Time rewound to a few days earlier.
The principal of Kasamatsu sat in his office, happily scrolling through the heated forum discussions about the Cinderella Gray manga, his grin nearly stretching from ear to ear.
This was a project Sakuraba-san had personally entrusted to him. Seeing it go viral before serialization had even begun, he could already picture a beautiful future where the manga sold like hotcakes and the academy's reputation climbed another level.
However, his good mood did not last long.
The direction of the forum suddenly began to feel strange.
A large number of newly registered accounts with no posting history flooded into the relevant boards like locusts and began spamming identical negative reviews.
"Leeching off Oguri Cap's popularity and exploiting Umamusume sentiment."
"A real-person adaptation? Did they ask Sakuraba-san for permission? This disrespects the original model!"
The comments were stiffly worded, logically forced, and posted in dense clusters. It was obviously an organized effort.
The principal of Kasamatsu's smile froze on his face, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
He scrolled through them one by one, and the more he read, the angrier he became.
How was this normal reader criticism?
This was clearly malicious smearing, a premeditated attempt to fling mud!
"Outrageous!" He slammed his hand on the desk, making the teacup jump. "What blind bastard dares lay a dirty hand on Sakuraba-san's project?!"
In his heart, this manga was not only an important promotional project for the academy, but also a task Sakuraba-san had entrusted to him. Now that someone was trying to sabotage it, that was a slap in his face, and even more, an act of disrespect toward Sakuraba-san!
Hot blood rushed straight to his head. The Kasamatsu principal gnashed his teeth, his eyes behind his glasses practically spewing fire.
"Investigate! Investigate this thoroughly!"
He roared into the phone at the head of the academy's publicity department.
"Use every connection we have! No matter how much it costs, you must drag the mastermind behind this out for me! I want to see who has the guts to pull this!"
Countless ways of receiving this mastermind had already appeared in his mind—tying them to a cement pillar and sinking them in Tokyo Bay would be letting them off lightly!
Anyone who dared touch Sakuraba-san's project was making an enemy of him, of Kasamatsu, and of the entire Kasamatsu Academy!
The academy's investigative forces moved swiftly. Through technical tracing, channel inquiries, and even some less conventional personal connections, they followed the trail, peeling back layer after layer to its source.
A few days later, a detailed investigation report was placed on the principal of Kasamatsu's desk.
He took a deep breath and opened the report, fully prepared to expose the culprit and unleash thunderous revenge.
Then he froze.
At the end of the report, the final payer and source of the instructions given to the online marketing company that had taken the money and done the job were clearly identified as—
Sakuraba.
The principal of Kasamatsu blinked, suspecting he had misread it.
He took off his glasses, wiped them hard, put them back on, leaned close to the report, and carefully read it word by word.
There was no mistake.
The payment account was registered to Sakuraba.
The IP address that had issued the order to "smear Cinderella Gray" traced back to a device Sakuraba commonly used.
There was even the request the marketing company's person in charge vaguely remembered.
"Go hard on the smear campaign. Don't hold back. Ideally, trash it until no one wants to read it."
Principal of Kasamatsu: "..."
He remained bent over the report for a full ten seconds.
The office was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump, rapid and chaotic, as if mocking his towering rage from moments ago, and the cement pillar he had already imagined sinking to the bottom of Tokyo Bay.
"Y-Your Majesty..." he muttered unconsciously, his voice dry. "Your Majesty, why... are you rebelling against yourself?"
He straightened up, looked blankly around the office, lowered his head to look at the report again, then raised his head to stare at the ceiling.
A vast sense of confusion and absurdity flooded over him like a tide.
All that righteous indignation and readiness to draw the blade now turned into nowhere-to-place question marks, spinning wildly through his mind.
Sakuraba-san... spent his own money... to hire people to smear a manga project he invested in and personally pushed forward?
What... what was the point of that?
The principal of Kasamatsu dropped back into his chair, feeling as though his brain's CPU was starting to overload.
He racked his brains, but he still could not understand the logic behind it.
Could Sakuraba-san have some deeper strategic arrangement that I can't comprehend?
He picked up the phone, his finger hovering over the dial button for a long while before he put it down again.
How... am I supposed to make this call?
Question Sakuraba-san about why he smeared his own project?
Thank Sakuraba-san for creating new hype through the smear campaign?
Or pretend I know nothing?
In the end, the principal of Kasamatsu only let out a long sigh and locked that report in the deepest part of his drawer.
Forget it. I'll just pretend nothing happened.
Sakuraba-san must have had a deeper meaning for doing this.
As someone working under him, I should simply focus on carrying out the task properly, making the manga good, and managing the academy well.
As for the cement pillar in Tokyo Bay... Ahem. Better save that for a real enemy in the future.
The principal of Kasamatsu rubbed his still-throbbing temples and decided to eat a bowl of soba tonight to calm his nerves.
This emotional roller coaster was far too hard on the heart.
After locking away that baffling report, the principal of Kasamatsu decided to temporarily suppress the matter and say nothing.
He forced himself to turn his attention back to the academy's daily affairs, but the corner of his eye could not help drifting toward the discussion board about the Cinderella Gray manga on his computer screen.
...
Over the next few days, the way the forums developed completely exceeded his expectations.
At first, those overwhelming, mechanically copied negative comments had indeed made the discussion area foul for a time.
But just as Sakuraba had witnessed, that black tide not only failed to break the fans' dam, it stirred up an astonishing backlash instead.
With his own eyes, the principal of Kasamatsu watched as ordinary readers who had originally been scattered all over the place, supporters of Oguri Cap, and even passersby who had previously only vaguely heard of Umamusume quickly gathered together under those obvious, hole-riddled paid-poster attacks.
