32. Black Market

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...

Thanks to enduring suffering in building immunity to toxins and strengthening bones, his Physical Energy increased to 12.4 units, and his Chakra to 1700 units. Its quantity had greatly increased, thanks to continuous body overloading with Chakra. Spiritual Energy was now at the level of 1360 units.

Naruto's sensitivity to Chakra had also increased quite significantly. As a result, he was able to master the technique of bone crushing with great ease. Actually, he didn't know what to call it; he wasn't good at naming new techniques.

In addition to this technique, he managed to learn several other more advanced techniques. They weren't anything great, in the light of all these powerful Shinobi techniques, they were scraps, but he invented and learned them all to gain better control over his Chakra.

Among the more noteworthy ones were two specific techniques.

"Tooth Damage," a technique similar to bone crushing, where Naruto creates micro-damage in the teeth using Chakra, making them harder after regeneration. And also "Chakra Threads," creating thin threads from tightly compressed Chakra.

The Chakra Thread technique had been necessary for Naruto for quite some time. He wanted to bind his muscles with threads so that even if they were detached from the rest of the body and bones, they would still stay in place. Naruto wanted to use this technique all the time to make it harder for his muscles to detach accidentally. The only problem was that it required a huge amount of Chakra. To create just one Chakra Thread a few centimeters long, he had to use surprisingly large amounts of Chakra. And to create enough of them for every centimeter of muscle, Naruto had to spend almost half of his Chakra!

However, the cost goes hand in hand with utility. During fights, this would be very helpful for Naruto, and he wouldn't have to worry as much about his muscles detaching during some violent movement.

Although Naruto somehow could still force his body to further strengthen, he didn't know how much longer he could do so and what he would have to force himself to do.

Out of curiosity, Naruto examined his body for the presence of Chakra Cells and discovered, or rather didn't discover anything. Despite overloading his body with Chakra, Chakra Cells did not occur in Naruto. He wasn't sure if it was due to his poorly developed Chakra Circulatory System or due to his brain, which prevented it. Maybe overloading the body with Chakra was too weak for ordinary cells to mutate into Chakra Cells? Probably not, Naruto always overloaded his body with Chakra to the limit, so that nothing too serious would happen, except ending up in the hospital for no more than a week. He had done it many times before, so he should already have several Chakra Cells normally.

Over these four months, Naruto also improved his peripheral vision and perfected it to the highest level. Unfortunately, he couldn't achieve a wider field of view. He reached a higher level of knowledge absorption again and now devoted only a fraction of a second to one page. He didn't even have to read the text; just by looking at it, his brain understood it. He could even return to this page in his photographic memory and read the text again. Reading old books, which had over five hundred pages, took Naruto only a few minutes, and most of the time was just flipping through the next pages.

Naruto suspected that within the next two months, maybe even a month, he would finish reading all the documents in the Research and Science Division. Then he plans to switch to Konoha's main library and delve into his knowledge there. Although the books there might be of poor quality, maybe he'll find something interesting.

And well, the most important thing Naruto finally managed to achieve. He understood Chakra to such a level that he could force it to leave his body without the Chakra Circulatory System! Kabuto helped him a bit with this, sharing his own experiences in understanding Chakra, and Naruto decided to replicate it. Of course, it wasn't enough, but after months of experiments and research, the first results finally came.

Naruto's hand was now blue, transparent with Chakra. He released his Chakra outside his body, and it started to leak out without any problem. Despite trying to smile, Naruto couldn't force himself to. Chakra was leaking out of Naruto's body, literally; once it left his body, he lost control over it, and it dissipated into the atmosphere after a while.

Naruto couldn't help but curse under his breath. No matter what he did, he lost the sense of Chakra outside his body! It had been happening for a week now, and Naruto couldn't understand why.

Was all his effort going to go to waste...?

He didn't want to allow it, but no matter what he tried, he really couldn't do anything.

He focused his sensory sense on the escaping Chakra. Naruto couldn't sense anyone's Chakra Signature other than his own Chakra Signature; he hadn't developed his sensory sense to such a level yet. But this was only about his own Chakra Signature; it disappeared after a while when Chakra dissipated into the atmosphere. This shouldn't be possible...

However, since it was happening... Naruto came to one terrifying conclusion... his own Chakra wasn't fully his own...!

...

Naruto thought he would do this only after some time when he would further train, but controlling Chakra outside the body was unattainable without using the Chakra Circulatory System, so he started working on the next goal sooner than he thought.

In a few days, a perfect opportunity would arise to accomplish this. That is, to take over almost all the influences in the black market! He couldn't control everything; after all, it was the black market, but having all the major forces under him, he could control and keep an eye on the rest.

