Pain—the meaning behind the name wasn't hard to grasp. Pronounced in English, it was exactly what it sounded like: pain. And that meaning was precisely how he defined himself: a "god" whose divine duty was to deliver suffering unto the world.
Choosing that word as your own name said everything about how far gone you were. From the very moment Pain came into being, he—or rather, they—had never considered themselves ordinary people. In the real world, someone with that kind of personality and those kinds of delusions would probably have been locked away in a psychiatric ward under close observation.
But this was the shinobi world, where individual power reigned supreme, and Pain happened to possess strength that ranked among the absolute pinnacle on a global scale. That meant any exchange with this self-proclaimed "god" could only end one of two ways. First: you could beat him. Whether through ninjutsu, taijutsu, or even Talk no Jutsu—as long as you could put him down, you were free to ignore his embarrassingly dramatic philosophy of suffering.
Second: you couldn't beat him, in which case your only options were to obediently do as this "god" said or get flattened into a pizza by his Shinra Tensei.
As things stood, Hinata couldn't beat Pain. She didn't have the kind of cheat code those wish-fulfillment transmigrators came with—the ones who could instantly obliterate heaven, earth, and the air in between. To fight Pain head-on, she'd need at least another three or four years of training.
But she also had no intention of fully submitting to Pain's cringe-inducing "suffering is salvation" ideology. So what was she supposed to do?
It was a matter of strategic selection. If a frontal assault couldn't break through, you flanked. If flanking didn't work, you dug a tunnel underneath. If the ground was too hard to dig, you built an oversized sky lantern and airdropped yourself in.
In short: plans were fixed, but people adapted. Even operating under the premise of "acknowledging Pain," Hinata could think of no fewer than ten ways to exploit the loopholes. After all, that was exactly what she'd done for a living in her previous life.
So, the known variables were as follows: Pain was an extraordinarily stubborn individual who couldn't be swayed by conventional reasoning, and whose combat power was currently unrivaled across the shinobi world—a supreme edgelord. The Akatsuki organization he'd built currently needed massive funding to develop. Akatsuki was a superb pool of S-rank missing-nin muscle. And she herself held the merchandising rights for Fox Tales, along with an extensive body of knowledge about otaku-culture commerce.
Goal: A meeting with Pain that ended with both sides laughing and satisfied.
Obviously, for Hinata, this wasn't a difficult problem. It was considerably simpler than the pressure-point formulas of the Gentle Fist, at least. So she accepted Kakuzu's invitation without a moment's hesitation and set off to meet Pain in person.
"The Leader's a bit mysterious, but he's a decent guy, so no need to be nervous~ Come to think of it, I don't even know your name yet, hmm~"
Deidara was being remarkably considerate, chatting to soothe Hinata as she sat behind him. Her position on the blond missing-nin's goodwill meter was clearly quite high. His clay bird was excellent for transporting passengers—he'd even thoughtfully molded a cockpit-like hollow into the bird's back so Hinata wouldn't be too battered by the wind.
"My name, hmm... call me Suigintou. I'm rather fond of that name."
Hinata cycled through her mental catalogue and settled on this one without hesitation. Beside her, Sasori tilted his head slightly. "Suigintou? It does have a nice ring to it."
"Pfft~ Hey, Kakuzu~ Look at those two—they're beyond saving~"
Hidan burst out laughing from behind Kakuzu, but Kakuzu merely replied in that flat tone of his: "It is indeed a fine name. Reminds me of the sound of silver coins clinking together. We're here~"
Before Hidan could get in another word, the clay bird carrying him suddenly pitched into a sharp nosedive. Clearly, Deidara—who held grudges with relish—had heard his remark and decided to treat him to a complimentary high-altitude roller coaster.
Thanks to the convenience of ninjutsu, establishing hidden bases in this world was trivially easy. A single Earth Release technique could carve out an underground chamber, so when Hinata spotted a concealed cavern tucked into the mountainside, she wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Though Deidara's clay bird couldn't match a jet aircraft, it could still manage speeds well over a hundred kilometers per hour. They were now essentially outside the borders of the Land of Fire.
After Deidara unsealed the entrance to the cavern, the group filed inside. A ring of spectral projections—the assembled members of Akatsuki—was already waiting.
"Well, this is a rare sight. It's the first time an outsider has ever set foot in an Akatsuki base~"
Kisame was the first to speak. He was clearly entertained by the arrival of Hinata and Sai. Beside him, Zetsu nodded along. "Right~ And here I always assumed the first outsider to reach one of our bases would be an enemy who'd fought their way in~"
"Shut up! Are you hoping the organization gets invaded?"
Apart from Kisame and Black-and-White Zetsu, the remaining three present were all the quietly intense type. Konan generally kept her opinions to herself. Itachi almost never spoke to anyone. And Pain had no interest in mortals.
