquisition of Crunchyroll, we have spent the past eighteen months rebuilding our entire technical and creative infrastructure from the ground up."
Kun continued, leaning forward. "Our recent launch of the Solo Leveling anime has completely validated our distribution model. By coordinating our core production facility in Tokyo with our technical teams in Seoul and CG units in Vancouver, we managed to deliver a fourteen-episode action spectacle that has maintained a consistent 8.2 rating on international forums and driven a three hundred and ten percent spike in our platform’s paid subscription conversion rates."
He refreshed his tablet screen, displaying real-time demographic charts.
"At Netflix, the [Death Note] anime series is currently undergoing its final post production checks." Kun noted. "Twenty two of its twenty four episodes are already locked, and the response to the teaser releases has proven that global audiences are hungry for serialized animation that treats them with genuine maturity, but [Death Note] and [Solo Leveling] are only the beginning, with plans to build a long standing anime slate..."
"Which... Naruto is fully capable of."
Kun Gao tapped the timeline sheet, pointing to the Chapter-to-episode conversion ratios.
"To animate Naruto properly, we cannot follow the old television broadcast model." Kun explained. "The traditional Japanese system relies on a rotating network of sponsor-driven production committees that constantly demand cheap, rushed weekly content to fill time slots. That is how you end up with hundreds of episodes of low-quality ’filler’ that dilutes the characters and alienates the audience. This will bypass the committees entirely. LIE Studios and Crunchyroll are fully funding this project with a dedicated sixty million dollar initial production pool."
Kishimoto’s eyes widened slightly.
Sixty million dollars was an astronomical sum for an initial anime order; more than triple the industry standard for a long-running shonen series.
"A sixty million dollar pool..." Kishimoto murmured, looking at the technical specifications. "And the pacing? How do we handle the weekly gap between my manuscript pages and the broadcast schedule?"
"We are structuring the series in seasonal arcs." Kun Gao answered, his pen tracing the division lines on the document. "Without any fillers, season one will span exactly twenty six episodes, adapting your first thirty Chapters... from the academy graduation through the climax of the Land of Waves.
"By maintaining a strict ratio of approximately 1.5 Chapters per episode, we give the narrative room to breathe, and can dedicate entire sequences to setting up the emotional tone of Naruto, and also give time for the action to sink in."
"The Land of Waves needs more time..." Kishimoto agreed, his tone turning intensely serious. "When I drew those Chapters, I wanted the readers to understand that being a ninja isn’t a clean power fantasy, and it’s a system that breaks human beings. If the anime turns Zabuza and Haku into standard, colorful cartoon villains, the soul of the story dies."
"That is exactly why we are pairing your team with UniqueVFX for the physical choreography." Kun Gao said, flipping to the design boards. "And to keep the same sound design rule Regal established for our Western slates: no shared audio assets.
"Naruto will have its own distinct, musical identity. Utilizing traditional Japanese instruments, the shakuhachi flute and shamisen, but processing them with modern sub bass to make the battle sequences to land perfectly."
Zephyr Oulworth took a slow sip of his green tea, his eyes crinkling behind his glasses as he watched the two younger creators coordinate.
"I remember when Gwendolyn passed the manuscript for Philosopher’s Stone before she made an agreement, and when I shared it to a few of my experienced friends." Zephyr said going back in memories–
"Everyone of them told us children’s books had no global future. They said the prose was too dense, the themes of loss and destiny too heavy for young minds. But Regal insisted on keeping the originality of the novel intact. He refused to simplify the world. And now, we are looking at four hundred million copies sold"
He looked directly at Kishimoto.
"The same skepticism is repeating here, Sensei." Zephyr continued. "The Western media is already writing articles claiming a Japanese ninja story is too culturally specific to achieve mainstream success in Europe or the Americas. They want us to westernize the names, to change the food, to make the power system look like a standard superhero comic..
"But we absolutely can’t do that, so we will release the anime worldwide with its original Japanese terminology intact, keeping words like Chakra, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Hokage and letting the audience learn the language of the Leaf just as they learned the language of Hogwarts."
Kishimoto felt a sudden, profound tightening in his chest.
For three years, he had lived with the constant anxiety of a creator whose work was being watched by millions.
Every week, he watched the Jump survey postcards arrive at the office, knowing that a single bad week could mark the beginning of the end.
To hear a multi billion dollar Western publishing house speak of his culture and his characters with such reverence...? It was the highest compliment a storyteller could ever receive.
"I will not let the standard slip, Oulworth-san." Kishimoto said, his voice steadying. "I am currently sketching Chapter 148, the Tenchi Bridge confrontation. If the anime schedule remains seasonal, I can ensure my future drafts have sufficient lead time to provide the production team with detailed visual references, so they never have to guess at our artistic direction."
"That is the perfect alignment." Kun Gao smiled, closing his ledger with a decisive, satisfied tap. "By the time we announce the production at Comic-Con 2017, the manga will be nearing Chapter 180, and the first season will be fully locked."
As the meeting drew to a close, Zephyr Oulworth stood up, reaching across the low table to offer his hand to the young mangaka.
"You’re building a legacy that will outlive us all, Masashi-kun," Zephyr said warmly. "Keep your pen sharp, and leave the rest to us."
"Thank you!... Thank you!" Kishimoto replied with a respectful bow.
.
....
[To be continued...]
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