I, who tortured the readers, was knocked to the ground by them!

"No, why can't it be the same person?"

Yamazaki sat in front of his computer, looking at the comments criticizing him for going crazy, and continued speaking.

"Look, shouldn't the names Sakurai Itsuki and Sakura Fujinomoki seem to refer to the same person?"

[This is somewhat disrespectful to the cherry blossom leaves.]

You mean, in the same year he debuted, he not only created a wildly popular comic book, but also a wildly popular game?

"Well, there are also part-time creative jobs, right? In the industry, some novelists can also work as anime writers while writing light novels."

Yamazaki said somewhat hesitantly, attempting to provide evidence.

[Can those be compared? Is the gap between a screenwriter and a novelist the same as that between a comic book artist and a game scriptwriter?]

[That's right, besides, Sakurai Itsuki himself drew the original artwork for "5 Centimeters Per Second," and he also wrote the theme song "One More Time, One More Chance."]

[Can a newcomer really achieve this level of performance?]

Yamazaki looked at the rebuttals in the comments and understood them perfectly. Because long ago, he had inexplicably wondered if the three beasts might be the same person.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Because logically speaking, this is an even more impossible thing to do.

In the real world, there are no manga artists like Rohan Kishibe who would always submit their work on time no matter what.

But now, [Tree] says that if anyone questions it, he should be even more stubborn and argue with the people in the live stream.

The more arguments there are, the more comments there will be, the more paid super comments will be, and the more traffic there will be.

Moreover, this kind of topic makes it hard to tell whether you're just spreading rumors or genuinely believe it, so it's reasonable to side with either side in the end.

So Yamazaki took a deep breath and decided to present his most "convincing" evidence.

"Um, you guys know that Sakura Fujiki and Yukiko are childhood friends, right? That proves that Sakura Fujiki must be a young man in his twenties. Besides, people have been saying that Sakurai Itsuki is very handsome, a total campus heartthrob."

"So, what I mean is, a perfect girl like Yukiko would definitely fall for a handsome guy! Someone who could make her pursue him so wholeheartedly must be extraordinary!"

"Being pursued by Yukiko is like having a cheat code!"

Yamazaki recounted evidence in the live stream that was making his heart bleed.

The members of New Dimension Company, who had just finished discussing the project, listened to Yamazaki's roar with extremely subtle expressions.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily drifted towards Sakurai Itsuki and his assistant, Sato Wakaba, who was sitting next to him.

Sakurai Itsuki's original plan was to use some anime bloggers to release some information to test everyone's reaction, stimulate some discussion, and at the same time, give fans some psychological expectations.

The meeting had just ended, and Yamazaki was broadcasting live. Since everyone had nothing else to do, they sat together in the conference room, half working and half relaxing, watching Yamazaki's live stream on the big screen.

It was both a way to relax and to observe the reactions in the live stream.

At first, when the comments section said, "It's impossible for someone to do so much work at the same time and do it so well right after their debut," everyone was still sighing in amazement: Sometimes reality is just that incredible!
Sakurai Itsuki is such a cheat code that he's driving people crazy! Effort and sweat are nothing compared to Sakurai Itsuki.

But Yamazaki suddenly turned a corner and went to Yukiko's place.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became awkward.

The live stream chat was still flooded with comments.

[I get it, the anchor has gone mad. He can't accept the fact that Sakurai Itsuki's relationship with Yukiko has collapsed, nor can he accept the fact that Yukiko is pursuing Sakura Fujie. He's obsessed.]

[Yamazaki-san is fantasizing again, imagining that Sakurai Itsuki and Sakura Fujinojo are the same person. That way, the scriptwriter he's been hyping up won't be exposed, and it'll make it more reasonable for his idol to like someone else.]

[Sigh, whatever, I understand you. Your favorite idol's career has collapsed, and now your favorite scriptwriter's career has collapsed too. You can fool yourself, I guess, and everyone else is just going along with it.]

【Hey, Yamazaki, you still can't let go? You can't win against that.】

Clearly, Yamazaki's evidence failed to convince the public at all; it merely evoked sympathy for the clown.

Yamazaki stared at the screen, his expression gradually turning ferocious, and he transformed back into Agni.

This caused a burst of laughter from the viewers in the live stream.

But in the conference room watching the live stream, no one was laughing.

The meeting room, which had been filled with pleasant conversation just moments before, was now eerily quiet.

Even at the risk of internal injury from holding it in, I have to endure it now.

As everyone knows, Sakurai Itsuki went to see Mizuno Yuki on July 7th, thus standing up Sato Wakaba.

