[139] Early Morning

"Hello, this is GAINAX. Huh? A JUMP editor?" GAINAX's president, Takeshi Okada, who was wandering around, was slightly taken aback, not knowing why a JUMP editor was contacting him.

"It's like this," Iwamoto Yu said on the other end of the phone, "I heard that your company is in need of funds. Are you interested in discussing a possible acquisition?"

"Acquisition?" Takeshi Okada's eyes lit up. It wasn't the first time someone had approached him about an acquisition, and he was open to the idea. However, if they were talking about an acquisition, wouldn't they have to settle the company's outstanding debts, such as the billions owed to Bandai?

If JUMP, or rather, Shueisha, were to acquire them, he thought they probably wouldn't mind such a "small amount" of money.

"That's right, someone wants to acquire your company, and I wanted to give you a heads up," Iwamoto Yu said with a slight smirk.

Before today, he had no idea that the mangaka was so wealthy! No, it wasn't just wealth; he had heard that the mangaka had bought a significant amount of land and built a JOJO-themed amusement park, which already indicated his wealth. But after seeing the actual numbers, he realized just how astonishingly rich the mangaka was.

Based on what the mangaka, Kurokawa Kazuya, had told him over the phone, "Don't worry about the money; go ahead with the acquisition, bring all the talent with you. I can't come right now, so contact them first. We'll have detailed discussions in a week."

Hearing this, Iwamoto Yu was left with no choice but to agree. After all, he was just an editor, and he had no experience with company acquisitions. He felt that he might get swindled by business tycoons if he handled it himself. Originally, they might have been able to acquire the company for a few hundred million, but now, spending several billion seemed plausible. However, it seemed like Kurokawa Kazuya, the mangaka, didn't care about the money at all.

"Really?" Takeshi Okada was momentarily stunned, feeling that the editor on the other end of the line had crossed a line.

However, if that was the case, he decided to sweeten the deal a bit. "If it's an acquisition you're talking about, how about we agree on 20 billion?"

"Okay, that works. Let's tentatively set the price at that." Iwamoto Yu nodded, feeling somewhat strange about it. Twenty billion? Was it really that cheap? Wait a minute, had his sense of money gone awry?

Takeshi Okada, who had originally planned to negotiate, was now silent. He swallowed hard. "Okay, let's discuss the specifics in person."

…

Inspiration was unstoppable...

Kazuya couldn't stop sketching one page after another. His hands couldn't rest.

His window faced Ryuudou Temple directly. Coupled with his enhanced eyesight, he could immediately spot any movement there and rush over.

At this point, in this Holy Grail War, the most useful information for him came from the battles with Archer and Berserker.

"Hmm... a phone call. From the editorial department?" Kazuya picked up the phone. The battle was about to end, and he had also relaxed a bit. The Holy Grail War had been a huge success for him. Especially the close observation of the Reality Marbles and the release of Vasavi Shakti's true form were invaluable experiences.

But the release of Vasavi Shakti was a bit of a letdown. He hadn't seen the full extent, only the aftermath. However, even that aftermath was incredibly powerful, and he had learned how to depict what it felt like to be on the receiving end of such a high-powered Noble Phantasm.

Then there was the explosion that annihilated Ryuudou Temple. He had learned how to depict that as well.

If that one blow had not been blocked by Iskandar's Reality Marble and Altera's Noble Phantasm, it might have blown up the entire Fuyuki City. The explosion would have been spectacular. No, wait, he shouldn't think like that. Such thoughts were dangerous... but he really wanted to see it!

In any case, he felt that he had gained a lot of knowledge from this Holy Grail War. He could now draw many stunning storyboards for his manga.

"I understand. One week should be enough. We'll meet in Tokyo for further discussions then," Kazuya said and hung up the phone. "Twenty billion... quite cheap."

...

"Sounds good. But now it seems the main issue is Berserker."

At the Tohsaka residence, Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the data on the Greater Grail left behind by Tohsaka Tokiomi and thought about it in silence.

Dismantling the Greater Grail completely would be challenging with Berserker at Ryuudou Temple. Even without the Twelve Labours, Berserker was still a top-tier Heroic Spirit. Now, they would have to kill him twelve times to ensure his permanent death.

So far, he had died about eight times, but dealing with the remaining four would be difficult.

However, Berserker was not invincible. His eight deaths had already proven that. Moreover, he would have to protect the Greater Grail.

In other words, there was no need to specifically target Berserker; the goal was to attack the Greater Grail. Berserker would be forced to defend it, and they had a good chance of victory.

"Archer, how's your recovery?"

"I'm fully ready for another battle."

"Good," Emiya Kiritsugu nodded. "Tonight... is the final battle. Don't use your Reality Marble, and try to destroy the Greater Grail."

"Understood."

With that said, Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the sky. "Rider and Caster may pose some challenges tonight, but it's finally coming to an end... Iris, Illya, wait for me."

On this day, everyone felt it—the calm was slowly dissipating.

The Servants, who had been severely damaged in previous battles, were now completely healed. The final battle was approaching.

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea