"Ooooh! It's Princess Suikyo! She's looking over here!"
Kiba's eyes had practically turned into hearts, and he was so excited that he bit straight through the wooden stick of his Grilled Beef Skewer. There was no question that the beautiful, elegant Princess Suikyo before him perfectly fulfilled every fantasy he had ever had about a princess, and then some. Shikamaru, meanwhile, sounded genuinely puzzled. "She really is... a very refined beauty. Not what I expected."
"Sure, she's a beautiful princess. But you can't tell what her personality is like just by looking at her, can you?"
Shino pushed up his dark glasses and gave a fair assessment. As someone extraordinarily cautious, he obviously would not make a hasty judgment based on appearances alone.
"No, no! Look at those gentle eyes. That pinkish-purple color is gorgeous! She's definitely a kind and gentle princess!"
Naruto and Kiba clasped their hands to their chests with nearly identical expressions, clearly sharing the same sense of beauty. At the very least, Princess Suikyo's appearance and clothing had left both of them extremely satisfied.
Sitting in the Ox Cart, Hinata took in every expression on Naruto and the others and instinctively let the corner of her mouth curve upward. Good. If these idiots had been fooled, then her initial disguise was working.
"Are they your companions?"
As the Ox Cart continued forward, it soon reached Akihabara's administrative building. The office had originally been prepared for Danzo himself, but as a leader who operated from the shadows, he still lacked the standing to appear publicly. So the person waiting here to receive Princess Suikyo was still the Third Hokage.
Hinata stepped down from the Ox Cart while maintaining her outwardly serene and delicate demeanor. She placed her left hand over her right and bowed to the Third Hokage. If she was going to play the role of a gentle, tranquil princess, then her etiquette and bearing had to be flawless. As the saying went, you could never be too polite.
"You must be tired after traveling so far, Your Highness Princess Suikyo. I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. It is an honor to receive you here."
The Third Hokage was clearly very pleased with the princess's courtesy. Setting aside his position as Konohagakure's leader, he was old enough to be her grandfather. Receiving a deep show of respect was hardly inappropriate.
"You are too kind, Hokage-sama. I have long heard that you are a benevolent and hardworking elder. For someone of your position to personally receive a junior who has arrived so presumptuously is an honor for me."
Hinata's answer was flawless. Her deliberately slowed, softened voice carried a warmth like winter sunlight, prompting murmurs of admiration from the watching civilians. After all, powerful people who seemed approachable were always easier to like.
"Hey, hey, did you hear that, Shikamaru? Her voice and the way she answers... she really is a gentle, polite princess!"
Naruto, who had followed the procession all the way here, beamed at Shikamaru. "Well? I was right, wasn't I? You lost the bet!"
"Tch. I don't remember making any bet about this. Well... either way, I finally got to see a second type of woman."
Shikamaru scratched at his ear and shamelessly denied the whole thing. Choji beside him turned in confusion. "What do you mean by a second type of woman?"
"Think about the women we've met so far. Hinata, Sakura, Ino, my mom... they're the first type. So, you know what I mean now, right?"
Shikamaru shrugged, clearly no longer interested in staying. "All right, let's go. We'll walk around a little longer, then it'll be about time to head back."
As for Hinata, there was little worth mentioning in what followed.
As the supplier of Figures, the Land of Waves was indeed receiving astonishing benefits. One clause alone guaranteed free escort by Konoha shinobi every time a shipment was delivered. Figures were enormously profitable goods, and Konohagakure was the foremost of the Five Great Hidden Villages, so assigning dedicated escorts was hardly excessive.
In exchange, the Land of Waves had to provide a fixed quantity of Figures on schedule every month to maintain Akihabara's sales inventory. The Konoha Publishing Factory would send the Land of Waves a catalog of new Figure models to produce each month. After deducting escort costs and licensing fees, the Land of Waves would receive forty percent of the revenue. Overall, the terms were fairly generous.
"I've arranged accommodations for you here. If you wish to look around and enjoy the district, you may call for the assigned staff at any time."
