Plotting TSMC

Another day passed, and another name appeared on Nakayama Takuya's schedule.

Director Terauchi.

As the core Sega executive in charge of supply chains, production, and cost control, Terauchi had just finished an inspection of semiconductor capacity in Taipei.

He knocked on the office door.

Terauchi was flipping through a thick report.

On the desk sat two exquisitely packaged boxes of Dong Ding oolong.

"Sit." Terauchi pointed to the chair opposite him and closed the report. "I heard about your visit to Takahashi yesterday. That old fellow usually won't buy anyone's account. Being able to get support from him means you've got some ability."

Nakayama Takuya pulled out the chair and sat down, casually taking one box of oolong tea and looking over the packaging.

"Uncle Takahashi is a pragmatist. If I can help him solve a technical bottleneck, he's happy to make things convenient." Nakayama Takuya set the tea box down. "You came back to the company to read reports the moment you got off the plane. Your workload is even heavier than a young man's."

"That bastard Hatano is stationed in Mexico full-time, watching the progress of the second console production line and the game-disc pressing line every day." Terauchi lifted his teacup and took a sip. "He called the day before yesterday to complain that the local union was still threatening to strike over ten extra minutes of taco time each day. If I don't straighten out the front-end material supply on my side, he'll fly back from Monterrey and flip my desk over."

Nakayama Takuya laughed aloud.

Hatano and Terauchi were the twin pillars of Sega's supply-chain system—one managed external production, the other controlled internal materials.

"Sega's current cost-control ability, enough to look down on the entire industry, is all thanks to you and Director Hatano, the