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

Chapter 94 Three-month time limit

Jun Sakurada didn't know how Hideaki Takizawa would react, or rather, even if he did know, he wouldn't care.

From the very beginning, he never fully trusted anyone in Johnny's, including Hideaki Takizawa.

Or rather, normal people shouldn't have any good feelings towards this filthy place.

Jun Sakurada came here simply because there's a treasure he needs here; it would be a bit of a shame if it exploded along with Johnny's.

So he took the risk, coming here to squeeze out the remaining value of Johnny's, and then, before leaving, he'd pull off a big blow.

But to say he has any feelings for this place—don't make your brother Run laugh.

As a good young man who grew up under the red flag of the new era, if he could have any feelings for a criminal den, he might as well find a tree stump and kill himself right now.

Jun Sakurada's highest respect for Johnny's is to add fuel to the fire when the time is right, so that it can explode even more brilliantly and thoroughly.

After all, such a rotten thing should be nailed to the pillar of historical shame.

As for Hideaki Takizawa, Jun Sakurada couldn't say much.

In fact, judging from his actions, Takizawa Hideaki, who decisively chose to betray Johnny & Associates in the original timeline and opposed Johnny & Associates for many years, and was hated by Chicken House, is actually quite likely to be one of the relatively clean ones.

But—since they've all become high-ranking executives at Johnny's, it's impossible for them to say they have a completely clear conscience. At the very least, they're just bystanders who turn a blind eye to those misdeeds.

Unless you're like Jun Sakurada, a ruthless individual who harbored the intention to blow up the cesspool from the very beginning.

Pulling his thoughts back, Jun Sakurada focused his attention back on the car he was in.

All the windows were sealed tightly, both to protect against paparazzi from the outside and to prevent the people inside from remembering the way.

It seems that Kitagawa is quite cautious.

After circling around for a while, the car finally stopped at a secluded private hospital. Jun Sakurada was "escorted" by staff to the door of a VIP ward.

Most of the strange items on him were taken away. When the staff saw the baton, pepper spray, and brass knuckles that Sakurada Jun was carrying, their expressions visibly twitched.

Even so, the fact that they didn't both condemn Sakurada Jun's ulterior motives and kick him out is, in a sense, quite a show of respect.

Although Jun Sakurada didn't want to save face.

After the staff left, Jun Sakurada mentally prepared himself before finally pushing open the door and going inside.

Although many things were taken away, some personal belongings were still kept, since Jun Sakurada could not allow these people to thoroughly search his body.

Given Sakurada Jun's physical abilities, unless there's a gang leader waiting for him inside the gate, he probably doesn't need to worry about his personal safety.

The door opened, but there were no ten teams of four, nor anything strange or unusual.

The thin, old man lay obediently on the hospital bed in his hospital gown. His appearance was only average; he was neither kind nor fierce.

Judging by his appearance alone, you would never guess that this little old man is actually the godfather of a boy band who has dominated the Japanese entertainment industry, let alone that he is a demon who has harmed hundreds of thousands of teenagers.

After entering the room, Jun Sakurada gently closed the door, maintaining a defensive posture while also appearing somewhat puzzled.

No bodyguards? No traps? Isn't he afraid I'll kill him?

But after thinking it over, he shook his head inwardly and temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​taking action.

It's not that Kitagawa shouldn't have been killed, but there was no need to sacrifice Sakurada Jun himself just to make him die a few months earlier than he originally intended.

Being blacklisted is a small matter, but going to jail for it is not worth it.

Jun Sakurada had already made up his mind that even if he took action today, it could only be in self-defense.

Just then, he suddenly saw the old man's body tremble, and he slowly sat up with some difficulty. He opened his eyes and saw Sakurada Jun in front of him. He immediately perked up.

Being stared at by such a disreputable old man made Sakurada Jun very uncomfortable, so after a few seconds, he took the initiative to speak: "Is there something you need?" His tone was a little impolite, as he really didn't want to address the guy in front of him as "you" or "sir".

The old man didn't speak, but stared at him for a few more seconds until Sakurada Jun started to get irritated. Then he suddenly spoke up: "YOU, your eyes don't look like a Japanese person at all."

It was still a strange mix of English and Japanese, but the content gave Jun Sakurada a jolt, raising his already high level of alertness to an even higher level.

In stark contrast to his wary demeanor, Kitagawa glanced at him and continued, "There's absolutely no sense of hierarchy or arrogance in your eyes, unlike the typical restraint and subservience of most Japanese people."

