Nobody ever thought money was a bad thing, broadly speaking. So in the human world, if you had enough of it, things tended to get simple.
Under a no-expense-spared publicity blitz, word spread across the entire Land of Fire in record time: the Fox Tales series would return to being sold exclusively through a Konoha-based outlet. And as a thank-you to the legions of loyal readers who had supported it, the new publisher was holding a launch event just outside the village walls. No need to enter Konoha proper or deal with the hassle of security checkpoints—they'd simply clear a stretch of forest nearby and set up a temporary fairground.
This kind of open-air bazaar was virtually unheard of for Konoha. While the Hidden Leaf was the most open and prosperous of the Five Great Villages, it was still fundamentally a military installation. So Hinata's decision to hold the event outside the walls actually pleased the Third Hokage, who personally ordered Asuma to take lead, supported by a handful of Chūnin and Genin to handle venue setup and crowd control.
Konoha's small-business owners—the proprietor of Ichiraku Ramen among them—jumped on the opportunity, each staking out a patch of ground in the fairgrounds and setting up their stalls, ready and waiting for the book-buying crowds converging from every corner of the Land of Fire.
"Hmm... the venue might still be a little too small..."
Standing on a rise overlooking the grounds, Asuma couldn't help but grimace. He'd already overestimated attendance when planning the layout, but looking at the scene unfolding below, the space was nowhere near sufficient.
Roughly ten hectares of open ground was packed wall-to-wall with people of all ages. Judging by their clothing and styles, some had come from well beyond the Land of Fire's borders. Throw in the food and drink vendors who'd seized the opportunity, and the area was bursting at the seams.
"Ugh~ I can't believe my first time leaving the village is for something like this. By the way, who are you? You seem weirdly familiar."
Shikamaru stood beside Asuma, scowling with naked displeasure. Since Asuma was here in his capacity as the supervising Jōnin in charge of venue security, he wasn't wearing his usual Fujimura Photo Shop disguise—which had Shikamaru feeling like something was off.
"Ah~ ahem~ My name is Sarutobi Asuma. I'm handling venue security today on the Hokage's orders."
Asuma coughed guiltily. Shikamaru frowned, clicked his tongue in irritation, and waved him off. "Well, we'll be counting on you then. Ah~ I've gotta get down there and prep. See you~"
The sea of humanity surrounding the venue was putting serious pressure on the rest of the crew—especially the performers slated to appear onstage today.
"Ahhh~!! Why do I have to go out there dressed like this and sing in front of this many people?!"
Naruto was flushed all the way to the tips of his ears. He'd gotten somewhat used to playing the fox spirit Ahri within the small confines of the production crew, but performing live in front of over ten thousand people was another matter entirely. His dignity meter was being stress-tested to new lows.
"It's not just you—Sasuke as Zuorin, Shikamaru as Lady Higan, Ino as Princess Qingji, and Sakura as the attendant all have to go out too. Besides~ it's not you going up there, it's the fox spirit Ahri."
Legs crossed, Hinata sat in a chair behind the stage without looking up from the geographic survey map in her hands. She was scouting a suitable plot of land for a dedicated figure venue.
After all, given the sheer volume of foot traffic out there, she figured she had more than enough leverage to approach Pain about a joint-venture figure venue. This turnout was proof of concept.
"Damn it~ How did it come to this... I'm supposed to be... the man who becomes Hokage..."
Naruto gnawed on his sleeve, the very picture of wretched despair. Ino, busy doing his makeup nearby, snapped at him without sympathy: "Yes—hold that exact expression. That miserable, woe-is-me look. Honestly! The female lead role going to an idiot like you—it makes me want to crawl into a hole and die~! You'd better keep that Transformation Technique locked down, because if it drops onstage, you know what happens!"
Sasuke and Shikamaru, meanwhile, had clearly given up resisting. Everyone was using Transformation Technique anyway. They could treat it like a mission and be done with it.
"My lady, guests have arrived."
Just then, a cross-dressed Sai poked his head in from outside. Hinata glanced up, and a conspiratorial smile curled across her face. She set down her map and nodded. "Good. Ask them to wait a moment—I need to change into the right 'outfit.' Heh heh heh~"
"Whoa~~ For real?! This kind of crowd—there's gotta be over ten thousand people out there!"
Hidan shaded his eyes with one hand and gawked at the venue below, not even trying to hide his shock. "All for one book?"
"Heh heh heh~~ But of course~! Our art will absolutely conquer these masses!"
Deidara struck a confident pose, hands on his hips. From behind him, Hidan shot back with a smirk: "Hold on—even if the crowd's huge, that only proves the book sells well. Whether anyone's actually going to buy your little mud men and little wood men is still up in the air~"
"What did you say? You piece of—our art is absolutely flawless!"
