It was the guests' turn to offer incense.
Nakayama Takuya straightened the hem of his suit jacket, rose to his feet, and followed the procession toward the offering table with measured steps.
He pinched up a small handful of incense powder and steadily sprinkled it into the burner.
Blue smoke curled upward, blurring his vision.
Facing Yokoi Gunpei's memorial portrait, he gave a solemn bow.
That bow was in tribute to a great predecessor who had made outstanding contributions to the gaming industry.
The rites complete, he turned and left.
The instant he turned around, Yamauchi Hiroshi, who had kept his eyes lowered all along, suddenly raised his head. Those clouded yet razor-sharp eyes fixed on Nakayama Takuya.
Nakayama Takuya keenly caught that gaze. He neither avoided it nor provoked it. He simply met Yamauchi Hiroshi's eyes with calm composure for a second, then, without breaking stride, walked straight out of the main hall.
That unhurried pressure left quite a few Nintendo executives present feeling as though they could barely breathe.
When he left the temple, the rain had stopped.
The air carried the raw smell of wet earth, and when the autumn wind blew, the chill cut even deeper.
Tadashi Takezaki hurried forward and pulled open the door of the Toyota Century.
Nakayama Takuya bent down and entered the rear seat.
The car pulled away smoothly, leaving far behind the temple that bore Nintendo's grief.
"Managing Director." Tadashi Takezaki sat in the front passenger seat and turned around, handing over a top-secret briefing that had just been printed. Excitement was tightly suppressed in his voice. "We just received insider information. Nintendo finished its emergency meeting and slashed the GBC promotional budget by more than half. They are not even replacing the shell molds. They plan to use the old