After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

"I asked you for leave the week before last because I had a cold, and you scolded me for it."

"Oh, it's her."

At this point, Kakimoto finally remembered who it was.

A woman who is unremarkable in terms of projects, figure, and personality is hardly memorable to someone like him who is used to seeing female celebrities and flamboyant rich kids.

"Ms. Kakimoto, should I ask Ishii for information? If she is a friend or fan of Fuyuyama Mei, we can make preparations as soon as possible."

Ozawa Tsubaki asked.

"That's not necessary."

Takatsukasa Kakimoto shook his head impatiently.

"So what if Ishii is a friend of that scoundrel musician? 'Eighteen Months of Love' is my work, a masterpiece that only a master like me could compose! Ms. Noriko Ishii is just one of my good-for-nothing students, and she has no connection with this piece whatsoever."

"Understood." Tsubaki Ozawa lowered her gaze, concealing the disdain in her eyes. Although she had had many in-depth conversations with Takatsukasa Kakimoto, she was still often disgusted by his despicable behavior. "Then I won't mention this to Noriko Ishii."

“No, I just don’t need you to go and ask her for information, but what needs to be said still needs to be said,” Takashi Kakimoto lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a puff of white smoke with a touch of haughty arrogance. “Go tell Ishii.”

"People should have self-awareness."

……

The next morning, Shoko Toyokawa, bursting with a sense of justice, volunteered to help Kikuri Hiroi deliver the list of Kakimoto Takatsu’s disciples, provided by Mukoro Aoyama, to Komekado Law Firm.

When she handed the list to Kensuke Komikado, she earnestly begged him to seek justice for Meiya Fuyuyama, this "pure" musician.

Kensuke Komikado knew that Toyokawa Shoko was a wealthy young lady. At the same time, he misunderstood the relationship between Aoyama Muto and Toyokawa Shoko, thinking that Aoyama Muto was playing the role of raising Toyokawa Shoko. Therefore, he subconsciously regarded Toyokawa Shoko as Aoyama Muto's future wife. After all, their statuses were indeed a good match for marriage. A political elite and a chaebol heiress were a perfect match in Japan. Their age difference was only a little over thirteen years, which was not an obstacle at all for upper-class marriages.

So how could he possibly refuse a request from such a wealthy and promising woman?

So after Toyokawa Shoko said goodbye, Komikado Kensuke called on Mayuzumi Machiko, who was full of excitement, to go to Fuyuyama Meino, the person in question, and ask her to identify which one of them was her friend.

Mei Fuyuyama immediately recognized Noriko Ishii's name.

Noriko Ishii was the keyboardist in her band when she was in college, and I personally heard her first draft of "Gray Confusion".

She even dug out her college yearbook and found Noriko Ishii's contact number and home address.

Just when Mayuzumi Machiko and lawyer Komikado thought they had finally found a key witness who could prove that Kakimoto Takatsukasa had plagiarized, things took another turn.

According to Mei Fuyuyama, Noriko Ishii was a very introverted person when she was in school, so it might not be easy to get her to testify in court.

At first, Kensuke Komikado was not very worried about the matter. If things were really as Toyokawa Shoko had told him, and Kakimoto Takuya was subjecting his disciples to brutal PUA and "exploitation," then Ishii Noriko would be happy to testify in court, whether for her own benefit or for justice.

However, reality slapped him in the face.

First, there was the phone call. When Fuyuyama Mei called Ishii Noriko, the other party hung up immediately upon hearing her voice. The same thing happened when Komikado Kensuke and Mayuzumi Machiko called; it seemed the other party would hang up immediately upon hearing a stranger's voice.

It's unclear whether Noriko Ishii is simply socially awkward and doesn't want to talk to strangers, or if she was warned in advance by Takatsukasa Kakimoto and therefore doesn't dare to get involved with Mei Fuyuyama's group.

Left with no other option, Kensuke Komikado had to send Machiko Mayuzumi to her home to persuade her to testify in court...

When Machiko Dai arrived, she was immediately turned away... No matter how much she knocked or spoke outside the door, the other party remained unmoved.

Finally, Noriko Ishii's neighbor couldn't stand the noise anymore and came out to persuade Machiko Mayuzumi to stop making more noise, so she had no choice but to leave disappointed.

