Flying over the bubble era

Chapter 1560, Chapter 1561: The Trump Card in Hand
Rumors circulated that singers from the Komuro group had all their promotional activities canceled as punishment.

When Tetsuya Komuro visited, he got straight to the point, directly addressing this highly sensitive topic. This frankness naturally added to his imposing presence.

In reality, Tetsuya Komuro was more gentle and humble than usual during his visit.

For once, Iwahashi Shinichi found this man's demeanor refreshingly simple. He asked, as if casually picking a few soybeans from a winnowing basket, "Punishment?"

Tetsuya Komuro smiled: "Iwahashi-san, if I considered it a punishment, I wouldn't be here."

Getting straight to the point implies a desire to take the initiative.

Placing the promotion of Komuro's artists entirely aside was certainly not a punishment. It was simply a way of showing Tetsuya Komuro a predicament. Komuro's words contained a hint of flattery towards Shinichi Iwahashi. But Shinichi Iwahashi didn't respond.

Tetsuya Komuro couldn't help but add, "I don't think Iwahashi-san is that short-sighted."

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had spoken out of turn and couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.

Shinichi Iwahashi remained calm and unhurried, pretending not to see it. "Mr. Komuro, GENZO approached you with the sincerity of fully cooperating with you. I can be lenient with you, but we must respond to what has happened."

Tetsuya Komuro realized that Shinichi Iwahashi was already prepared and was easily defending.

He paused for a moment before taking over the conversation: "I believe that collaborating with GENZO is one of the best decisions I've ever made. But I also believe that, given the current situation, we can gain much more than this."

"I need to correct something."

Shinichi Iwahashi said, "Mr. Komuro, you may gain much more than this, but for GENZO, granting you what you gain means losing what we gain."

Similarly, if VERMILLION Records collaborates with Tetsuya Komuro today and gains something, but tomorrow Komuro wants more, it means VERMILLION Records will also face the same loss.

Tetsuya Komuro placed himself in such a delicate situation.

Ultimately, however, it was Iwahashi Shinichi's media hype that fueled the situation, pushing Komuro Tetsuya into this predicament entirely due to his own passive position. Before meeting Iwahashi Shinichi, Komuro Tetsuya had a vague feeling that he had fallen into this man's trap. Now, hearing these words, he was finally certain of it.

Shinichi Iwahashi pressed on, "What Komuro-san wants isn't simply to get tired of one collaborator and then switch to another, is it? That would be far too boring."

He indeed wore a bored expression and spoke frankly: "However, if Mr. Komuro wants to unite the power of the industry, he must face a reality: he cannot be too deeply bound to any force."

From this perspective, if Shinichi Iwahashi were to openly break with him, Tetsuya Komuro would be tied to VERMILLION Records.

However, Iwahashi Shinichi's words gave Komuro Tetsuya a glimmer of hope.

At the moment of negotiation, Shinichi Iwahashi's willingness to admit that he could not be too closely tied to any one power meant that there was room for maneuver.

Realizing this, Tetsuya Komuro felt a sense of relief. Holding his trump card, he remained silent, waiting for what would happen next.

"Mr. Komuro, do you want to be a rootless kite in this industry?" Shinichi Iwahashi asked.

Tetsuya Komuro, possessing such an unshareable talent, is like a kite. If he doesn't want to drift away with the wind, he needs to unite with enough forces.

However, if he becomes too entangled with various forces, he will be unable to realize his ambitions.

Ultimately, this is an industry where the rules cannot be broken.

Shinichi Iwahashi calmly described his current situation, every word resonating deeply with Tetsuya Komuro. This man's calmness often displeased Komuro, yet no one understood his true desires better than him. He appeared old-fashioned and restrained, but in reality, he saw through everything.

Sometimes, people forget that Shinichi Iwahashi became famous precisely because he did things that defied common sense.

Shunichi Baba of VERMILLION Records could bring that perfect girl to him, but he didn't have the ability to see through Shinichi Iwahashi's deepest thoughts.

Tetsuya Komuro was inwardly sighing when Shinichi Iwahashi suddenly asked, "Komuro-san, what's your trump card in doing this?"

His question came out of nowhere, catching Tetsuya Komuro off guard, as if he had been attacked.

“Indeed, one cannot be too deeply bound to any one power. Similarly, without one’s own power, if one chooses to cooperate with multiple parties, one will fall into a worse situation, and I will be no different from those behind-the-scenes men who constantly supply songs to various singers,” Tetsuya Komuro admitted.

“But,” Tetsuya Komuro changed the subject, “what if the deeply intertwined forces come from outside Japan, not from Japan? Iwahashi-san.”

Tetsuya Komuro reveals his true hand to Shinichi Iwahashi.

Continuing in this industry would only mean repeating the same stories of newcomers becoming famous. Since that's the case, he wanted to break free from it all.

His gaze was fixed on uncharted territory: entirely new media games.

“…Iwahashi-san isn’t surprised at all.” Tetsuya Komuro smiled.

Shinichi Iwahashi nodded. "I'm thinking about how GENZO will deal with someone who holds such a trump card in the future." Of course, he wouldn't say that he already had intelligence that Tetsuya Komuro was in contact with Murdoch's sons. This development was entirely expected.

“Iwahashi-san, if the inside is rotten, introducing external forces to break through it is a reasonable approach.” Tetsuya Komuro’s gaze was piercing, and his expression was once again that of a confident and talented young man.

Shinichi Iwahashi, however, realized that Tetsuya Komuro was the kind of person who would outmaneuver anyone who tried to control him. Meanwhile, Vermillion was still harboring the superficial idea of ​​poaching talent. That Shunichi Baba was nothing special.

Tetsuya Komuro has lofty ambitions.

But he made a mistake. The external force he was hoping for wasn't one that could be "deeply bound" to him. And taking this step only proved one thing: it was Tetsuya Komuro himself who monopolized Komuro's popularity.

GENZO did not monopolize the popularity of Namie Amuro, otherwise Namie Amuro would not have made a comeback.

When Tetsuya Komuro partnered with Vermilion, Shinichi Iwahashi readily agreed, giving GENZO a much easier position. From then on, he had the leisure to calmly stand by and watch.

Shinichi Iwahashi was willing to watch Tetsuya Komuro tear down the roof, regardless of whether it was inciting him to destruction. Similarly, he wanted to gain many times more benefits from Komuro.

However, this was not an act driven by self-interest, but rather by a desire to establish his authority as the leader of the alliance. Tetsuya Komuro's actions placed Shinichi Iwahashi in a position where he had to rebuild his authority.

There will surely come a day when I will personally put a coffin on Komuro Ryūjō.

That's what Shinichi Iwahashi is going to do next.

Before that—

“We can talk terms now, Komuro-san,” Shinichi Iwahashi said.

A new era is bound to arrive.

Now, we're making preparations for the arrival.