Tokyo Bubble Life

Chapter 1578 I've never been bullied like this before!

February is the coldest time of year in Japan, and the wind in Tokyo is particularly biting.

Even the short distance from the parking lot to the main entrance of the Tree Friends Building made Shuichi Itō shiver. However, once he entered, a warm feeling filled his body.

"Shuichi-san?!" "Shuichi-san's back!" "Todoroki-chan!!" "Why are you back today?!" "..."

First came Hoshino Kaori and Suzuki Kouka from the front desk, then the staff on the first floor. Everyone greeted Itō Shuichi warmly when they saw him again after so long.

Some of the older employees came up to greet him warmly, and Itō Shuichi, of course, also spoke with a smile.

This feeling of enthusiasm deeply moved Shuichi Itō:

"This must be the warmth of 'home'!"

Having worked in the Parliament House and the Prime Minister's official residence for a long time, I know that most people in politics and government agencies are shrewd and have no problem with etiquette. They were all exceptionally enthusiastic when they met the Prime Minister's most popular confidant.

But they won't have that warm and welcoming feeling.

"Everyone, I have something to do today. Let's have a drink together later!"

"Haha, then we'll have to wait!" "Waiting for you, Shuichi-san!" "."

Arriving at the luxurious office that had been reserved for him on the top floor, Itō Shuichi leaned back in his executive chair and let out a sigh of relief. It was definitely more reassuring to be with the Tree Friends! This was where he truly belonged!

However, he is now the representative of the tree friends in the political arena, and he still needs to work hard!

But now, let him relax in his own territory, something he hasn't done in a long time.

Half an hour later, just as Shuichi Itō closed his eyes to rest, Naoki Nagayama pushed the door open and walked in:

"Xiu Yi-san, what are you waiting for?"

"Let's hurry and see the joke!"

"Oh?"

Itou Xiu opened his eyes,

"Have the Nissan people arrived yet?"

"Yes, Otomo-san has already gone to greet him!"

Naoki Nagayama said,

"They've probably already gone to the small conference room. Let's get ready to go over there too!"

"."

Seeing his friend's excited expression, Shuichi Itō asked in confusion:

"Why does it seem like Naoki-san is really looking forward to this meeting?"

"Hahaha, this is the most classic face-slapping reversal scene!!"

Naoki Nagayama said with a smile,

"I've been thinking about writing a novel lately, and this kind of plot can be used as a reference!!"

"."

Upon hearing such an absurd reason, Itō Shuichi shook his head.

"Be careful when making friends with novelists like you; you never know when you might end up in a novel!"

"Hehehe, Xiu Yi-san, then I'll arrange a villainous boss role for you!"

Naoki Nagayama chuckled as he pushed Shuichi Itō out the door.

"You can make a request: how many girlfriends do you want in the novel?!"

"...Hmm...I'm getting old, three is enough, more than three would be too many."

"Ha... I never would have guessed that Shuichi-san was this kind of person!"

"."

The two walked out of the office chatting and laughing, heading towards the conference room on the second floor.

Along the way, passing employees greeted them, and after the two left, they all discussed it:

"Something big is about to happen today!" "Not only is Shuichi here, but Naoki is here too!" "I heard a big client came." "What's going on? Are they going public?"

Three Nissan Laurel, Bluebird, and Skyline vehicles were parked in the parking lot of the Tree Friends Building.

Kishimoto Yamato and Ayukawa Junta stepped down from the laurel wreath. Ayukawa Junta looked at the seven-story building in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Isn't the Tree Friends Building in Ikebukuro supposed to be a landmark? How come it's so short and inconspicuous!"

"It's a landmark because top idols always seem to appear here."

Kishimoto Yamato explained to his new boss,

"Kudo Shizuka, Ito Junko, Aoyama Chikako, Saito Yuki, Sakai Izumi, and many others. Paparazzi and fans will be waiting at the entrance here!"

"And there's also an artsy movie theater not far away, which specifically shows films from Tree Friends Pictures."

"I see!"

