Friday, 16 January 2002
Inside a highly private hotel suite, three men sat around a low table with the curtains drawn and security stationed far outside the room. Bill Gates looked almost unnervingly relaxed despite the situation, one arm resting against the sofa as he watched the other two men. Steve Jobs, in contrast, was visibly irritated. Zanki Zagashira remained quieter, although the tension in his expression made it obvious that Ayumi Renkonan's sudden public appearance had disrupted far more than he wanted to admit.
Bill finally chuckled. "So… she did something you didn't expect at all, huh, Zanki?"
Zanki sighed and slowly nodded. "Obviously. Her revealing herself directly was completely outside my expectations. I assumed she would remain hidden for much longer, especially because exposing herself also puts attention on her family background." He paused, fingers tapping lightly against the armrest. "But it was a daring move, and frankly, a good one. By admitting the Yakuza connection herself without revealing exactly which family she comes from, she removed the shock value while still controlling how much information the public actually received. That tells me they may already know somebody has been digging into her identity."
Jobs frowned. "So our leverage against her is useless now?"
"Not completely," Zanki replied. "The public still doesn't know which family she belongs to. That uncertainty gives rumors room to spread. Within hours of her video releasing, I had my people push several narratives harder—criminal financing, protection, questions about ZAGE's early growth, suspicions about why she refuses to identify her family. And some of those stories are still circulating now. So calling the entire effort a failure would be premature."
Bill stared at him for a few seconds before laughing quietly. "You're really trying to save your ass with that argument?"
Zanki's eyes narrowed.
Bill leaned forward slightly. "For months, you kept telling us the same thing. 'We need to make the most of this information. Wait for the right timing. Let ZEPS 4 approach launch, then hit Zaboru with something personal enough that the public starts questioning him and ZAGE at the same time.' You were confident the information would stay controlled until then." His smile faded. "And now?"
Zanki said nothing.
"Now his wife walks onto YouTube before we do anything, admits the dangerous part herself, refuses to expose the specific family, talks about helping Zaboru before ZAGE even became successful, and suddenly the scandal becomes a story about how brave and loyal she is." Bill shook his head. "Even the negative rumors are helping them. Every accusation creates somebody else defending ZAGE, digging through its history, finding old pictures of her beside Zaboru, talking about the ZAGE Foundation, talking about how she was there before the money. You wanted attention attached to ZEPS 4. Congratulations. You got it."
Steve Jobs immediately frowned. "Don't pretend you weren't part of this, Bill. You agreed with the timing too."
Bill turned toward him. "I agreed because I assumed the information being offered to me was reliable and usable."
"And it was reliable," Jobs replied sharply. "Ayumi admitted the core fact herself. Her father was Yakuza. That wasn't wrong."
"That isn't the issue."
"Then what is?"
"The issue is that information without control is worthless."
Jobs stared at him.
Bill continued, his tone much calmer than the words themselves. "If I reveal something and the target can immediately turn it into sympathy, then I don't have leverage. I have publicity. And right now, that publicity is benefiting Zaboru more than it hurts him."
Zanki finally spoke. "That doesn't mean the situation cannot still turn."
Bill looked toward him. "Based on what?"
"The public reaction is not universally positive. There are people asking reasonable questions. Others are openly hostile. Some are already demanding to know which family Ayumi belongs to. If pressure continues—"
"Pressure from whom?" Bill interrupted. "Anonymous accounts? Tabloids repeating one another? Business newsletters quoting rumors created by other newsletters?" He shook his head. "That works when the target remains silent. Ayumi isn't silent anymore. Every time someone calls her some secret criminal princess, people can simply watch her own video and decide whether they believe it."
Jobs leaned forward. "Then what would you have done differently?"
Bill glanced toward him. "I would have used whatever information I had directly, quickly, and for one clear objective instead of building some elaborate shared strategy around it."
Jobs' expression hardened. "That sounds convenient now that the plan didn't go exactly as expected."
Bill smiled faintly. "Of course it does."
Jobs stared at him in disbelief. "So this is just about assigning blame?"
"No. It's about understanding why I shouldn't rely on either of you again."
The room became quiet.
Zanki slowly exhaled.
Jobs' voice became colder. "You know very well Microsoft also benefited from this partnership. You wanted ZEPS 4 weakened because Xbox is still trying to establish itself. Don't suddenly act like you were dragged into something against your will."
Bill nodded. "I wanted competition weakened. That part hasn't changed. What has changed is my opinion of how useful this arrangement is."
Zanki looked toward him. "And you think working alone will magically make ZAGE easier?"
"No," Bill replied immediately. "ZAGE is difficult. That is exactly why I don't want additional uncertainty from partners whose priorities are different from mine."
Jobs folded his arms. "Our priorities aren't that different."
Bill looked toward him. "Apple wants to undermine ZAGE's technology position, protect its own ecosystem, and make i-Play relevant. Zanki wants Zusuga to become something more than a secondary electronics company while simultaneously trying to compete with Sonaya, ZAGE, and now Xbox. Microsoft wants Xbox to dominate the console market. Those goals overlap temporarily. They are not the same."
