On February 28th, after a concert, the members of S5 discussed backstage.
"I told them not to bet with Kaze! Now we're in danger!"
"You definitely didn't say that, but someone told me that Pokémon's viewership might surpass The Cat and Mouse Couple's. I don't know if it's true."
"I just received messages from thousands of loyal fans. Mirai-sensei's fans have started attacking us online!"
"That animation can't be that good!"
Haruto frowned as he watched his bandmates argue. He is the singer and captain of the famous group S5. Faced with such a situation, he should take the initiative to calm things down.
"Okay, everyone, stop arguing! One episode of Pokémon aired today, and nothing's visible. How can you say it will surpass The Cat and Mouse Couple? It's a farce!" Haruto said: "It's pure madness from some of Mirai-sensei's fans. We don't have to believe them."
The others looked at each other a couple of times and thought he was right. The animation had just been released, so 'how could it succeed?'
"It didn't hurt us to follow the trend and make the bet last time." Haruto repeated: "Didn't we become popular thanks to that series? Don't say it's wrong. Increasing popularity and influence is the most important thing."
In that local television talk show, S5 bet with mangaka Kaze: if Pokémon's viewership surpassed The Cat and Mouse Couple's, they would lose money... This bet was, in reality, a premeditated exaggeration. At that moment, S5 had some bad luck. Whether good or bad, everyone wanted to be in the news.
Betting to lose money was safe and very profitable. No one in S5 objected at the time.
"The captain is right; let's not worry too much."
"Yes. The Cat and Mouse Couple is also an NHK work; how can it lose?"
S5's members slowly calmed down. As stars, they no longer believed what others said. This time they were nervous because the stakes were high.
Haruto knew his bandmates still had a bone to pick. He thought for a moment and said: "I'll call Kaze and ask him what he said!"
For his bandmates to feel completely at ease, he needed to ask someone else who had made the bet.
Osaka. A nightclub, it was midnight and the lights were still on.
"Sensei, you're very horny, hehe... You don't look like a mangaka...".
In the booth, mangaka Kaze hugged a charming woman and gestured, and the woman, amused by him, laughed.
"You're wrong; there's nothing wrong with men being horny." Kaze disagreed and smiled: "There's more. Don't think mangaka are gentlemen. I'll tell you that men who perform art are the most uptight... We're usually under a lot of pressure, and the best way to vent is, of course...".
He said nothing more. But his hands moved much faster, and the woman's gasping increased.
"I told you, Kaze, let's go back early!"
he shouted. Across the booth, Mach was smoking a cigarette and suggested: "Stop touching."
"Go back? No. I'll stay here tonight."
Kaze looked at Mach, who was also sitting next to a woman. But Mach wasn't paying much attention: "What's wrong with you? You're completely different from how you were half a year ago. You should enjoy yourself with a beautiful woman next to you... ah... I think I already know."
With a smile, Kaze clapped his hands and said: "You don't have money, don't worry, you can generously pay, I'll cover the bill!"
This sentence made the two women in the booth look at Mach with different eyes. 'Is this handsome mangaka that poor?'
"No money, bastard!" Mach cursed in his heart. 'He had been unlucky in the past six months, but at least he had The Detective Sherlock in his hand. How could he not have money to go to such a romantic place?'
The reason he wanted to leave was that he didn't want to stay. Kaze had changed.
Ever since Mach was defeated by Mirai-sensei and Kaze became famous with The Cat and Mouse Couple, Kaze always took Mach everywhere to hang out. They were close friends. At first, Mach was very grateful to Kaze for his kindness. However, after half a year, he found that things weren't like that at all.
The reason Kaze took him was not out of brotherhood, but to highlight his own strength.
Wherever they went, Kaze introduced Mach and himself, and from time to time he talked about how miserable Mach had been lately and how powerful he was. On some occasions, he even rushed to pay and was generous.
"Damn it, if you want to show off, show off yourself! Why are you dragging me along?!"
He was showing off again tonight, and he even belittled himself in front of these women. The more Mach thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.
"Come here; I'll pay all the expenses tonight."
He shouted at the woman next to him and swore in his heart that he would break up with Kaze after tonight.
When Kaze heard what Mach said, he narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Brother, if you've been having difficulties lately, don't force yourself. I'm not stopping you from helping...".
He was interrupted by his phone ringing before he finished speaking.
"Hello, who is this?"
Kaze held the woman with one hand, answered the phone, and heard two phrases: "Oh, Haruto, the big star, it's you...".
"What? What about Pokémon? It's not bad. Can it surpass me? No problem, don't worry. The Cat and Mouse Couple is a hit on NHK. Osaka TV will never be able to compare with NHK. Pokémon can't surpass it at all!"
"And if...? Haha... How is that possible?"
Kaze laughed. Haruto asked him what he would do if Pokémon surpassed The Cat and Mouse Couple. That sentence was too ridiculous.
"Big star, think about who's behind me and who's behind him... Do you think there'll be any chance?"
After Tatsuryū Manga's merger with Kanto Manga Company, Kaze, of course, became a mangaka for Kanto Manga Company. Originally, he was an animation artist for NHK and received excellent treatment at Kanto Manga Company. Kanto valued Kaze and couldn't put him in a bad light.
