Deidara wasn't faring any better than Hidan. The blonde rogue ninja's clothes were tugged into a complete mess, and his hair tie had mysteriously disappeared—probably snatched and hoarded by some fanboy. His now-loose golden hair fell messily over his shoulders, giving him an unexpectedly androgynous allure. Coupled with the flushed cheeks and gritted-teeth expression, he looked for all the world like a high school girl who lost her dream boy.
"You two... your attack methods are still far too simplistic."
Sasori spoke with calm eyes and an indifferent tone. Judging by his still neat and tidy outfit, he clearly had the right to say that. As the puppet's wooden neck creaked and rotated, the red-haired youth gave his conclusion: "Which is why... you look pathetic."
Seeing the two fanboys beside Sasori foaming at the mouth in terror, Kakuzu nodded in agreement.
"Mm~ true strength comes with age and experience. Anyway, she's about to announce the price—let's see just how much these figurines are really worth."
His comment managed to shift the rest of the Akatsuki members' attention back to the stage, where Ino, acting as the host, had gathered her courage and began speaking with a nervous stammer: "So... so then, the first item: Fox Spirit Ahri's 'Moonlight Rest' figurine, starting bid is... um... 100,000 ryo."
"What?!"
Kakuzu's pupils widened abruptly as he stared at the notebook in his hands. Even at over ninety years old, the number she quoted clearly shocked him.
"Pwahahaha~~100,000 roy?? You could buy a real woman for that! Who the hell would spend it on a little mud doll?"
Hidan leaned back in laughter, nearly toppling over before catching himself on Kakuzu's shoulder. His mockery made both Deidara and Sasori subconsciously clench their fists—neither of them cared much for money, but they still had a basic grasp of its value.
In the Naruto world, currency was similar to modern Japan, except yen was replaced with ryo. So 100,000 ryo was about 6,000 dollars. But because the economy was underdeveloped and the cost of living was low, 100,000 ryo could go a long way—like Hidan said, it could easily buy a decent-looking woman in the underground markets.
"100,000 ryo??! Hey hey~~ Hinata, you sure you didn't mess up the pricing?"
Backstage, Naruto and his group were clearly stunned. Hinata paid them about 100,000 ryo per week, which was already considered top pay in the whole village—and now, that was the price of one figurine?
"This is daylight robbery~!"
Shikamaru nearly dislocated his jaw in shock, and even Sasuke frowned slightly.
"Hey, are you that desperate for money? This price is..."
"I'll bid 300,000 ryo!!"
Sasuke hadn't even finished when a booming voice cut him off from outside—someone had just jumped the price to triple with their first bid.
"Pffffft~!"
This time, Hidan choked on his own breath and toppled over for real. You really couldn't blame him. No matter how tough you were, some things were just too shocking to process—especially for someone as impulsive as him.
Snap!
The pencil in Kakuzu's hand broke clean in two. The tall Akatsuki treasurer silently flipped through his notebook, which listed high-bounty targets. Aside from a few at the million-ryo level, the rest were all around 100,000. He silently ripped out the pages of those worth less than 300,000 ryo. For a man who measured the value of life in coins, this was a humbling moment.
"Forget it! 350,000 ryo!"
"Hmph! Ahri is mine! 400,000 ryo!"
But the bidding didn't stop there. After two more intense rounds, the first Fox Spirit Ali figurine's price was finally confirmed.
"..."
Kakuzu raised his hand again—this time, he tore out the names of everyone under 400,000 ryo.
"Well then... congratulations to this gentleman for winning the first Fox Spirit Ali figurine~ Next up, we have the Shepherd Lin playing the flute at sunset figurine, starting again at 100,000 ryo..."
Ino, whose palms were already sweaty, tried to keep from fainting as she held up the second figurine. Her fingers were visibly trembling. Holding something worth several hundred thousand ryo in her hands made her feel a mix of fear and reverence.
"One million ryo!!!"
Before anyone else could bid, a thunderous voice from the center of the venue rang out. The speaker was a woman with a five-foot height and a five-foot waist, clad in a lavish purple fur coat and wearing ten rings, one on each finger. Her heavily powdered face only cemented her identity: an undisputed member of the rare species known colloquially as the [Rich Lady], or more scientifically, [Doesn't Know What Broke Means].