Junta Ayukawa nodded.

"The artists from Shuyou are all very famous! And Chikako-chan has such a great figure, I really want to meet her!"

"."

Sure enough, these spoiled brats are all the same. Kishimoto Yamato thought with disdain, but still said aloud:

“Chuntai Sang is the major shareholder of Shuyou, so that’s naturally not a problem!”

There are many unspoken rules in the entertainment industry, and things like "pillow talk" are commonplace. But it's said that Tree Friend never uses these methods.

However, according to Junta Ayukawa's plan, if the future tree friend falls into his hands, then things might not be so certain!

The two men led the way toward the Tree Friends Building, followed by several professional accountants and legal counsel. They were there today to give Tree Friends' shareholders a good beating!

After we announced our arrival at the front desk, Yoshimura Otomo quickly came down to greet us!

The old fox had a smile on his face:

"Hello everyone at Nissan. I am Yoshimura Otomo, the president of Shuyu. Nice to meet you all!"

"President Yoshimura, it's been a long time!"

Yamato Kishimoto stepped forward to shake hands first.

"I am Yamato Kishimoto from Nissan's Entertainment Division."

Then it was introduced that:

"This gentleman over here is Junta Ayukawa, head of Nissan's Entertainment Division!"

"Nice to meet you."

Junta Ayukawa shook hands, looking at Otomo Yoshimura's receding hairline with a somewhat flippant smile:

"President Yoshimura must work very hard. Well, he's getting on in years, even his hair is falling out~"

"what!"

Yoshimura Daitomo touched his receding hairline, surprised that someone would directly attack this "weak point" of his body!

However, this alone could no longer stir his heart.

"Haha, is it hard work? Of course! But it's all for the benefit of our shareholders, I'm doing my utmost!"

Yoshimura Otomo said with a smile, then looked at Ayukawa Junta and his group.

"However, even after being in the entertainment industry for so long, I've never heard of Nissan having a Mr. Ayukawa Junta in their entertainment division. I've never heard of him before either~"

"."

Junta Ayukawa froze for a moment. In reality, this department was just an empty shell; he had only gotten the title from his family! He used to be just a spoiled brat; he had no reputation in the industry whatsoever!

Yoshimura Otomo's words clearly show that he looks down on himself!

Kishimoto Yamato quickly tried to smooth things over:

"Haha, this is just a small part of the entertainment industry. The company just wanted to try it out, so we bought shares in Tree Friends!"

"I see."

Before Yoshimura Otomo could continue speaking, Kishimoto Yamato cut straight to the point. He didn't want to waste time arguing with this old fox in the business world. He had important business to discuss today!

"By the way, is everyone present at today's shareholders' meeting?"

"Ah~~ Shareholders' meeting!"

Yoshimura Otomo's expression was somewhat strange, but he quickly broke into a smile.

"We're here. We're all here!!"

"Please follow me to the conference room!"

Okay~~

Yoshimura Otomo led the way, while Kishimoto Yamato hurriedly tried to persuade his new boss:

"Junta-san, there's no need to argue with him. We're here to audit the accounts and join the board of directors. That's the important thing!"

"Once we gain control..."

Junta Ayukawa stared at Otomo Yoshimura's retreating figure and said fiercely,

"I'm determined to get this old bastard out of here!!"

"Okay, okay!"

When dealing with a boss like that, Kishimoto Yamato can only appease him!

Upon arriving at the conference room, Junta Ayukawa and Yamato Kishimoto were somewhat surprised. It was a small conference room, the kind that could seat at most ten people.

"President Fangcun, is the shareholders' meeting being held in this conference room?"

Junta Ayukawa laughed, "Nissan's shareholders' meetings are always held in the main auditorium."

"Does Tree Friends not have any other formal meeting rooms?!"

"Ah, this."

Yoshimura Otomo said with a smile.

"Before the shareholders' meeting, let's hold a small board meeting first! Let's introduce the major shareholder to the board members first!"

"."

That makes sense!

Let's take a look at who the board members are! They'll be joining the board later anyway!

