diymy Chapter 107 Completely Fabricated
Chapter 107 Completely Fabricated
"Boss, we've started receiving replies to our orders."
At Kuroda Karito's place, his subordinates reported in an orderly manner.
"Even for controversial products, they provide a response."
"But their words seemed to suggest a change of personnel, so it seems they are indeed betting on Asuka Honoka."
His subordinates felt somewhat helpless.
To be honest, this boss is really good to his subordinates, but he's also really unreliable.
After all, the investigation process inevitably involves encountering the facts themselves.
He discovered that the boss had only tried to poach people but failed; such a small matter was causing such a fuss.
Similar situations have occurred before, but most opponents quickly succumb to their team's pressure; this one is simply much more difficult to deal with.
The boss is getting stuck on a nitpicky point.
This Nakajima office is slippery.
Apart from that one surprise attack, they've never really hit the nail on the head; it's always been a back-and-forth struggle.
Kuroda Karito might not have realized it, but the professionals in the team had already noticed that something was wrong.
"Replacing them with someone else, what a clever idea."
"If Asuka Honoka hadn't personally stepped in, wouldn't that have been like giving Nakajima Hiroshi an order for nothing?"
"Yes."
"There were also a very small number of smaller-scale expressions of interest, and the other party claimed that they could visit the site and then discuss the matter."
Upon hearing this, Kuroda Karito's face lit up with excitement.
"Send someone to make contact and reach a cooperation agreement with Nakajima Hiro, so that we can ruin Asuka Honoka's career in one fell swoop through the performance."
"I refuse to believe he can cause any trouble on our turf!"
Hiroshi Nakajima is also conducting background checks on potential collaborations.
After all, it's about selecting commercial deals for Asuka Hanazawa, which is different from exploiting other artists, and the long-term impact also needs to be considered.
Just as Kuroda received, Nakajima Hiroshi's approach was very clear.
The company declined, the controversial product was replaced, and only small-scale cooperation is left to be considered.
Then, their addresses...
Not right.
Most of them are concentrated in one area.
However, that place wasn't very close to the venue for the event, Nakajima's office, or the place where he distributed promotional materials.
Logically speaking, given Asuka's popularity, there shouldn't be enough to cause such a situation.
Not to mention how concentrated it is.
"Misaki-nee, do you have any friends in that area?"
And Yoshioka Shigeru asked the same question and received the same answer.
First, determine if it's an internal team issue.
No, there isn't.
The answer is naturally consistent.
Someone is probably up to no good again.
Nakajima Hiroshi narrowed his eyes.
"Then, please help me check these stores."
He sent the information to the two people separately.
The replies came quickly, almost one after the other from Misaki Tachibana and Shigeru Yoshioka.
"They're probably all empty shells."
"These businesses should theoretically be the type that require a boss to run them, but people in the neighborhood generally have no recollection of the responsible person listed on the licenses, and the operators are actually someone else."
"Understood."
Nakajima Hiroshi pondered for a moment: "I'll go take a look first."
It's impossible to reject it outright. Cutting ties rashly without a clear understanding of the situation would be like throwing a stone at a rat for fear of breaking the vase.
At their size, they don't really have the right to be picky.
However, since there are doubts, actual investigation is necessary.
"...Yes, I happen to be nearby, so I thought I'd drop by. Is that convenient for you?"
That's what Hiroshi Nakajima said from the very first store.
These stores do indeed belong to Kuroda.
Nakajima Hiroshi's sudden visit caught them off guard.
All I could do was hurriedly call the store manager, give them some simple instructions, and hope they could adapt to the situation.
Ok……
The environment looked alright, generally quite clean, and the bosses readily agreed.
But no, there's a problem.
These stores have a highly unified style and the staff are trained to a very high standard, giving Nakajima Hiroshi a clear sense of a chain store.
Even if they are not in the same field.
Moreover, their level of discipline is significantly higher than that of those around them.
