Shoko Maki had worked with L before, so she understood his abilities and firmly believed that L could crack any case.
When she learned that Light Yagami was part of the investigation team and could pass information to L through him, she immediately relaxed.
The revenge for her fiancé Raye was within reach. Her persistence had paid off.
The melancholy on her face lifted, replaced by joy and excitement. She trusted Light Yagami. He was the police chief's son, and beyond that...
'Light Yagami and L are very similar…'
Yoshihiro Togashi chewed on that line of dialogue.
The similarity between Light Yagami and L was that they were both young, equally confident, loathed evil, and were gifted.
'Kanzaki designed L as a neurotic, plain-looking young man. A stark contrast with Light Yagami. Like black and white. He was probably worried about readers mixing them up.'
'Brilliant character design for L.'
If L were handsome and cheerful, there would be no visual or tonal difference between him and Light Yagami. If the two most important characters in a manga looked and felt the same, the manga was half-failed before it even started.
The more Togashi thought about L, the more he appreciated Kanzaki's immense talent as a manga artist.
'This guy is simply... born to do this.'
Looking at Death Note, his favorable impression of Kanzaki kept growing.
...
The sunny, cheerful Light Yagami warmly invited Shoko Maki to join the investigation team. Shoko Maki was moved. She handed over her driver's license.
The real name, Naomi Misora, was imprinted into Light's pupils. He hadn't traded half his lifespan for the Shinigami Eyes. Instead, through sheer scheming, he'd obtained her real name in just five minutes.
His plan had worked.
Light Yagami replaced the characters for "Shoko Maki" on the Death Note with Naomi Misora.
Then he quietly glanced at his watch.
Five seconds left until 1:15.
Naomi Misora asked, confused. "Why are you so focused on the time?"
"Because..." Light closed his eyes, watching the second hand move behind his eyelids. Then he raised his head and said softly, as if introducing himself, "I am Kira."
Naomi Misora's heart lurched. Her expression spiraled out of control. She stared at Light Yagami in horror, too many emotions fighting to surface at once.
Disbelief. Regret. Despair.
But as the second hand reached its mark, her face froze. In an instant, the life drained from her eyes. Shadows fell across her features, and Naomi Misora, like a puppet jerked by invisible strings, lost every trace of the person she'd been.
Everything went numb.
The departure of a living, breathing human being had never been portrayed this viscerally in the manga before.
Togashi felt it too. His chest ached.
Naomi Misora turned around and began walking away.
Only her slender back remained on the page.
"What's wrong?" Light asked.
"There is something I must do," Naomi Misora replied.
Light took out his phone, showing a blank screen, and smirked. "I already spoke to my father. Didn't you have something you wanted to tell him?"
"I have nothing to say." Naomi Misora walked away, stumbling.
As written in the Death Note, she had to find a place where no one would find her and end her life within forty-eight hours.
Light watched her go in silence. The woman who had nearly cornered him was now walking toward her own gallows.
Snowflakes. Naomi Misora's frail, powerless back. A single illuminated noose in the darkness. These images revealed her end, and this was the final panel of the chapter.
"Farewell."
"Miss Naomi Misora."
...
Togashi gasped.
At this moment, he wasn't a cold, analytical author. He was an ordinary reader, completely consumed by the story. The contrast between Light Yagami's ruthlessness and Naomi Misora's tragic fate made him want to scream.
'Why doesn't Light Yagami just die?'
Even under the bright sun, he felt as if he were standing alone in a snowy night. Freezing cold. Goosebumps crawling up his skin.
Togashi shot to his feet, and the sudden motion sent a bolt of pain through his chronic, hard-to-treat back.
"Ow! Ow ow ow!" Clutching his lower back, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Damn you, Kanzaki!"
The double torment of mental anguish and physical pain left him unable to think about anything else.
All he felt was a burning hatred for Kanzaki's smug face.
The young talent he'd been praising just minutes ago, the gratifying junior he'd been rooting for, had become the most loathsome person alive.
"Kanzaki-sensei's autograph session is in the plaza up ahead, right?"
"Yeah! Let's hurry!"
Readers were shouting excitedly all around him.
Togashi gritted his teeth, grabbed his waist, and followed the crowd.
The line was packed. He couldn't even see how many people were ahead of him.
They waited for hours like they were lining up to see a giant panda, just for a moment with Kanzaki.
Nobody was discouraged. They maintained the patience of true fans.
Standing in the crowd, Togashi's anger only grew stronger.
...
Kai had been working under the sun for several hours, and his well-trained right hand was so exhausted he could barely hold the pen.
He raised his head and looked into the distance. The line still stretched out of sight.
The event had prepared five thousand copies for the signing, and Kai had assumed that would be more than enough. Now he was worried that some readers wouldn't be able to get their hands on a copy.
The enthusiasm was staggering. It left Kai stunned.
Even someone as grounded as him could feel, for the first time, what the life of a successful author was like.
"Kanzaki-sensei, I really love your manga! Light Yagami is so handsome!"
A girl handed him the volume. Kai signed "Ryuji Kanzaki" on it and returned it to her with both hands.
These people were all his livelihood. He didn't have time for long conversations with each of them, but he could at least maintain proper manners.
The girl hugged the manga to her chest and skipped off to the side.
Immediately after, the boy behind her stepped up, face flushed red as he handed his copy over with the look of a fan meeting his idol.
Kai signed quickly and thanked him for the support.
He'd become numb to the mechanical rhythm of it.
His mind drifted to Shin Arata. After becoming famous, he only ever signed with his pen name, "Ryuji Kanzaki."
The only autograph that bore his real name, "Kai Fujin," was the one he'd given to Arata back at Ryuka Cuisine.
'You'd better keep that thing safe. My one-of-a-kind autograph as a great author.'
The thought amused him, and a smile crept across his face.
...
Rika, who was visiting Tokyo for summer vacation, stood off to the side in silence, watching her brother work.
She felt proud. But also a little heartbroken.
Her brother was pushing himself too hard.
Normally, apart from eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom, all the time went to drawing manga. Now, with events on top of that, the exhaustion was even worse.
Other authors who'd had signings in the same plaza had arrived after Kai and finished before him.
Their celebration parties had probably already started.
But her brother was still here, still signing.
It was truly... a happy problem.
______________________
Bonus chapter at 666 Power stones
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