Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 33 "Slap!" "Slap!"

"Knock knock knock~"

The sound of someone descending the stairs came from the quiet stairwell. A balding, somewhat overweight middle-aged man hurried down the stairs.

The visitor was none other than Fujiwara, the vice-commander, who was also the powerful figure behind Kudo Sakae.

Although his name and appearance were completely mismatched, the surname "Fujiwara" ensured that no one in the entire Shueisha dared to laugh at him.

After all, everyone knows that one of the major shareholders of Shueisha is also surnamed Fujiwara.

Beside him was the secretary he had specially arranged for Kudo Sakae.

The secretary rushed upstairs without even knocking, barging in and shouting at him:

"The author discovered the contract issue with 'Rurouni Kenshin,' and it seems they've gotten into a fight over it."

Before he could even get angry, he was so frightened that he rushed downstairs. He wasn't worried about how badly his mistress had been beaten, but rather that the silly woman might say something wrong and reveal what he and they had done together before, further damaging his already bad reputation at the company.

When the two arrived downstairs, the office door was still closed, but a crowd of people had gathered in front of it.

Everyone was pricking up their ears, listening intently to the sounds coming from inside.

Fujiwara Toshihiko's forehead creased with annoyance. He glanced at his secretary, who immediately understood.

He stepped forward and shouted at the crowd gathered at the door, "What are you all doing? Don't you have to work during working hours?!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and were horrified to find Fujiwara Toshihiko standing there as well. They scattered immediately, fleeing like startled birds.

Fujiwara Toshihiko didn't give them a second glance or say much, but he silently memorized a few faces belonging to Shimada Kenichi's camp, planning to use this as an excuse to fire them in a couple of days.

At that time, he will be able to completely control the entire group. Only with a complete group will he have the strength to compete with Shimada Kenichi.

As their thoughts raced, their actions followed in equal speed.

He simply opened the door and went inside, and there was no scene of his lover being brutally beaten inside.

On the contrary, Shirakawa Yuta wanted to leave, but Kudo Sakae was holding him back, preventing him from going.

Every leader of a large company, especially those at the middle and senior management levels, is a good actor.

After opening the door and going inside, Toshihiko Fujiwara's face perfectly displayed an expression of anxiety and confusion, but his core remained calm.

He rested one hand on the door, the other hanging in front of him, and asked as if he knew nothing of what was happening inside, "What happened?"

Yuta Shirakawa had calmed down by now. He glanced at the other person and gestured to the hem of his clothes that was being held, but said nothing.

Kudo Sakae, however, seemed to have seen a savior. She released her grip on Shirakawa Yuta's clothes and hurriedly ran towards Fujiwara, saying, "There's been a misunderstanding between Yuta and me. He's backing out of the contract we agreed on. I'm trying to talk to him about it."

Yuta Shirakawa rolled his eyes from behind. This old woman was good at turning the tables; she almost managed to make the black seem white.

She tampered with the contract, but now it's his fault?

However, he was too lazy to explain. On the one hand, he didn't know the other party's background and was afraid that they were just like Kudo Sakae; on the other hand, the goodwill he had towards the company because of Imai Chinatsu was now almost wiped out by this contract.

With the quality of "Rurouni Kenshin", even if it were to appear in the neighboring "Weekly Shonen Magazine" or even "Weekly Shonen Sunday", it wouldn't have to worry about not having an audience. Although it might be a little late, at least there's no need to worry about being cheated.

Fujiwara Toshihiko didn't look at Kudo Sakae who was running towards him; instead, his eyes were fixed on Shirakawa Yuta, who was standing still.

Upon noticing the impatience in the other person's eyes, he keenly sensed that something was amiss.

In the blink of an eye, they made their choice.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap silenced the entire room. Not only Kudo Sakae, who was hit, but even Shirakawa Yuta was stunned in place.

Kudo Sakae lay half-reclined on the ground, covering her face, looking at Fujiwara Toshihiko in disbelief.

Fujiwara Toshihiko snorted coldly, showing no intention of apologizing for the slap he had just delivered. Instead, he continued speaking in a chilling tone:

"You still dare to deny it even now! Your secretary has already explained everything you did in private to me. I never imagined that you, as the team leader, would dare to arbitrarily alter the contract! Do you know what the consequences will be if this gets out?"

"This will not only severely damage the company's interests, but also cause unwarranted losses to our respected collaborating authors. I've told you before that our relationship with the authors is one of mutual benefit and shared destiny; if one party suffers a loss, no one can remain unscathed!"

"Kudo Sakae, you have really disappointed me."

Upon hearing this, Kudo Sakae angrily scrambled to her feet and was about to shout, "Fujiwara Toshihiko, don't try to pretend..."

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped back at him.

"Shut up! What are you trying to say?"

This slap completely woke Kudo Sakae up. Looking at Fujiwara Toshihiko's murderous eyes, she was so frightened that she took two steps back.

Covering her face and with red eyes, she said, "No, it's nothing. I know I was wrong, Captain Fujiwara."

"Hmph, it's good that you know you were wrong. Your bonus for this month is canceled as punishment for what you did. Mr. Shirakawa, are you satisfied with this outcome?"

Yuta Shirakawa watched their performance quietly from the side.

He's not a fool; he naturally knows there's something fishy going on.

Putting aside the fact that Kudo Sakae himself had just let it slip, he didn't believe that the higher-ups wouldn't know about the contract.

Behind this are either generous bonuses, promotions, or both.

Otherwise, an editor, especially a seasoned and experienced one, would absolutely never do something that harms others without benefiting themselves.

However, since the other party has already made their stance clear, there's no need for him to dwell on the issue.

He still had some self-awareness, even though the other party valued him highly, or rather, his book "Rurouni Kenshin".

However, to fire an editorial team leader and put Kudo Sakae to death is utterly delusional.

So when faced with Fujiwara Toshihiko's question, he casually nodded and said, "It's alright, that's fine."

But to his surprise, Fujiwara Toshihiko took his answer to heart.

"Does Shirakawa-san mean you're not satisfied with this result?"

After saying that, without waiting for Shirakawa Yuta to speak, she raised her hand again and slapped Kudo Sakae.

"Wait a moment!"