"Holy sh*t!!"
Hidan, who had just gotten back on his feet, slipped and fell again. Kakuzu looked at his notebook one last time... and tore out the rest of the page. A bunch of worthless losers—if their heads weren't worth even a single figurine, what use were they? Doing missions like that was an insult to his profession.
"Hey, Danna? Doesn't this prove that our art is, after all, deeply loved by the people? Mm?"
Arms crossed, Deidara spoke with a strange mix of pride and disbelief. Sasori glanced at him. The red-haired youth clearly understood what his partner was thinking.
"Relax. Even if the bidders are trash, this at least proves our art is valuable and worth pursuing, right?"
"Well, yeah~ Anyway, if so many people are willing to pay big money for our art, it means we really made it, huh? Mm~"
Deidara shook his head, trying to let go of his doubts, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something about this artistic promotion felt a little off.
"So then, the deal's sealed at one million ryo. Next up..."
Onstage, Ino had clearly stopped trying to think. Smiling mechanically, she moved on to auction the next figurine. She figured—might as well treat it like a dream.
Meanwhile, backstage, the group fell into an awkward silence as the sound of rising bids echoed outside.
"Is... this for real?"
It took a long while before Shikamaru finally muttered something. Even for someone as smart as him, this defied logic.
"They're just little wooden and clay figures. The raw materials cost under 200 ryo, and even with labor, it doesn't go over 500. At these prices, clearly they're not chasing anything physical anymore."
Hands in his pockets, Shino looked up at the ceiling and spoke calmly. Naruto and Chōji, eyes sparkling with admiration, stared at him like he was speaking divine wisdom—though they didn't really get what he meant.
Still seated, Hinata lifted her teacup with a subtle smile. Without a word, Shikamaru instinctively picked up the teapot and refilled it for her.
She took a sip of her red tea and let out a satisfied breath.
"Mm~ Now it's starting to get interesting~"
The launch event lasted until nightfall. Thanks to all the food stalls set up, nobody had to worry about going hungry. Once it was confirmed there would be a convention every two months, the guests finally left, satisfied.
Besides the 100 first-run Supreme figurines, about ten thousand artbooks and merch items were sold. So even those who didn't get a figurine didn't leave empty-handed. All in all, this had been a huge success for Hinata's group. Practically nothing remained in inventory—except for the two Lin figurines that Sakura and Ino had fought tooth and nail to keep.
"Unbelievable. I told you these are going to be our secondary product line. But you two just wouldn't listen."
Setting her teacup down on the table, Hinata clearly wasn't the sentimental type. To her, these so-called first-gen Supreme figurines were just prototypes—future versions would surpass them in both craftsmanship and detail. But Sakura and Ino obviously didn't share that view.
"Well~ I'll admit, we basically raked in the cash today. But seriously, where did you get these figurines? Our village doesn't even have a workshop for this stuff."
Staring at the warehouse full of money crates, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. He had calculated earlier—the day's total earnings exceeded fifty million. The wealthy bidders hadn't even cared about prices, just threw down ten or twenty times the asking bid. That amount was almost equal to Konoha's entire peacetime income over two months.
"Hehehe~ Of course, I found two very talented figurine artists. They agreed to work with our troupe. They'll make the figurines and we'll handle the sales—fifty-fifty split. I thought it was a good deal, so I said yes."
Hinata casually covered her smiling lips with her sleeve and glanced up.
"Alright then, let's pack up and head back to Konoha. It's getting late."
"Sigh~ I'm dead tired..."
"Feels like if we do this a few more times, I'll have a nervous breakdown. Seriously~"
Everyone grumbled as they cleaned up the mess. Though Hinata hadn't said who the mysterious artists were, they all sensed she had no intention of revealing it, and wisely avoided pressing the issue. After all, her standing among them had only grown after today's success.
Success is the best way to earn respect—no matter the world.
"Boss~! One more oden egg, please!"
At a roadside stall, Deidara beamed with joy. Judging by his appetite, it was obvious he was in a very good mood.