The Psychic, The Swordsman, and The Sorcerer

Chapter 88

I don't own Naruto (Masashi Kishimoto), X-Men (Marvel Comics in association with 20th Century Fox), Zorro (public domain, though Zorro Production Inc. tries to say otherwise), or Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studio), The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas), The Lone Ranger (currently Dreamworks Classics, but made by George Trendle), The Scarlet Pimpernel (public domain but made by Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci, without whom we would not have the very idea of a masked superhero), and Assassin's Creed (Ubsioft). Fun Fact: Assassin's Creed was originally supposed to be a reboot of Prince of Persia.

In Konoha, the least direct way to get to Ichiraku Ramen involved a detour to the roof of the Hokage Tower. The reason for this was simply because the Tower, being the highest point in the village needed to have the wall be scaled up and then down due to the fact that it was the tallest building in the village. As they were both traveling on foot, Zorro and Hinata were keeping pace with one another easily. It was when they reached the top of the tower and Zorro began his run down the side that Hinata paused, spreading her arms slightly while keeping them to her side, creating a bird-like silhouette before she suddenly dived off the roof, landing in a cart full of hay that was inexplicably lying there before she leaped up once again, quickly making her way back to the rooftops as

Zorro stood still on the Tower wall, in awe of the majestic sight he'd just witnessed. After a second, he recalled that they were racing and hurried to catch up to her building lead. Above the village, meanwhile, a singular explosive went off, creating a false star for a brief moment.

"As long as you keep it about that level of power in the demolition, they won't care," Naruto said to Deidara, who seemed to deflate at that, "But, you can make the flash as bright as you want." He paused, as if noticing something before he said, "Speaking of explosions, your gallery's coming along faster than we expected. We just finished the protective seals for the windows on the spectator sections."

"How can you tell, yeah?" he asked.

"One of the clones had a hammer fall on his head," he shrugged, "Since he and his helmet were clones of a clone of a clone... Things like that happen sometimes, but luckily only rarely and never to the real employees."

"Huh," Deidara replied eloquently, "You work pretty fast with the clones, yeah?"

"Yeah. Having clones made for a purpose and knowing exactly what they're supposed to do makes things a lot faster, since there's almost no overlap when they know where they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to do thanks to being metaphorically born for one job."

"Like you and being a foreman," Deidara surmised.

"Exactly," Naruto shrugged, "Boss is busy with some expansions to the company, so I run construction."

"Makes sense," Deidara mused, "So I'm gonna blow up this old mill, yeah?"

"And the farmhouse," Naruto agreed, "The owner doesn't use it anymore, since he's currently sitting in a cell where he's gonna be for the rest of his life for running an illegal paramilitary organization. The mill was condemned."

"So what's going up in its place?" he asked.

"The mill's getting replaced with a new mill," he replied, "Much more modern than the old one and it'll create new jobs in the village..."

"You bought the mill?" Deidara questioned.

"No, I bought the farmhouse," he answered freely, "I did invest in the mill, though. I split it half and half with Anko, if you'd believe it."

"Why...?" Deidara began.

"Don't ask," Naruto replied, "But she knows what she's doing and she's invested in the flour mill, so it's hers."

"And the farmhouse?"

"Tenten's going to need a fully-stocked lab," he replied, "I figured that I'd use the land for the location. The place is falling apart, so I figured why not. Oh! You can make a crater of that one, by the way. I've got plans for the bunker deep down below it. Just make sure it's a flashy show that the people will appreciate without getting anyone hurt."

To say that Deidara was delighted would have been an understatement.

"So, what were you thinking of with the jacket you'd been talking about?" Hinata asked, having bested him in the race.

"I was thinking of a hooded cape, originally," he admitted, "But it didn't seem the right fit for your combat style. My next idea had been the coat, which I think would suit you better. As for the hood, my initial idea had been to have it simply go over your face and hide it entirely in shadows, but I think that the idea could be improved upon..." he reached into his belt and pulled out a small pencil and a small piece of paper, before sketching out a full coat, "I was thinking of making the cowl look more like an eagle after seeing your dive on the way to the restaurant. A seal designed to hide your eyes in the shadows would be even more useful, especially since you would be able to look out, but no one would be able to look in."

"That does sound interesting..." Hinata noted, "Maybe if the sleeves were slightly wider, though... Enough to hide the weapon you made me."

"Mi amor, you are a genius," he praised, "We shall do just that! After dinner and the fireworks show that is coming, obviously."