Chapter 55: Copyright
‘Wah wah wah—’
The car started smoothly and silently merged into Tokyo’s late-night traffic flow, like a drop of ink blending into the boundless dark night.
But the atmosphere inside the car was oppressively heavy, like the deep sea.
Toshihide Takada didn’t speak; he just held a whiskey glass that had appeared at some point, the ice cubes in it occasionally making a crisp, sigh-like tinkling sound as the vehicle moved.
Masao Iwata had also reined in his arrogance, focusing intently on driving, but the glances he occasionally threw at the back seat through the rearview mirror carried a smugness born of fox-borrowing-tiger-might.
Finally, Toshihide Takada broke the suffocating silence.
“What did Asumi say?”
His voice was very flat, as if asking about some trivial matter.
Ichiro Hashishita’s body tensed uncontrollably; he knew the real judgment was only just beginning.
He didn’t dare withhold anything, recounting in full detail how Deputy Director Asumi had been lavish with praise at the celebration banquet, hailing Hiroshi Nohara as the “Kanto Faction’s star of tomorrow,” and even promising that “in a while, there would be a big surprise for Nohara-kun.”
He spoke very slowly, each word rolling over his tongue as if savoring it, carrying a sense of vengeful pleasure that even he himself hadn’t noticed.
“Star of tomorrow? Kanto Faction?”
Masao Iwata in the driver’s seat let out another scornful chuckle: “A bunch of losers kicked out from headquarters, clinging together to survive, and they dare call themselves a ‘faction’? Hilarious. As for that so-called star of tomorrow… hmph, next month, when the production rights for An Shizhi Season 3 land in our hands, let’s see how he keeps shining as a ‘new star’!”
His words were filled with certainty about the future and contempt for his opponents.
However, Toshihide Takada in the back seat grew increasingly grim-faced.
He knew things were far from as simple as Iwata thought.
That old fox Asumi would never shoot without aim. That so-called “surprise” could not possibly be an empty check.
“An Shizhi Season 3…”
Ichiro Hashishita’s voice rose ghostly at that moment, carrying just the right amount of probing unease: “Deputy Director Takada, has the Production Bureau… really decided to hand the project over to us?”
“Of course!” Masao Iwata’s tone carried some irritation at being questioned: “This was personally settled by the deputy director with the director—that big leader who also serves as deputy station manager! That guy Asumi must have snatched that S-level live-action horror proposal to give to Hiroshi Nohara as a meeting gift, right? Hmph, the station has to balance interests too—an S-level project in exchange for the production rights to An Shizhi, what more could Asumi have to say?”
These words were both an answer to Hashishita and reassurance to himself, and also an analysis for Toshihide Takada.
However, after hearing this, Ichiro Hashishita did not look relieved as he had expected.
Instead, a stranger expression appeared on his face, a mix of hesitation and a touch of schadenfreude.
It was as if he had remembered something but wasn’t sure; he licked his somewhat dry lips before whispering words that could make this smoothly cruising luxury car blow a tire on the spot.
“But… Section Chief Iwata, Deputy Director Takada…”
“I remember, the copyright for An Shizhi… seems to still be in Hiroshi Nohara’s own hands.”
“…”
The car interior instantly fell into a deathly silence.
It was a vacuum-like stillness where even the air seemed to have been sucked dry.
The smugness on Masao Iwata’s face froze instantly, like a ridiculous statue doused in quick-freeze agent.
In the back seat, Toshihide Takada’s hand holding the whiskey glass stiffened abruptly in mid-air.
Copyright.
This was a very important thing.
Before, they had been so focused on studying An Shizhi’s creation style and related ideas that they hadn’t realized the creator of An Shizhi, the author holding the An Shizhi copyright, was none other than Hiroshi Nohara himself!
At this moment, Toshihide Takada looked at Masao Iwata, and likewise, Masao Iwata looked at Toshihide Takada.
The two men stared at each other.
Only Ichiro Hashishita witnessed this scene, and a trace of sorrow suddenly welled up in his heart.
‘Throwing in with these two guys… was that the right choice, or the wrong one?’ Ichiro Hashishita was starting to second-guess now.
But there was no way out even if he was unsure.
He had already betrayed Kiyoto Suzuki, betrayed Hiroshi Nohara, and become a traitor who had thrown in with Toshihide Takada and Masao Iwata.
Faced with the fact that neither of them had even considered the copyright issue, Ichiro Hashishita didn’t know what to do.
“No problem, I’ll handle it.” Toshihide Takada now looked at Masao Iwata, at this cousin of his wife’s, thinking about all the costs he had already sunk into this guy.
Toshihide Takada’s face grew even more sullen.
The sunk costs were too high.
And he had also forgotten that sunk costs shouldn’t factor into future planning.
Thus, Toshihide Takada was like a gambler who had sunk massive costs and could no longer turn back; he said in a heavy voice to the two men: “An Shizhi has already aired two seasons on Tokyo Television Station and built a solid audience base, so we can buy the follow-up adaptation rights for An Shizhi. Even without Hiroshi Nohara involved in production, we can still carry out the subsequent animation production!”
“But, is it that easy?” Ichiro Hashishita blurted out instinctively.
But as soon as Ichiro Hashishita said it, he regretted it.
“Hm!?” Then, Masao Iwata, who was driving, slammed on the brakes, turned his head to glare at Ichiro Hashishita in the back, and angrily scolded: “Ichiro Hashishita, do you even know what you’re saying? How dare you question Deputy Director Takada’s authority in the Tokyo Television Production Bureau!?”
Toshihide Takada, sitting next to Ichiro Hashishita, also shot him a glance, the look in his eyes extremely cold.
It made Ichiro Hashishita shudder all over.
“Yes! Please forgive my rudeness!” Ichiro Hashishita immediately bowed low in the car: “Deputy Director Takada! I was just worried that guy Hiroshi Nohara might be too stingy! After all, though he’s young… he’s very cunning!”
These words certainly saved face for Toshihide Takada.
Toshihide Takada didn’t want to abandon this new defector willing to follow him.
He merely gave him a cold glance and said flatly: “You don’t need to worry about the rest; I’ll handle it. You just need to study it properly—if I put the creation of An Shizhi Season 3 on you, can you produce it well for me? That’s all!”
He was a deputy director of the Tokyo Television Production Bureau.
A man of high position and great power.
The director of the Production Bureau was himself the deputy station manager and oversaw other roles, so as the executive deputy director of the Production Bureau, he was effectively the top man there.
Compared to Asumi, who was merely a deputy director without the “executive” title, his status was clearly higher!
Including the fact that Toshihide Takada himself was a deputy director cultivated by Tokyo Television Station.
His connections were not to be underestimated!
So, for that An Shizhi which had created both the midnight slot and late-night slot as double number ones—and could even be said to be this month’s top animation in ratings for sure.
Toshihide Takada was truly itching to seize it for himself!
Through the gears of power.
Toshihide Takada was absolutely certain he could turn An Shizhi into a magnificent wedding dress and wear it on his own body!
