"Suigintou?"
At times, Deidara's voice was clearly every bit as loud as Naruto's. Wearing a casual home kimono, the blond rogue shinobi enthusiastically ate the meatballs on the plate before him and spoke through a mouthful of food. "We're not lying~ That Orochimaru guy seems to have teamed up with Sand shinobi. He's planning to do something bad to Konoha~ Hmm~"
As two of the chief technical specialists at the Figure factory in the Land of Waves, Deidara and Sasori were naturally interested in seeing how Akihabara was developing. After all, this district would become the largest platform for the Figure industry in the future. Whether Figures could achieve their greatest possible reach depended heavily on this place.
Unlike their previous gathering in the Land of Waves, this time Deidara and Sasori had both changed into ordinary home-style kimonos to avoid attracting the attention of Konoha shinobi in the area. The result gave the whole scene a surprisingly strong atmosphere of an Akatsuki after-work dinner.
"I see. But I really didn't expect Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, to have once been a member of Akatsuki. And now he's even planning to destroy Konoha."
Naturally, Hinata had no intention of courting death by revealing her advantage of knowing the plot. Instead, she responded seriously to the intelligence Deidara had disclosed. More importantly, what she needed to consider was not Orochimaru's coming attack on Konoha, but Pain's purpose in having Deidara reveal this information to her.
"We don't have any fondness for Konohagakure, but an important Film Crew is based here. If it suffers losses, our business will be affected too."
Sasori's Hiruko was far too conspicuous, so on this rare occasion he had appeared in his real body. Reclining sideways on a cushion, the red-haired young man's voice carried no discernible emotion. "That's why Pain told us to inform you. If you're worried about suffering losses, you need to make your decision early."
Konan, seated beside Hinata, glanced sideways slightly. It was obvious that Pain's so-called "make your decision early" carried a very sharp edge. After all, Akatsuki was not an organization that wished to live peacefully with the other hidden villages. As a villainous organization that desired to dominate the shinobi world, its purpose was to crush the other villages and seize benefits for itself.
And since Hinata was Akatsuki's business partner, that meant she would have to choose between Konohagakure and Akatsuki.
"Relax. Konoha Publishing Factory is located in the Uchiha Compound Ruins, which have been abandoned for years. Hardly anyone lives there, so even if someone wanted to cause destruction, there isn't much to gain. Besides... Orochimaru may be a senior figure in the shinobi world, but if he wants to destroy Konoha, then forgive me for saying so: I doubt he's capable of it."
Hinata lifted the sake cup in her hand and took a small sip of the mild liquor. She was obviously not worried that Orochimaru would cause any serious trouble. In the original story, he had failed to destroy Konoha even when he held an overwhelming advantage, let alone now.
"Hmm~~ Little Suigintou means Orochimaru won't pose any threat to our business? Pretty confident, aren't you? Hmm~"
Deidara raised his eyes slightly. He clearly liked Hinata's supremely confident demeanor and tone. For an artist, confidence was practically one of the most important traits. After all, if someone had no confidence in their own work, they probably had no hope of becoming an artist in the first place.
"If I didn't have even this much confidence, I never would have made it this far, would I?"
Hinata gave a derisive little smile, completely unconcerned by Deidara's praise.
To Akatsuki, only the strong were worthy of attention.
Not merely those strong in raw power, but people who were strong in every respect.
A powerful mind, powerful vision, powerful strength, and most importantly—a powerful heart.
If someone was timid or weak, then naturally they deserved to be mocked.
"But confidence can also become a double-edged sword. It can keep you walking your chosen path without ever giving up, and it can also make you march into a trap of fate without looking back."
Konan spoke quietly from beside the window. Her tone did not sound deliberate or pointed, but resembled a cool breeze passing over the mountains, the kind that made people pause without thinking.
"Heh. That's certainly true. So it seems I should make a few necessary preparations as well."
Hinata only shook her head slightly at Konan's words. Poor woman~ Neither she nor Nagato understood it. In fact, the entire Akatsuki was the same, single-mindedly marching into fate's trap without looking back, supported by its own confidence. Those words should never have come from Konan to Hinata. Hinata should have been saying them to her instead.
"Then~ in any case, if Little Suigintou needs anything, we'll definitely help~ Those were Boss Pain's exact words. We won't say anything beyond that~ Seeing Akihabara this prosperous has put me in an unbelievably good mood~ Hmm!"
Deidara nodded hard. For an artist, nothing mattered more than seeing his art circulate through the world, so this explosion fanatic could be said to be extremely satisfied.
"Wasn't what you pursued those childish explosions? Why are you satisfied already?"
Sasori shot Deidara a cutting look, his tone as sharp as ever. The blond rogue shinobi only raised his head slightly. "No~ What I pursue isn't explosions~ It's 'momentary art,' which includes explosions! That's why my Figures capture everything at its most beautiful in a single instant~ And that's why Sasori-danna's Figures can't surpass mine in sales volume~"
As he spoke, Deidara proudly took out a new Figure. It was a Reverse-Blade Swordsman Figure depicting Zuo Lin's previous life.
The Figure clearly captured the exact instant the swordsman was swinging his blade. Even the slight blur of the sword cutting through the air at high speed had been reproduced, giving the piece a distinctly explosive visual impact. In other words, it was art that recorded an instant.
"I see. Whether it's 'creating an instant' or 'recording an instant,' in the end~ that's the kind of art you love, right?"
Hinata quickly grasped the idea and nodded slightly. No wonder the explosion maniac from the original story could quietly sit there making Figures. What he pursued went far beyond explosions on the shallow surface. It was the beauty possessed by all things in a single instant.
"Hmph~ What a biased and one-sided form of art. Your Figures may sell the greatest number of units, but aren't all the highest-priced Figures made by me?"
Sasori was obviously not going to simply take Deidara's boasting without fighting back. It was true that Deidara's clay Figures outsold Sasori's articulated Figures by a full thirty-five percent. However, the total sales profit generated by the two lines was almost exactly equal.
That was because Deidara's "aesthetics of the instant" had indeed won broad recognition among otaku-type creatures. But Sasori's seriousness and meticulous craftsmanship also gave his Figures a level of detail and playability far beyond Deidara's static clay Figures. So although Sasori sold fewer units, each of his Figures cost at least one-third more than the equivalent clay model.
"Hmph~ Doesn't that just mean far fewer people recognize Sasori-danna's art?"
"Idiot~ True art doesn't need to be recognized by many people. Compared with those ignorant fools, recognition from people of genuine worth is enough~"
Watching Sasori and Deidara debate, Hinata merely smiled faintly. The differences between forms of art had no meaning at all. What mattered was how to ensure that different kinds of art could coexist and remain balanced.
No matter what, both of their art and their strength were being used for her benefit at this very moment.
So what she needed to consider now was probably... how to enjoy an interesting Chunin Exams.