Zanki frowned. "That was obvious from the beginning."
"Yes," Bill replied. "And I tolerated it because I thought the cooperation was useful."
Jobs' jaw tightened. "And now one unexpected move from Ayumi makes you abandon everything?"
Bill chuckled. "No. One unexpected move from Ayumi revealed how fragile everything was."
He stood and adjusted his jacket calmly. "You two kept treating her identity like a weapon we could save until the perfect moment. But information doesn't wait politely inside a box until someone decides to use it. People move. Targets react. Other people investigate. Somebody leaks. Somebody suspects something. She moved first."
Zanki's eyes sharpened slightly at that.
Bill continued, "And Zaboru's side did something smarter than pretending the rumors didn't exist. They removed the mystery around the part that mattered most while preserving enough privacy that nobody has a clean target. That was good damage control whether it was planned months ago or decided yesterday."
Jobs looked irritated. "So what now?"
"For Microsoft?" Bill smiled. "I go back to competing normally."
"Normally?"
"Hardware. Software. Developers. Online services. Marketing. Games people actually want to buy." His smile grew slightly. "You know, the boring things well with a little bit more "Spices" off course."
Zanki gave a humorless laugh. "You're acting like Xbox has already won something and established something."
"It hasn't win anything yet. That's why I have work to do but established? We already way more established than your pathetics console.."
Bill began walking toward the door, then stopped briefly and looked back at them. "And for what it's worth, if either of you finds something useful in the future, send it to me. I may read it. But this little partnership?" He chuckled. "Finished. I should've known better than to trust two bastards whose companies would happily stab Microsoft the moment it became convenient."
Jobs immediately replied, "As if Microsoft wouldn't do exactly the same."
Bill's grin widened. "Of course we would."
Then he left.
The door closed behind him.
For several seconds, neither Jobs nor Zanki spoke.
Jobs finally stood and adjusted his black shirt beneath his jacket. His expression remained irritated, but not defeated. "He's arrogant."
Zanki leaned back. "He has reasons to be."
"That doesn't make him less annoying."
"No."
Jobs glanced toward him. "What are you going to do?"
Zanki looked toward the table. "Think."
Jobs gave him a long look before nodding. "You should."
There was no warmth in the exchange. Whatever cooperation had existed between the three men had always been practical rather than friendly, and Bill's departure had exposed exactly how shallow that trust really was.
Jobs headed toward the exit as well, but before leaving he turned slightly. "For what it's worth, I don't think the problem was using the information. The problem was assuming one scandal would somehow stop ZEPS 4."
Zanki frowned.
Jobs continued, "ZAGE has too many things supporting it. Games, hardware, media, retail, fans, developers. If you want to hurt them, you need something stronger than gossip."
Then he left.
Zanki remained alone.
The silence inside the suite suddenly felt much heavier.
He poured himself a drink and stared at the amber liquid for several seconds before finally taking a long sip.
"Damn…"
His irritation was no longer directed only at Bill.
Was working with Steve Jobs a mistake?
Was trying to coordinate with Microsoft a mistake?
Or was the real mistake believing that one carefully timed scandal could meaningfully weaken a company like ZAGE?
Zusuga's partnership with Apple on i-Play had looked strategically valuable when it began. Apple brought design, software experience, branding, and a loyal audience. Zusuga brought manufacturing infrastructure, gaming expertise , electronics expertise, regional connections, and money. Together, Zanki had believed they could create something capable of challenging ZEPS while taking advantage of uncertainty around the upcoming generation.
But nothing had become simpler.
ZAGE remained dominant.
Sonaya was still irritatingly resilient.
Xbox had entered aggressively and refused to disappear.
Now ZEPS 4 was approaching release with more attention than before, not less.
Even the rumors meant to weaken Zaboru had somehow contributed to keeping ZAGE at the center of public discussion.
Zanki drank again and stared toward the dark hotel window.
Should I just give up on the video-game business?
The thought annoyed him immediately.
He had money.
Factories.
Technology.
Distribution.
What he lacked was the thing ZAGE seemed to collect effortlessly.
Talent.
Good developers were expensive.
Great developers were worse because half of them already worked for ZAGE, Sonaya, or Microsoft, and those who remained independent suddenly had multiple companies trying to recruit them.
"Why the hell can't we acquire good talent…?"
Hardware could be bought.
Factories could be built.
Marketing could be funded.
But a console without games was just an expensive box.
And Zanki was beginning to understand why competing against ZAGE felt so exhausting. Every time he looked at one advantage, there were three more behind it.
He emptied the glass and poured another.
For tonight, at least, he had no answer.
Meanwhile in Japan, Zaboru was already preparing for tomorrow's first major ZEPS 4 teaser and the beginning of ZAGE's promotional week.
The timing could not have been better.
To be continued.
Please give me your power stone and if you want to support me and get minimum 50+ advance chapter and additional 1 chapter a week for 4$ considering subscribe to my patreon patreon.com/Zaborn_1997
Or buymecoffee https://buymeacoffee.com/Zaborn_1997 which same with patreon
current Patreon/buymecoffe chap 1407