Chapter 910: There are no secrets in the entertainment industry!!

"I heard you're going to shoot a new movie, Naoki-san?"

"That's right, you heard about it too?"

"News like that spreads incredibly fast in the industry... But, regarding a yakuza film related to the Yamaguchi-gumi, have you discussed it with the local gangs? Those guys are very likely to cause trouble during filming!"

"The local Yamaguchi-gumi were too impolite, so I sent their boss to prison for two years..."

"......"

Naoki Nagayama was drinking tea with Masaki Kobayashi at Sanmaiju, and as they chatted, the conversation naturally turned to his recent filming plans.

There are no secrets in the entertainment industry; news of *Hayato's Legend: New World* had already spread. It might have been intentionally leaked by Xiu-san or Dayou-san, as they also wanted to showcase the presence of Tree Friend in the industry~

Recalling Naoki Nagayama's unspeakable yakuza connections, people in the industry were filled with curiosity about how he would film his own family's history...

Masaki Kobayashi was naturally no exception~

"Your grandfather was named Hayato Nagayama, right? The 'Hawk of the Yamaguchi-gumi'?" Masaki Kobayashi took a sip of tea and recalled, "I don't seem to have heard that name back in Tokyo in those days~"

Naoki Nagayama glanced at Masaki Kobayashi with some surprise, then felt relieved. Masaki Kobayashi was from the same generation as his grandfather and had attended Waseda University... If his grandfather had been famous in Tokyo when he was young, he should have heard of him.

Opposite him was a 70-something-year-old man with white hair; the time he had experienced was something Naoki Nagayama could not fathom... Naoki Nagayama suddenly recalled a scene involving Zhang Sanfeng from *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*...

Yin Liting said:

"'The supreme master of the martial arts world, the precious Dragon Slaying Saber... if the Heaven Sword does not appear, who can contend with it?' These words have been circulating for over two hundred years..."

Zhang Sanfeng said:

"How could it be hundreds of years? At most, it's been seventy or eighty years... When I was young, I never heard these words..."

Living a long life really means experiencing many things!

Naoki Nagayama shook his head, cast the thought out of his mind, and looked at the strangely expressionless Masaki Kobayashi:

"People who start hustling in their teens and twenties naturally boast to the heavens! Back then, a small-time thug who managed two streets could call himself the 'boss of such-and-such town'!"

"So what if my grandfather boasted about being the 'Hawk of the Yamaguchi-gumi'... Anyway, he couldn't make it in Tokyo later on, so he went back to his hometown in Shizuoka~"

"Hahaha~"

Masaki Kobayashi laughed and didn't press the matter further. Who didn't have a dark history in their youth? Back in the day, he was also known as the "Star of Hokkaido"~

"So, in October, there's the Tokyo International Film Festival, and after that, you're going to shoot several films in a row!" Masaki Kobayashi sighed, "You Tree Friend folks are going to be very busy at the end of the year!"

"Yes, there are already four of them~" Naoki Nagayama sighed; *Battle Royale* had already been given to Masataka Komori.

"Really..." Masaki Kobayashi looked at Naoki Nagayama's young, handsome face opposite him, and thought of how Tree Friend Films was full of young people, "So much vitality..."

Naoki Nagayama shrugged:

"Hahaha, we're young, so we should naturally be full of vitality~"

"......"

Masaki Kobayashi suddenly felt like grabbing Naoki Nagayama by the throat.

After entering the middle and latter part of the month, time seemed to speed up significantly.

Naoki Nagayama went to the Tree Friend building every day to prepare for the arrival of the Tokyo International Film Festival with everyone, and incidentally, slowly pushed forward the resource allocation for Tree Friend's subsequent projects.

And the others weren't idle either...

The premiere month for *Our Little Sister* was almost over, but Masataka Komori wasn't worried, because after the Tokyo International Film Festival began, this film would also serve as the opening film, sparking another wave of heat~

The momentum brought by the late-night drama *Midnight Diner* wasn't as obvious as the previous *Squid Game* and *Love Generation*, but it had slowly circled its own specific fan base.

In terms of idol artists, Shizuka Kudo's *I Want to Shout 'I Love You' Loudly* had topped the charts for a long time, and there was no sign of the heat decreasing...

During this period, she was constantly appearing on shows, doing offline activities, live houses, and so on, without a moment's rest...

People in the entertainment industry are the most snobbish; once the heat is up, naturally, all sorts of praise and attention are thrown at Shizuka Kudo... On the good side, they say she is the successor to idols like Akina Mori and Seiko Matsuda; on the bad side, they point directly to her bad behavior, calling her a delinquent...

