59. The Special Event and A Ramen Stand.

Disclaimer: The story that I have written here takes on the names of real people, but this story is based in an alternate earth with some changes in its timeline.

This story does not intend to represent the celebrities/real people or make any commentary on them whatsoever. This story is entirely fictional, and it should be viewed entirely as such.

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Recap of the Previous Chapter -

We see Steven and George get hounded by the reporters about their thoughts on Mark's movie. After giving answers out a few answers and revealing that they saw Mark directing live on set. A reporter also approaches Mr. Coppola for a few questions who replies amicably and praises Mark for Knives Out.

The next day at the estate, Mark was doing some heavy workout for his special appearance at the "Event". Afterwards he got the newspapers and sales reports for his books from one of his secretaries. The papers showed that the media were appreciating his movie.

Mr. Eisner the CEO of Disney was shown reading the box office rankings of the past month. He was annoyed at not even making the top 3, his chief of PR then came in to discuss Mark's - "Knives Out." As he told him about how Mark got the recommendation of not just Steven Spielberg and George Lucas but also Mr. Coppola.

Eisner immediately ordered him to destroy Knives Out through any means possible. The same thing plays out in other studios as well, looks like there Mark has enemies aplenty.

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~ Third Person's POV ~

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Date: 3rd August, 1990.

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Location: At Eidolon HQ.

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Time: 08:28 pm.

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Mark spent the rest of the day relaxing, the game plan for the special event had already been drawn up. They had planned for almost every possibility, he only hoped that the fans would like it and it would rekindle their hope in the dying name of Marvel Comics and foster a sense of trust in the brand of Eidolon.

His call with Kevin had gone pretty good as well, while Sarah was following Nina and Joseph, learning how to practically apply her talent to read the market and even job of producer like Nina to succeed her in the future.

Kevin was busy being the representative of Eidolon Entertainment and Mark. He had been sent by Mark to recruit some master metal workers, smiths, leather workers, etc.

All these artisans were contracted by Mark to create two very suits, they were given the incentive that if their work impresses the crowd. They will be permanently hired at Eidolon as Prop Masters, Costume designers.

Mark knew the future of mainstream 3D printing, but that future was still over a decade away. These people would be his master craftsmen that would make his suits and costumes be it high fantasy or sci-fi.

Even after 3D printing becomes more mainstream they won't become obsolete. As they can then pivot their focus on only making a prototype, which would then be mass produced by 3D printers for the masses.

For the many supernatural, superhero esque movies he was going to create in the future they would be very essential. But till then they won't be left idle no Mark planned on honing their skills by having them be in-charge of costume designing and production department.

Kevin had told him that he had been able to form a good connection with them after communicating with them for weeks. He had informed him how the two studios had done a good job as well. The finished product will only be viewable at the event venue.

Before even buying out Marvel, Mark had done a proper market analysis and research of the comic book industry and finally properly understood just how badly the boom and bust of the comic book collection bubble had affected the comic book industry.

The sales were down, people didn't really show the previous love and interest they had when a new release came out. Even with the new implementations he had Marvel go through he knew it won't be as simple as him just buying out Marvel and hoping the fans would just magically start buying comic books again.

No, that was just wishful thinking and he was living in the real world. But Mark knew that every problem is nothing but an opportunity, though to only those who are intelligent enough to see it. Currently Marvel was at its worst situation ever so nobody really questioned his actions.

After all, what's the worst that could happen? They had already filed for bankruptcy once.

So none of the executives really gave any push back against Mark's decision to abandon the Comic Code Authority. This gave him the opportunity to start a revolution in the comic book industry.

He planned on bringing the Japanese Manga culture to America, the American comic book industry had been nearly strangled to death by the restrictions of the CCA.

It was only through the ingenuity of Stan Lee and other greats like him that the comic book industry still survived by pioneering the Superhero genre.

But even then American comic book industry is nowhere close to the size and popularity of the Japanese Manga.

Now with the radical changes that Mark was about to make, he was trying to not just revive Marvel but also try to break the chains that bound the comic book industry.

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Rian was super excited as he got to meet Mark again after the screening. Unfortunately the discussion topics were strictly restricted to Knives Out, he didn't get to ask the numerous questions he had bought Mark's newly released books.

He was dying to know if Thorfinn would get his revenge, if Alien X really was a god, who was the hooded man in the first volume of Runeterra, if the Master Chief could really defeat Captain America in a fight, etc.

Just normal questions that plagued the mind of a teenage nerd who loved fictional novels and comic books. But the thing that excited him the most is the news that the event would last 4 days and Mark would be present from the very beginning till the end.

