The sisters, Misaki and Miyu, looked as though they had been struck by a blunt object, their eyes widening as they stared at Rei.
"The last… arc?" Misaki's voice sounded dazed.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said," Rei replied, coughing lightly.
"When I first started this manga, my planned outline only went as far as the Ant Arc. As for what comes after that, I honestly haven't had any solid ideas over these nearly two years of serialization. So I plan to suspend Hunter after the Ant Arc."
"Isn't that just a botched ending?" Miyu Yukishiro cut in.
"How could it be a botched ending?" Rei smiled. "For something to be botched, it has to be bad. I can guarantee that once the Ant Arc is fully serialized, no one will criticize it for poor quality. At worst, they'll just complain that I ended another manga with an open ending."
In the original manga, after the Ant Arc, the protagonist Gon was saved by Killua but lost his Nen abilities. He returned to Whale Island and reunited with his aunt, Mito.
One could say he began as an ordinary boy, and returned to being ordinary.
He left Whale Island, only to come back to it.
That alone was enough to serve as a conclusion.
Moreover, in the original work's subsequent Dark Continent Arc, Gon never appeared again after losing his Nen. The focus shifted to Kurapika, the Phantom Troupe, and Hisoka. With even the protagonist replaced, continuing the serialization felt even less appropriate.
Besides, this was only a suspension. If Rei ever managed to fully reconstruct the Dark Continent Arc from his past life, restarting the manga wouldn't be impossible.
"No. No, no… that's impossible." Misaki paused, her tone turning grave.
"Hunter is currently the pillar of the magazine. Thanks to it, Dream Comic's circulation has exceeded twenty-three million copies, less than three million away from becoming the number-one periodical in Japan. When you were busy producing your own animation, doing cross-brand promotions, or even getting involved with games, the higher-ups tolerated it because they understood you were only a collaborator. As long as the partnership continued, they were willing to accept your distractions."
"But if you actually end Hunter…" Misaki continued, "it will cause tremors in Hoshimori Group's stock price. The executives will never accept that."
"Even if you call it a hiatus, the magazine's sales will still drop."
"Then tell me this," Rei said calmly, without arguing.
"As the author of Hunter, when am I allowed to finish it?"
The sisters fell silent.
They couldn't answer, but they understood.
In the entire history of the Japanese manga industry, there had never been a truly top-tier manga that ended perfectly on its own terms.
Almost all of them shared the same fate: the author burned out, but the magazine forced the series to continue. It dragged on until readers grew tired, began to curse it, and only after every last ounce of value was extracted did it finally end, hollow and despised.
"So now you see," Rei laughed. "What are the group's conditions for allowing a series to end? As long as Hunter hasn't completely collapsed and its popularity hasn't fallen off a cliff, they will never agree to let it finish."
"Between the group and me," he continued, "someone is guaranteed to be unhappy."
"So I'll choose my own satisfaction."
"Rather than being cursed by tens of millions of manga readers across Japan after Hunter is dragged into a miserable ending, I'd much rather be cursed by a few dozen executives."
When it came to his relationship with Hoshimori Group, Rei was very clear about one thing.
The Yukishiro sisters were his friends, people with whom he could share personal thoughts.
But Hoshimori Group was strictly business.
Misaki and Miyu froze.
It felt wrong… yet the more they thought about it, the more sense it made.
After all, what did the magazine's circulation have to do with Rei?
The sales that rose because of Hunter would naturally fall once Hunter ended.
But that wasn't Rei's responsibility.
The Hoshimori Group hadn't given Rei a single share. Their relationship was one of mutual success, not mutual bondage.
"But this will definitely cause a conflict between you and the higher-ups," Miyu couldn't help saying.
"People argue, it's normal. Conflict is normal too," Rei replied calmly. "But I believe the group will figure it out. To them, the most valuable thing isn't Hunter as a manga, it's me as a creator. Once everyone's finished shouting, it'll just come down to negotiations. Cooperation will continue where it makes sense."
Miyu looked at Rei, a flicker of complexity, and envy, passing through her eyes.
Damn it. She wanted to be like Rei too, a manga artist free to tell whatever story he wished.
But she couldn't.
Neither could ninety-nine percent of manga artists in the industry.
If she tried something like this, she wouldn't get negotiations, she'd be blacklisted outright. In Japan's manga world, if a low-status creator doesn't behave, they're simply erased.
At that moment, Misaki finally understood why Rei had personally delivered the manuscript today.
He had been mentally prepared all along.
"And what if the executives don't figure it out?" Miyu asked.
She wasn't trying to dissuade him, she was preparing for the worst, worried that Rei might be thinking too ideally.
Silence filled the room for two seconds.
"We'll deal with that if it happens," Misaki said, exhaling slowly.
"I'll take the manuscript for now. I won't report your plan to end Hunter yet. According to what you said, this arc alone will take dozens of weeks to serialize. Maybe during that time, you'll come up with inspiration for another arc."
"That works," Rei nodded.
Inspiration for a new arc might not come, but memories of a new manga might resurface. Either way, there was no need to rush.
"Well then, that wraps up this year's work," Misaki said gently. "There are four days left until the Spring Festival. If you don't mind, Rei, you're welcome to spend it at my place again this year."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Rei laughed.
"I like lively places. I'll gladly come and bother you two."
After leaving Misaki's home, Rei let out a long breath.
Thankfully, things hadn't turned into an argument.
Compared to pressure from corporate executives later on, Rei was far more concerned about falling out with Misaki. He had very few friends, and interpersonal conflicts exhausted him.
Despite her strong sense of responsibility as an editor, Misaki had clearly remained rational. She hadn't blindly taken the Hoshimori Group's side or pressed him beyond reason.
After all, Misaki didn't own shares in the group either. She understood, everyone ultimately acts in their own interest.
For Rei, manga wasn't his only source of income. He had original anime projects as well. Dragging Hunter on until its reputation rotted, just to squeeze out another ten or so volumes for a few tens of millions in royalties, would permanently damage the value of the name Shirogane.
That was a trade Rei would never accept.
And with that, he decision to suspend Hunter after the Ant Arc was effectively set in stone.