Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1041 Ridiculous
For Japanese people, Ginza definitely holds a special place in their hearts.

It was named after the relocation of a silver coin mint to this location during the Edo period in the early 17th century.

In its contact with Western civilization, it became a window for the integration of Japan and the world. The emergence of electric lights, coffee shops, ice cream, and brick buildings made it a witness to the transformation of Japan's history and culture.

With the advent of the new era, the booming development of modern commerce and fashion has endowed Ginza with a unique commercial culture, gradually transforming it into its present form.

"Expensive, high-end, fashionable, tasteful..."

Ginza, where the boundaries between tradition and modernity are blurred, has many labels.

How one views it depends on their individual perspective.

Today, although the bursting of the Japanese stock market bubble has interrupted the upward momentum of the Japanese economy, Ginza remains a symbol of the overall prosperity of the Japanese economy.

Therefore, even though it was completely dark when Hideki Hanyu arrived in Ginza with the Nakayama sisters, the streets of Ginza were still bustling with people and traffic.

Even the most expensive luxury stores were packed with people at this moment.

When you bring a girl to Ginza, you'll naturally have to do some shopping.

As for queuing, pressing the right button for Hideki Hanyu is not a problem at all.

Before they even reached the store entrance, the staff greeted them and led them through a private passage and elevator, directly into the VIP room.

Then, Hideki Hanyu sat with his legs crossed, eating the fruit platter that had been specially brought to him, and quietly watched the staff recommend products to the Zhongshan sisters.

Actually, it's been a long time since Hideki Hanyu has experienced this kind of shopping.

His clothes are all custom-made now. Even when he commissions a brand to customize his clothes, the designer comes to his home to provide the service. Mass-produced goods sold in stores are no longer within his consideration.

Hideki Hanyu observes the reactions of the two girls.

When faced with the shop assistant's service, Nakayama Shinobu was clearly a little uncomfortable and nervous, obviously experiencing this shopping mode for the first time.

As for Miho Nakayama, being a popular celebrity, she seemed quite calm.

However, because of Hideki Hanyu's previous dissatisfaction, Miho Nakayama was a little timid and cautious when choosing recommended products, afraid that she might accidentally upset Hideki Hanyu again.

Because of Miho Nakayama's behavior, her younger sister Shinobu Nakayama also became somewhat reserved.

However, this woman clearly underestimated Hideki Hanyu.

As the saying goes, one thing at a time. When it's time to teach a lesson, teach a lesson; when it's time to spend money, spend money. The former will not affect Hideki Hanyu's attitude toward the latter.

When it comes to spending money on women, scumbags are never stingy.

So after watching for a while and realizing that the two were dawdling and wasting time, Hideki Hanyu waved to the waiter.

"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

The young waitress hurried over, bowed, and respectfully inquired about Hideki Yuzuru.

Although Hideki Hanyu is not the owner of Chanel, where they work, his status alone is enough to earn him any respect.

As soon as Hideki Hanyu arrived, even the VIP room was cleared out for him.

"Order all of the dresses I just recommended, except for the second to last red dress. If the size doesn't fit, have them custom-made."

"Yes, sir."

Hideki Hanyu's generosity immediately brought a smile to the face of the waitress who had just secured the large order.

But she still cautiously offered her reminder.

"Sir, some of these need to be picked up as needed. This is the picking list."

As she spoke, the waitress handed a product catalog to Hideki Yuzuru.

Luxury stores also use the practice of requiring brands under the LVMH Group to fulfill certain purchase obligations, so it's not surprising that Hideki Hanyu did it.

However, the items that could be used for distribution were mostly very ordinary, and Hideki Yuzuru glanced at them without even the slightest urge to give them away.

He simply wrote down the address of Yunshang Entertainment and distributed these goods to employees as a benefit.

“Send all of these…these…and these to the address I wrote down.”

Finally, Hideki Hanyu pointed to a small handbag, "There's no need to give this to you, Miss. Keep it as a token of my gratitude for your service."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Amid the waiter's overjoyed thanks, Hideki Yuzuru stood up and greeted the Nakayama sisters.