If the witnesses don't cooperate, even Kensuke Komikado is helpless. He can only discuss with Machiko Mayuzumi and Mei Fuyuyama why Noriko Ishii is behaving so strangely.

After discussing for a long time without reaching a conclusion, it was the veteran butler, Hattori, who offered a suggestion based on his years of social experience.

"Could it be because Mr. Kakimoto Takatsukasa exerted too much pressure on Ishii Noriko, so she doesn't believe that you and Miss Dai can truly defeat him in court? If she has such a preconceived notion, then unless she personally confirms that you and Miss Dai possess evidence capable of defeating Mr. Kakimoto Takatsukasa, she is unlikely to overcome her inner turmoil."

"Go to the courtroom and become an enemy of Mr. Kakimoto Takatsukasa."

Isogachi Music Awards: 127 The Rebellion of the Eldest Disciple

To be honest, this kind of talk really dampened the morale of Mayuzumi Machiko and Fuyuyama Mei.

What kind of experience could cause Noriko Ishii to exhibit symptoms similar to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)? It's probably because, in the past few years, all of her disciples who attempted to rebel against Takatsukasa Kakimoto have failed without exception, and all have met with tragic ends…

It seems that in order to get Noriko Ishii to talk, we need to break the perception that "Takatsukasa Kakimoto cannot be defeated."

Kensuke Komikado had an idea in mind, but he hadn't figured out how to implement it.

He refused to believe that Kakimoto Takatsukasa had oppressed so many disciples, and that not a single one of them was willing to stand up and expose him. As long as one person stood up, he was confident that he could catch this culprit and overthrow Kakimoto Takatsukasa!

……

Aoyama had thought of this earlier than Kensuke Komikado, and his status meant he didn't need to spend too much time persuading his poor disciples who had been manipulated by Takashi Kakimoto.

He only needs to find the strongest among them. As long as this strongest person is willing to stand up and launch an attack, even if it is only the first attack, it will be enough to turn those disciples whose edges have been worn down by reality back into sharp blades.

As mentioned earlier, Kakimoto Takatsu learned from his father-in-law and teacher the lesson of "not letting disciples stand out easily." Therefore, out of the more than 30 disciples who came from the "Kakimoto Composition Training Class," only one became a formal composer.

The person Qingshan sent to find was this "lucky one".

The composer signed with Rolling Rock Records is Taiga Hara no Kei-Hsing. He also has a Chinese name, Yuan Jingxing.

That's right. The main reason he was able to get away from Takashi Kakimoto's many precautions was that he didn't fight his way through the Japanese music industry, but instead went to a major western country.

Kakimoto Takatsukasa didn't have much business there, so there was no way to suppress him.

After making a name for himself there, he left the headquarters of Rolling Rock Records and returned to the Japanese branch. By then, he no longer needed to worry about Takatsuka Kakimoto using any more tricks. Kakimoto even took the initiative to cooperate with him, trying to reduce his resentment towards him.

Even to many outsiders who were unaware of the specifics, the two could be considered a model master and apprentice.

However, judging from the fact that Taigahara Takayuki often supports his junior brothers and sisters who are down on their luck, he is not in cahoots with Kakimoto Takuya. He just lacks confidence and strong supporters. In addition, the Japanese place great importance on the master-disciple relationship—a disciple who betrays his master will be sentenced to death in his professional life by the industry. Therefore, he can only endure it for the time being.

Originally, Da Hai wanted to wait until he had more say before exposing Kakimoto Takatsukasa's despicable behavior, but when Aoyama's men approached him, he decided he couldn't bear it anymore.

With such a powerful backer supporting him from behind, what is there to be afraid of? Kakimoto Takuya should just stand up and remove this cancerous growth that is parasitic on the creativity of many talented young people.

Of course, Aoyama did not send someone to talk to Okaihara in his capacity as Governor of Tokyo.

He was using the name of Rui Hachishio's mother, Renmi Hachishio, a national treasure-level musician and president of a musical instrument manufacturing company.

Renmi Hachishio's current identity is not simply that of a musician or a company chairman.