Later, for reasons unknown, Sakurai Itsuki was taken down.

The journey through it is so magnificent, just thinking about it is breathtaking.

Yamazaki then blurted out "Royal Flush" again.

"Thanks for the SuperChat from Yukiko's office. Ah, Yukiko is here! Um, is Sakura Fujiki-sensei here too?"

"Haha, um, could you please not show off your relationship in the live stream today? It's really bothering me, even though I'm not a fan of boyfriends, but..."

A single blank message in the live stream caused the chat to erupt in excitement once again.

Everyone in the meeting room stared wide-eyed.

Originally, Yuna Eguchi was still immersed in the depression of her lack of talent, but upon hearing these two sentences, the melancholy in her eyes vanished instantly, and her eyes were filled with the word "interesting".

Hase Hatsuna had completely given up on acting and simply covered her mouth, watching Sakurai Itsuki smirk mischievously.

Wow, even watching a live stream can result in this kind of chaotic scene!
The others weren't as direct, and they all tried to keep their expressions in check, but their eyes secretly betrayed their desire to watch the drama unfold.

As for Sakurai Itsuki, he remained expressionless and slightly straightened his back, which had been somewhat relaxed earlier.

He acted as if he hadn't heard anything or that nothing had happened, his eyes still fixed on the screen in the conference room, without even turning his head.

Even without turning around, the oppressive aura emanating from those azure eyes behind him made Sakurai Itsuki sit up straight.

The atmosphere in the live stream room was completely opposite to that in the conference room, accompanied by the appearance of Yukiko's own official account.

The popularity of the live stream is skyrocketing, now far exceeding what a normal online talk show blogger should have.

[Yukiko is shattering Yamazaki's fantasy again.] [Yamazaki, how dare you speculate and talk about someone else's husband like that? Yukiko is going to scold you!] [Hahaha, serves you right for talking nonsense, now the person in question has come knocking on your door.]

Yamazaki looked at the comments and immediately regretted it.

I was so stupid, really. I only knew that [Tree] was a good brother, but I forgot that [Tree] himself is not a blogger. What does he know about live streaming?
That damn tree keeps coming up with terrible ideas!
But he never expected that Yukiko herself would reappear in his live stream.

This is really bad. He made a careless statement that Sakura Fujino and Sakurai Itsuki are the same person. Isn't that the same as him spreading rumors that Yukiko actually likes Sakurai Itsuki?

Isn't this just as excessive as the rumors spread in our old class about who liked whom?

Yamazaki was hoping to attend Yukiko's event sometime later, but now he's been caught secretly talking about her "husband" behind her back. How is he supposed to see her now?
He immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Yamazaki: "Yukiko, let me explain. I was just joking. I was being silly, I didn't mean to tease your partner, I was just kidding?" Yukiko, however, sent another ambiguous Super Chat message: "Maybe it wasn't a joke."

Upon hearing this, the viewers in the live chat, who were initially enjoying watching Yamazaki being caught, tortured, and forced to kneel down, were suddenly in an uproar.

I wanted to deliver a sarcastic remark, but when Yamazaki said those words, "Making fun of your lover," his heart must have been bleeding.

However, Yukiko's SuperChat also made everyone feel that something was amiss.

What does she mean by "it can't be a joke"? Does it mean that Yamazaki calling the cherry blossom leaves a joke by her lover, or something else?

[Could the Sakurai tree really be cherry blossom leaves?]

Hmm, looking at it this way, it actually seems a bit real.

Could it be that such a genius truly exists in the world? No wonder Yukiko is so smitten.

[The ages match, the pen names and real names are indeed incredibly similar, and Yukiko also sang theme songs for both "White Album" and "5 Centimeters Per Second," could it be?]

The same clues, in Yamazaki's words, are only for amusement.

But as soon as Yukiko appeared, the more he thought about it, the more real it seemed.

In the live stream, everyone frantically asked Yukiko for confirmation, but Yukiko stopped responding.

Yamazaki, drenched in sweat, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This topic finally sparked discussion in the live stream.

If the news were announced suddenly, everyone would be quite shocked. However, to generate more discussion and buzz, it's better to release some cryptic information to leave everyone guessing and guessing.

This is a common marketing method used in comics, movies, and variety shows.

As a manga artist, Sakurai Itsuki understands this principle well.

Everything is now developing in the direction that Sakurai Itsuki had envisioned.

Yamazaki, drenched in sweat, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Sakurai Itsuki, who had been doing well, was now sweating a little.

Like Sakurai Itsuki, Sato Wakaba stared blankly at the large screen in the conference room.

