At the end of every action, a result inevitably awaits. That is a law of physics in this world.
Naturally, with the investment of material and manpower—and enough time to ferment—it was finally completed: the Akihabara district adjacent to Konohagakure. To address transportation issues, the Third Hokage even had a stone bridge built across the canyon, allowing visitors to enter Akihabara directly, without needing to take a detour.
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[Welcome to Akihabara!! As you can see! This is the exclusive area for everything related to the Koyan Monogatari(The Fox's Tales) series. Here, you can find everything you're interested in! Whether it's the Koyan Monogatari TV video tapes, or deluxe figurines and special manga editions! That's right! This is a sacred place for all Koyan Monogatari fans!]
A sweet, pleasant female voice gently broadcasted this announcement through the speakers to the tourists, while smiling staff members stood ready at various checkpoints throughout the street, prepared to offer directions and resolve any confusion visitors might have.
But these staff members weren't just ordinary folks—they were almost all ANBU operatives. Aside from guiding tourists, they also served as security, protecting against external threats and mediating any disputes. As for who among them were Root shinobi, and who were Konoha ANBU planted there to monitor those very Root operatives—that was the kind of question best left unasked, unless you wanted to give yourself a headache.
Setting that aside, the street—still carrying the fresh scent of wood and paint—was indeed bustling with visitors. Unlike the last event, which took place in a cramped temporary venue, this iteration of Akihabara, although rushed to completion as well, had proper wide streets and essential small shops already in place.
Merchandise like figurines and artbooks was neatly categorized and displayed across designated storefronts. Compared to last time's awkward auction lines, this setup was far more convenient.
Furthermore, the figurines were tiered by quality. The Supreme versions were still auctioned at Akihabara's dedicated auction house, while others were sold at different grades of retail stores. In other words, the wealthy had their own upscale venues, while those with less spending power could still find enjoyment.
From how things looked, not only had the number of visitors increased this time, but their overall mood was clearly better as well. Chances were, today's revenue would have the Third Hokage and Danzō grinning from ear to ear.
While no one really knew what private agreement the Third and Danzō had reached, a significant portion of daily revenue from this street undoubtedly flowed straight into Konoha's coffers, with the remainder allocated to Danzō and the ongoing development of Akihabara. Fortunately, Danzō was patient—he understood that the priority now was refining the layout and infrastructure of Akihabara, so he wasn't being overly stingy just yet.
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"Let's take the day off from training. If you're interested in seeing Akihabara, today's a good chance."
Hinata herself wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the development of Akihabara. At its core, the place was nothing more than a buffer zone between Danzō and the Third. It didn't bring her any direct economic benefit either—at most, it served as a platform to funnel traffic toward her expanding business empire.
This district was considered sacred ground by Danzō, a cornerstone of his comeback, and naturally, he wouldn't tolerate others meddling in it. Hinata had no intention of forcing her way into a situation where she wasn't welcome. If Danzō genuinely wanted her input, he would clearly present some form of worthwhile exchange. Until then, she had no reason to concern herself.
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"Huh? You're not planning to go in person this time?"
Ino sounded a bit surprised. After all, Hinata had been completely hands-on during the previous launch event. Now that Akihabara had been fully established, her apparent lack of interest seemed strange.
"Of course not. That area doesn't belong to us. If they haven't invited me, showing up unannounced would just be awkward, don't you think?"
Naturally, Hinata knew what Ino was actually curious about, so she smoothly shifted the topic: "Besides, I heard that Princess Suikyō-hime of the Land of Waves is scheduled to have a business meeting with the Hokage at Akihabara today. Wouldn't it be a shame to miss that?"
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"Eh?? The Land of Waves we went to last time? But I don't remember there being any princesses back then..."
Naruto looked genuinely surprised. But soon enough, he tossed the confusion aside and lit up with excitement, his mind already running wild: "Ah~~ now that you mention it, I've never seen a real princess before. I wonder what she's like..."
"Baka~~ What do you mean never seen a princess? Haven't you already met one? Hinata's a princess—she's the heiress of the Hyūga clan, after all."
Shikamaru, hands behind his head, chimed in dryly from the side. Clearly, he had zero interest in any princesses. To him, women were practically synonymous with trouble.
"Ah not quite what I imagined a princess to be like..."
Naruto shivered a bit and muttered like someone who'd just been jolted: "Those princesses in stories are always kind and gentle, you know..."
"Ahem, now that you put it that way... yeah, I kinda want to see this Suikyō-hime too..."
Kiba, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. Clearly, after living under Hinata's iron rule, the boys were desperate to lay eyes on a different kind of princess—one who might offer them a bit of emotional relief.
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"Hmph. I'm not interested. I'm going to continue training. You guys go if you want."
That was Sasuke, of course. The looming pressure of the upcoming Chūnin Exams weighed heavily on him. The thought of not becoming a Chūnin this time felt like an invisible whip constantly lashing at his mind. He had no time for casual sightseeing.
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"Me neither. I've got clan duties to attend to. Naruto, bring me back a box of takoyaki. The assorted flavor. And don't forget extra sauce. Okay, later."
Having crisply given her instructions, Hinata turned and walked out of the Uchiha compound. She had no time to waste here.
Just as she suspected, Akatsuki had swiftly taken control of the Land of Waves under the name of Suikyō-hime. The figurine factory was nearly completed thanks to the unified effort of the citizens. Although production hadn't officially started yet, the name of Suikyō-hime was already plastered all over it.
