Of course, this is all contingent on Sanae's method being reliable.
"It's actually very simple. I'll provide the funding for the magazine, and you'll be in charge of its management. To put it bluntly, it's just a magazine under our agency."
Sanae put down her coffee cup and spoke bluntly.
"Its main task is to generate buzz for the players we sign, and incidentally, to guide public opinion when necessary. I think, with your experience, you should understand the ins and outs of this."
She's practically revealed her hand at this point. That shows considerable sincerity; after all, in terms of professional expertise and credibility, Yayoi Aida is indeed the most suitable person, and finding someone else would be quite troublesome.
This idea was originally proposed by Shirasawa. He said that as more players are signed, the media will only chase after the most popular one, and the others might be left out. Besides, take Shirasawa and Kaede Rukawa as examples. They are popular now, but once the hype of the Summer League dies down, the media will run out of things to write about and might start digging up scraps or even fabricating negative news to generate buzz.
At that point, we'll need someone from our own circle to step forward and reliably steer the conversation back on track. That's why this magazine is so crucial; what to write, how to write it, and who to promote are all entirely up to us. As long as we build up the magazine's reputation, our words will carry authority.
Sanae immediately understood the intricacies behind the story and admired Shirasawa's quick wit. After much deliberation, she concluded that Yayoi Aida was the best candidate. While she might not be particularly popular in the media industry, she carried considerable weight with readers. When she wrote about the same event, people were more likely to believe it.
And coincidentally, Yayoi Aida currently unhappy at " Basketball Weekly," which is a godsend. Riding on the popularity of the national tournament and Shohoku and Shirasawa, the new magazine can easily become an instant hit, since the best resources are currently in Sanae's hands.
Yayoi Aida remained silent for a moment, her fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the glass, her mind clearly racing with calculations.
Sanae's meaning was already seven or eight parts clear to her. Making her the president was, frankly, just a smokescreen, a way to distance the magazine from the agency behind it, making it appear independent and objective, thus gaining credibility. Yayoi Aida was confident in herself and felt she could do a good job, and with the inside help of Sanae and the Sanae, the results were sure to be good.
But there's one thing she's quite concerned about.
"Besides... the core reports you've designated," Yayoi Aida raised her eyes, her tone serious, "Do I have the autonomy to decide on the rest of the content?"
Upon hearing Sanae, Sanae's lips curled into a smile. The Yayoi Aida could ask such a question meant that things were basically settled.
For this magazine to quickly gain attention, it can't just focus on its own players. It needs to cover everything from middle school leagues to high school, university, and even professional leagues, with the goal of becoming a top-tier sports magazine nationwide. All this accumulation is for gaining influence, and when it truly needs to serve the team, the effect must be overwhelming.
"As long as we achieve the core effect we need," Sanae said readily, "You can handle everything else. Yayoi, it's a pleasure working with you."
"Hmph... It's a pleasure doing business with you." Yayoi Aida chuckled, then added, "By the way, I want to invest."
The joint venture was an insurance policy she was adding for herself. Sanae had no objection to this; trust is fleeting, and some checks and balances between them actually make things more stable. The Yayoi Aida it up herself showed that she genuinely wanted to do it seriously.
Afterwards, the two chatted for quite a while about some details, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. They were basically just waiting to sign the contract.
Fujima, as an observer, didn't utter a single word from beginning to end. Sanae clearly didn't try to hide anything from him, and didn't ask him to avoid any of the key points they discussed. After listening to this, Fujima gained a deeper understanding of how the agency operated, completely exceeding his previous expectations.
Many things seem simple and unremarkable when you put them into words, but being the first to think of and do them is another matter entirely. Fujima couldn't help but admire Sanae's strategic planning abilities; he felt that with someone like her at the helm, almost any problem could be solved. And this was just the tip of the iceberg he had seen.
"Alright, I'll go back and prepare then." Yayoi Aida said, standing up, her action-oriented nature evident. " Sanae, I'll come to see you first thing tomorrow morning to sign the contract."
"Okay, see you tomorrow morning." Sanae replied politely, her tone gentle, but she didn't move, showing no intention of seeing her off.
Yayoi Aida didn't seem to mind, nodded, and walked out. The two had essentially tacitly accepted this new cooperative relationship.
Just as Sanae said, this magazine was spun off from a talent agency. Yayoi Aida is the nominal president, but the real boss behind the scenes is Sanae, or rather, Shirasawa.
"How was it, Fujima?" After seeing Yayoi Aida off, Sanae was clearly in a better mood, and her smile was exceptionally bright. "With your brain, you should have understood everything, right?"