She is also an advisor on education, culture and arts to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In addition, Aoyama plans to make full use of her extensive network in the Diet and prefectural systems, and after smoothing things over in a few months, appoint her as the Vice Governor of Tokyo in charge of education, culture and the Diet.

It should be noted that the Governor of Tokyo has complete autonomy in appointing the Vice Governor, without parliamentary intervention, and can dismiss him at any time without giving a reason. The Vice Governor can be an official, expert, scholar, business owner, or any other legally recognized individual.

In short, Aoyama's envoy quickly reached an agreement with Ookai Hara, who stated that he would immediately contact the most trustworthy disciples of Kakimoto Takatsukasa to unite and launch an attack on Kakimoto Takatsukasa not only in the courtroom but also in public opinion and industry discourse.

……

Another day passed.

Just as Kensuke Komikado was racking his brains trying to figure out how to convince Noriko Ishii that Takuya Kakimoto would definitely lose this time.

Noriko Ishii suddenly pulled Mei Fuyuyama to the Komekado Law Firm, and burst into tears as soon as she entered.

"That's Noriko."

"That's what Fuyuyama Mei explained."

"Ms. Ishii, what's wrong?"

While handing her a tissue, Mayuzumi asked.

Noriko Ishii's crying was filled with sadness and the release of long-suppressed emotions, so infectious that Mei Fuyuyama and Machiko Mayuzumi wanted to cry along with her.

"Mr. Oo, Mr. Oohara, Mr. Takeuchi, and Ms. Tsuchiya, they all contacted me, saying that Professor Kakimoto... that old bastard Kakimoto's good days are finally coming to an end!"

Komekado Kensuke felt a jolt. Noriko Ishii's attitude had changed drastically from yesterday to today. Someone must have done something.

"Miss Ishii, are these people you mentioned all... disciples of Mr. Takatsukasa Kakimoto, who shares your plight?"

"...Most of them are, but Mr. Oohara is not. Although he was also a disciple of that old bastard Kakimoto, he broke through the old bastard's shackles with his own wisdom and was already a well-known composer seven or eight years ago."

Noriko Ishii, perhaps due to her heightened emotions, showed no signs of social anxiety whatsoever; she appeared to be an articulate and eloquent girl... It seems that the events of yesterday and today have had a profound impact on her, enough to drastically change her personality.

Kensuke Komikado doesn't care whether Noriko Ishii's social anxiety will be cured because of this incident; his focus is entirely on Mr. Ooharu, who is "already a well-known composer."

Unlike other disciples who suffered unfair treatment and received insufficient compensation, the accomplished Ookai had no reason to get involved in this matter.

He truly gained fame and fortune from Takatsukasa Kakimoto.

When other disciples went to court to expose Kakimoto, neither public opinion nor industry opinion criticized them, because they were indeed pure victims.

But if Da Haiyuan did the same, he would become a traitor who disobeys his master. People in the music industry would definitely condemn him, and ordinary people would mostly curse him back. You have to understand that this is Japan, and the master-disciple relationship here is no less than that of a certain music company next door.

But he still decided to do it. Was it out of moral conscience?

Komekado didn't believe it. If it was really because of morality and conscience, what were they doing all those years ago?

It must be because someone is supporting Dahai in doing this.

The gains he made from this are certainly far greater than the losses he suffered.

Isogachi Music Awards: 128 You're finished.

Is it the Toyokawa family's influence at play? Or is it that person exerting their power in this matter?

It seems like anything is possible... Ms. Toyokawa Shoko seems to be very dissatisfied with Kakimoto Takuya, and not long ago, Kakimoto Takuya had his band attack the band of Ms. Hiroi Kikuri, Governor Aoyama's "secret friend". Both sides have reasons to dislike this guy.

Kensuke Komikado couldn't be certain, but what he was certain of was that it was the TGW Group that was at odds with Takatsukasa Kakimoto.

Even the so-called "famous composer" Takatsukasa Kakimoto, who was still in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, was powerless to fight back.

Even Kakimoto's supporters, those high-society figures he painstakingly flattered, couldn't stir up any trouble in the face of these two forces.

After learning that he had such a "backer," Kensuke Komikado suddenly felt as straight as a titanium alloy plate.

I have never fought such a rich battle in my life!

Kensuke Komikado suddenly felt a surge of energy throughout his body.