"That kind of open, fearless, and aggressive gaze is something that can only be seen in the eyes of citizens of a great power, and especially in the eyes of citizens of the most advanced great power."

"Considering your resume and career path, I can confirm that you have the eyes of a typical Chinese person."

"But that's strange—you should be a native Japanese person, right?"

Listening to Kitagawa's self-talk, Jun Sakurada felt a chill run down his spine.

As expected of the most astute old man in the entire Japanese entertainment industry, he was able to guess the general direction correctly even in such a situation.

Although this guess was not enough to pose any threat to Jun Sakurada, it was still not a pleasant feeling to have one's secrets guessed.

"Just say what you have to say." Jun Sakurada's tone grew increasingly stiff.

"Well, I guess he's been more influenced by that culture." Kitagawa didn't dwell on it for long. He looked at Sakurada Jun again, this time with a slightly more serious tone: "You are special. You're almost perfect in your excellence, but you don't have the heart to become an idol."

"I've been watching your performance all this time. Although it's a bit too early to say this now, it's appropriate to ask this question considering your rate of growth."

His voice trailed off slightly, as if he were squeezing out the last ounce of energy from his emaciated body: "You, would you like to become the next Takuya Kimura at Johnny's?"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere froze instantly. Jun Sakurada's already tense face became even more strained, and he didn't answer immediately because he really couldn't think of anything to say.

He had considered Kitagawa's purpose in calling him over for a meeting, ranging from the worst-case scenario of ulterior motives to encouragement, probing, scrutiny, pressure, and so on. He had considered all the possibilities and corresponding countermeasures.

But what I didn't expect was that the old man would start with such a statement that was almost like entrusting his son to someone else.

Takuya Kimura, the greatest idol in Johnny's history, had unparalleled influence at his peak, an influence that even Johnny's couldn't erase from his life.

Moreover, he and SMAP were also the reformers of Johnny's in the previous era, pioneers who successfully found a new way out for Johnny's during the idol ice age.

Kitagawa now directly calls Jun Sakurada "the next Kimura," which is indeed an extremely high evaluation, almost like entrusting him with a great responsibility.

In other words, the hope is that Jun Sakurada will become the one to carry the torch for Johnny's Entertainment after Kitagawa's death.

But—would Sakurada Jun agree to that? Of course not!

Who would dare accept Dong Zhuo's entrustment of his son? Kitagawa's wickedness might be slightly worse than Dong Zhuo's, but not by much. He immediately wanted to think of a tactful way to refuse, but before he could even open his mouth, Kitagawa waved his hand: "You don't need to answer me now."

He reached out and pressed a button by the bed: "I estimate there are three or four months left. Come back in three months and tell me your answer."

"I can answer now, not in three months," Jun Sakurada said, but Kitagawa waved his hand halfway through, "I know, but we'll still have to wait three months."

"Only then will your answer be useful."

Before Sakurada Jun could retort, the ward door opened again, and the staff member from before came in: "Mr. Sakurada, visiting hours are over. Mr. Kitagawa needs to rest."

Jun Sakurada wanted to finish what he hadn't said, but seeing that Kitagawa had already gone back to bed and was ignoring him, he could only grit his teeth in silence.

"No matter how long it takes, I will never change my mind! And the next Kimura won't be able to save your mess!" Jun Sakurada's words were practically a table-flipping statement.

But Kitagawa seemed completely unconcerned, simply lying down and closing his eyes as if the conversation had never happened. Even the staff didn't say anything, they just led him out of the ward.

That damned old bastard, covered in filth, what's with the act of being so profound?

On the way back, Sakurada Jun was very irritable. He felt that the old man was just messing with his mentality.

Why call him over for no apparent reason, just for a bunch of riddles, and for three months? Is three months enough for you to clear your name, or enough to turn the tide of events?

You can't be planning to corrupt me over three months, can you? You don't think I'm someone who's easily swayed, do you?

He was frustrated that he couldn't figure out Kitagawa's methods; the old man had hidden his true intentions very well.

"How about we just flip the table?" Sakurada Jun thought, but then hesitated.

Over the next three months, "The Mystery of Hurenzhuang" was a high-value resource that was already within his grasp, and V6's China tour was an indispensable part of his plans.

If things fall apart with Johnny's now, I probably won't be able to go to either of them, which would be a bit of a loss.

"Fine, might as well take advantage of this opportunity. He gave me a three-month grace period, so I'll use those three months to eat up all the edible resources I can!"

"Then, three months later, they'll flip the table and run away!"

Starting today, Jun Sakurada's idol trainee life officially enters its countdown.

The duration is three months.