Thankfully Fujima is a decent person... otherwise, that smile would be really hard to resist.
"I think I understand," Fujima nodded, then raised a practical question, "However, I haven't agreed to sign a contract with you yet. Is it really okay for me to hear about these core plans?"
Fujima is indeed a very honest person. Even if the contract doesn't go through in the end, he will keep quiet about what he heard today.
However, he already had high hopes for this agency.
You can tell from the magazine office layouts that Sanae and Yayoi Aida talked about that they not only have ideas, but also quite unconventional approaches.
For Fujima himself, the most important thing right now is choosing a university team.
He's starting to think that Sanae might actually be able to give him a satisfactory arrangement.
"Because you'll definitely sign it, saying something so childish isn't like you."
As Sanae spoke, she pulled a document out of her bag.
When the document was laid out in front of Fujima, he was indeed taken aback for a moment.
Player agent signing contract!
Regardless of whether Sanae carries this thing with her every day, the fact that she suddenly took it out made Fujima feel as if all the steps had been planned in advance.
From the moment she first came to my door this morning until now, with the contract laid out before me, upon reflection, it does make me a little uneasy.
But that's precisely why she seems even more reliable!
Sanae is like a master strategist; everything is on her chessboard, and every move she makes is perfectly timed.
This made Fujima, who was also used to being a commander, truly admire him.
Following her lead seems like the right thing to do.
He carefully reviewed the contract, and then cautiously asked a few questions.
For example, how much autonomy do you have? How do you plan for the short term? What is the team composition like?
Sanae provided detailed answers to each of them.
Fujima was the only player who asked such detailed questions and even offered some constructive opinions.
Unlike Kaede Rukawa or Michael Okita, who just need to play basketball, fight, have admirers, and make money... they truly deserve to be called the " Generation of Extreme Evil."
Fujima, on the other hand, is like a clever and steady strategist, always planning things out before acting.
With a few quick strokes --
Fujima picked up a pen and signed his name on the contract.
This isn't some kind of indenture; it's a guarantee for his future.
That's all.
The sixth player signed by the agency
" The Left-Handed Wise General ", Kenji Fujima.
From now on, he will be the vice-captain of the team.
However, his role as vice-captain is quite different from Kogure's, who is in charge of logistics.
He was like a strategist in the team.
Another point is that Fujima is no ordinary character; once he enters the fray, he becomes a deadly weapon!
Please take care of me from now on.
After signing the contract, Fujima spoke his first words under his new identity.
His future is now tied to this agency.
After losing to Shohoku, Shirasawa said, "The next time might not be too far away..."
It wasn't until this moment that Fujima finally began to understand.
Anyway,
Anyway, he's quite satisfied now. He trusts Sanae and the team, and he's full of expectations for the future.
"You should really look after those clowns on our team; none of them are easy to deal with. Xiao Bai, the captain, is basically just a figurehead. We'll be counting on you from now on."
Sanae spoke, she took out a key and placed it in front of Fujima.
"This is a team benefit. We didn't mention it before because we were worried that external factors might influence your judgment."
This key is the key to the Base Camp stadium. Sanae didn't mention it at all before signing the Sanae. Although the stadium itself doesn't play a decisive role, bringing it out now makes it seem exceptionally professional.
We have things that could be called temptations, but we don't use them, or rather, we don't need to.
After you sign the contract, I'll give it to you as a bonus, which is both a pleasant surprise and a sense of reassurance.
" Base Camp? That's interesting. It just so happens that I can't use Shoyo's stadium anymore."
Tomorrow, Fujima will have to go to Shoyo for his final farewell.
He definitely won't participate in the Winter Selection Tournament.
When discussing it with Sanae, Fujima also Hanagata the future of Hanagata and the others, meaning he wanted to bring them along.
Sanae refused without even thinking about it.
The reason is simple: the company slogan is right there: We don't sign unknown people.
Hanagata might be worth considering, but Takano and Nagano are completely out of the question.
Signing them would be disrespectful to the rest of the team.
but,
To successfully recruit Fujima, something has to be sacrificed. Although she rejected his teammates' offer to join, Sanae promised to help put in some effort and try to find them a good place.
This is an "agreement," not a "promise."
Fujima also understood the difference between the two.
He also believed in Sanae; since she had promised, she would definitely do it, though the extent to which she would succeed was uncertain.
But looking at it from another angle, even if she just did it casually, it's probably still much better than those people messing around on their own.