This gave our young fanboy the hope that he might run into Mark and get the opportunity to ask some of his questions. The recent floodgates that had opened with the introduction of the Immortal Writers Association was a huge surprise because they had expected him to write maybe 2 to 3 books every year now.

They didn't know just how much they had underestimated the boost that IMA gave to their idol. In just 4 months, Mark had already released 4 books and while some might argue they were of a shorter length. The maintained high quality and beautiful illustrations more than made up for it.

He still remembered the goosebumps he got while reading Thors' fight scene and sacrifice just so his son and crew could get back home alive and safe.

He had asked Mark what the event would be about, Mark had simply replied, "If you are my fan or Marvel, or even just comic books in general. Then this event is where you need to be because if you miss it, it will be the regret of a lifetime. I hope to see you there Rian." and with that he had left.

From interacting with his idol twice so far he could sense that Mark wasn't one to just use fancy words to draw fans to an event just to take advantage of them. He knew it was definitely going to be something huge. So he informed all his friends and got them to go together for the event.

Thankfully it was summer vacation and all their parents were friends so it will be like a joint vacation for 4 days and 3 nights. It was a bit difficult but with a lot of requests and promises to raise their academic scores their parents agreed to take them as well.

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When Mark had contacted the organizing committee for the event through Marvel, he hadn't been very warmly received but with some money in the right pockets they came around eventually.

They even agreed to delay the event by a few days for his preparations to be in place and thus the event which was scheduled to be held on 2nd August had been shifted to 6th of August.

The San Diego Comic Con of 1990 would be one to remember as the one that heralded the arrival of Eidolon into the comic book industry and the revival of Marvel to past glory. His preparations were finally complete; he had invested over $3 million overall on the preparation of this event.

The Eidolon×Marvel booth was one to look out for by the comic con enthusiasts. He was exploring his booth before the public was let in, trying to see if there was anything missing or out of place.

The Ichiraku Ramen stand looked just right, it would be the first time their ramen would be tasted by the public. It was not a problem to get the permission for operating a food stand, the problem was it not being a ready to eat snack stand and instead being an all out dining experience.

But Kevin worked his people magic and they got the permission. Hayato the person who had been working with Patricia was present as well and would be serving as the head chef along with a sous chef and 3 line cooks and 4 servers.

Ichirakus was definitely one of Mark's biggest expenses of his preparations. To help boost the word of mouth and reputation of the Ramen stand he had decided to give free ramen to everyone who ate there on the first day of the Comic-con. But only 2 bowls per person and this offer was only available to those that bought the first issue of Naruto.

This was a two in one as it would raise the popularity of Ichirakus but also incentivise people to buy Naruto. Thanks to him already knowing how the first chapter would go he was easily able to guide Hinata into finishing it in just 3 days.

It took him just one day to get all the colors right. He did make a lot of changes to the story though, he raised the age of graduating from Ninja Academy from 12 to 15 years old. This naruto while still remaining goofy and attention seeking on the outside is a mystery on the inside.

The reveal wouldn't come so early though he wanted to surprise the audience. Give them a feeling like they know the main protagonist, but then slowly show parts of him to turn him more flawed yet human.

The world of Naruto he was creating would be more brutal, more gore and with a Naruto that kills his enemies on screen he is after a ninja. A naruto with actual character development and build up and not just chasing sasuke for the entirety of the story.

Unfortunately due to the changes and them trying to adapt the art style of Naruto to american tastes while still maintaining the essence of the work was a tall order even for the prodigious Hinata.

As such they didn't really get much time to work on the My Hero Academia first issue and get it ready on time to feature at the Comic-con. He had truly underestimated how much work goes behind just creating one chapter of a comic book.

Thankfully they were able to complete Naruto's first issue and he had even succeeded in dragging Hinata to the convention. It had been a few hours and they had explored some of the competitors' booths like DC, Dark Horse and such.

"Mark, you know I don't like crowded spaces." Hinata complained with a pout.

"I know but I need you to toughen up. You can't just hide that cute little face of yours forever." Mark replied with a teasing smile.

"Cu-cute", She muttered as she blushed.

"Still ain't used to compliments I see." He said and then took her hand in his saying, "Come I need to show you something special."

They were holding hands as he dragged her to the Ichiraku stand. There was a huge line for the ramen stand that he could see. It already brought a smile on his face not that people could see he was wearing a mask.

He directly cut the line and went to the counter and showed his Eidolon Employee card. There was a small section of the stand that was reserved only for employees.

