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

SMAP in 2016?

This word was like a bucket of cold water, instantly chilling Takizawa Hideaki's excited mood.

How could I have almost forgotten about this?

In 2016, SMAP, even though they were physically and mentally exhausted from years of infighting between the Iijima faction and the Empress faction, and even though their peak as idols had indeed passed,

They remain the same SMAP group with legends like Takuya Kimura and Masahiro Nakai at the helm, firmly holding the title of the greatest boy band in Japanese entertainment history.

Back then, the direct revenue it brought to Johnny's Entertainment alone exceeded 20 billion yen. Although it couldn't compare to Arashi at their peak that year, it was still an extremely terrifying figure.

Not to mention ruthless individuals like Masahiro Nakai, who control several important programs on Fuji Television and serve as a crucial link between Johnny's and Fuji.

And then there's Takuya Kimura, the GOAT.

But even with such a strong SMAP, due to the fierce struggle between the Iijima faction and the Empress faction, it was still forcibly dismantled by Mary Kitagawa through a power struggle.

Although Johnny's Entertainment managed to retain Takuya Kimura and Masahiro Nakai for several years, the latter did not announce his departure from the company until 2020.

However, the other three members have already left and formed a new group that went against Johnny & Associates. They even won a lawsuit against Johnny & Associates in 2019, forcing them to lift some of the bans.

Without a doubt, even for a company as large as Johnny's, losing a legendary group that brought them endless glory would be a blow.

But so what? In the brutal internal factional struggles, what is more important than the interests of the agency and the artists, or the personal power and desires of individuals?

While the V6 has a promising future in China thanks to Hiroshi Nagano, it is still just a prospect and has not yet been able to translate into profits.

This was clearly not enough to stop Keiko Fujishima's insane ambitions.

If she were to instigate her mother to stage another "Bung Chun 2.0"...

Hideaki Takizawa shivered.

Do you think it's likely?

Hearing that Takizawa's voice no longer carried the cheerful tone it had before, Sakurada Jun finally spoke up: "I always consider the worst-case scenario."

"Regardless of whether the other party has bad intentions, we must be prepared for the storm."

"But the problem is, how should we greet him? Should we send Johnny-san? His health condition..." After calming down, Hideaki Takizawa began to have a headache.

Back then, the Iijima faction was by no means inferior to, and even far superior to, the current neutral faction, in terms of both strength and the personal abilities of its leader, Iijima Michi.

The only disadvantage is that it can't have the support of Johnny Kitagawa himself, unlike the neutral faction.

If even the Iijima faction can be swayed by the Empress faction, then what makes the neutral faction stand up for themselves?

"So we need to leverage their resources." Sakurada Jun pondered for a few seconds, his tone becoming slightly more serious: "I have a risky solution..."

As Sakurada Jun explained, Takizawa Hideaki's eyes widened slowly, and then cold sweat began to pour down his face.

"Isn't this a bit too harsh? And isn't it a bit like betraying one's own people?"

"What does it mean to betray your own people? It means to leak things to your competitors so they can reap the benefits. Did we do that?" Jun Sakurada rolled his eyes.

"At most, this can only be considered leveraging someone else's strength, right?"

"But if we really do it your way, wouldn't that be tantamount to completely severing ties? What if—"

"There won't be any 'what ifs,' and it won't end up like the worst you're thinking of," Sakurada Jun interrupted Takizawa's doubts.

His calmness left Takizawa Hideaki completely baffled: "What's the reason?"

"Because... Kitagawa needs a dignified departure." Jun Sakurada sealed the deal with a single sentence.

Hideaki Takizawa suddenly realized, but at the same time, he was a little confused.

Everyone knows that Kitagawa is dying. Given his current physical condition, he has at most three or four months left to live.

As the soul of Johnny's Entertainment and the source of power for the Kitagawa family, even if Keiko Fujishima wanted to engage in factional struggles, she couldn't possibly do anything big at this time.

Otherwise, if the old man dismantles Johnny's before he dies, and then not everyone can show up for his funeral, it would truly become the biggest joke in the industry.

"Currently, we are at a significant disadvantage in terms of power, but the only advantage is that no matter how much trouble we cause, we won't be able to break up Johnny's Entertainment, so we have more freedom."

"Under such circumstances, taking a risky tactic is the only option."

"If you're still unsure, then when you go back to negotiate with Tsuburaya and New Creation, leak some information to them. They'll definitely do a better job than you!"

Although Hideaki Takizawa still thought Jun Sakurada's idea was too crazy, since the other party had already gone this far, he couldn't think of a better solution in a short time.

"I'll give it a try!" the vice president said through gritted teeth.

Never mind all that, if this continues, the Empress's faction will really bully us right at our doorstep!

Let's give it a try! If it succeeds, it will be a spectacular scene that Japanese entertainment will only see once in decades.

So... who is Xin Chuang Hua?

After hanging up the phone, Jun Sakurada let out a long sigh of relief.

The other side reacted very quickly. They may be extremely slow to see the outside world, but when it comes to these internal issues involving vested interests, who isn't a master of infighting?

He was well aware of his strengths and weaknesses; when it came to internal strife, he might not be able to defeat these deeply entrenched old foxes.

However, what Jun Sakurada excelled at was never internal strife, but resource integration and leveraging external forces to gain momentum.

Now, he plans to borrow a large one.

He put away his phone and went back inside. Ze Muqing and Hou'er stared at him intently. The latter was carrying a basin containing his newly made beef and oyster spicy curry.

"It's alright, let's eat first!" In an instant, Sakurada Jun's previous fierce aura vanished, and he revealed a bright smile again...

……

night.

Sakurada Jun, who had just finished his vocal lesson, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and sat down in front of the computer.

I was slightly taken aback.

Ado's talent is so high it's almost frightening. The reason she didn't progress so quickly before was simply because her teacher didn't teach her according to her talent characteristics.

When a certain singer, who also cultivates the European and American markets, trained her with a more Western-style singing approach, her progress was as fast as a rocket, and the quality of her voice improved almost visibly.

This made Sakurada Jun's progress seem less alarming.

If there's anything to comfort you about, it's that Jun Sakurada's voice is even more resilient than Ado, who's known as an ironman.

Sawaki Ao should be getting ready to sleep by now, while Sakurada Jun is still able to continue his live stream with ease.

Perfect timing. Since Fujishima is causing trouble, it's time for us to take action as well.

Prepare a big gift for them, and... also give yourself a perfect position to share the cake.

and so--

"Hello everyone, dear Chinese fans, this is Jun from Hakimi Studio."

"I survived."