I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 101: Another Praise! Tokyo School’s Little Tricks!

In the production headquarters building of Tokyo TV, the office of the executive deputy director at the top of the power pyramid was like the eye before a storm, so quiet that it was suffocating.

Takada Shunei stood with his back to the door in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of premium Blue Mountain coffee that had already gone cold.

Outside the window, the steel behemoth of Tokyo casts dappled light and shadow in the afterglow of the setting sun. The interweaving of light and shadow is like the intricate chessboard of power in his heart at this moment. Every vein leads to a future full of unknowns and murderous intentions.

The information was like silent electricity, having already passed through his neural network throughout the entire TV station and was accurately transmitted here.

Kei Tanaka, the defeated general of the Kanto faction who was sent to hell by his own hands and should have rotted in the corner like a puddle of mud, actually... regrouped his old subordinates.

And the one who brought this group of defeated soldiers together again was the name that had kept him awake at night recently - Nohara Hiroshi.

"Variety show..." Takada Toshihide's knuckles tapped lightly on the cold glass window, making a dull and suppressed sound.

He turned around slowly, and his face, which was always a little gloomy, showed no joy or anger, but his bottomless eyes were flashing with a coldness like the cold current of the deep sea.

He pressed the intercom button, his voice was calm, but with an authority that brooked no argument.

"Tell Yasui and Ito to come to my office immediately."

……

Within ten minutes, two completely different figures, like two unsheathed blades, one in front and one behind, cut through the tranquility of the corridor and appeared at the door of this room that symbolized the will of the Tokyo faction.

Takashi Yasui still had the demeanor of a playboy, wearing a bright blue Versace suit with three buttons casually undone on his collar, revealing his bronze skin and a faintly visible gold chain. A cynical smile hung on his handsome and unruly face.

Ito Changan next to him was like his opposite, wearing a tightly-fitting dark gray suit. His eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were as sharp as a hawk. He exuded a calculating, cold aura like a scalpel.

They are the true twin stars in the variety show field of Tokyo TV, and the two sharpest and most proud variety show aces in Takada Toshihide's hands.

"Deputy Director Takada, why are you looking for us so urgently? Is there something good?" Yasui Takashi sat down on the sofa and poured himself a glass of whiskey without any hesitation. His posture was so casual as if this was his own office.

Ito Changan just stood quietly by the side, pushing the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His sharp eyes were observing every subtle change in expression on Takada Toshihide's face without making a sound.

"Good news?" Takada Shunying chuckled, but there was a hint of cold sarcasm in his laughter.

He gently threw a briefing on the changes in Kei Tanaka's team, which had just been delivered by his confidant, on the coffee table.

"See for yourselves."

Yasui Takashi picked up the document nonchalantly, took a look at it, and the cynical smile on his face froze instantly.

Ito Changan also came over. When he saw the key words "Nohara Hiroshi", "Variety show planning", "Tanaka Kei team reorganization" and "National-level planning" clearly, a trace of imperceptible solemnity flashed in his eyes, which were always calm for the first time.

"Those Kanto guys...really refuse to give up." Yasui Takashi threw the documents back on the table and sneered. His voice was filled with the absolute confidence of a king. "That old fox Asumi, is he scared off and planning to switch gears and join us in a variety show?"

"You don't know your own limitations." Ito Nagaan's evaluation was more concise and harsher.

He looked at Takada Shunei, his sharp eyes flashing with sarcasm. "Deputy Director, with all due respect, you don't have to worry about this. Variety shows, TV dramas, and animation are two completely different worlds."

"What is a variety show? The essence of variety shows has never been creativity, but habit! It's stickiness! It's the sense of dependence that comes from viewers turning on the TV at a fixed time every week and seeing familiar faces!"

He held up a finger, his gesture full of superiority.

"We, the Tokyo faction, have been operating in the variety show industry for decades. From cultivating comedians to signing idol stars, to collaborating deeply with major agencies, we've already built a massive ecosystem that the Kanto faction simply can't break!"

"That Nohara Hiroshi might have a bit of a talent for storytelling, but variety shows are about the 'scene,' the 'people,' and the 'stalks!' These things take time to develop and require connections to build! Even if a young man who's only been in the industry for less than a year comes up with something earth-shattering, what good will it do?"

"That's right!"

Yasui Takashi also took over the conversation at this time. He shook the wine glass in his hand, and a wicked smile appeared on his handsome and unruly face. "Once the audience's viewing habits are formed, it is difficult to change. 'Laughing Wednesday' and my 'Stars Shine' have already occupied the two most important variety show positions on Wednesday and Sunday. He wants to steal the audience from us? It's simply a pipe dream!"

"Even if his show is really interesting, so what?"

Yasui Takashi shrugged, like a cat playing with a mouse:

"Variety shows air weekly, so we have plenty of time to study his formula. All we need to do is tweak the show a bit, borrow his highlights, and then leverage our top star resources to give it a comprehensive upgrade. Then, the audience will simply think we're the original, and he's just a poor imitator."

These words are full of undisguised arrogance, but they also reveal a cruel reality of the industry.

First-mover advantage and platform barriers.

In the face of these two mountains, any lone challenger seems so insignificant.

"Very good." Seeing them so confident, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Takada Toshihide's gloomy face.

This is the confidence he wants, the absolute confidence that belongs to an ace.

"Since you're so confident, I'm relieved." He picked up the cup of coffee in front of him, which had long since cooled, and took a sip. His cold eyes fell on the two of them like knives: "But, let me be frank. Your show is the last face of our Tokyo School in the variety show industry. Absolutely, no problems can occur. Otherwise..."

"Don't worry, Deputy Director!"

