The Psychic, The Swordsman, and The Sorcerer

Chapter 90

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), or Assassin's Creed (Ubsioft). Fun Fact: This Chapter was going to be up on the 16th, in honor of the 9th anniversary of this fanfic, with the fireworks being a celebration of sorts, but I had been struck with a bout of writer's block around that time, so I wasn't able to get it done.

It was the next morning—

"You're not weaseling out of this," Yakumo muttered darkly in a voice low enough for Sai not to hear it, "I've been looking forward to the scene since Chapter 84, and you're not taking this from me. Again from the top."

"Did you say something?" Sai signed.

"Nothing important," she smirked, "Come on. They're blowing up Danzo's mill and his farmhouse. Thought you'd like a front row seat."

"It would be nice to see it put to the torch," he mused, "Do we have time for dessert?"

"It'll be a while longer," she agreed.

Sai nodded at that, before pausing, glancing at the table to Yakumo's left before tapping the table with his fork in sequence. When a different series of taps responded, he tapped a brief message and returned to his meal.

"Dare I ask what that was about?" Yakumo asked dryly.

"Tap code," he signed.

"I figured that much," she replied before glancing to the side, "Oh, Koko. That makes more sense. I take it she and her date are coming, too?"

"That is the plan, it seems."

"Fair enough..." she grinned, "Wanna get the rest of your fellow former operatives to watch?"

"That could be therapeutic," he nodded, "It would provide catharsis for several of us."

"Let's get the dessert to go. Everyone but you from ROOT's living in the Uchiha district, aren't they?"

"What did you mean when you said I have family in Konoha?" Karin asked, "I'm the last one of us alive."

"...Have you never heard the name Naruto Uzumaki?" Ino inquired, "He's involved in every construction project in the village."

"Wait, that's his actual name?" Karin blinked.

"...Uzumaki Construction's Naruto Uzumaki," Sakura noted flatly, "Did you think it was a stage name or something?"

"I thought the company being named that was a holdover from previous owners," she replied, "Like some manager was promoted, then passed it on and so on down the line. Most of the time, people would say 'Uzumaki Construction Naruto.' I figured he either had no last name, or he didn't use it because it was easier to just be identified by the company. So he's a real Uzumaki? Like he is literally an Uzumaki from the Uzumaki Clan?"

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, "He lives in his abandoned apartment complex turned mansion with his valet, Zabuza Momochi, his kid Haku, and I think that Tenten's going to move in any day now. Maybe even the Suna diplomats."

"There's also the X-Men for those who," Ino noted, "Our... And she's left."

"You probably could have led with the X-Men," Sasuke noted dryly, "Or did you think she'd be willing to listen after finding out she had family alive?"

"We'll ask her later," Sakura noted, "Though I'm not sure she'd be interested."

"You both could always ask..."

"No," the pair said in unison.

"So, what are we doing here, Fukushin?" Matsuri asked as she and Gaara sat on a blanket on the ground beneath a tree sitting on a hill.

"Trying to figure out what's going on, to be honest, Matsuri," Gaara admitted, "There hasn't been any signs of life around this location before today, and now Uzumaki Construction's involved. I'm certain that it's something mundane, but they seemed to have gotten excited a bit ago, so there has to be something interesting happening here."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Matsuri noted, "And the picnic basket?"

"We missed dinner," he replied in a slightly quicker tone that most would have completely missed, "Kankuro and Temari suggested that we bring something to eat. So, I packed this spread to enjoy."

She watched him carefully before smiling slightly.

"Thank you. Shall we eat, then?"

"That would probably be a good idea," he agreed.

Itachi watched in fascination as one of the ROOT operatives that didn't live in the Uchiha district led practically the entire population of the area along. He had to see where this was going.

"Hey, my brother told me that there's going to be some explosions at the old mill tonight that's going to be some sight. Mind helping activating some seals around our property to cancel out the noise?"

"Well, that explains where they're going," he mused, "Sure, I'll help."

"Thanks," she replied, kissing him on the cheek, "Let's get moving. Akamaru, Kiba and Kiba's boy didn't know when, exactly it was going down, so we'd like to make sure it's dealt with as soon as possible."

"Alright," he nodded, before he had an idea, "One moment." He threw a rock at one of the closed shutters of a nearby Uchiha district building before calling, "Musketeers!"

Both shutters opened as four heads popped out, revealing Konohamaru, Hanabi, Moegi, and Udon, all of whom looked shocked to have been spotted before they leaped down to stand at attention.

"You heard what's going on. I'll backdate this as a mid-tier D-Rank and pay you myself if you help. And I'll give the first one to arrive a prize that isn't related to training," he said, causing his students to blink in surprise before gaining a determined gleam in their eyes, eager to see what he was going to give the winner. "And go!"

And with that, the quartet raced to the Inuzuka clan's home.

"So, what's the prize?" Hana asked.

"Star sticker," he replied freely, "I want to see their reactions."

"You are an evil teacher."

Elsewhere, Rin Hatake gasped as Momoko dangled Gekko off of the roof of a building along the edge of a cliff as she demanded to know what he wasn't telling her about the group they were chasing. Momoko had killed in the past, but always in combat and this felt different. She was willing to let him plummet to his death. The fact that Gekko, himself, the cocky fiend, was legitimately reacting with sincere terror at the look in her eye confirmed that she was definitely serious with the threat, as well. Clearly Haru's kidnapping had awakened something in her... She was eager to find out where this was going...