Japanese Entertainment: A Comeback Beginning from Bankrupt President

Chapter 157 It seems I have no choice but to sell myself.

So what is it that these large companies fear most?

Generally speaking, these are things like involvement in organized crime, drug trafficking, and tax evasion. If these things are proven true, they will not only be punished in the legal arena, but will also be opposed by the general public and may even affect other artists in the company.

Judging celebrities is all about their background.

If your background is rotten, what goodwill can you expect? Don't think that ordinary people will buy into it.

But then again, what everyone else knows, the company will also know.

So, a decade or two ago, Watanabe Entertainment began to downplay the yakuza's dependence on the company. Now, it's actually difficult to find any connection between them, both openly and behind the scenes. Of course, this is also related to the yakuza's influence waning day by day.

This is not like twenty years ago; many yakuza groups in Tokyo now set up stalls selling bubble tea.

The dark path won't work, and drugs aren't a viable option either.

Firstly, such things are too difficult to catch. Secondly, if it's not some pillar of the company that's collectively using drugs, then it's only a minor harm to the company, and they can simply sacrifice one pawn to save the whole thing and disappear without a trace.

Trying to find fault here is a waste of time unless you catch the top executives of Watanabe Entertainment all high on drugs.

Regarding tax issues—

To be honest, this is probably the most dangerous part of the investigation, as it's easy for a scenario where someone is forced to disappear to occur.

To investigate taxes, you have to go deep into the core departments. Let's not even talk about whether the core departments are so easy to infiltrate. Even if you do infiltrate them, it's probably very difficult to find problems from those numbers, because numbers aren't something you can just look at and forget.

If it's really that simple, then what do auditing firms do?

It's too dangerous and too difficult. If there's a real problem, they'll definitely show their teeth. Kazuya Sawashiro doesn't want to joke around with Takuya Kurosaki's life.

Takuya Kurosaki: Thank you!

Kazuya Sawashiro: Why are you being so polite with me?

"These big companies seem like hedgehogs. They appear to have weaknesses everywhere, but once they shrink back, you really can't do anything about them." After thinking for a long time, Kazuya Sawashiro could only come to the conclusion that they were like hedgehogs.

This thing is too sharp.

"Hedgehog? I think it's more like a turtle."

"A tortoise would work too, but for something like this that we don't know where to start, it seems we can only work from the inside," Kazuya Sawashiro turned his gaze to Takuya Kurosaki, who had been deep in thought for a long time. "Have you thought of anything? Even if it's just a metaphor."

I didn't expect the answer wasn't your fault. Let me just say something to lighten the mood.

For example, porcupines raise their quills when they are in danger.

"Hmm—the analogy is quite apt; you're all masters of metaphor," Kurosaki Takuya joked with a smile, then his expression turned serious. "I've been sorting things out, and I've discovered someone we might have overlooked. Do you remember Yamada?"

"Former manager?" Kazuya Sawashiro certainly hadn't forgotten him. "But this guy's whereabouts are unknown. He might have already left the country using a fake passport. There are 70 billion people in the world, so finding him won't be easy at all."

This is truly like finding a needle in a haystack.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department is somewhat incompetent, unable to even catch such a grown man, if you really let an ordinary person search for someone all over the world, their efficiency might not be faster than that of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Everyone has their own expertise; even the most useless person can be a master. Don't use your hobby to challenge someone else's profession.

Amano Aki also remembered him, and she shared the same thought as Sawashiro Kazuya: "Yeah, and if we go looking for him in a big way, he'll know we're doing this. Can our manpower and resources compare to Watanabe Entertainment's network of connections?"

Amano Aki wasn't trying to diminish his own prestige.

The other party can find more people, including local thugs and petty criminals. These people are useless at everything else, but they are very perceptive when it comes to any disturbances in their own area.

For a person as big as Yamada to survive, he definitely needs to eat, drink, relieve himself, and sleep, which inevitably means he has to come into contact with people outside.

Then when you make contact, you'll leave a mark.

The Metropolitan Police Department might not be able to find it, but those in their ranks who receive a large sum of money will definitely do everything in their power to find it.

Another possibility is that Yamada was already found, and now he's either lying in the primeval forest at the foot of Mount Fuji or sleeping peacefully under Tokyo Bay with cement and oil drums. In any case, he's missing in the Metropolitan Police Department, so no one would care if he died.

The biggest problem is that nobody knows his current situation.

However, Kurosaki Takuya had his reasons for thinking of Yamada. After Sawashiro Kazuya and Amano Aki expressed their thoughts, he explained to them, "These are all facts, and they are issues that must be considered."

But after thinking about it carefully, I still think that Yamada is the key, because he is the only one in the world who knows about the deal between Watanabe Souta and him, and Watanabe Souta may not even care about this person.

Try to put yourself in their shoes. If someone runs away when something happens, wouldn't you consider them weak? And if you were more noble, proud, and strong, would you take that weak person seriously? Would you go out of your way to find and eliminate them?

Based on Kurosaki Takuya's in-depth analysis of Watanabe Souta, he wouldn't do such a thing, because he doesn't need to.

Legally, the secretary has taken the blame for all the crimes and is already in jail.

If Yamada is just talking without producing any conclusive evidence to implicate Watanabe Sōta, then no matter how much he tries, it will be useless. Moreover, if he doesn't want to spend decades in prison, it's better for him to continue hiding.

Watanabe Sōta disdained to take action. The only consequence of Yamada stepping in would be imprisonment. With his whereabouts unknown, he was definitely not protecting others; he was only protecting himself.

Therefore, he is the best breakthrough point for Kurosaki Takuya.

From Watanabe Sōta's perspective, Sawashiro Kazuya not only looked down on Yamada, but he also seemed to disdain Kurosaki Takuya, who had proposed the idea. The most important question then arose.

"What can we do if we find him? Written documents certainly won't be left behind, and phone recordings can be claimed as forgeries. No matter what he says, unless we have actual dirt on him, he can't harm anyone, right?"

Good news: We found the weapon.

Bad news: It's a blunt knife, and the other side is a tank.

Expecting a dull knife to tear through a tank's armor is like hoping that Kazuya Sawashiro will merge with Tokyo Tower tomorrow, becoming a giant over 300 meters tall who will sweep through Watanabe Entertainment, and then be thrown into outer space by some unknown Ultraman.

Amano Aki will come to save him?

"Why don't we try to find him first?" Kurosaki Takuya kept the question a secret, not answering Sawashiro Kazuya's question.

The root of the plan is Yamada, so we have to find him first; without him, no matter how nice the words are, it's useless.

"What are my chances of finding him? Will it be harder than persuading Noriko Soma?" Kazuya Sawashiro thought that if he used his charm, he could probably win Noriko Soma over.