Tokyo: My obsession with China led me to become the king of Japanese entertainment.

Chapter 102 Gloom and Protectors (Upvoted, please give me some monthly votes!)

"Insects! They're all insects!"

Hideaki Takizawa's roar nearly shook his office to its core.

"How many times have I told you? Juniors need to have the awareness of being juniors! You've all been around for over ten years, how could you not know what you should and shouldn't do?"

"If you want to make a living as an idol, self-discipline and self-control are the most basic things! Maintain your integrity and set a good example! Only in this way can you live up to your fans' expectations and be worthy of the money they spend on you!"

"But what about you? What did you do? Huh?"

"Look at these! Is this something to be proud of?!"

Hideaki Takizawa is truly a rising star.

When he saw the chaos in the practice room, Takizawa Hideaki's first thought was how to extricate Sakurada Jun from the situation, so that he wouldn't be branded as disrespectful and lacking in manners towards his seniors.

As it turned out, Jun Sakurada didn't need him to save him at all. He simply put the person down, spread his hands, pointed to the camera next to him, and said, "Let's watch the recording."

So, while watching the video, they saw the six old snowmen discussing how to target Jun Sakurada, only to have two of them subdued by Jun Sakurada in less than three minutes.

While reading Jun Sakurada's "thoughtful" explanation of Daisuke Sakuma and Teru Iwamoto's glorious deeds,

Hideaki Takizawa felt his blood pressure soar to the sky.

It's no exaggeration to say that, apart from the one incident involving Jun Sakurada which could barely be cleared up, any one of the things Daisuke Sakuma and Teru Iwamoto did could have ruined their careers if the public outcry had blown it up.

Especially Daisuke Sakuma, what kind of filthy crimes did he commit?

"You've all been in this industry for over a decade. Don't you have even the slightest understanding of what you can and can't do?"

"Look at the things you've done. If this gets out of hand, guess how big of a stir it will cause?"

Under Hideaki Takizawa's harsh reprimand, the six old snowmen hung their heads and didn't dare to utter a single word.

Especially Daisuke Sakuma, he perfectly embodied the phrase "skin like a sieve," and all the fierceness he had shown when he tried to provoke Jun Sakurada was nowhere to be seen.

It's no exaggeration to say that Jun Sakurada chose the most ruthless time to ignite Daisuke Sakuma's scandal.

In his previous life, incidents such as the atomic bombing of T-shirts only broke out after Snowman officially debuted and made a fortune.

By then, Snowman had already proven its commercial value and was Johnny's golden cash cow for making money in the next decade.

So even though the matter escalated, the perpetrators did not receive much punishment, and there wasn't even an official apology announcement, leaving the matter a complete mess.

But in this life, the situation is completely different.

Jun Sakurada chose an extremely delicate time: the first half of 2019.

At this time, Meguro Ren, Rauru, and two other new members had just joined and were still in the process of getting to know each other. Although Snowman was touted as a quasi-debut group, their debut arrangements would not be officially confirmed for several more months.

At this point, the old snowman, whose character was already questionable, suddenly made a huge blunder. Even if it didn't cause a media storm yet, the situation was still much more serious.

This time, they don't have sales figures to back them up.

So Daisuke Sakuma's fear at this moment was not fake at all. After being a trainee at Johnny's for almost fifteen years, he had finally climbed to a position where he was about to debut.

But at this time, his misdeeds came to light, and he faced punishment or even being sidelined.

Putting aside the facts, such a fate is simply too cruel.

So... what the hell were you doing all this time? Why couldn't you control your own masochistic behavior back then?

Inside, Hideaki Takizawa was throwing a tantrum, while outside the office, four juniors stood there obediently, chatting idly.

"Brother Run, where did you get so much stuff?" Even though he was two months older than Sakurada Jun, Raulu had already quietly changed his address to Brother Run.

"What could there be? A lot of it was already exposed back in 2016. There are still some of it left on the internet. You can get your hands on it if you pay a little attention." Jun Sakurada spread his hands.

This is also what infuriates Hideaki Takizawa the most. These amazing people not only did something shady, but also let the evidence be posted online by others. Even if Johnny & Associates wanted to control them, they might not be able to.

It's as if the Snowman group, even before their debut, already carried a media bomb that could explode at any moment.

How can we confidently send someone to debut under these circumstances?

As for why Johnny's Entertainment failed to detect this large-scale scandal over the past three years...

Who knows? Maybe they're just kind-hearted and don't bother with online community management?

"That's still pretty impressive." Raulu was slightly scared.

"Therefore, as a public figure, maintaining personal integrity and self-control is the most basic quality. If you can't do this, it's only a matter of time before you suffer the consequences."

When he said those words, Jun Sakurada couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Right? Absolutely right, what a glorious and righteous answer.

But in the Japanese entertainment industry, where everyone has a dark past, it seems a bit strange.

He laughed, and everyone else laughed along with him. Even Meguro Ren, who later became accustomed to portraying himself as aloof and abstinent, was laughing quite happily at this moment.

Having spent so long in Johnny's, everyone knows what's hidden beneath the glamorous exterior.

"So, do you think the punishment this time will be severe?" Koji Mukai asked with some concern.