"This place is closed, let's move on to the next one."

The three of them left the VIP room in a private elevator, escorted by waiters.

Seeing her younger sister linking arms with Hideki Hanyu and chatting happily, Miho Nakayama, who was walking behind, finally gritted her teeth and linked arms with Hideki Hanyu's other arm as well.

He then whispered, "Thank you."

Hideki Hanyu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you afraid of me now?"

"I'm very sorry," Miho Nakayama said, bowing her head in apology.

"Is it enough to just say thank you and apologize?" Hideki Hanyu stared at Miho Nakayama.

"I……"

Miho Nakayama clearly didn't know what to do.

However, Hideki Hanyu took the initiative to provide the answer.

He lifted the beauty's chin and kissed her directly.

A moment later, Hideki Hanyu released Miho Nakayama, who was breathing rapidly.

“It tastes pretty good.”

After giving his evaluation, Hideki Hanyu did not let go of her hand, but instead whispered to Miho Nakayama.

"If you make me happy by spending time with Shinobu tonight, I'll forgive you."

After saying that, he ignored Miho Nakayama's reaction, laughed heartily, put his arm around the two sisters, and walked towards the door to continue his trip to Ginza that night.

However, while Hideki Hanyu was strolling through Ginza with his girlfriend, another part of Tokyo was in complete chaos.

It was a gathering specifically for Aso.

Invited by Aso, an elder from Aso's maternal clan, looking at the many people who had come for this matter, asked Aso with a serious expression.

"At this point, you absolutely cannot hide anything from us."

Because Hideki Hanyu has made it clear that he will not compromise, once we all decide to support you, you need to be clear about what will happen.

This is not an ordinary conflict, but a large-scale war affecting the entire upper echelons of Japanese politics!

Hearing his elder's words, Aso scratched his head and said, "It's just a small matter, there's no need to make such a big deal out of it. Just teach that guy a lesson."

However, no sooner had Aso finished speaking than he noticed the absurd and horrified looks on everyone's faces. The elder from his maternal clan immediately reprimanded him.

Do you think this is just kids playing a game?
Once such a conflict begins, no matter how trivial the cause, it loses its meaning after it occurs.

Because the purpose of the conflict is no longer about right or wrong, but about the bottom line and dignity of each side, it is absolutely impossible to easily resort to violence.

You mean teach them a lesson? Do you even know who our opponent is?

He is Hideki Hanyu, not one of those commoners you can manipulate!

He is a world-class author with global influence; his name can be found on the bestseller lists of any country today.

It is conservatively estimated that all his companies have at least 400,000 direct employees in Japan, and the number of people indirectly affected is in the millions.

In Hokkaido, the six prefectures of Tohoku, the northern Kanto region, and even the Tokyo metropolitan area, do you know how many people he secretly supports in city councils, prefectural councils, the Diet, and the cabinet?
And those big companies, do you know how many of them have illicit relationships with him?

Just considering the relationship between Mitsui and the Origin Group, do you think Mitsui would just stand by and watch you teach them a lesson?
There's also the Xidu Group, which he spearheaded, and the Pachinko copyright business alliance; the intricate web of interests involved transcends any single faction.

Have you considered the media power he wields?

Even Dentsu was defeated by him. Do you think the media will take your side if you teach him a lesson?
Most importantly, no one knows just how powerful he is in America.

Know thyself, ever-victorious.

Before you've figured out your opponent's strength, you'd better put away your arrogance!

As soon as the elder finished speaking, Aso loudly said with a displeased expression.

"Since he's so good, why are you still helping me? You might as well just admit defeat and push me out to apologize!"

As soon as Aso said this, the expressions of those around him became increasingly strange.

His maternal elders even showed expressions of disappointment and frustration.

We support you because we trust you!
It's because you're fifty years old, not a five-year-old child!
It's because you are the heir to the Aso family, the next generation leader we recognize!
It's because you told us that Hideki Hanyu insulted the Aso family!
We support you to uphold the dignity of all of us, and to let those who provoke us and the factions know that we have not lost our power!
So regardless of Hideki Hanyu's actual abilities, we will fully support you, simply because you told everyone that you were going to wage war against Hideki Hanyu.

