"How should I reward you for such an impressive performance?"
Following Fuyukawa Tetsu's explosive remark, the meeting room falls into dead silence. But Miyano Mitei? She's practically buzzing with excitement!
Watching Fuyukawa lean on the table, glaring daggers at Deputy Director Yamanaka, her eyes gleam with something akin to a spring tide.
Before this meeting started, she'd predicted Yamanaka would target Fuyukawa as the weak link. After all, Fuyukawa's rapid promotion made him an easy target for envy.
Her initial plan was to shield him, even if it meant weathering pressure from the board. It wasn't just their close relationship—there were also matters of pride and mutual benefit at play.
But there was no way around it: one misstep led to a cascade of problems. Dead or Alive's catastrophic failure exceeded her worst expectations, prompting the board to intervene. This gave Yamanaka the perfect opening to stir trouble at today's meeting. What she didn't expect was Fuyukawa handling it himself!
Yes, the situation was nearly resolved!
Yamanaka tried to paint a narrative of "unfairness," accusing her and Fuyukawa of some shady deal to shift focus. But Fuyukawa deftly redirected the conversation to "competence."
At 53, Yamanaka has been with NTsoft for 31 years. With that tenure, if he were truly capable, he'd be a minister by now. His lack of promotion speaks volumes about his mediocrity.
Before turning 50, Yamanaka led several project teams, but his games were lackluster, barely breaking even. He only became the head of Firefly Studio, Division Four's flagship team, because the previous leader retired early due to health issues, and Yamanaka's seniority filled the gap.
Some envy Fuyukawa's fast rise, but the room—filled with section chiefs and deputy directors in their thirties—resents Yamanaka even more. Despite his average skills, he snagged Firefly Studio's leadership role purely through tenure.
Firefly Studio gets the lion's share of resources, higher pay, and more influence within the division. Yamanaka tried to rally the room around "unfairness," but Fuyukawa struck at his weak point—his lack of ability—splitting the room's emotions.
As long as a full-blown revolt doesn't erupt, letting this meeting proceed normally, the board's scrutiny on Division Four will ease. That gives Miyano Mitei time to deal with Yamanaka and his failed project later.
"His ability to read the room is terrifyingly sharp! His adaptability and presence are top-tier. When he speaks, everyone's drawn to him—it's a rare leadership quality. Tsk, tsk, I've really struck gold with this one. But…"
Miyano's gaze shifts from Fuyukawa to Yamanaka, her eyes turning cold and ruthless.
"This guy can't stay any longer."
"She won't let me stay! I have to save myself! But this kid—he's really only 25?!"
Yamanaka glares at Fuyukawa, who remains unfazed, his heart a mix of shock and fury.
Like Miyano, he never expected a young upstart like Fuyukawa to navigate workplace politics so deftly, cornering him in a single move!
Yes, cornered!
This is why he never dared challenge Miyano directly before. Japan's strict hierarchical culture gives him power to bully subordinates but also binds him to those same rules.
Attacking a superior in a monthly meeting like this—and missing the mark—guarantees harsh consequences unless he has a way to protect himself. Those consequences could easily cost him his position.
He's desperate.
Very desperate.
But Yamanaka's face betrays no fear. A 30-year veteran of corporate games, he's thick-skinned and not so easily rattled. Plus, he's got a final, desperate gambit up his sleeve.
With that thought, the round, bald Yamanaka slams the table, glaring at Fuyukawa like a tiger. "Competence? Fine, I admit I'm not on the level of NTsoft's trailblazing pioneers. I take full responsibility for Dead or Alive's failure. And now, being mocked by a rookie like you? I have nothing to say! All I can do is offer my sincerest apologies to everyone here! Sumimasen!"
Yamanaka roars, bowing a full 90 degrees—toward Fuyukawa!
His shiny bald head glints under the lights, and several people in the room frown slightly.
The Japanese are a complex bunch. They resent the rigid hierarchy but also deeply value tradition and seniority.
Yamanaka's skills may be mediocre, and his reputation isn't great—there've even been rumors of him bullying interns. But he's served Division Four for over 30 years. Seeing a company veteran forced to bow and apologize to a newcomer like Fuyukawa stirs a twinge of sympathy in some, a sense of "when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves."
A clever retreat to gain the upper hand.
Fuyukawa gazes coldly at Yamanaka's bald head, not an ounce of sympathy in his eyes.
It's not that he dismisses NTsoft's legacy. Having inherited fragments of this body's memories, he feels some attachment to the company that shaped him. But he knows Yamanaka's words are just a ploy to win pity.
Don't judge people by what they say—judge them by what they do.
If Yamanaka truly cared about Division Four, he wouldn't have pushed Miyano to pour more marketing funds into Dead or Alive when he knew it was a sinking ship, all to protect his own position.
Sure enough, sensing the room's atmosphere stabilizing, Yamanaka lifts his head and looks at Miyano. "Since Minister Miyano believes Section Chief Fuyukawa's project has so much potential, granting it C-level marketing priority, why don't we see just how capable this young man—who wants me gone—really is?!
Fuyukawa! I challenge you to a man-to-man duel! My first independent project sold 73,672 copies in its first month. If your project surpasses that, I'll submit a request to the board to transfer out of headquarters!"
Transfer out of headquarters?!
The room erupts.
A transfer doesn't always mean a demotion, but branch deputy directors earn far less and have less clout than those at headquarters. A branch deputy director would have to bow and scrape before a section chief like Fuyukawa at HQ.
It's tantamount to self-exile. Even more shocking is that Yamanaka's pitting his first independent project against Fuyukawa's.