The System Won't Work Unless I Have Girlfriends

(Third pov)

He couldn't be joking, could he? The person Hachiro mentioned was his grandson. Ross and Nick had expected some well-known engineer or a hidden genius millionaire, yet here stood a mere kid. How could he possibly help the team's situation?

However, when it came to work, Hachiro never joked around. It was better for both of them to keep their thoughts to themselves.

"So, Honda has decided it?"

Masamune initiated the conversation, startling both men. It was impossible; only key figures like them and Honda executives knew this information. Their meeting had just concluded two hours ago.

"Correct. Masamune told me the exact situation that would happen. Now it's happening, so we'd like to consult with you if you have more information or a potential solution."

Hachiro's words left them more confused than ever.

"Hm, shouldn't you have told these gentlemen beforehand?" Masamune asked.

"Right…"

Hachiro then explained everything to Ross and Nick. At first, they had been skeptical, but now they understood why Hachiro had wanted to brief them first.

"Wow… that's…" Ross struggled to contain his amazement; it all seemed too ridiculous. "How old is he again?"

"He should be 11 in October."

An 11-year-old who predicted the team's situation—and he was also a millionaire!

"When you first brought him to the factory, I had no idea Masamune was this much of a genius."

"Mate… it scares me… his genius really scares me."

As they exchanged comments, Masamune returned with three cups of coffee and a glass of milk for himself.

"Hey, lad… are you interested in becoming a driver?" Ross asked unexpectedly.

Masamune shook his head slowly. "I don't think I have the dedication to become one, but I'm interested in the finance world and I even enjoy it now. But, I enjoy motorsport too."

"But why not? It's not too late to start karting. You have someone like your grandpa backing you up at Honda."

Seeing the two uncles so excited, Masamune couldn't help but laugh inside. The truth was, he hadn't yet overcome the trauma of his past life. After all, he had died in a racing incident. He had trusted too much in his driving skills and had ended up crashing into a barrier.

As the chit-chat concluded, they shifted to serious discussion.

Hearing the situation, Masamune thought it wasn't too late. He didn't remember much about his grandpa name, Makabe Hachiro, from his past. But Ross Brawn and Nick Fry were crucial staff members leading the 2009 season. Ross Brawn, in particular, was the most important figure.

When Honda decided to exit the competition after the great recession of 2008, Ross had bought the Honda F1 team, continuing with a new team, Brawn GP. He had taken what Honda had for 2009 and, with the little budget they had, led the team to victory over the likes of Red Bull, and ultimately winning the championship.

"There's nothing we can do to make Honda stay on the grid," Masamune said. "If the whole team wanted to, you could just buy the team resources from Honda."

Nick, hearing this, smiled slightly—optimistic for a kid, but as CEO, it sounded ridiculous.

"That might sound simple, but a Formula One team is worth at least 800 million pounds, minimum. I don't think that's practical."

"I'm saying not now. There'll come a moment when they decide to give the whole team away for a pound. I can tell you that the situation in the future will be more chaotic than it is today."

"How are you so sure that will happen? Is there an indicator?"

Masamune smiled brightly. "The indicator? Let's just say my instinct tells me so…"

He kept it simple, to which make it more ridiculous for them.

"If a crisis arises, they will give you the team. However in exchange, the new owner will have to handle the problems they left behind: the debt and hundreds of employees. But if you're all willing to fight… why not?"

"Let's say we take over the team? Then what? We'll most likely be running the team without fuel." Ross Brawn asked the question.

"Well… I can't give you my thoughts more than this, unless I'm part of the team."

Look at this kid. The adults appreciated the boy's guts.

But, something felt odd about the atmosphere around him—it didn't match his age. Minutes ago, they had been chatting with a kid, but now it felt like they were conversing with an ambitious businessman.

"What do you want, Masamune?" Hachiro asked.

In a calm tone, Masamune replied, "What I want... you've got to continue working for the team. If you don't, then I don't want to be part of this project."

Hachiro paused, holding his breath for a moment. Earlier, he had thought about retiring and returning to Japan with his grandson. He realized it wouldn't be good for Masamune to be alone all the time—after all, he technically didn't have a parent now.

Masamune continue, "It's fine. I just want you to help the team in the early stages before the pre-season test, and you can decide afterward, after Melbourne."

Hachiro looked at him, finding the idea reasonable in a way. It seemed a shame to stop when he was already preparing the chassis.

"What do you want me to do?"

"For instance," Masamune gulped down his milk in one go, "I don't want to be involved in the team's technical and management decisions, however, it's not hurt to listen to me at some point, it might be somehow useful. Then, I want to be informed about key factors regarding the car development and how we adapt to new regulations. Secondly, the most important thing I want... I want my grandpa to be a shareholder in this new team."

"Hold on, lad…" Ross interrupted him, "How far is your understanding of this?"

Masamune hummed. "Quite... far, I guess?"

Looking at him, they realized this kid wouldn't elaborate any further.

"For now, I think it's best to buy the team as soon as possible. Trying to negotiate with them now is better than at the end. It's better to have more time for developing the car, right?"

Seeing this kid act like an adult made them think: Were kids these days this scary?