Yasui Takashi and Ito Changan stood up almost at the same time and bowed deeply to him. Their voices were filled with an unquestionable determination: "We will never give that young man any chance!"

……

When the two figures full of confidence and arrogance disappeared at the office door, the satisfaction on Takada Toshihide's face quietly faded away like the tide.

Instead, there was a deeper gloomy color.

He pressed the intercom button again.

"Let Iwata get in."

This time, he was too lazy to even use the honorific "Jun".

Soon, a distraught figure appeared at the office door like a ghost.

It's Masao Iwata.

He had long lost his former arrogance and arrogance, and had lost weight. The suit that should have been quite decent was now wrinkled like a piece of dried pickled vegetables. The eyes that were once full of ambition now only had a numb emptiness that was completely crushed by reality.

Now, under the "care" of Takada Toshihide, he has become a so-called "external liaison officer."

To put it bluntly, he is a high-level servant who is responsible for running errands and doing miscellaneous work, handling some dirty and tiring work that is not presentable.

Of course, this is much better than being fired or kicked out of TV Tokyo. "Deputy Director...you wanted to see me..." His voice was hoarse and full of humility.

"Yeah." Takada Shunei didn't look at him, but simply threw a document in front of him. "This is a promotional document I just drafted about 'Kanto School's proactive innovation and courage to explore new areas of variety shows.' You, find a way to 'inadvertently' leak it to a few media outlets that have a good relationship with us."

Masao Iwata's body trembled violently. He picked up the document and took a glance at it. A look of disbelief and astonishment instantly appeared in his empty eyes.

"Deputy Director...you...you're...?" He stammered, almost mumbling in a dreamy voice, "Are you...helping that Nohara Hiroshi with publicity?"

He didn't understand.

He really couldn't figure it out.

They are clearly enemies, so why do we take the initiative to cheer for them?

"Publicity?" A cold, snake-like arc appeared at the corner of Takada Toshihide's mouth.

He slowly stood up, walked to Masao Iwata, stretched out his hand, and patted his still slightly trembling shoulder heavily. The voice was as light as the whisper of a devil, but with a cruelty that was enough to make anyone shudder.

"Iwata-kun, you are still too young."

"Do you think that the higher you praise someone, the more glorious they will be?"

"Do not."

He shook his head, and there was a heart-pounding madness flashing in his cold eyes.

"The higher you praise someone, the more miserable you will be when they fall."

"What I want isn't simply to defeat him. What I want is overwhelming praise! I want all of Japan to have the highest, most unrealistic expectations of his so-called 'variety show legend'! I want all media outlets to hype him up as an omnipotent, crossover god!"

"Then……"

His voice suddenly rose, and his gloomy face seemed a little distorted due to extreme excitement.

"Then, after his ridiculous, doomed-to-fail show airs, I will personally kick him down from the altar I built for him!"

"I want everyone to see how vulnerable this so-called 'genius' is after leaving the TV series and animation!"

"I want the entire Guandong faction to be disgraced and humiliated by this public execution, which I personally directed. They will never be able to raise their heads again!"

"This is what I really want, victory."

Masao Iwata stared blankly at the mad-looking man in front of him. All the blood color on his already numb face faded away in an instant.

He felt a chill running from his tailbone to the top of his head, completely freezing his already broken heart.

He finally understood.

He finally understood the unbridgeable gap between himself and the man in front of him.

He was still gloating over the gains and losses of a city or a pond, while the other party had already set up a terrifying killing plan in a higher dimension that was enough to play with all enemies at their fingertips.

"I...I understand..."

Masao Iwata's body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

After a brief moment of fear, those empty eyes slowly rekindled a faint light, like a ghostly fire, full of resentment and excitement.

He knew that his chance for revenge had come.

He will no longer be a simple errand boy.

He will be the most important person in this public execution of the young man who sent him to hell, the one who will hand over the butcher knife... the executioner.

"Please rest assured, Deputy Director."

He bowed deeply, deeply to Takada Toshihide. His voice was hoarse, but filled with unprecedented determination, enough to entrust his life to him.

"I will definitely not let you down."

Looking at him like this, Takada Toshihide finally showed a satisfied, devilish smile on his face.

He knew that this chess piece that had been abandoned for a long time had finally found its new and final value.

And the fire of "praising to death" ignited by his own hands will soon burn like wildfire towards the young prey who is far away in another office and knows nothing about it.

……

Inside the office of [Nohara Hiroshi·Special Production Team].

Hiroshi Nohara was leaning against his desk with a cup of warm black tea, his eyes observing the micro-expressions of everyone in the office with interest.

He is like a skilled chess player. After making his move, he no longer cares about the fighting on the chessboard, but enjoys observing the most real and interesting human nature presented by the chess pieces whose fate he has disturbed.

"Director Tanaka."

He spoke slowly, his voice calm, yet with a power that could calm people: "Is your team assembled?"

"Yes! Section Chief Nohara!"

Kei Tanaka, the man who had just experienced a baptism of the soul, was now standing straight in front of him like a javelin. In his eyes, which had long since shed all the decadence, were burning two balls of raging fire that were enough to set the whole prairie on fire.

"My former team had twelve core members. Aside from three people who have completely given up and can no longer be contacted, the remaining nine are all in the conference room downstairs, awaiting your review!"

His voice was no longer hoarse or numb, but full of energy and loudness, as if he had survived a disaster.

"very good."

Nohara Hiroshi nodded with satisfaction. He put down the teacup in his hand and stood up. His clear eyes flashed with the high spirits of a general who was about to go to the battlefield.

"Then let them see what my "Super Transformation" is like!"

PS: I continue to ask for some recommendation votes. Next I plan to write some daily life. It is indeed time for Nohara Hiroshi's family in his hometown~ Don't worry, everyone has it~
(End of this chapter)