I apologize for the incorrect date in chapter 132; it has now been corrected.
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After returning from 『JumpFesta』, on the night the event concluded, someone posted the content of his conversation with Oda Eiichiro on an online forum.
As expected, the confirmation regarding Kiritsugu's identity received enthusiastic attention from fans.
"It really is the same person!"
"If that's the case, isn't Papa Kiritsugu's past too tragic?"
"Mochizuki-sensei is heartless!"
"So, how exactly did Kiritsugu end up like that in Fsn?"
"Who knows."
"We'll just have to wait for Mochizuki-sensei's future updates."
By the way, I didn't expect Oda-sensei to do a collaboration with Mochizuki-sensei.
"Seeing it live was such a huge surprise!"
"I envy those who went to the venue."
And they didn't look like they were just being polite; they were genuinely interested in each other's work.
"As a fan of both, I'm happier than I would be for New Year's!"
"Indeed."
"Many of the questions Mochizuki-sensei raised were things I hadn't even noticed before."
"Come to think of it, the plot setting of One Piece is really different from other Shonen manga."
"By the way, Oda-sensei actually said Mochizuki-sensei is a super handsome guy. Is that for real?"
"I suspect they were just blowing smoke at each other."
"If he's that handsome, wouldn't it be better to be a celebrity? Why bother being a Manga Artist?"
"Makes sense."
"Not necessarily."
"Oda-sensei is the type who values facts and doesn't like empty flattery. What he said is likely true."
"I heard through the grapevine that staff members at the venue saw Mochizuki-sensei, and he really is a handsome guy."
"No way—now I'm feeling a bit salty."
"This society is still too hostile toward handsome Manga Artists."
Akira sighed.
However, aside from a few haters questioning his looks, the overall discussion atmosphere online was quite enthusiastic and harmonious.
As the first grand event for Shonen Jump, not only was the online discussion very lively, but many news media outlets also reported on the event.
The various pieces of information revealed at the event were also reported on continuously.
Not only those who personally attended the event, but even those who couldn't make it were obtaining information through various channels and participating in the related discussions.
For readers of Shonen Jump, this must have been the best New Year's gift of the year.
Overall, the first 『JumpFesta』 was quite successful, and barring any surprises, it will become a permanent, annual grand event for Shonen Jump.
Beyond 『JumpFesta』, the atmosphere of the New Year and holidays was becoming increasingly thick.
Now that it was late December, there was only one final issue of Weekly Shonen Jump left to be published this year.
Furthermore, after the next issue of the magazine is released, Shonen Jump will have two consecutive combined issues, and the next newest issue after that won't be released until January 11th of next year.
In short, time arrived at December 21st, and the final issue of Weekly Shonen Jump for this year, issue No. 2, was released on schedule.
Chapter 23 of Fate/stay night was officially released.
The story picks up immediately from the previous chapter.
Shirou was placed under a spell while asleep, walked like a sleepwalker to Ryuudou Temple, and was captured by Caster.
Meanwhile, Saber woke up from her dream with a start.
Upon discovering that Shirou had been taken away, she immediately donned her magical dress, tracked the magical traces, and climbed the stairs to the front gate of Ryuudou Temple, only to be stopped by a mysterious man.
"Are you... a samurai?"
Saber recognized that the opponent was also a Servant, but to her surprise, the opponent spoke with a smile and stated his true name quite readily—
"Servant, Assassin, Sasaki Kojirou."
"What—?!"
Having been granted knowledge by the Holy Grail, Saber was not unfamiliar with the existence of such opponents.
What stunned her was that he had revealed his true name so openly.
If it were a monster like Heracles, it might be one thing, but neither as the Assassin class nor as the existence of Sasaki Kojirou could he be considered top-tier.
Logically, he should be like her, carefully hiding his true name.
That was why his act of self-revealing his true name made Saber feel stunned.
However... "I have no intention of dealing with you. Step aside, Assassin."
Judging by the magical traces, it was certain that the Servant who took Shirou was Caster, so Saber, anxious to rescue Shirou, did not want a battle to break out here.
But Sasaki Kojirou didn't listen; instead, he proactively raised his sword to indicate his stance.
"—Is that so? You want to pass through this gate, Saber."
"Then come and try to break through. If you don't hurry, your Master is going to lose his life, you know?"
"Assassin—!"
Hearing Sasaki Kojirou's indifferent laughter and realizing this battle was unavoidable, Saber let out a shout in the next instant and charged at him with her sword raised.
However, after a few rounds of intense offense and defense, Saber discovered that Sasaki Kojirou was unexpectedly tricky.
Coupled with the fact that she was distracted by anxiety, it became increasingly difficult to break through his defense, which in turn made her even more anxious.
"It is rare to encounter such an excellent opponent, yet you have no heart to fight with me; it is truly a pity."
"Since that is the case, let me force your hand."
Sensing Saber's condition, Sasaki Kojirou suddenly became serious, took up his stance again, and prepared to unleash his Noble Phantasm.
At the same time, Saber suddenly sensed a deadly danger.
"Secret Sword: Tsubame Gaeshi!"
End of chapter.
This chapter was mainly a battle episode, depicting the fight between Saber and Assassin.
However, in the original UBW route, this battle between Saber and Assassin was not described in detail; the focus was on the situation inside Ryuudou Temple.
Detailed descriptions of the battle between Saber and Assassin mainly appeared in the Fate route, including the plot where Sasaki Kojirou uses his Noble Phantasm on Saber.
The anime version of UBW also told this battle in more detail and added segments where Sasaki Kojirou uses his Noble Phantasm to attack Saber, but the pacing of the adaptation was particularly strange.
In the original work, the battle between the two only appeared at the beginning and the end of the entire sequence.
At the beginning, after Saber was held up by Assassin, the scene switched to inside Ryuudou Temple, until Shirou was slashed and severely injured by Archer, managed to escape, and was caught by Saber.
However, the anime version of UBW split two segments of their battle and inserted them into the plot inside Ryuudou Temple, which felt very strange to watch.
The first segment: Shirou was saved by Archer at a critical moment, Archer began a battle with Caster and had the upper hand;
meanwhile, Saber was slashed by Assassin's Noble Phantasm and rolled down to the next step in a very disheveled manner.
The second segment: Archer had already successfully defeated Caster and was even considering letting her go;
meanwhile, Assassin began sharing the secret of his Noble Phantasm, and Saber just stood there quietly listening, even following along and analyzing it carefully, without any sign of anxiety.
Watching these segments combined and compared made Saber's actions seem very abstract.
Seriously, there must be a Saber hater in the production team, right?
Although he wasn't a hardcore fan of Saber, he certainly wasn't a hater either, so he respectfully declined this kind of adaptation by the production team.
However, to increase Saber's screen time, it was indeed necessary to include this battle.
So in the end, he chose to describe this battle in detail as well, but concentrated all of it at the very beginning.
This ensured Saber's screen time without making the viewing experience poor, and at the same time, when switching to the plot inside Ryuudou Temple later, he could focus on describing the situation inside.
"Hmm."
Looking at the current plot development, Akira nodded with satisfaction.
If nothing else, at least in this instance, he understood Saber better than Ufotable, right?