Although they've just arrived, the three of them are considered members of Snowman. If their teammates get punished and their debut is ruined because of this, they will be affected to some extent.

Rauru and Meguro Ren are alright, after all, they are young, and they can endure another year or two without much problem. But Mukai Koji is already twenty-five years old.

"Don't worry, it's highly unlikely to affect your debut plans," Sakurada Jun sneered.

"Although I'm not entirely willing to accept it, there are plenty of people at Johnny's who want to protect them—"

Before he finished speaking, he naturally took a step to the side, instantly creating a distance between himself and the other three, forming a clear division between them.

The next second, the office door opened, and the six old snowmen walked out dejectedly like six defeated roosters. They didn't dare to look at the three newcomers for long before they scattered in a sorry state.

During this time, someone turned around and secretly glanced at the group. Seeing that the three newcomers and Jun Sakurada were keeping their distance, they left reluctantly.

After about a minute or two, Hideaki Takizawa's somewhat hoarse voice came from inside the room:

"Everyone, you can leave now. Run will stay a little longer."

After hearing this, Raoul and the other two left quickly as if they had been granted a pardon, giving Sakurada Jun a meaningful look before leaving.

Jun Sakurada ignored them and strolled into the office. As soon as he entered, he saw Hideaki Takizawa slumped in his office chair, slowly rubbing his temples.

Snowman is a group he has been with for ten years, and they have performed Takizawa Kabuki with him for ten years. Emotionally speaking, they are his closest confidants.

Now that his trusted confidant has been exposed, and so devastatingly at that, it would be a joke to say that Hideaki Takizawa isn't under much pressure, or that he's not conflicted or upset.

"...Do you want to try other groups?" After a long silence, when Takizawa Hideaki finally spoke, he didn't mention Snowman.

"Go ahead, why not? Consider it helping you get rid of some parasites, so you won't be crying when you debut." Sakurada Jun spread his hands, his tone calm.

"...You really want to add to my workload?" Takizawa Hideaki's vision went black.

"What do you mean by adding workload? I'm helping you clear the minefield! You should thank me." Sakurada Jun said with a matter-of-fact expression.

Just kidding, we finally have a chance to have a good fight, wouldn't it be too anticlimactic to just beat up one Snowman?

If he doesn't go and crush all the biggest JR groups, people will think that Jun Sakurada is easy to bully.

"...If you want to go, then go." Seeing Sakurada Jun's expression, Takizawa rubbed his increasingly throbbing temples, but ultimately didn't say anything more.

"Alright, I'll head back now?" Jun Sakurada replied, turning to leave.

As they reached the door, Hideaki Takizawa suddenly spoke up from behind: "I probably won't give them overly harsh or absolute punishments."

Sakurada Jun didn't even turn his head: "I understand, that's your problem. Just don't let them cause trouble in front of me."

"Don't you think I'm protecting them?"

Whether you cover it up or not is your business. Even if you do, it's none of my business. As long as you maximize your profits, do whatever you want.

"I'll have them apologize to you one by one later."

"Whatever happens, I'd rather they stay out of my sight than apologize. I'm leaving."

Jun Sakurada seemed completely unsurprised by Hideaki Takizawa's words, or rather, it was a predictable outcome that Takizawa wanted to protect Snowman.

At this juncture, beset by internal and external troubles, Hideaki Takizawa had virtually no choice but to bite the bullet and save his people.

A group of trusted followers who have been with him for ten years is not something he can just abandon. Moreover, looking at all the groups under Johnny's Entertainment, scandals are everywhere, even more serious than snowmen.

At least within Johnny's internal value system, what they did wasn't serious enough to warrant being sidelined or even dismissed.

Moreover, even if Hideaki Takizawa were truly righteous enough to risk his own confidants, he might not necessarily be able to take down the Snowmen.

You should know that the Empress's faction has long coveted this soon-to-debut group, so how could they possibly let go of an opportunity to bestow favors on Snowman?

If Hideaki Takizawa dared to bring up the matter of being sidelined, Keiko Fujishima dared to protect him.

If the attempt to blacklist him fails, and Takizawa Hideaki is resented while Fujishima Keiko benefits, then that would be a truly disastrous outcome.

Whether from an emotional or economic perspective, it was foreseeable that Hideaki Takizawa would want to keep these few guys from Snowman.

Jun Sakurada was too lazy to force Hideaki Takizawa to uphold justice and kill Daisuke Sakuma to vent his anger.

We're still in the cooperation phase, so if things fall apart, it won't look good for either of us.

Seeing that Jun Sakurada did not object, Hideaki Takizawa breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little guilty.

Strictly speaking, his approach was biased towards Snowman, but thankfully Jun Sakurada didn't mind.

But he didn't expect that Sakurada Jun wouldn't care about such a small matter. But that wasn't because he was magnanimous, but because he never considered Takizawa Hideaki or Johnny's Entertainment as true family.

Whether it's their values ​​or their style of doing things, Jun Sakurada and Johnny's, as well as the people under Johnny's, are completely incompatible.

He and Johnny's are destined to have only a hypocritical relationship like this, a short-term collaboration and mutual exploitation, and they can never be true companions and partners.

forever.