So, Hinata simply used her Suikyō-hime persona to send an official business proposal to Konoha, with the main focus being the specifics of figurine trade agreements.
If all went according to plan, the Suikyō-hime figurine factory would become the only legitimate figurine manufacturer in the shinobi world. Any other factory trying to copy and profit would be quietly erased by Akatsuki, never to be heard from again.
Just yesterday, the latest shipment of figurines created by Deidara and Sasori had arrived at Akihabara. And today, Suikyō-hime and the Third Hokage would meet in person at Akihabara to officially announce the start of the Konoha–Land of Waves figurine trade partnership.
Konan and the formal escort were already en route. Now all that remained was for Hinata to change into her Suigintō outfit and rendezvous with them outside the village.
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"The stronger someone becomes, the more complicated their life seems to get…"
Shutting her room door, Hinata laid out a floor mat to create the illusion that her real body was going to rest. Then, with practiced ease, she activated the Soul Transfer Technique (Tamashii Tenshin no Jutsu). Her consciousness shifted into the Suigin tō body hidden in the basement. After opening her eyes and stretching her limbs, she couldn't help but sigh a little in reflection.
Even though her daily sustenance consisted solely of ration pills and water—just enough to meet the body's minimum requirements—perhaps because of the Sage Body, this vessel never experienced fatigue or stiffness from prolonged rest. On the contrary, it remained brimming with energy and vitality.
Thanks to the week of synchronized training with Shikamaru, Hinata still hadn't mastered the Kaiten technique (fire release), but her chakra control had improved dramatically. Now, having returned to her main body—already possessing an overwhelmingly powerful foundation—the leap in her chakra manipulation felt like doubling down, leaving her entire body feeling weightless, almost euphoric.
"Hmm... I guess there's no need for extra precautions."
Hinata stopped mid-step and glanced upward, toward the location of her true body. After thinking it over, she shook her head. This was still the Hyūga Clan Compound, after all. If an enemy managed to infiltrate here, that would already spell disaster. There was no point being overly cautious.
She picked up the last item left behind by Haku: a mask belonging to the Kirigakure Hunter-nin. Lifting it to her face, she then raised her hand and activated her jutsu:
> Makyou Hyoushou (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)
With the bonus effect of the Sage Body, the range and speed of this technique had expanded significantly—enough to allow Hinata to instantly leap from the Hyūga compound to a secluded location outside Konoha's walls.
One of the benefits gained from her deal with Danzō was classified intel detailing how to bypass Konoha's detection barriers and patrol routes. Armed with this knowledge, Hinata knew exactly how to come and go without alerting the village.
A moment later, in a remote, shadowed corner outside Konoha's perimeter, an ice mirror bloomed into existence like a phantom. Hinata's image shimmered on its surface before she stepped cleanly out of it, completing her silent departure.
After fully mastering Haku's Ice Release, Hinata came to understand just how terrifying the Makyou Hyoushou really was. This unique Kekkei Genkai allowed the user to transform into a being akin to light, bouncing at hyper-speeds between self-generated ice mirrors.
There were two basic conditions to execute this technique effectively:
1. No obstacles between the entry and exit mirrors.
2. Line of sight—the caster must be able to visually track the destination area.
The first condition was relatively easy to achieve. The mirrors didn't operate on strict physics-based reflection; the orientation of the portals could be manually adjusted, and as long as the mirrors were set at proper angles, Hinata could ensure clean entry and exit.
But the second condition was trickier. Ninja battlefields were rarely open or predictable—obstructions and concealment were common. If line of sight was blocked, she couldn't teleport accurately, causing the jutsu to fail. That's why Haku had constructed a controlled mirror chamber during his battle with Sasuke and Naruto—to eliminate environmental interference and maximize his offensive potential.
But now, with the Byakugan's 360-degree vision and long-range perception, Hinata shattered this limitation completely. Even if an obstacle stood in the way, she could simply form a third, intermediary mirror to bounce her image around it, like light refracting through a prism.
Her method for escaping the Hyūga Compound was exactly that: first, she created an ice mirror within the basement window. From there, she formed a second mirror dozens of meters away to teleport into open air, and then continued leaping through a chain of mirrors, folding the space until she reappeared outside the village wall.
While it might sound complex, the entire operation took her less than three seconds. She had essentially flown over the entirety of Konoha without touching the ground once.
Still, it was a shame—the Makyou Hyoushou wasn't a true space-time ninjutsu. If it were, she could have ignored terrain and line-of-sight entirely, jumping between mirrors like a portal system. With the Byakugan, it would've been the ultimate instant-travel ability. But alas, Haku's Ice Release lacked the dimensional qualities of jutsu like Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)—and could only be classified as a high-speed physical teleportation, not true space-time.
"Perfect~ Exit successful. Now, time to reunite."
Satisfied, she unfurled her ice wings, conjured from chakra-infused frost, and swiftly flew away from the area.
But—just as she traveled about thirty meters—
A sharp rustling sliced through the air. Without warning, a kunai embedded with a paper bomb appeared in her line of flight.
! ! !
Hinata's eyes widened. Her mind instantly registered the danger.
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Author Notes:
PS1: Took me nearly an hour to break down the logic of Makyou Hyoushou by reading the manga and databooks—turns out it's more "refraction" than "teleportation." Not a true space technique after all.
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