But beneath the long table in the conference room, out of everyone's sight, a slender hand had already silently touched the soft flesh of Sakurai Itsuki's waist, and with just the right amount of force to make Sakurai Itsuki feel pain, yet just enough to endure in front of everyone, it kept pinching and twisting his soft flesh.

Sakurai Itsuki winced in pain and turned to look at Sato Wakaba, who was giving him a little revenge.

Sato Wakaba blinked expressionlessly, looking as if she didn't understand why he was looking at her, as if the hand that was "jealous" had nothing to do with her.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "Could you get me a glass of water, Assistant Sato?"

"Ah, I haven't touched this one yet, you should drink this one. The company should save some money, after all, there are still many things to spend money on later, such as hiring online trolls, finding bloggers and celebrities to do advertising, which are all quite expensive."

Sato Wakaba immediately rejected Sakurai Itsuki.

Sakurai Itsuki thought to himself, "What kind of assistant are you?" But seeing the situation, he could only bear it for now.

Hatsuna Hase was overjoyed to see their reactions and immediately added fuel to the fire, saying, "But, it shouldn't cost any money to have a celebrity like Yukiko stirring things up in the live stream, right? This move of having Yukiko stir things up in the live stream is a stroke of genius!"

Yuuki Tsukime, who was standing next to him, quickly punched the guy who was enjoying the show.

"Yukiko's presence in the live stream wasn't arranged by me; it's probably just a coincidence. She's always been quite quick-witted. She noticed our rhythm and probably guessed what we were up to, so she helped out as a side effect."

Sakurai Itsuki explained.

"I see. We really need to find some time to thank Yukiko properly! She's done us a huge favor."

“…” After a slight silence, Sakurai Itsuki could only change the subject, “Let’s release that project announcement. Originally, I wanted to use it to increase the credibility of Yamazaki’s boasting.”

"understood."

In a classroom at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Having already failed his course, Natsuto Murakami openly and brazenly slacks off without any worries.

Logically speaking, if he wanted to slack off, he wouldn't actually need to come to class, but today he seemed to be confirming something.

Seeing that neither Sakurai Itsuki nor Hase Shion showed up in class today, he revealed a sinister smile: "Heh heh, they're finished now! Hahaha."

By publicizing their plagiarism online, he successfully retaliated against them.

Now he doesn't even come to class anymore.

I reckon his reputation in the industry will be completely ruined after this.

"Why are you laughing so happily? Isn't that a bit petty?"

His deskmate looked disgusted at Natsuto Mura's smile.

"I am the one who is righteous! They brought this upon themselves! They brought this upon themselves!" Mura Natsuto said with absolute certainty.

"But some people online are saying that Sakurai Tree is actually Sakura Vine Leaf itself. You can check the posts if you don't believe me," his deskmate reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Natsuto Murakami quickly opened his phone, read the post for a while, and then looked disdainful: "Heh, just a forced PR stunt, using cherry blossom leaves as bait."

They didn't even show up, yet they're making a fuss about it. This way of whitewashing is probably like them kneeling before the cherry blossom leaves right now, begging for mercy! What a despicable tactic.

How could Sakura Fujiki and Sakurai Itsuki be the same person? With someone who sleeps all day in class and skips class to date his girlfriend all the time, how could he possibly have done so many things?

It's just that the names and pen names are somewhat similar.

They are all the same person. Why not say that Haruki Nagayama, Itsuki Sakurai, and Itsuki Sakurafuji are all the same person, since they all have "tree" in their names?

Who believes it?
"They just posted this!"
The classmate handed the phone to Natsuto Mura.

[White Album Final Chapter Release Promotion Event X Sakura Fujiyo's New Work "Hotarubi no Mori e" Launch Promotion Event]

Below is a special guest: Haruki Nagayama.

Natsuto Murakami asked, "What does this mean?"

"That means the final chapter release event for White Album and the promotional event for Hotarubi no Mori e will be held together, and Sakurai Itsuki and Sakura Fujinomoki will both make an appearance at the event."

"Are you out of your mind? It's not like you can only come to the studio and do a show together as a single person!"

"Can you speak properly? The buzz is huge right now, it must be the authorities pushing it. If it's not just one person, all this aggressive marketing now will only make things worse when it gets exposed. Besides, I heard from a senior in the industry that this is most likely true."

Hearing his classmate's words, Natsuto Murakami quickly waved his hands: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! If it were true, I'd castrate myself right now! I mean what I say!"

He made a solemn oath.

"What difference does it make whether you're castrated or not? No woman would want to talk to you anyway."

"." (End of this chapter)