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

Some people's troubles are complicated and full of worries, but others' troubles are simple, straightforward, and unsolvable knots.

For example, Takayuki Tsukagoshi, the head of Tsuburaya Productions.

Tsuburaya Productions has been doing so-so lately.

Although its parent company Fields has lost nearly 10 billion yen in the past two years, Tsuburaya Productions' own business situation is relatively stable.

Although the first two games, Geed and R/B, only received mediocre reviews, the toys sold quite well, generating sales of seven or eight billion yen, from which Tsuburaya Productions also received a significant share.

Their relatively stable financial situation allows them to invest a large amount of money in their new film, "Ultraman Taiga," which is also defined by the company as the "benchmark of the Reiwa era," and will be released in the second half of this year.

Logically speaking, without a major crisis and with hope for the future, life should be pretty good.

But what really troubled Takayuki Tsukagoshi was the 2021 project.

Logically speaking, for Tsuburaya Productions at this point, the benchmark series Taiga hasn't even been released yet, and the main series Zeta, which is supposed to follow Taiga 20 years ago, hasn't even started filming. There's no reason to consider a 21 project more than two years in advance.

But... this is 21 years ago. If nothing unexpected happens, this work, which is initially titled "Ultraman Triga", will likely be the first work of Tsuburaya Productions' "New Generation TDG".

Tsuburaya Productions has no choice but to be cautious.

The biggest problem facing Triga is that, as an obvious homage, it... doesn't seem to have much to pay tribute to.

Triga's predecessor, Tiga, was not originally an Ultraman from the Land of Light. Moreover, due to his human-Ultraman fusion setting, it was not even convenient for him to return in Ultraman form. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why Daigo didn't come out for a spin.

Furthermore, if the story continues to be told within the worldview of Ultraman Tiga, it will be difficult to avoid involving Dyna, who shares the same worldview. So, who should the new generation Dyna, 22 years later, pay tribute to?

However, if the story were to start over in a completely different parallel world, it would be difficult for fans to accept it without a compelling storyline.

This is not a good situation... Takayuki Tsukakoshi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

In truth, he knew that the knot in Triga's knot could be untied if that person could return.

Even if that person doesn't even appear on camera, just by making a sound, the fans' opposition can instantly be halved.

The problem is, Tsuburaya Productions can't bring that person back.

If they could bring Tsuburaya Productions back, they would have done so long ago. Unlike Johnny's, who have staked most of their wealth on the Chinese market, they know best how much consumers there miss Tiga and Daigo.

If we can bring that person back, the toys, merchandise, and viewership ratings will be amazing—I can't even imagine.

Especially in China.

However, in Japan, where even Ultraman struggles to get broadcast on national television, they simply don't have a way of speaking to a behemoth like Johnny & Associates.

Hiroshi Nagano himself is not really aware of how successful Ultraman Tiga is. Apart from occasionally singing Take Me Higher on a show or talking about Ultraman Tiga on variety shows, he has almost no intention of returning to the studio.

This really worried Tsuburaya Productions...

If they can't get Daigo back, then no matter how they try to promote Triga, it seems unlikely that the results will be very good.

I'm stuck here, unable to go up or down.

After pondering for a long time without coming up with a good solution, Takayuki Tsukakoshi sighed and rubbed his throbbing temples, his facial features contorted in distress.

How wonderful it would be if Hiroshi Nagano could return...

Just as Takayuki Tsukagoshi was daydreaming for what seemed like the last time, without warning, the office door was suddenly flung open, and an executive rushed in, almost in a disheveled state, breathless.

But even so, his face still couldn't suppress the wild joy.

"President, top secret intelligence!" the executive whispered.

"Don't rush, speak slowly." Takayuki Tsukagoshi frowned.

"It can't be slow!" The executive's tone was filled with an incredulous elation. "We've received reliable information from within Johnny's!"

"Johnny...Johnny's? What did they say?" Tsukagoshi's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words "Johnny's."

He knew very well that the only connection between Tsuburaya Productions and Johnny's was that work and that man.

"The intelligence says that within Johnny's Entertainment, Vice President Hideaki Takizawa is leading V6 personnel to investigate matters related to Ultraman Tiga!" The executive couldn't hide his joy.

"Especially intelligence concerning China!"

Boom!

Upon hearing the news, Takayuki Tsukagoshi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his body convulsing violently, and he suddenly felt an urge to burst into tears.

Thank God... that piece of wood has finally come to its senses!

For so many years, Tsuburaya Productions has been guarding the invaluable treasure trove that is Ultraman Tiga, but because it lacks Daigo Madoka, the key, it has not been able to reap much benefit.

Their expectations had long since dropped from "monopolizing the market" to "just wanting a share of the pie," yet Johnny's still didn't even glance at them.

And today... finally!

"Is it authentic?" He tried to keep his voice from trembling.

"Absolutely authentic! It's even very likely that Johnny's Entertainment leaked this information themselves!"

"That's enough to prove they've taken notice of Ultraman Tiga's potential!" Takayuki Tsukagoshi took a deep breath. "I'll make the call right away."

"to whom?"

"New Creation!"

……

"Has the news been leaked?"

"Tsuburaya Productions already knows, and they seem quite agitated. They should be sending someone to contact us soon!"

"Heh, looks like they really have been cooped up for too long..."

At this point, Hideaki Takizawa was somewhat embarrassed.

After all, if Johnny's hadn't been so poorly informed that they had no idea about Nagano Hiroshi's reputation in China for so many years, they wouldn't have ignored Tsuburaya Productions for so long.

Fortunately, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.

"Then let's wait and see. We'll talk to them when they come to us with their sincerity." Hideaki Takizawa's lips curled up slightly.

While Nagano Hiroshi will eventually return, Johnny's Entertainment will maximize its own interests and get the biggest slice of the pie before that happens, without making any mistakes.

Even though the conditions were harsh, compared to the previous Johnny's Entertainment, they were quite open-minded.

Just as Hideaki Takizawa was conceiving how to leverage Hiroshi Nagano and V6's China strategy to create brilliant achievements and significantly enhance the group's and faction's influence within the firm,

Without warning, another phone call came in.

Upon picking it up, a chill ran down my spine: Mary Kitagawa.

"Takizawa!" The aged female voice on the other end carried an undeniable air of authority.

"You, return to headquarters for a meeting immediately!"