He did this because he knew in case the Ramen stand was a hit. He wouldn't get to enjoy the food without having to stand in line for a few hours.

"So this is your new thing?" she asked him whilst eyeing the menu.

"Yup this is going to be my next business or atleast a part of it." Mark replied as he gave his order to the staff. "Two Naruto Specials for me please."

"Wait, isn't this the ramen stand from Naruto?" Hinata asked, shocked as she finally understood Mark's gambit.

She knew the significance of Ichiraku Ramen in Naruto's heart and what Teuchi meant to Naruto. She knew that this Ramen stand had the potential to be a super hit cultural spot where all future Naruto fan's would flock to sate their hunger.

"Yup, you are quite quick on the uptake. Ichiraku's wasn't even mentioned in the dialogues but the brand symbol is very recognizable so let's see if people get it." he replied.

"I will have one bowl of the Naruto special and a plate of Wellness dumplings." she said placing her order and putting the menu aside.

"Make that two, I am feeling hungry." he said to the staff.

"Did you finish moving in all your stuff?" he asked her because after working from her assigned office at Eidolon HQ. She had asked for an attached apartment with her office after seeing Mark's own.

"Yup it's almost done, Mai helped me move most of the heavy stuff." she replied while tapping her fingers.

"Mai is your friend who you hired as your assistant/secretary right?" Mark asked her in confirmation as he had met the woman briefly but wasn't much of a talker.

"Yeah she is a friend from college, who's really good to me and always looks out for my clumsy self." she replied with a fond smile.

It was then their server arrived with food. He said a short prayer and began eating as Mark pulled up his hoodie to hide his face as much as possible.

After finishing her plate of dumplings and slurping nearly half of her bowl of ramen. She suddenly stopped, and hailed the server and said, "Two more bowls of Naruto Special please."

The moment the server left she immediately went back to inhaling the food of the gods. She had tried authentic ramen before, when she visited her distant relatives in Japan with her mother. But even that didn't come close to the perfection the humble bowl of ramen before her had reached.

She knew the actual thought behind the bowl of ramen before her, it had been custom made by Teuchi when Naruto had first appeared before him after being kicked out of the orphanage.

She recalled Mark explaining that day to her in detail, it had been raining that day as if even the heavens were crying over the injustice faced by the little boy. After helplessly roaming the streets and being harassed by the villagers to leave.

Naruto had stumbled upon the store, after watching Teuchi not say anything for a few seconds. He thought he wasn't welcome there so he turned around to leave. But the kind owner stopped him and called him over, asking if he would like something to eat.

He passed him the menu but saw Naruto struggling to read it, so he asked if he liked chicken or pork. The small kid replied "anything", and Teuchi nodded with a kind smile and told him that it would be ready in a minute.

He used a fortified soup base with more vitamins and minerals, it was normally reserved for active duty ninjas and was more expensive but considering who his parents were he didn't really care how much he spent on feeding the kid.

He made sure to put in extra vegetables and meat to make it more and healthy and cut down the sodium in the tare. This bowl of ramen was custom made to help in the growth of a child's body and keep it warm and protect from the cold.

She couldn't help but ask Mark, "Is this healthy? Like the one you described Naruto have."

"Well it was made with fictional ingredients so obviously it's not as healthy as the original but yeah. But yeah it's definitely way healthier than any other traditional bowl of ramen you will find." Mark replied with a smile and went back to slurping.

"But why go that far?" She asked while looking down at the delicious yet healthy bowl of ramen in front of her.

"Because I want people to feel the warmth that Naruto felt when he had that first bowl of Ramen. I want to give them the ability to taste the same thing as their favorite fictional character or at least the closest thing to it that's physically possible." Mark replied with a wistful smile as he always wished he could try out Ichiraku's Ramen for himself.

After Hinata had finished demolishing two more bowls of the food of the gods. They made their way to the backstage where Kevin was waiting for them with the suit that Mark would be wearing for his special appearance.

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{Author's Note: So we finally see the special event that I had been overtly talking about for the last few chapters. It is the San Diego Comic Con. We see some of the preparations Mark made but i have kept them vague to build up for the next chapter.

It would have been revealed in this chapter but the Ichiraku Ramen stand and Naruto were quite important plot points that needed to be shown as well. The few chapters would be revolving around the comic con and the ways the other studios are trying to fk Mark over.

Anywhos, moving on, thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. So please leave a comment or review and I will probably write faster.

If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. Slurp some nice ramen and I hope you all have a beautiful day (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}