Please wait a moment.

Instructing the receptionist to pour tea, Yoshimura Otomo reassured her.

"Our board members will be coming down soon."

They also exchanged some polite words.

A few minutes later, the door to the small conference room was pushed open!

The first to enter was Shuichi Itō, who was in his thirties, followed by an even younger, handsome man—none other than the famous Naoki Nagayama!

"Shuichi-san! Naoki-san!"

Yoshimura Otomo stood up and introduced,

"These people are from Nissan. These two are Yamato Kishimoto from Nissan's Entertainment Division, and Junta Ayukawa, who is in charge, has legal and accounting staff on his side."

"Kishimoto-san and Ayukawa-san are members of the board of directors of the Shuyu Group. Chairman Nagayama Naoki and Director Itō Shuichi."

"Nice to meet you, please take good care of me."

Despite their mutual hostility, the ceremony of their first meeting was successfully completed!

Everyone sat down and exchanged pleasantries.

Naoki Nagayama is the chairman, and Yamato Kishimoto is no exception, but Shuichi Itō...

"Director Itaru, didn't he go into politics? I heard he's going to be the next head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau."

Kishimoto Yamato exclaimed in surprise,

"How come he's still a director of the Tree Friends Association?"

It's important to know that Japanese law prohibits officials from serving as directors of for-profit companies!

"Haha, Kishimoto-san is very well-informed!"

Itō Shuichi smiled and said,

"However, I haven't officially joined the company yet, so I'm currently serving as a director. But I can take this opportunity at the shareholders' meeting to resign from my directorship."

"Heh, Mr. Itoh really is..."

Yamato Kishimoto was shocked by this move.

"Haha, there are gains and losses, but I'm still a shareholder~"

"Awesome! Awesome!"

Junta Ayukawa was getting impatient with this kind of thing and asked:

"Mr. Itaru's resignation is a good opportunity to add another director. I'd like to get to know the other directors as well."

"Other directors."

Yoshimura Otomo glanced at Nagayama Naoki and Itō Shuichi beside him, then smiled and said to Ayukawa Junta:

"Mr. Ayukawa, all of our board members are here!"

"You know them all!!"

Upon hearing this, Junta Ayukawa and Yamato Kishimoto were stunned, staring at the three people in front of them. "The annual revenue of this company is in the tens of billions! Such a large company, and the board of directors only consists of the three of you?!"

Are you kidding me?!

"This"

Seeing the three people's calm expressions, Junta Ayukawa frowned. As expected, it's a rough and tumble company!

Although Shuyou Group has grown so large, it is still far too unregulated compared to a century-old corporation like Nissan!

"The rules and regulations of Shuyou Group are so inadequate!! How can such a large company be supervised by only three internal directors?! This is unacceptable!"

"How can we protect the interests of other shareholders?! How can we supervise you?!"

Feeling he had found a major mistake by the Tree Friends Group, Junta Ayukawa immediately became excited:

"No! As the major shareholder, I want to propose at the shareholders' meeting to discuss revising the company's rules and regulations, increasing the number of board members, and adding supervisors."

"."

After all, he is a descendant of a wealthy family, so he is quite familiar with the company's rules and regulations, and must have studied them specifically.

As Junta Ayukawa listed his points one by one, Naoki Nagayama pinched his ear.

"I disagree!"

One sentence almost made Junta Ayukawa choke on his saliva!

"?!"

Junta Ayukawa looked at Naoki Nagayama with a somewhat incredulous expression.

"What did you say?!"

"I disagree!"

Naoki Nagayama said, word by word,

"I disagree with your changes to the company rules and regulations, I disagree with adding members to the board of directors, and I disagree with adding a supervisor."

"In short, I disagree with all your opinions!"

I've never been bullied like this before in my entire life!!

Junta Ayukawa felt a surge of anger rising in his chest, as if he were about to explode.

"Say that again?!"

"Are you hard of hearing?"

Naoki Nagayama remained silent.

I disagree!

