Watching Furina start profiting off herself without a care for anyone around, Kakashi beside her could barely keep a straight face. Wasn't this basically cuckolding him right in front of his eyes?
"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei? I'm just holding it for you temporarily. Do you really think I'm the kind of person who's greedy and insatiable in your heart~?"
"Ahem, as long as you're happy."
Considering he had been slacking off a bit earlier, Kakashi knew he didn't have much ground to stand on here, so he simply changed the subject.
"From what those snow ninja said just now, it seems Miss Yukie is the princess of the Land of Snow. But judging from your reaction earlier, you didn't seem surprised at all.
Did you know in advance? Did Lady Tsunade tell you?"
"How could that be? Kakashi-sensei, you're overthinking it. If Tsunade-sensei had told me, how could she possibly not tell you too?
I was actually quite surprised myself. But isn't this how it always goes in movies? The princess with a hidden identity returns to her country to reclaim the throne. I've heard that plot so many times I'm sick of it."
"Mm." Kakashi nodded thoughtfully at her words. Furina was right as the lead jonin for this mission, if there was any confidential information, Tsunade wouldn't hide it from him. There would be no point.
"For the smooth progress of the mission, let's go find our client again. I have a feeling he's still hiding a lot from us."
"Of course."
Furina naturally wouldn't refuse Kakashi's suggestion. She was quite interested in this matter too she couldn't wait to hear all about the love, hate, and grudges in the Land of Snow.
On the ship
Not just Kakashi and Furina the director and his film crew who were following to shoot the movie were here as well.
Although they were willing to risk danger for the sake of filming, they at least needed to understand what was going on. After all, they couldn't just die cluelessly like fools.
And the client for the mission the manager seeing that things could no longer be concealed, had no choice but to recount the old events from years ago one by one.
By the end, Furina couldn't help yawning. How to put it it was all very ordinary.
Things like an uncle launching a rebellion for the throne were really clichéd. Was there no new twist at all? What a waste of her anticipation.
"Please, everyone, save the Land of Snow. After Princess Koyuki's uncle took power, the once-prosperous Land of Snow has now fallen into ruins.
Under his tyrannical rule, the residents there struggle even to survive. Any hint of opposition gets thrown into prison. A Land of Snow like that has no future at all. Please help Princess Koyuki."
By the end, Fujikaze Yukie's manager prostrated himself fully on the ground in a perfect dogeza.
"So Fujikaze Yukie really is the true princess~"
"She really is a princess?"
Ignoring the manager's grand gesture, Furina and the director took turns confirming Fujikaze Yukie's princess status. Their perfectly synchronized reactions left the manager dumbfounded.
Wasn't he asking for help to save the Land of Snow right now? Why were they suddenly fixating on Fujikaze Yukie's princess identity? Had he not explained clearly enough just now?
"Filming a movie with the real princess as long as the promotion is done right, it'll definitely explode when it releases."
After the manager confirmed it once more, the director was the first to clap in excitement, his face overflowing with joy. Although this had happened many times already, Furina still couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Even the threat of death couldn't extinguish your passion for filming, huh? Director, you guy.
No matter what, even if he hadn't become a director, with this kind of unwavering perseverance, he wouldn't do badly at anything else.
"I more or less understand the situation now. But if we're being precise, this is an internal political struggle in your country. It's not really appropriate for us to get involved, is it?"
Seeing that Furina seemed somewhat resistant, the manager quickly spoke up to persuade her.
To him, it didn't matter what the director thought. But without the help of these two Konoha ninja, it would absolutely be impossible. Forget everything else even just dealing with the ninja under Fujikaze Yukie's uncle would be beyond them.
"But the content of the mission we accepted was to protect Princess Koyuki during filming. Helping you reclaim the country isn't part of the mission scope, is it?"
No matter how earnestly the manager tried to persuade them, or how he appealed from a sense of justice, Furina remained completely unmoved.
In the end, the manager couldn't help feeling pessimistic. From the earlier battle, he had already gained a clear understanding of the ninja's strength.
If they had Kakashi and Furina's help, defeating Fujikaze Yukie's uncle, Kazahana Doto, would definitely not be difficult.
The premise was that they were willing to help.
If not, then with just their group, they could barely handle the snow ninja who had attacked earlier let alone defeat Kazahana Doto. That would be nothing short of a pipe dream.
"So what you're saying is..."
"What I'm saying is, gotta add more money."
"Mm!"
Looking at the manager's surprised expression, Furina first smiled, then walked over and patted his shoulder as she explained.
"Even after all these years, you still haven't given up on supporting the princess to restore the throne. Although the princess herself seems a bit resistant, I actually still admire you for that.
Admiration is admiration, but you can't treat us like idiots. Taking escort money while having us do the work of overthrowing a country you're not joking around, are you?"
"Money is no issue at all. Does that mean you're willing to help Princess Koyuki now?"
Furina's words instantly pulled the manager's mood from hell back to heaven. Although it felt a bit like being toyed with, he didn't have the slightest complaint in his heart.
As long as it could help Princess Koyuki return to the throne, he was willing to do anything. That way, he could at least repay the favor he owed the former king.
"Don't get too excited yet. The premise of helping you is that you're not lying. If the residents of the Land of Snow aren't as miserable as you described and are actually living quite well, then we won't be the ones causing destruction."
"Of course, of course. Once we arrive in the Land of Snow, it will prove I absolutely haven't lied. And Princess Koyuki is not only kind by nature but also very intelligent.
Once she takes the throne, the residents' lives will definitely improve. I guarantee it to you."
"Then we'll see." Furina nodded slightly at his words without denying it. She could roughly guess what the situation in the Land of Snow would be like just as the manager said, things weren't good.
After all, from the behavior of those earlier snow ninja, it was clear that this Kazahana Doto wasn't any good person either. Under the rule of someone like that, it would be strange if ordinary people's lives were anything but miserable.