Before Deidara and Hidan could escalate further, Hinata's voice cut in from nearby. "Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, but I'd ask you both to stay calm for now."
That the four Akatsuki members had shown up was no surprise to Hinata. All four had shed their signature black-and-red-cloud cloaks and arrived in civilian clothes.
Deidara and Sasori were dressed plainly. Kakuzu wore a kimono with a drifter's air about it. Hidan, on the other hand, was dressed to kill—a windbreaker over jeans, the kind of look favored by the street-cool crowd.
"Hm? That body... it's definitely the merchandise I delivered last time."
Kakuzu, still wearing a face mask, narrowed his eyes—clearly recognizing the body Hinata was currently using. Beside him, Hidan's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah~ Wait, no—the eyes are different."
"You must be Kakuzu and Hidan—my attendant mentioned you. I have you to thank for this excellent body. I'm truly grateful."
Hinata greeted Kakuzu and Hidan warmly. Sasori, however, cut in with unconcealed impatience: "Fine, pleasantries can wait. What's your plan?"
Knowing Sasori wasn't one for patience, Hinata wasted no time. "I've already arranged it with the author. We'll showcase your figures during today's event alongside the book release, and the audience can pick what they like. So~ no need to rush. Follow me inside, find a good seat, and relax. There'll be a surprise or two today~"
Sasori and Deidara exchanged a glance, then each grabbed their crate of pieces and followed Hinata in. Hidan shrugged and fell in step alongside Kakuzu.
The life of an itinerant artist was never easy.
Even for Sasori and Deidara, that held true. They possessed the power to level mountains, but when it came to earning recognition for their art, they were reduced to wanderers hauling their life's work, hearts churning with anxiety as they awaited whatever judgment lay ahead.
Since the event was outside the village, security was relatively lax. Nobody cared much about who was coming in, as long as they didn't start trouble. The four Akatsuki members slipped into the venue with ease and took the front-row seats Sai had reserved for them.
"Now then, please hand over your pieces. How much they're worth—you'll have your answer very soon."
With a smile, Hinata collected the crates from Deidara and Sasori, gave the four VIPs a nod, and headed backstage. After switching back to her original Hinata body, she carried the two crates into the prep room feeling refreshed.
To guard against ordinary Transformation Technique slipping at the wrong moment, the performers had all applied makeup on top of their transformations, layering cosmetics over jutsu for a more natural look.
"Oh, Hinata, you're back. Hm? What's in those boxes?"
Ino paused mid-makeup in front of a mirror, eyeing the crates curiously. Hinata shrugged, then casually lifted both lids. The figures inside immediately drew every eye in the room.
Hinata picked up two figures for a closer look and couldn't help nodding in approval. Deidara and Sasori had earned their reputations as artists—the work was flawless. Sasori's wooden puppet figures had supple joints and delicate bodies; their proportions and outfits were beyond reproach.
Deidara's figures, by contrast, were vivid and dramatic. Apparently in pursuit of capturing a single explosive instant, every pose was frozen at the peak of a blazing moment. The Zuorin figure in Hinata's hands, for instance, depicted him seated on a hillside playing a bamboo flute—even the hair and the tassel on the flute were sculpted mid-flutter, as though a mountain breeze had been flash-frozen in time.
"Oh my GOD~!! Is that a doll?! It's the character Sasuke plays!!"
Sakura's eyes were full-on starbursts as she cradled a Zuorin puppet figure, her expression practically combusting. "It feels like... I'm holding Sasuke in the palm of my hand~~!!"
"I know, right?! Oh~ this one is Sasuke tipsy~ That expression and pose~!!"
Ino, clutching a clay figure of her own, was no better off. Hers showed Zuorin with glazed, heavy-lidded eyes in a drunken haze. Judging by the deep flush spreading across her face, it wasn't hard to guess she was mentally generating some extremely raunchy and violent scenarios.
"Yeah~ They even have Shikamaru. Who made these things?"
Naruto ham-handedly grabbed a Lady Higan puppet figure, and Hinata immediately skewered him with a death glare. "Careful. These are consignment goods. They're called 'figures.' Sakura and Ino can keep the ones they're holding—those don't count. But the rest go on sale shortly, so if you break one, you'll be the one exploding~"
"I'll buy them! I'll buy them~!! How much?! Give me every single Zuorin figure!"
"In your dreams! Ino-pig!! The Zuorin figures should be MINE!!"
Before Hinata could even name a price, Sakura and Ino erupted into another girl-on-girl catfight crackling with yuri energy. Hinata shook her head—she was long past being fazed by this—and stood up, raising her voice.
"All right then! The launch event officially begins!"