(W) Sui Ishida (A) Taiyo Matsumoto Tokio is back from his training just in time to help Ely and Azuma deal with some troublesome choujin. But tearful reunions will have to wait as Yamato Mori dedicates all its resources to preparing for an all-out war against Zora and her forces. As Tokio and his friends get caught up in strategy sessions and reconnaissance missions, they are viscerally reminded that there's one experience all choujin have in common-pain.

(W/A) Taiyo Matsumoto Shiozawa forges ahead with an independently published manga project. But the manga creators around him are crumbling into chaos-Chosaku drinks himself into ever less productivity over worries about his career and family, a longtime creator can't discern the difference between fiction and fantasy, and Aoki disappears rather than face the deadlines for his new hit series. Sometimes, the simple pleasure of an apple is worth more than all the fame and toil of making manga.

(W/A) Taiyo Matsumoto Believing in the future of manga while never forgetting its past, Shiozawa accompanies manga creators once again through their agony to create an ultimate manga project. Is there ever joy in creation?