We should still try to reach an agreement, as there aren't many potential partners available right now.
However, the situation needs to be clarified.
"As you can see, Asuka Hanazawa's schedule is very tight due to the huge success of her project announcement..."
"We still have many artists; are you willing to replace them?"
Let's test the waters first to see if they're after Asuka Kirara.
"After all, we saw this girl's promotional material and came here because of her, so..."
Everyone's responses were highly consistent, leaving no room for Nakajima Hiroshi to communicate.
They unanimously refuse to accept other artists.
This is very strange.
Because in the eyes of most laymen, the artists in an agency should be of similar skill level. Even without Asuka, the other contestants are probably not much worse.
"I see. Then I'm afraid I'll have to go back and discuss it with the team."
Nakajima Hiroshi probed while observing the other person's expression.
He was clearly a little nervous.
Something's fishy.
He then tentatively asked, "Do you have a program schedule? Let me check the schedule of other artists performing at the same time..."
"This... is not yet complete; we are also in discussions with other firms."
None of the bosses gave a definite answer.
Because this was a trap set for Nakajima Hiroshi, where else could he put together a list besides his own artists?
This guy has a town councilor behind him. If a background check reveals that he's an artist under Sakaki Entertainment, then he'll be exposed instantly.
Tokyo is being too strict.
If it were Nakajima Hiroshi, it would probably be like the talent agency rankings, with artists' names made up haphazardly.
Of course, this approach also has its flaws. If neither the new artist nor their agency can be found, it's obviously suspicious.
Therefore, not providing it is actually the best option.
The problem is that Kuroda is used to saturation attacks.
So when many companies gave the same answer, Nakajima Hiroshi was able to confirm that these orders were incorrect.
It's one thing for small shops to be overly obsessed with Asuka, but they also claim that other firms are in negotiations.
Just kidding. Normal law firms don't deal with clients; they take any opportunity they get.
They're eager to monetize the artists as quickly as possible, so naturally, the client is the biggest boss, and they'll give them whatever they want.
If only one store said this, it would be understandable.
However, if the same problem occurs on a large scale, it is clearly a design flaw.
Goodbye.
"Let's check the actors' schedules; hopefully, we'll have the opportunity to work together."
After politely declining, Nakajima Hiroshi quickly left.
The intelligence was quickly relayed back to Kuroda Karito.
"What!?"
"You drove them away?"
"Are you kidding me! You're the one who placed the bet, you think you can let him get away with it?"
Incidentally, "発注者" means "the client" or "the party who issues the application".
It is indeed quite outrageous for a firm to visit a store and fail to reach a cooperation agreement.
Of course, this can't be blamed on the stores downstairs.
After all, if one or two people encounter such problems, it might be due to their incompetence, but if they all run into obstacles, it's clearly a sign of some kind of loophole.
"Boss, isn't it possible that the unanimous reaction from below is making Nakajima suspicious?"
"After all... this guy is probably terrified of you, like a frightened bird, easily startled by the slightest disturbance..."
After hesitating for a long time, the subordinate finally mustered the courage to offer his suggestions, carefully choosing each word.
He could probably guess that it was mostly because his own operations were too secretive.
If a bait appears by chance, that's fishing; if it appears in clusters, that's called baiting.
As is well known, those who bait the nest are often the ones who are not.
In other words, if you can't catch any fish, you have to go to the market and sheepishly buy one.
As a result, when others recognized that it wasn't a local product, it insisted that the fish had swum upstream...
That's how Kuroda Karito is; the moment his subordinates open their mouths, he realizes where the problem lies.
But he refused to admit it, and just snorted coldly.
"snort."
The subordinates were extremely cautious.
"How about we cut off contact between some stores and Nakajima Hiroshi, and try to reach a cooperation agreement with one or two of them? What do you think..."
"Go and do it."
Kuroda Karito was somewhat annoyed.
That damned Nakajima Hiroshi is indeed incredibly sensitive and troublesome.
Bah, you coward.