Chapter 43

A new week.

Japan.

On Monday, the latest issue of *Shonen JUMP* was released, prominently featuring *Naruto* and quickly drawing the attention of a large number of Japanese manga fans.

Kodansha learned of this news immediately and was delighted.

Is *Shonen JUMP* crazy?

*Naruto* is an entry that violated the rules!

The author, Mai, is suspected of plagiarism!

We disqualified him from the competition, and you actually plan to publish it?

Fine, since you're delivering yourselves to us, don't blame us for being ruthless!

Kodansha then took the lead in attacking its old rival, Shueisha.

Using Mai's alleged identity theft and *Naruto*'s suspected plagiarism as the starting point, they manipulated the media to quickly bring up heavy topics such as corporate credibility and responsibility. Taking advantage of the public debate, they escalated the criticism, accusing Shueisha of poor oversight, disgracing the country, and being a national sinner.

Strike while the iron is hot!

We must seize this opportunity to solidify *Shonen Magazine*'s position as the top-selling manga magazine in Japan!

Kodansha was very confident about this.

However, Shueisha wasn't foolish. They signed *Naruto* with a high advance and spent a lot of money to buy the recording, aiming to deal a heavy blow to Kodansha and reclaim *Shonen JUMP*'s former top spot!

After holding back for two days, waiting for the public opinion to peak and attract nationwide attention, Shueisha unleashed their big move.

They held a press conference, live-streamed, and the battle between the two manga giants officially began.

Shueisha successively released two recordings. One was a specially edited recording of a high-ranking Kodansha executive overseas, which was genuine; the other was a recording Mai Xiaoyu had made a few days ago, responding in Japanese to the accusations, which was fake... but so what?

It was still a king bomb!

Once the king bomb was out, who could stand against it!

The two recordings, with Shueisha's strong manipulation, quickly turned the tide of public opinion, and more and more people began to criticize Kodansha.

Following this, Shogakukan, another major manga giant with close ties to Shueisha, couldn't stay out of the fray and came out to support Shueisha. The battle turned into a game of "fighting the landlord," with both sides teaming up to inflict heavy damage on Kodansha, which was then widely questioned by the Japanese public.

After the sales rankings of the three major manga magazines were released, Shueisha reclaimed the top spot, while Kodansha, which had only held the top spot for two years, fell to third place, below Shogakukan.

Strike while the iron is hot!

Shueisha and Shogakukan thought the same, and the "fighting the landlord" game was in full swing...

The three major manga giants in Japan were so engrossed in their battle that the "heat wave" quickly spread to China.

Although the Qintian Group had warned the Chinese mainstream media early on, keeping them silent, it was harder to control public opinion than to control a river.

With the increasing development of the internet, a complete blockade was clearly impossible.

Chinese students in Japan were the first to feed the news back to China. Then, some Chinese netizens used various methods, such as proxies, circumventing the firewall, and international search engines, to access Japanese websites, translate the details and latest developments of the incident into Chinese, and share them with more Chinese netizens.

Mai, the first Chinese manga artist to successfully enter the Japanese manga market, and a potential pillar of Chinese manga, was being jointly suppressed by both Chinese and Japanese sides.

Aimang Culture distorted the facts, manipulated public opinion, and launched a fierce attack on Mai and the newly published *Hana Yori Dango*, calling on the uninformed public to join in the boycott.

Now that the truth was revealed, the public, feeling like they had been played for fools, was furious.

"Traitors!"

The official website of *Manga Love* was hacked first, followed by the official website of Aimang Culture, with the two red words "Traitors" prominently displayed.

Helping the Japanese suppress fellow countrymen, what else could they be but traitors?

The comic publishers who had cheered for Aimang Culture a few days ago also couldn't escape the flood of criticism.

What?

You say you were wronged?

You were also deceived?

Who believes that!

Hackers invaded, exposed the official websites, and boycotted the comic magazines... Faced with declining sales, the comic publishers were in a difficult situation.

Was that it?

No!

What about the Chinese manga authors who called on their fans to criticize Mai and boycott *Hana Yori Dango*?

"Apologize!"

A small account named "You All Owe Mai an Apology" frequently appeared on the Weibo of many well-known Chinese manga authors, leaving only two words in the comments—Apologize!

Apologize for what?

The hardcore fans of Chinese manga authors stepped in to protect their idols, leading other fans to mercilessly bully, beat, and defame "You All Owe Mai an Apology."

Soon, these screenshots appeared on multiple forums and Weibo accounts supporting Mai, causing widespread outrage.

Is the demand for "You All Owe Mai an Apology" unreasonable?

Didn't you defame Mai before? Shouldn't you apologize?

Is it so hard to say sorry?

Why did you suffer such a beating?

What to do?

Expose!

Expose!

Expose!

"You All Owe Mai an Apology" sounded the charge online.

A large number of internet trolls flooded in, and the fans of many well-known Chinese manga authors hastily engaged in battle, but were quickly defeated.

Wherever "You All Owe Mai an Apology" pointed, the trolls followed, and the Weibo accounts of multiple Chinese manga authors were exposed one after another.

These Chinese manga authors couldn't sit still and began to appear, posting on Weibo to criticize Mai's fans for being rude, low-quality, and internet thugs.

We are rude?

We are low-quality?

We are internet thugs?

Why don't you say that about your own despicable actions!

...

Actually, I'm just a bystander.

But from today, I'm a Mai fan!

I'm a thug, so what!

...

Unconditionally support Mai!

Unconditionally support *Hana Yori Dango*!

If you don't apologize, we'll keep fighting!

...

The more they were criticized, the clearer the truth became.

After understanding the truth, more and more internet trolls turned into fans, while the Chinese manga authors began to lose followers, and the more they lost, the faster and more they lost.

Why can't you just focus on drawing your comics?

Mai breaking into the Japanese market and bringing glory to Chinese manga, and you don't support him but instead smear him?

Being wrong and still being stubborn, is it so hard to apologize?

Pah!

This character... I was blind before!

Fans turning into neutrals, fans turning into haters, the Chinese manga authors were in a difficult situation.

Karma came so quickly. A few days ago, they were standing up for the large comic publishers, righteously condemning Mai and *Hana Yori Dango*. Now, the situation had completely reversed...

Some manga authors were panicking.

"Editor Zhang, what should we do now? I don't even dare to turn on my phone."

"Is that a problem? The magazine's website can't even be opened."

"Should I issue an apology statement? I'm losing too many fans."

"Absolutely not! Your every word and action represents the magazine, think carefully!"

The magazine didn't allow a public apology, but could they privately apologize to Mai?

With the intention of settling privately, they searched online, but Mai had never appeared on the internet. How could they contact him?

Was Mai Xiaoyu really not showing up?

At night, Yunshu Internet Cafe.

VIP single room.

Mai Xiaoyu, holding a cigarette, silently logged out of all the accounts of "You All Owe Mai an Apology," closed the page, paid, and logged off.

The fire is already raging, no need for me to fan it anymore.

I hope they can remember this lesson.

Messing with me will come at a heavy cost.

Smiling lightly, Mai Xiaoyu walked out of the room and bumped into a girl.

"Hey, you're walking... Uncle? I finally caught you!"