These past two months, I've been let down by that naive and foolish Xiao Dai. I've been taking on nothing but incredibly troublesome cases. Although I always manage to pull off a brilliant performance in court and turn the tide, the process is just too exhausting...

It's time to enjoy the thrill of crushing your opponent!

Komekado isn't the kind of person who would be content to be a sitting duck just because the scales of victory are tipping in his favor. To him, a small victory doesn't count as a win, and a big victory is also just average. Only a huge victory, where the opponent is stripped bare, is a truly triumphant win.

In other words -

My teammates can win team fights? Does that mean I have to get a pentakill?

Having already secured a pentakill, the fountain dive is an even greater opportunity.

After a brief moment of thought, he raised his hand and gave orders to Dai Zhenzhizi.

"Hey, you naive guy, stop laughing and get to work."

"What?" Machiko turned around, looking at him with a bewildered expression. "Aren't we already in a winning position? If that's the case, then there's no need to do any more unnecessary work, right?"

"You call yourself naive? You really think you're an innocent child?" Kensuke Komikado gave her a disdainful look. "Ms. Fuyuyama's demands are indeed much easier to resolve now. But Ms. Ishii, and those witnesses who are willing to bear the name of 'betraying their teacher' to testify in court, their demands cannot be resolved by us doing nothing."

“…Ah, that’s right.”

Machiko Dai then looked on with a sudden realization. After apologizing to Noriko Ishii, she looked at Kensuke Komikado with a serious expression and said, "Just tell me what you need me to do."

"First, list out the titles of the works that have been appropriated by Takashi Kakimoto, then compile the relevant evidence. Even if the person in question doesn't have evidence, others from the same training program might... Then, check which bands or singers performed these works, prepare a rights protection statement, and send it to the talent agencies or entertainment companies to which these people belong the day before Ms. Fuyuyama's case goes to trial."

"Eh?"

Mayuzumi stared at him with wide, innocent eyes, as if asking, "Isn't this just creating more enemies for Miss Ishii and the others for no reason?"

"If we do this, when the court finds that Kakimoto Takatsukasa did indeed commit serious copyright infringement against his disciple, those talent agencies or entertainment companies will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to this matter. As long as public opinion forces them to make a statement, in order to reduce losses and protect their reputation, they will inevitably stand on the opposite side of Kakimoto Takatsukasa. In this way, his so-called 'status' in the music industry will be quickly shattered. Ms. Ishida Noriko and other witnesses who came from Kakimoto's training program will also face less rejection if they want to stay in the music industry after the case is over!"

"Can't you even figure out such a simple thing? Ugh, with an idiot like you at Komekado Law Firm, the average IQ of everyone in the firm must have been dragged down to below 60."

Kensuke Komikado mocked mercilessly.

The Komekado Law Firm has three people, including the butler Hattori. Komekado Kensuke has always boasted that he is a genius with an IQ of 130, and let's assume that Mr. Hattori is at the lower end of the normal range, around 80. If the average IQ of the three of them is below 60, then Mayuzumi Machiko's IQ would have to be -40 to be considered.

An IQ of 50 is considered moderately intellectually disabled, so what does an IQ of -40 mean? Does that mean my brain is even less intelligent than a cockroach's?!

Thinking of this, Dai Machiko felt a surge of anger and exhaled two streams of hot air from her nostrils.

The good mood I had been in because of the good news brought by Noriko Ishii was completely ruined by this rude guy!

……

The day of the trial arrived quickly.

When Takashi Kakimoto appeared in the defendant's seat, he still had that arrogant demeanor, looking at Mei Fuyuyama sitting in the plaintiff's seat with no attempt to hide the contempt in his eyes.

After the court hearing began, Kensuke Komikado gave a brief statement regarding Mei Fuyuyama's claims. Then, Takatsukasa Kakimoto's lawyer stepped forward and pointed out the biggest illogical point in Komikado's statement.

“My client has no connection with the plaintiff. Several performance halls, dance halls or music bars that provided performance opportunities for the plaintiff’s band have also provided their business records, which is enough to prove that my client has never spent money there. This means that my client has no way of knowing about the existence of the original song ‘Gray Confusion’ provided by the plaintiff, so how can there be any plagiarism?”