"You're in the entertainment industry; you know no industry is easy." Kaze said proudly: "If Pokémon surpasses me, will Kanto agree? I'm their star mangaka. How could they make me eat that thing... Kanto can destroy Hinotori Publishing in a minute; what is there to worry about? Mirai-sensei will never be able to defeat me in this life!"
He said these words with such arrogance that even Mach couldn't help but want to hit him.
"Can you compare yourself to Mirai-sensei?"
Mirai-sensei defeated him for half a year. Mach learned a lot during this period. Perhaps at first he was unwilling, but now he knows how strong Mirai-sensei is, how many legends he has created in half a year. He and other mangaka are simply two-dimensional people.
They were not on the same level, so it wasn't unfair for Mach to lose.
"You, a lucky guy, want to compare yourself to Mirai-sensei?"
Mach looked at Kaze's smiling face, thinking he would die miserably sooner or later.
After Kaze hung up the phone, he soon received another call.
"Oh, Haru... Talk about the new position? Tomorrow morning?... Well, tomorrow afternoon. I don't have time in the morning."
"Oh, that's it, I'm busy, goodbye."
He hung up the phone again.
"Haru?" The woman in Kaze's arms was surprised: "Isn't that The Cat and Mouse Couple's author? Kaze... How could you refuse his invitation?"
"Haha, what's called 'today' isn't as good as the past." Kaze put down the phone, touched the woman, and smiled: "When I was at Tatsuryū, those novelists were grandfathers, and now I'm at Kanto. I found out they've become grandsons."
Kanto Manga Company pays attention to mangaka, and its prestige has greatly increased.
"What a waste of time it was before! We had to follow the novelist's advice when drawing." Kaze complained: "Haru has been writing for so many years. His influence has always been small. If I hadn't helped him draw The Cat and Mouse Couple, without my adorable drawing style, he wouldn't be so popular now!"
"Damn it!"
Mach almost rushed towards him and slapped him to death. Kaze was becoming more and more sanctimonious. Haru is the original author of the story. If he had chosen other artists, Kaze wouldn't be the proud one he is now.
Late at night, Tokyo. At Kanto Manga Company's headquarters, several men were sitting at a round table, and no one said anything.
"Ding-a-ling-ling..."
Suddenly, the phone rang, and a middle-aged man answered: "Hello."
"The government has spoken..."
The voice on the phone made him stiffen, and he asked nervously: "Is it about Mirai-sensei?"
"That's right, Takeshi Yamamoto, didn't you do anything you shouldn't have?"
Takeshi Yamamoto, this name will cause a stir throughout the manga industry. He is the president of Kanto Manga, but at that moment, he replied respectfully, because he represented the capitalists, the masters of Kanto.
"No." Takeshi Yamamoto replied immediately: "Since the government began the investigation, we haven't done anything."
He didn't have the courage to cause trouble knowing that the government was investigating Mirai-sensei. The central government acted too quickly. Mirai-sensei had just been discovered, and when Kanto Manga reviewed him, it was known that the government was investigating, which didn't give Takeshi Yamamoto a chance to act in advance.
"You've done a great job. Keep following the rules. As long as we don't break the law, the government will remain neutral." The person on the other end of the phone praised him and then said softly: "Let's see if you can stop Mirai-sensei. As long as he becomes one of ours, today's government's words won't matter."
"It's difficult... According to the information I have, he has shares in Hinotori Publishing, and both are linked."
"Easy. Shares are money...". The capitalist representative on the other end of the phone laughed: "We're the least lacking. Go talk to Mirai-sensei. If he comes to Kanto, we promise to animate each of his works directly, and if he changes jobs, we'll give him 10,000,000,000 yen."
"So much!"
Takeshi Yamamoto was stunned: "What a high price!"
In the history of the manga industry, no one has received such treatment.
"How can it not be small? Mirai-sensei is a devil." The representative said: "His drawing skills are top-notch, which is not a big deal, but he is also an original and meticulous mangaka. As for content, no one in Japan can match him."
"One person's value undoubtedly surpasses that of several of our best mangaka, and he can even help us compete with competitors from other regions. 10,000,000,000 yen is a good deal."
Takeshi Yamamoto nodded.
"But what if he wants shares?"
"No... What we need is a mangaka, a content creator." The representative snorted coldly: "We can't even give him the right to shares. How can we let him have a say in the company's development? It would be too dangerous."
This answer secretly relieved Takeshi Yamamoto. He needed a puppet he could control, but once the puppet had other things, it would be difficult to control.
"And what does the government mean?"
Takeshi Yamamoto asked. 'That's why he was working so late.'
"The government has proposed three prohibitions: not to harm or obstruct Mirai-sensei, not to use illegal means to suppress and compete with Mirai-sensei's company, and... we are not allowed to force Tokyo University manga graduates to work for the company; instead, they are allowed to choose freely."
The first two conditions did not escape Takeshi Yamamoto's expectations, but the third prohibition left him a little confused. After deep thought, he began to tremble.
'What does the central government mean by this?'
Kanto's only local rival is Mirai-sensei, from Hinotori Publishing. 'Does the government want to see if Mirai-sensei can attract Kanto's mangaka?'
"It's impossible!"
- - - -
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