As he listened to his elders' words, Aso's face gradually stiffened.

Immediately, someone in the vicinity spoke up to ask.

“We have sent a reliable intermediary to communicate with Hideki Hanyu. Hideki Hanyu made it clear that he would not slip up and implied that the facts were not as you said.”

At this moment, everyone is here to support you, so please tell us truthfully, Mr. Aso, what exactly happened between you two.

"This..." Aso hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

His hesitant attitude, coupled with his unreliable remarks just now, immediately made many people in the audience frown.

Then someone else chimed in.

“If Aso-san doesn’t trust us, then we must consider whether we should clash with Hideki Hanyu for your sake, since we would have to pay a huge price for it.”

Clearly, these words carried a strong warning.

After all, everyone present knew very well that with Hideki Hanyu's attitude so resolute, this conflict was definitely not something that could be easily resolved.

They said it would come at a huge price, and they weren't joking at all.

Seemingly sensing everyone's attitude, Aso finally stopped hiding his feelings and began to tell the story of what had happened that morning.

"This morning, I ran into Hideki Hanyu jogging in Kamiyama Town..."

Aso recounted the events of the morning, inevitably embellishing them with his own subjective emotions.

Even so, after Aso finished explaining the situation, the people present could not hide their shock after hearing the not-so-complicated process.

One person couldn't help but ask on the spot.

"If I heard correctly, Asou-san provoked Hideki Habu first, and then he insulted your family?"

Aso immediately defended himself, "That wasn't a provocation, it was just a senior giving advice to a junior."

But no one present listened to Aso's explanation.

Even his maternal elders asked in disbelief.

"Why did you do that? Were you instructed by someone, or do you have some other plan?"

Aso said somewhat unhappily, "I wasn't instructed by anyone, and I have no other plans. I just think that kid is too high-profile, and I don't like his investments in China."

"Damn it!"

As soon as Aso finished speaking, someone in the audience couldn't help but curse.

“Suntory, Morinaga, Hitachi, Sony, Panasonic, Mitsui… so many Japanese companies have invested in China, even before Hideki Hanyu. Why don’t you warn them!”

This person said this simply because he found Aso's provocation too absurd, and it was just a slip of the tongue.

However, upon hearing this, Aso retorted confidently, "Hideki Hanyu is a lowly person; how could he be qualified to be compared to these companies?"

After Aso finished speaking, someone immediately stood up and addressed his maternal elders.

"I'm sorry, but I must carefully consider whether I should get involved in the conflict between Aso-san and Hanyu Hideki. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, the man turned and walked away.

Once someone took the lead, one after another, people stood up to express the same attitude and then left the scene.

Finally, a former cabinet member who had been close to the Aso family for generations stood up, gave a wry smile, and spoke to an elder of Aso's maternal clan.

"Yoshida-san, I am willing to support Aso-san to the end for anyone who provokes Aso-san and challenges the dignity of the Aso family."

However, this is on the premise that the reason for the incident is not so absurd.

We have been waiting for Aso-san to grow up, to mature, and then to entrust the strength of all of us to him.

But from this incident, I realized that he hasn't grown into someone who satisfies us.

Therefore, I think we should consider other options while there is still time to salvage the situation.

I hope Mr. Yoshida will consider this carefully.

After listening to this friend's words, the elder of Aso's maternal clan stood up with a solemn expression and bowed to all those who had not left.

"I'm very sorry for the trouble. The original plan has been suspended. I will give you an answer as soon as possible regarding the next steps."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and in the end, they could only bid farewell and leave together.

With so many people leaving, everyone already understood that continuing the war with Hideki Hanyu was completely impossible.

The fact that Aso's maternal elders have taken the initiative to cease hostilities has brought them a sense of relief.

As for how to resolve this matter and how to appease Hideki Hanyu, that's not something they should be concerned with.

The Aso family has been a dominant force in Japan for so many years, with a deeply entrenched network of connections. Even if they can't win the fight, they should still be able to find a way to save face.

(End of this chapter)