The director froze for a brief moment, then burst into ecstasy, clapping his hands and shouting excitedly,
"Yes! That's it! This is exactly the feeling I wanted!"
"All departments, get ready—start filming immediately!"
"Miss Koyuki! Keep this emotion! We're shooting the 'Desperate Princess' scene!"
Urged on by the director, Fukashi Koyuki had no choice but to suppress the fear and resentment in her heart as she was pulled away by the makeup artist for quick touch-ups.
A few minutes later.
"Action!"
With the command given, filming officially began.
The icy sea wind howled. Fukashi Koyuki stood at the bow of the ship, her thin costume whipping violently in the wind.
She gripped the railing tightly, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the dark, surging sea ahead.
"Why…"
Her voice trembled, carrying a despair that seemed to seep into the bones.
"I've already run so far away… so why can't I still escape this cursed fate…"
The despair, helplessness, fear, and faint sorrow of wanting to resist but being powerless were fully conveyed through every movement she made.
Even her slightly trembling fingertips were filled with emotion.
"Good! Cut!"
The director leapt up from behind the monitor, pumping his fists in excitement.
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! This is the 'Elegy of the Fallen Princess' I wanted!"
"Miss Koyuki, this is the peak of your acting career!"
The surrounding staff burst into applause, completely won over by her performance.
Not far away on the deck, Team 7 had been watching as well.
"Wow…"
Sakura clasped her hands to her face, her eyes sparkling like a devoted fan.
"That was amazing! Is this what a real professional actor looks like?"
"That look in her eyes… that sadness… it makes me want to cry!"
"As expected of the Wind and Cloud Princess! That's the presence of a true actress!"
Even the usually aloof Sasuke didn't argue back. He crossed his arms, leaned against the mast, and nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
"Even though that woman has a terrible personality, when it comes to acting…"
He paused before reluctantly admitting,
"It's extremely compelling."
As someone who carried the pain of his clan's massacre, Sasuke naturally resonated with that kind of despair.
In that moment just now, he had genuinely felt the pain radiating from her.
"Still…"
Sasuke shot a sideways glance at Kakashi, who was lazily reading a book on a lounge chair nearby, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"That wasn't acting at all, was it."
"She was completely scared into it by that rogue jōnin."
Hearing Sasuke's snark, Haku smiled gently beside him.
Holding a cup of freshly brewed hot tea, he walked over and handed it to Kakashi, then turned back to Sasuke, his voice soft but filled with admiration.
"But that's exactly where Kakashi-sensei's brilliance lies."
"Huh?" Naruto and Sakura looked at Haku in confusion.
Haku continued with a smile,
"By using the environment and psychological pressure, he lets the actor enter the most genuine emotional state in the shortest time possible."
"It resolves Miss Koyuki's resistance while allowing filming to proceed smoothly."
"Everything is under control—perfectly balanced."
His eyes were filled with respect as he looked at Kakashi.
"As expected of Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi took the tea, blew on it lightly, and gave his simple-minded subordinates a dead-fish stare.
"Say whatever you want."
He took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh.
"As long as you don't cause trouble for me, this trip is already perfect."
However—
Just as Fukashi Koyuki finished filming and reached for the eye drops her assistant handed her to fake wiping away tears—
"No!"
The director panicked, waving the script frantically.
"This is the climax of the scene! Eye drops are too fake—the audience will notice!"
"Miss Koyuki, you're a professional! Please, you have to shed real tears! Tears that come from the heart!"
Fukashi Koyuki froze, the eye drops hovering in midair.
Hearing the words "real tears," she didn't feel embarrassed or pressured like an ordinary actor.
Instead, her brows knit together, and unmistakable impatience flashed across her face.
"Huh?"
She let out a cold, mocking snort and set the eye drops down.
"Director, are you joking with me?"
Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin slightly, her willful and stubborn nature flaring up instantly.
"Tears are just tears. They're all water. What's real or fake about that?"
"Add a couple of eye drops, turn on the reflector—what does the audience know? They only look at the face."
"But—"
The director was drenched in sweat. "This film is different! What we need is resonance of the soul!"
"Soul?"
Fukashi Koyuki sneered, her eyes turning colder, more numb.
"I lost that a long time ago."
"I'll give you one minute. Either we finish this take with eye drops, or I'm going back to my cabin to rest."
"You've already paid the fee anyway."
She turned her head toward the dark sea, her eyes filled with lifeless silence.
Cry? Don't make her laugh.
Since that night, her tear ducts had long since dried up.
What use were tears? Could they put out a fire? Could they bring her father back to life?
Tears only froze on one's face, making a person look even more pathetic.
She didn't need something so weak.
Just as the director was pacing anxiously and the atmosphere reached a deadlock—
"Tears aren't something you can just shed whenever you want, you know."
A lazy voice cut in.
Everyone turned toward the source.
Kakashi closed his book and walked over unhurriedly.
He glanced at Fukashi Koyuki, whose expression clearly said "hurry up and finish so you don't bother me," then looked at the director on the verge of collapse.
"If you can't cry, that just means you're not sad enough," Kakashi said calmly.
"Or rather—"
He stopped in front of Fukashi Koyuki, looking straight into her eyes filled with resistance and indifference.
"Is it that true sorrow is too heavy, so heavy that you can't cry at all?"
Fukashi Koyuki snapped her head up and glared fiercely at him.
"Stop analyzing me with your self-righteous nonsense."
"I'm just cold and don't want to waste time."
Kakashi ignored her sharp words and turned to the director.
"Director, let's keep this take."
"Instead of forcing some cheap, manufactured tears—"
He pointed at Fukashi Koyuki's hollow, numb, almost world-weary eyes.
"Isn't this state—being unable to cry because the heart has already turned to ash—far more desperate than simple sobbing?"
"The greatest sorrow is a dead heart. This is exactly that."
The director froze.
He looked at Fukashi Koyuki again.
Though her beautiful face was filled with impatience, deep within her eyes lay a desolation that couldn't be concealed no matter what.
A complete disappointment in the world.
"Yes… yes!"
The director slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"
"This is true tragedy! The numbness after the tears have dried up—it's far more powerful than wailing!"
"Mr. Kakashi, you're a genius! Such profound insight!"
Kakashi shrugged.
"I'm just a passing ninja."
"Good! Shoot it like this!" the director shouted excitedly.
"No eye drops! Miss Koyuki, keep that dead-inside look!"
Fukashi Koyuki: "…"
The corner of her mouth twitched. Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Kakashi turned to leave. As he passed by Fukashi Koyuki, he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"You're welcome."
"Put that cheap bottle of eye drops away."
"Compared to that fake disguise…"
"The way you look right now—"
"Looks far more like a real fallen princess."
Fukashi Koyuki's fingers tightened around the eye drops until they turned white.
She stared at Kakashi's departing back, biting her lower lip, a flicker of irritation at being seen through flashing in her eyes.
"This bastard…"
"He's so infuriating…"
Just then—
The lookout atop the watchtower suddenly let out a terrified, cracking scream:
"Captain!! Three o'clock direction!! An iceberg is approaching at high speed!!"
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