They even began digging into *Twilight Nyan Nyan*, where Shizuka Kudo debuted, interviewing past teammates, and even the other members of the Onyanko Club gained a bit of heat.

In short, her exposure had caught up to Akina Mori, who had just returned to television~

"Dayou-san..." Naoki Nagayama finished reading the recent promotional plan, "Actually, there's no need for Shizuka Kudo to appear in front of the audience so frequently... Releasing a record doesn't need to be once every three months..."

"But... isn't this the standard frequency for a top idol?" Dayou-san said with surprise, "Akina Mori and Seiko Matsuda are both like this; otherwise, how can she compete with so many potential rivals?"

Naoki Nagayama said, "Dayou-san, haven't you noticed? The audience is actually not that fanatical about idols anymore..."

It's just that in recent years, idols have been popping up like leeks, one batch after another, with supply far exceeding demand, leaving the audience not knowing where to put their attention~

"But at a time like this, shouldn't we be fighting for attention even more?"

"Excessive exposure easily leads to resistance..."

Naoki Nagayama advised, "Dayou-san, the idol industry will be quiet for a while in the future... Shizuka-chan has already established herself in the idol world and has loyal fans... So, her subsequent development should be extending into different fields... rather than indulging in increasing short-term exposure..."

"TV dramas, movies, in-depth variety shows... she can try all of these... to prepare for her future transformation..."

Dayou-san said in astonishment: "Are you considering a transformation now?!"

"An idol's vitality is short; two years is long, five years is the limit..." Naoki Nagayama said, "Shizuka-chan has been at it for almost two years, right? Her singing skills aren't great, so she probably won't make it as a singer; naturally, we have to consider a transformation..."

"........ She's currently number one on the Oricon chart..."

"That's because of the song!" Naoki Nagayama shook his head, "A song like *I Want to Shout 'I Love You' Loudly*, even if you sang it, Dayou-san, it would still rank on the charts..."

Looking at Dayou-san's receding hairline, Naoki Nagayama changed the "number one" to: "High up in the rankings!"

"......"

Dayou-san touched his face, imagining himself singing loudly on stage, feeling a chill... and a tiny bit of inexplicable excitement...

Come to think of it, he was quite good at singing at KTV!

"Ahem~" Dayou-san cleared his throat, "Well, regarding Shizuka-chan's future development, we will consider it carefully... But until the end of this year, let's proceed according to this plan, no problem, right?"

"Hmm, let's leave it at that for now~"

Naoki Nagayama nodded, not denying the results of the employees' hard work.

Then he asked about other things:

"The opening ceremony for *101st Proposal*, it seems it has already started?"

"Yes, at the filming base in Ota Ward..." Dayou-san said, "This time, we invited the former apprentice of a shaman..."

"I see~"

Naoki Nagayama nodded; he didn't actually value the matter of praying for blessings that much.

However, for all previous projects, either Dayou-san, Xiu-san, or he himself, the three executives would always attend the opening ceremony. This time, a second-generation director from Tree Friend was independently responsible for the filming project, so they let go completely.

"My and Xiu-san's movie, there's still a month to go~"

"Naoki-san..." Dayou-san asked, "Do you want to start promoting your movie early?"

"No need~" Naoki Nagayama shook his head, "Let's focus on the Tokyo International Film Festival for now. Have the foreign guests arrived yet?"

"Most of the popular foreign stars haven't arrived yet; their schedules are very tight, and they will probably arrive a few days before the opening ceremony."

Dayou-san said, "However, other guests, those coming to attend the opening ceremony, have already arrived one after another."

"Hmm, have the accommodations been arranged?"

"The Imperial Hotel~"

"That's good~"

Akina Mori, who was participating in a magazine photo shoot, was chatting with several other idols during a break.

"Akina-chan~ do you have work after the shoot?" Kyoko Koizumi asked Akina Mori next to her, "If not, do you want to go shopping together? It's been a long time since we went out together!"

"It seems I don't have any announcements~" Akina Mori thought for a moment, "But if we go out together, it will cause trouble, right!"

"We can wear masks and glasses!"

Kyoko Koizumi still really wanted to go out and shop, and it was hard to get together with her good friend Akina... For idols like them, it was rare for their schedules to align.

"Then let's go!" Akina Mori didn't hesitate too much, and she and Kyoko Koizumi decided on it.

Because it was an idol special, the cover this time also included male idols, including the super-hot band The Grid and others, and Toshihiko Tahara was also one of them.