With the business settled, the Third Hokage naturally had no intention of lingering. The Chunin Exams were approaching, and he had countless matters to handle. The only reason he had personally taken time to negotiate the profit split of the Figure industry with Princess Suikyo was that this business was equally important.
"May fortune in battle favor you and Konohagakure. I will remain here for one day and return to my country tomorrow, so please do not concern yourself on my account."
Although Konohagakure was taking sixty percent of the profit directly, Hinata saw nothing unreasonable about it. If she wanted to use Akihabara's sales platform, she had to be prepared to pay the price. In large-scale commerce, distribution channels and platforms were the most valuable infrastructure of all.
After seeing off the Third Hokage, Hinata, Konan, and their group were respectfully escorted to the inn prepared for them. Considerable effort had clearly gone into the place. The interior was lavishly decorated, there was even a specially excavated indoor hot spring, and several carefully selected female Anbu guarded the surroundings. The arrangements were remarkably thorough.
"As expected of Konohagakure. Preparing accommodations this luxurious almost makes me feel undeserving."
Hinata lazily removed the heavy Junihitoe and lowered her body into the warm hot spring. Maintaining that gentle, dignified princess persona was genuinely exhausting, but that was simply the nature of carefully constructing an image.
"You must be tired. Once you've finished bathing, you should rest."
Konan's expression and voice remained calm, but her movements were thoughtful. The beautiful blue-haired woman carefully peeled and sliced a snow pear, then set the pieces beside the hot spring within Hinata's reach. Turning over in the water, Hinata spoke lazily. "All right, scrub my back for me. This body has been lying around for several days. It needs a proper cleaning."
"All right."
Konan showed no objection to Hinata's request. She calmly removed her kimono, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and entered the hot spring. Her gentle fingers moved across Hinata's smooth back. It was almost impossible to imagine that those same hands could kill someone with ease.
"This is too boring. Say something. For example, why did you join Akatsuki? Was it because of Pain?"
Hinata closed her eyes comfortably and let Konan scrub her while asking the question with ill intent. She knew the truth about Konan and Pain, but obviously could not reveal that knowledge carelessly. Using conversation like this to confirm Konan's thoughts also counted as gathering intelligence.
"Pain and I have both been orphans since childhood. During the shinobi war more than ten years ago, our country was dragged into the fighting. My parents and relatives died then, and so did Pain's. That is why Pain and I hope to find a better way to end the conflict and turmoil in this world."
Konan's tone was calm and natural, which meant she did not consider those goals something that needed to be hidden. But it also meant something else: for the sake of that goal she shared with Pain, she was prepared to sacrifice everything she had at any time.
"I see... speaking of which..."
Hinata reached out and caught Konan's right hand. Her gaze fell on the ring worn on the blue-haired woman's right index finger. The character for "White" engraved on it made Hinata frown slightly.
"I once met someone who happened to be named Haku. Like you, he lost his family because of war. I wanted to keep him beside me and give him the stable life he said he wanted, but..."
Hinata turned to face Konan at close range, her tone rising slightly. "He was devoted to the companion he had followed before and rejected me. So I want to confirm something, Konan."
Hinata raised a hand and cupped Konan's cheek, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Tell me. If there were a way to fulfill the goal you share with Pain, but it required you to sacrifice Pain, what would you choose?"
"Would you be like Haku and give up a wish that was already within reach for the sake of your companion? Or would you sacrifice that companion without hesitation in order to fulfill the wish you shared with him?"
Konan's cheek rested in Hinata's palm, but neither her expression nor her eyes changed in the slightest. Her pale golden eyes were as still as the surface of a mirror.
"Our wish is more important than anything else."
Konan answered without the slightest apparent hesitation. But that response did not surprise Hinata, nor did it convince her.
"So that's your answer, Konan. Then I think I can test just how firm that resolve really is."
A strange smile appeared on Hinata's face. She tilted her head upward and approached very slowly, then pressed her lips against Konan's cool lips.
"!"
Konan's body unmistakably trembled. Hinata, who had been watching closely for exactly that reaction, abruptly curled her lips into a grin. She pulled away from Konan and spoke with unmistakable malice.
"Looks like... you're different from Haku back then..."
"You lied, Konan."