Ep. 20: Mashiro decides to quit Tanto to compete with Niizuma after a breakdown.

20

During Takagi and Miyoshi's wedding, Mashiro struggles with Tanto's quality and argues with Hattori, who admits the manga is poor but believes they can surpass Niizuma. Niizuma publicly names Ashirogi Muto as his top rival, causing Mashiro to break down and call Azuki to quit Tanto in favor of aiming higher. He discusses this with Takagi, and they resolve to abandon the series. Their chief editor threatens termination if they act this way, but Mashiro insists on beating Niizuma. The editor challenges Takagi to submit competing works to the next three serialization meetings. Takagi agrees, accepting that their contract will be terminated if they fail to produce something capable of rivaling Niizuma's work.