He, who loved to join in the fun, heard the agreement from the front row and excitedly joined the conversation:

"Nani nani, are you going out to play? Where to?"

Kyoko Koizumi rolled her eyes at him:

"This is a girls' gathering!"

"Eee~~~" Toshihiko Tahara wasn't embarrassed, and continued to speak with a smile, "I'm also very bored~ do you want to go clubbing?"

"No!" Kyoko Koizumi shook her head.

"Then go to KTV to sing?"

"Not interesting~"

"....... How about watching a movie?"

"There aren't any good movies lately... *Our Little Sister*?"

"Seems pretty good~"

Akina Mori looked at their conversation and realized something was wrong... Since when did these two become so intimate in front of everyone? This feeling, how is it very much like me and Naoki-san the year before last?

She knew before that Kyoko Koizumi had said she wanted to date Toshihiko Tahara, but now how does it feel like they are about to go public?!

After Toshihiko Tahara turned his head to talk to someone else, Akina Mori pulled Kyoko Koizumi aside and asked quietly:

"You and Toshihiko Tahara... are you going to go public with your relationship?"

"Eh? Hahaha~"

Kyoko Koizumi laughed; they were both young men and women, and they always saw each other, so it was normal to be in love... It was also possible to be blinded by love~

"Did the agency agree?"

"Of course not!" Kyoko Koizumi shook her head carelessly, "But dating, isn't it very normal? You and Naoki-san are dating openly, right~"

"And Seiko-san and Hiromi Go... later it was Masahiki Kanda~"

Hearing this, Akina Mori was very worried. Her relationship with Naoki Nagayama hadn't been opposed by the agency... But Kyoko Koizumi and Toshihiko Tahara were different!

Not to mention Kyoko Koizumi, but Toshihiko Tahara was at Johnny's, and that Kitagawa treated the male idols under him as his own private property!

"In short, let's get the agency's consent first~" Akina Mori advised, "Otherwise, it will be very troublesome!"

"Hmm, I know!"

Kyoko Koizumi nodded and didn't continue the topic...

After all, this was Kyoko Koizumi's private matter, and Akina Mori couldn't say much, so the two started talking about other things.

"I heard Akina-chan is going to buy a house?"

"Eh? How do you know, Kyoko-chan?" Akina Mori was surprised.

"There are no secrets in the entertainment industry..." Kyoko Koizumi smiled, "Why did Akina-chan suddenly want to buy a house?"

"I want to invest..." Akina Mori naturally couldn't say the previous reason, she said to her good friend, "Kyoko-chan can also buy one~"

"The place I live in is arranged by the agency, I don't want to buy a house!"

Kyoko Koizumi shook her head,

"If I have money, it's better to buy clothes!"

"......" How much money can clothes cost... The remaining money can be used to buy a house!

Akina Mori naturally didn't say that; she already knew that a deposit of 100 million was a huge figure for other idols.

The idols shooting cover photos at the same location mostly formed small circles to chat during breaks, and social butterflies like Toshihiko Tahara could run around everywhere.

Kyoko Koizumi could actually do it too, but today she stayed by Akina Mori's side and became a small group.

Hiroko Mita, Hidemi Ishikawa, and others were chatting, and Toshikazu Fukawa and Masahiro Motoki were also chatting happily together... All sorts of messy topics popped up~

As they chatted, they talked about the events in October.

"Tokyo International Film Festival... has anyone been invited to attend?" Everyone looked at Yū Hayami, because her English was the best and she had the most international flair.

"No! We are idols!" Yū Hayami naturally shook her head, "For film festival activities, only actors who have performed in blockbuster movies should receive invitations..."

"Idols also act in movies!" Toshihiko Tahara was unconvinced, and he beckoned the three juniors from Shonentai over, "They have performed in many blockbuster movies!"

"Haha~"

The three members of Shonentai could only laugh awkwardly; they were just supporting actors... although the movie was very hot~

This time, it seemed they really hadn't received an invitation.

"Akina-chan, have you received an invitation?" Hidemi Ishikawa asked Akina Mori next to her.

"Me?"

"Wasn't Akina's previous *Love Letter* very hot?"

"Ah!" Akina Mori had almost forgotten that she had acted in a movie~

It was really because when she performed at that time, it was with Naoki-san, and she just treated it as a trip...

"And you won the Newcomer Award in the film industry!" Kyoko Koizumi added, "Are you going to walk the red carpet this time?!"

"........"

Akina Mori shook her head; she didn't know either...

I'll ask Naoki-san tonight! ===== CHAPTER 911 =====