Chapter 237. Crash
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At the same time.
Danzo, who had been closely monitoring the movie's performance, wore a serious expression as he turned to Mitokado Homura. "What's the situation?"
Because—
This battle could only end in victory. Failure was not an option!
"It went very smoothly!" Homura smiled slightly and looked at Danzo. "According to the data we received, tickets are already sold out through the day after tomorrow, Danzo!" His tone carried a hint of excitement. "Your plan worked! By advertising on a large scale and constantly drawing attention online, people's curiosity has been piqued. We've succeeded! From now on, we'll have our own cinema chain and won't have to rely on Yuto Group anymore."
Hearing this—
Both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo smiled with satisfaction.
This time—
They had finally succeeded!
You know—
This time, they didn't waste money on giveaways or customer incentives but sold tickets the proper way. At most… they had just paid a few people to boost the numbers a bit.
But what was that small amount of money compared to all their efforts?
So—
This time, it was a true success!!!
"Get ready to celebrate!" Danzo waved his hand confidently, showing the demeanor of a true director. He shouted boldly, "Book the celebration banquet! Make sure it's grand!"
After a pause—
"Also, let those guys who boosted the numbers know they did a good job this time! They'll get their final payment in three days!"
Because.
He.
Shimura Danzo.
He always keeps his word!
However—
What they didn't know was—
At that moment—
Outside Root Cinema…
The first wave of moviegoers who had finished watching the movie stood outside the theater, exchanging confused looks.
This movie…
What the hell was that?
Even Asuma and his group felt the same way. The movie had ended, but they still hadn't processed what they had just watched.
Something felt… off.
It wasn't as exciting… as they had expected?
The story indeed focused on the end of the First Ninja World War, where the Second Hokage sought peace by going to Kirigakure, only to be ambushed and ultimately sacrifice himself to cover the retreat—entrusting Konoha to a newly promoted Jonin.
The visual effects of ninjutsu were definitely dazzling.
But—
It still felt… empty after watching it.
And yet—
They couldn't quite explain why it felt so hollow.
Even Asuma sensed it, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was wrong.
Still, seeing the line of people waiting for the next showing, he felt a little relieved. At least it seemed like—
Old man… Father had pulled it off this time. And that meant… he was about to become the child of a wealthy family.
Soon, the flames of indulgence would burn bright, and he would buy one gaming computer and smash it!
So—
Seeing that the group was starting to lose interest, Asuma quickly tried to lift the mood. "Alright, let's go watch the next two movies! Come on, come on~ it's almost time!"
Hearing that—
Everyone agreed.
They didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, they were mainly here because Asuma had invited them. It was just a chance for the group to hang out together, so as long as it was fun, it didn't really matter.
So—
The group laughed and headed toward Yuto Cinema for the next movies.
But—
As time passed, as wave after wave of viewers left the theater, the internet started to heat up.
[What the hell was that? I was so hyped for this!]
[This is supposed to be a groundbreaking film? Don't make me laugh.]
[This is war? They're dragging their feet and talking about love the whole time. If this were an actual battlefield, the team leader would've killed them for that!]
[Is Root Studio trying to insult Konoha's ninjas?]
After watching the movie, people began leaving scathing reviews online. And as time passed, more and more voices joined in, turning the once-positive comment sections into battlegrounds of outrage. Many even returned to previous glowing reviews to post angry comments, claiming they had been deceived.
In particular…
After watching all three movies, the difference became even more obvious to many viewers.
Yuto Group's films remained high quality, and Kirigakure's film was also full of blood-pumping action. Only Root Studio's film, despite its beautiful battlefield aesthetics, left many viewers feeling like they wanted to punch something.
[Yuto Cinema's movie is still the best. The mature voice of the Mahjong God was just too captivating.]
[That's a fox, bro!]
[So what if it's a fox? I like it.]
[I still think the Nine-Tails's Yin-Yang Reincarnation scene in "Dark Child" was cuter!]
[Cute means nothing in front of maturity.]
[Nobody's talking about the Kirigakure movie? It was so intense! It gave me the same feeling as the Mahjong God Cup—it got my blood pumping!]
[All that fighting and killing is just meaningless violence. Boring!]
[You're wrong. Kirigakure's movie is based on real events. Back then, a certain student killed all of his classmates. In the end, he was the only one from that class to graduate.]
[A true story? So what? Wasn't "Konoha Fortress" also based on the First Ninja World War?]
[Don't be ridiculous. If that were the case, Konoha would have been gone long ago!]
…
Right now.
The entire internet was starting to erupt.
Many viewers, after reading the online comments, finally realized why the movie had felt so strange to them. Wanting to align with the popular sentiment, they began posting their own criticisms online.
And just like that—
The rating for [Konoha Fortress] began to plummet from its initial perfect score.
Meanwhile, Danzo and his group, who had been immersed in their celebration banquet, suddenly realized something was wrong.
It had all seemed to be going so well…
But—
Right after they booked the celebration banquet, the internet was flooded with criticism?
Cold sweat broke out on the foreheads of all three men—especially Danzo. You know… this was money he had sold himself to get!
If this failed—
He would truly be broke!
"Hurry up! Hurry up!!" Danzo immediately shouted at Mitokado Homura. "Tell those guys to keep boosting the scores! Bring the rating back up and push down the negative reviews!"
He was already out of options.
If he didn't act now, the first movie from his cinema would completely flop.
But—
As soon as Danzo finished speaking, Homura quickly contacted the group responsible for boosting the ratings. However…
After a short while—
Homura's face twisted bitterly as he looked at Danzo. "Danzo, they said the situation is urgent… we have to add more money!"
"Add more? How much can tens of thousands of people possibly add? Promise them! Agree to it! Just make it happen! There are still a lot of people who haven't seen the movie yet—we need to suppress this as soon as possible!"
"Understood!"
Unfortunately—
As time passed, the negative comments only increased.
The three of them grew more and more uneasy. They never imagined… the movie itself would be the problem.
Obviously, they had watched it themselves.
They thought it was great—combining intense war scenes with a touch of romance for balance. But they didn't expect… the audience just didn't like it.
Didn't they all love [Meteor Konoha]?
Why didn't they love this one?
Were the characters not handsome enough? Or were the ninjutsu not flashy enough?
After all the fierce battles—
As the audience numbers grew more and more—
Three days later…
The three men sat in silence, looking at each other.
Finally—
"Forget it. Tell them to stop boosting the scores." Danzo sighed, hesitated for a moment, and said, "At least we didn't lose everything. We recovered part of the cost, and we still have the cinema! We'll have a chance to bounce back!"
"You're right." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and nodded, but his smile was laced with bitterness. He raised his trembling hands to hold his pipe. "This time was different from the last two. At least it proves the path is viable. As long as we make the next one well, it will be fine."
"Danzo, Hiruzen…"
The three of them looked at each other, and their initial sense of disappointment gradually gave way to renewed determination.
Yes—
There was still hope!
Even though they were over a billion in debt, as long as Danzo was still standing and the bounty was still there…
They could continue!
The corners of their mouths lifted into relaxed smiles.
Next time!
They would definitely do better!
However—
What they didn't know was—
At that moment—
In a certain clan.
A panicked ninja rushed in holding a colorful sheet of paper, his face filled with terror.
"Clan Leader! It's down! It's crashing! A major crash!"
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