"you"

Junta Ayukawa, who had rarely been contradicted growing up, was momentarily speechless and could only manage a curt reply.

"Why do you disagree?!"

"Because I'm the chairman of the Tree Friends Board of Directors!!"

"!!"

Junta Ayukawa was furious and slammed his hand heavily on the desk.

"Then I'm calling a shareholders' meeting!!! I'm proposing to replace the chairman!!! You're clearly not protecting the interests of the major shareholders!!"

He looked at Yoshimura Daitomo:

"President Yoshimura, there's no need to continue this conversation. Let's go to the conference room for the shareholders' meeting! I assume all the shareholders are here!"

"."

Yoshimura Otomo suppressed the urge to laugh and looked at his two friends.

"The shareholders are all here."

"If you're going to do it right, then don't move it. Let's hold the shareholders' meeting here!!"

"???!!!"

Junta Ayukawa was a little confused. He looked at the people in the small conference room with a bewildered expression. Then, he seemed to have figured it out and looked at Otomo Yoshimura and the others with an extremely incredulous look.

Yoshimura Otomo spoke first:

"I am a shareholder of Shuyou Group, holding 5% of the shares personally."

Shuichi Itō followed:

"I am also a shareholder of Shuyou Group. My personal shareholding is also 5%."

Finally, Naoki Nagayama spoke slowly and deliberately:

"I am the major shareholder of Shuyou Group, holding an 80% stake!"

Then, he smiled and looked at Junta Ayukawa:

"Plus the 10% you represent, all of our shareholders are now complete!!!"

"Then you want to propose changing the chairman at the shareholders' meeting. As the controlling shareholder and chairman, I disagree!!"

"."

Now, not only Junta Ayukawa, but also Yamato Kishimoto and the legal and accounting staff he brought with him looked at the three people in front of them with incredulous eyes!

It's important to understand that, unless it's a startup or a very small company, equity ownership in other companies is never this simple!

For most companies to grow, they need capital injections, financing, or even exchanging shares for resources and support.

When you get to a group like Shuyou Group, which can generate tens of billions in annual revenue, its shareholding structure must be extremely complex!

Did TreeFriend grow its business entirely through its own profits from the very beginning?!

"President Yoshimura."

Kishimoto Yamato couldn't help but speak up,

"Major shareholders have the right to know, and concealing shareholder identity information is a crime!"

"Haha, we didn't hide anything!"

Yoshimura Otomo was ultimately more tactful and handed over the list of shareholders.

"Since its inception, Shuyou Group has only received funding once, from Kadokawa Pictures."

"At that time, it was to get the initial films going and then rely entirely on their own box office revenue!"

"Growing step by step to where it is today"

The others stared in disbelief at the shareholding details, especially Naoki Nagayama's undisputed 80% controlling stake. This meant that the Shuyu Group was entirely controlled by Naoki Nagayama alone!

"how can that be"

Junta Ayukawa couldn't believe it; even as the grandson of the Ayukawa family, he had never managed such a large company.

In fact, with Naoki Nagayama's resources, he was already capable of sitting at the same table as the head of the Ayukawa family!

However, Japanese society doesn't have a tradition of disclosing assets. Nissan simply considers Naoki Nagayama's wealth based on the scale of the Juyu Group.

"Cough cough~~"

As a seasoned department head, Kishimoto Yamato quickly recovered from his initial surprise.

"So, Ayukawa-san is now the second largest shareholder of the Tree Friends Group!"

Haha, I guess so.

Naoki Nagayama laughed.

"So, what does the second-largest shareholder want to say?"

"Ahem. Let's just leave it at that. Revise the rules and regulations for Tree Friends shareholders."

Kishimoto Yamato hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming. He reassured Ayukawa Junta and continued to make his demands.

"As the second largest shareholder, Junta Ayukawa needs to understand Shuyu's revenue situation, and in order to protect his interests, we need to be deeply involved in the operation of the Shuyu Group."

"Hmm."

Naoki Nagayama stroked his chin, then looked at Yamato Kishimoto and Junta Ayukawa.