Even so, they had all gathered here, every one of them, to meet this business partner who could supposedly make Akatsuki a fortune.
"Pain. This is the girl we mentioned."
Kakuzu spoke first, then gestured for Hinata to step forward.
"You're the leader of Akatsuki? It's truly an honor to meet you."
Hinata scanned the room. She didn't see Tobi anywhere—the real puppet master was apparently off gallivanting somewhere. No need to worry about him, then.
"Welcome, Suigintou. First, Akatsuki wishes to express its gratitude for your trust and your commission."
Though it was only a spectral projection created through the Magic Lantern Body Technique, the Deva Path's presence was undeniable. His opening was conventional enough—given the current state of affairs, Akatsuki was effectively a mercenary outfit that took jobs from whoever was paying, so thanking a benefactor was perfectly reasonable. Especially since Hinata had just sold Sasori and Deidara's figures at astronomical prices. After hearing Kakuzu's report, even Pain found himself struggling to believe it: those nearly zero-cost wooden dolls and clay figurines had actually fetched tens of millions. He was quite curious to see how she'd pulled it off.
Securing funding was an unavoidable reality for any organization. Hidden villages had the backing of their country and its daimyō, receiving regular military subsidies supplemented by external commissions, which allowed them to sustain development.
An organization of rogue shinobi like Akatsuki, however—no matter how impressively fearsome a roster of all-S-rank missing-nin sounded—couldn't exactly put that on a business card. As a rogue outfit, they couldn't receive state funding, couldn't openly accept commissions, and were limited to picking up high-risk, often low-reward jobs through the black market in ways that never saw the light of day.
What's more, Akatsuki's current development strategy was to monopolize the entire shinobi world's underground mission market at the lowest possible prices, which meant they couldn't afford to be picky. Calling their finances a net loss would have been an understatement.
On top of all that, Pain and Konan governed the Hidden Rain Village—a wretched place cursed with terrible geography and ceaseless rainfall that made growing any crops nearly impossible. Beyond taking assassination contracts, the village had virtually no other economic prospects. Its residents scraped by on the edge of survival, and a significant chunk of Akatsuki's earnings went straight into subsidizing the village.
Without that influx of cash, Pain and Konan—self-styled "god" and "angel"—would never have secured the Hidden Rain's unwavering loyalty after eliminating the former leader, Hanzō of the Salamander. It was precisely because the money they brought in eased the village's dire living conditions that they earned the people's allegiance.
So, to sum it up in one sentence: Akatsuki was desperately short on money. Not just a little short—critically so. The only reason they could maintain a foothold in the underworld with a mere ten members was that every single one was a devastatingly powerful S-rank missing-nin. Any other organization would have been squeezed out by competitors long ago. The world of missing-nin was not a gentle place, and missions were finite. Every job Akatsuki took was one less for someone else, and that bred no shortage of resentment.
All of which meant Akatsuki's only realistic path to world domination was to leverage their combat prowess and collect the Tailed Beasts. Conquering through conventional military force or absorbing other factions? Utterly impossible.
"I'll be blunt. Your organization is the most elite force in the entire underground world. I'd like to propose a joint business venture."
Having worked through all of the above, Hinata's tone was perfectly composed. Her words prompted varying reactions among the assembled Akatsuki members.
"Hmm~ She looks cute enough, but her personality's got some real backbone. Itachi-san, she's from Konoha, right? Are all the women there like this?"
Kisame spoke first, visibly intrigued. Even the habitually silent Itachi broke his rule with a flat reply: "I can't speak for other villages, but I haven't seen many like her in Konoha either."
"So she's a rare breed, then~"
"People with real vision are always few and far between. Most just go with the flow~"
Black and White Zetsu chimed in with their usual call-and-response, but the commentary didn't stop there.
"I can't vouch for anything else, but her ability to make money is the real deal."
Kakuzu folded his arms with a slight nod. Predictably, that was the only competence he cared about.
"Hey, hey~ You guys, at least be a little nicer~ Little Suigintou actually appreciates art, unlike you lot~"
Deidara, whose current goodwill toward Hinata sat at the top of the charts, cut in defensively on her behalf. This drew a slight narrowing of Pain's eyes.
Locking gazes with Hinata, the leader of Akatsuki finally spoke again.
"Though I've already heard Kakuzu's report on your money-making ability, I'd still like to ask you directly: what kind of business do you want to do with us?"
There it was. She'd been waiting for exactly that question.
The corner of Hinata's mouth curved upward. Her white eyes glinted faintly in the dim cavern, mirroring her tone—charged with an ambition she made no effort to conceal.
"Nothing complicated~ Just selling goods, that's all~ It's just that the name of these goods happens to be..."
"Otaku culture!"