"This smear job is way too amateur. They didn't even bother changing the script?"
"Protect our best Oguri Cap! Protect Cinderella Gray!"
"I was only a little interested at first, but seeing this many people mindlessly hate on it actually makes me even more curious how good it really is."
The rebuttal posts were well-reasoned and full of passion.
In only a few short days, name recognition and anticipation for Cinderella Gray shot up like a rocket, reaching heights the principal of Kasamatsu had never dared imagine before.
The forum was full of roaring comments like "the harder the antis jump, the more I'm buying," "my wallet is ready," and "serialization day is festival day."
Sitting in his office, the principal of Kasamatsu looked at the screen, where almost every rolling discussion was positive and full of anticipation. His expression shifted from initial confusion and worry to shock, and finally into extreme admiration as realization dawned.
He slapped his thigh hard, so excited he nearly jumped out of his chair.
I understand now!
"Holy crap! Amazing!"
"So that's it! So that's what this was!"
His eyes shone. All his previous confusion and sense of absurdity were swept away, replaced by boundless admiration for Sakuraba.
"Sakuraba-san! This move of yours... was simply divine!"
"First, you used paid smear posters to create conflict, stir up the fans' rebellious psychology and protective instincts, and rapidly condense followers who might have remained scattered into an incredibly combative core community! Then, using such a controversial incident, you attracted a huge number of outsiders who originally weren't paying attention, making them stop, watch, and get curious!"
"Hate-fame is still fame! Controversy brings traffic! This reverse operation directly pushed Cinderella Gray's popularity to its peak! You didn't spend a single yen on 'positive' promotion, yet the effect is a hundred times stronger than any traditional publicity!"
"Not only did you save a huge amount in publicity costs, you also strengthened the work's reputation through the process of 'resisting a common enemy'! The fans' sense of belonging and desire to purchase have been stimulated to the absolute limit!"
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
"Using negative traffic to pave the way for Cinderella Gray... No, this isn't paving the way. This is practically building a whole expressway, complete with the most fanatical road-protection squad in Japan!"
The more the principal of Kasamatsu thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt as though he had glimpsed the edge of a genius investor's unfathomable strategy.
How was this Sakuraba-san "rebelling against himself"? This was clearly him playing a grand game of strategy, using reverse thinking ordinary people could never understand to complete a textbook-level event-marketing campaign!
"His wisdom borders on the supernatural... Sakuraba-san's wisdom truly borders on the supernatural!"
He could not help murmuring praise, his heart filled with the rueful feeling that "so the clown was me all along," along with boundless worship toward Sakuraba.
That admiration was so intense that he could no longer hold it back.
His previous hesitation was tossed beyond the clouds.
Right now, he only wanted to immediately express his endless reverence to this investor who made strategies from afar and calculated without error, and ask whether there were any even more exquisite arrangements to follow.
He took a deep breath, straightened his tie, which had gone slightly crooked from excitement, then solemnly picked up the phone on his desk and dialed Sakuraba's number.
The call connected.
"Hello? Principal of Kasamatsu?"
Sakuraba's voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat... listless?
The principal of Kasamatsu immediately straightened his back and, with a voice filled with admiration, excitement, and even a trace of trembling, spoke with utmost sincerity.
"Sakuraba-san! It's me! You... you're truly incredible! I've seen the situation on the forums!"
"Your strategy of 'using smears to fuel popularity' and 'stimulating fan cohesion' is simply a divine stroke! It's awe-inspiring!"
"Cinderella Gray's popularity has already exploded! Everyone's anticipation is maxed out! We won't need to spend a single extra yen on later publicity. The current momentum alone is enough to guarantee early sales and influence!"
"Sakuraba-san, how exactly did you come up with such an ingenious method? I... I'm truly prostrating myself in admiration! Please, you must guide me. Is there anything else we need to coordinate with you on from here?"
On the other end of the phone, Sakuraba said, "..."
There was a long silence.
The principal of Kasamatsu could hear Sakuraba's breathing through the receiver, seemingly a little hurried, along with... some faint sound like clenched teeth?
"Sakuraba-san?"
The principal of Kasamatsu asked carefully, wondering if he had been too excited and interrupted Sakuraba-san's thoughts.
"...The principal of Kasamatsu."
Sakuraba's voice finally sounded, his tone rather strange, as if he were desperately suppressing something.
"You... you just said that you saw the situation on the forums? And you... admire it?"
"Yes!"
The principal of Kasamatsu remained completely unaware and was still immersed in his worshipful mood.
"You turned decay into something miraculous, transformed crisis into an unprecedented opportunity, and set a model example for the marketing world! I—"
"Enough!"
Sakuraba abruptly cut him off, his voice carrying a complex emotion the principal of Kasamatsu could not understand.
"Stop talking... I... My head hurts a little. As for what comes next... just proceed as normal on your side. There's no need to do anything special. I... I'm hanging up."
Beep, beep, beep...
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, the principal of Kasamatsu held the receiver and blinked blankly.
Sakuraba-san... didn't seem very happy?
He even seemed a little... irritated?
Did I understand wrong?
Or is Sakuraba-san in the middle of an even deeper plan, and my call interrupted the whole picture he was constructing?
The principal of Kasamatsu put down the phone and thought for a moment, then nodded firmly, his gaze becoming resolute once more.
That must be it! How could I ever fully grasp Sakuraba-san's wisdom so easily?
He looked irritated, but perhaps he was simply thinking through his next, even more astonishing move!
I was too rash!
He sat back down in his chair and looked at the still-explosive forum on the screen. His reverence for Sakuraba deepened another layer.
"Sakuraba-san really is unfathomable..."
---
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