"I still disagree!"

"you!"

Junta Ayukawa stood up excitedly.

"Why do you disagree? This is my right as the second largest shareholder!!"

"Haha. Because you're the second-largest shareholder!"

Naoki Nagayama pointed to himself.

"I am the controlling shareholder."

The original plan was to make a villainous expression, but Naoki Nagayama couldn't hold back and burst out laughing:

"Haha, never mind, I'll stop teasing you guys!"

"Junta Ayukawa, Yamato Kishimoto, don't think we don't know your intentions. I will never allow you to interfere in the company!"

"."

Kishimoto Yamato's expression was tense.

"President Nagayama, are you going to completely exclude Ayukawa from the Tree Friends group, or are you going to acquire Ayukawa's shares?"

"Um"

Naoki Nagayama nodded, his tone relaxed.

"Just sell your shares to me, I won't let you lose money~"

Junta Ayukawa stood up angrily:

"Don't even think about it! I will never sell my shares!!"

His grandfather bought shares in Shuyou not to make money, but for the sake of face!

If they knew he only came once and then sold his shares, then the inheritance rights...

"Ha~ whatever you want."

Naoki Nagayama shook his head, somewhat disappointed.

"It's precisely because we lacked experience when we first started the company that I didn't give 10% of the shares to Kadokawa. Otherwise, we could have forcibly taken back the shares you held!"

In Japan, a legal entity can forcibly reclaim the shares of other shareholders only if it holds more than 90% of the shares. However, in reality, once absolute control is achieved, whether or not the shares are reclaimed is irrelevant.

"."

After a moment of silence in the meeting room, Kishimoto Yamato spoke again.

"President Yoshimura, can't Chairman Nagayama discuss this further?"

"After all, we represent the Nissan Group. If we insist on taking legal action, it will be very troublesome."

Yoshimura Otomo also spoke up:

"Fine, Kishimoto-san, we won't let you interfere in Juyu's affairs!"

"Did you really think we didn't know about your previous actions of secretly instigating Mitsuko Miyazawa to falsely accuse Naoki-san?!"

"!!!"

Kishimoto Yamato was startled. He had thought that nothing was amiss when he entered the room, and that his friend had simply not recognized him!

He and Junta Ayukawa had already prepared a contingency plan for this matter. According to their original plan, they would forcefully convene a shareholders' meeting and make a resolution at the meeting, so that even if they were recognized, it wouldn't matter.

But now things are really awkward!

After laughing for a while, Naoki Nagayama stood up:

"Alright, let's call this scene over."

"I suggest that Ayukawa-san sell his shares. After that, you won't get a single penny from the Tree Friends!"

It's important to understand that when a company has a controlling stake, manipulating dividend distributions is incredibly easy. A shareholder could simply say they want to redirect profits to operating expenses, and that's perfectly simple too.

"."

After Junta Ayukawa and Yamato Kishimoto stormed out of the Kiyu Building, Naoki Nagayama and the others went to the office.

"Hahaha, Naoki-san, you know what? I couldn't hold it in anymore in the meeting room!!"

Shuichi Itō then laughed.

"I disagree. Didn't you see Junta Ayukawa's face after he said that?"

"Haha. That's why 'face-slapping' scenarios are always so popular!"

Naoki Nagayama also laughed.

"This is what true pleasure feels like!"

"hehe."

Yoshimura Otomo laughed for a moment, then asked,

"Naoki-san, do you think they'll sell it?"

"Of course not. They're not after that little bit of money."

Naoki Nagayama shook his head.

"However, after this, their actions will likely become more hasty, revealing even more weaknesses!"

"To this day, I still don't know what they will do to TreeFriend Capital."

"."

Itō Shuichi began,

"I did find some things out about Naoki-san."

"Have you heard of Kishida Fumio? He's the one who instigated Doi-san."

"The Kishida family?! Isn't that a political family?"

"Yes. However, the Kishida family has someone at the Securities Bureau of the Ministry of Finance."

"."

(End of this chapter)