There would also be a perfect opportunity for revenge. Naruto never forgot about two people who were sent after him when he was first in the black market, by a mysterious man with the pseudonym "Fish." He was one of the big fish in the black market and had huge influences, as well as controlling one of the larger criminal groups.

On a predetermined night, once a year, the biggest bosses in the black market met to discuss the coexistence of their groups. No one wanted to incur losses and attack each other to destroy what they had created since the attack of the Kyuubi on the Leaf Village. Although there was obviously rivalry between the largest criminal groups, even in a place like the black market, there was something like a coalition.

Naruto, as a person who had forcibly taken over about ten percent of all the influence and power in the black market, was an "outsider" and had never attended such a meeting. Well, this time it would change, and he would enter there by force.

The "Fish" and many other major leaders at the meeting are likely Jounin or have reached a level close to it. This would be Naruto's biggest fight yet, and he couldn't wait for it.

He really wanted to experience such battles, as described by Uncle Jiraiya, his godfather, at every family gathering. He described great battles on the battlefield, how he crushed hordes of enemies with his skills and magnificent Shinobi techniques. Although Naruto might not want to be a Shinobi, he wanted to experience something like that.

He wanted to live through it.

...

Nearly a decade ago, a revolution occurred in the black market caused by the Fourth Hokage. It was a turning point in history that shaped the current strongest criminal groups.

The Nine-Tails' attack on the Leaf Village may not have caused great catastrophes because the Fourth Hokage teleported it away from the village and engaged in an incredible battle, now described in legends. However, after this event, he had to quickly strengthen his influence and show the villagers that nothing like that would happen again under his leadership. Therefore, one of his goals was to minimize any risk of future disasters, which included controlling the dark side of Konoha.

He revolutionized the black market, eliminating almost all major criminal groups before the Nine-Tails' attack. The only group that survived was the Black Dragon gang, controlled by their leader "Dragon." It's unknown exactly how they avoided the "cleansing," but they suffered huge consequences, and the group survived with only a few, maybe a dozen members, led by their leader.

Using his reputation, "Dragon" managed to restore their strength in the following years and rose even higher than ever before. This was due to the lack of competition at the time, and they quickly took over almost all the influence in the Red Light District.

However, attempting to keep all the benefits and influence for themselves was not feasible, especially in a place like the black market. "Dragon" quickly realized this as other powerful criminal groups began to emerge.

One such group that rivaled the Black Dragon gang in strength was the Blades group, led by the "Nameless." It's unknown who he was and where he came from, but many rumors circulated about him. Some said he was a direct subordinate of the Fourth Hokage because the Fourth wanted to keep an eye on the internal affairs of the black market. There were even evidence that he had cooperated with the Hokage several times, but it didn't matter much because he had so firmly entrenched his position that it was almost impossible to root him out of the black market.

Besides these two groups, there were many others competing for greater influence. Among them were two hostile organizations led by the "Fish" and the "Old Man," but their hostility vanished during a chance encounter, and they became friends. They merged their groups, forming one huge one that surpassed even the Blades group led by the "Nameless" and pushed it to third place in terms of strength and influence in the black market.

The two individual gangs abandoned their previous names and collectively called themselves the "Two Fangs," led equally by the "Fish" and the "Old Man."

The group that could occupy the fourth place in terms of strength and influence could be led by the "Devilish Siblings." It wasn't a large group, but they were characterized by committing terrible crimes and stopping at nothing. Therefore, they were feared, and few dared to oppose them. However, they were defeated by "Dragon" and the Black Dragon gang when they tried to "bite off more than they could chew."

Dragon didn't eliminate them but formed a special unit within the Black Dragon gang, and the "Devilish Siblings" became his greatest force. This way, he solidified his top position in the black market and dominated even over the Blades and the Two Fangs.

These were the three main groups that emerged and solidified their positions over the past years. Together, they controlled nearly 80% of the influence in the black market and the Red Light District. It was even said that the Black Dragons were expanding their foreign position and cooperating with many other criminal groups outside the Leaf Village.

The leaders of the three largest groups gathered once a year to discuss their and their groups' existence. There was rivalry between all three groups, and it couldn't be stopped, but to maintain their rule and not cause another "cleansing" like after the Nine-Tails' attack, they tried to live in harmony with each other and not hinder one another so that everyone could benefit.

At the current meeting, the topic under discussion was supposed to be how to deal with "Stranger." This was the alias of an individual who had recently forcibly seized up to 10% of the power and influence in the black market and on Red Light Street. "That the current meeting, the topic under discussion was supposed to be how to deal with "Stranger". This was the alias of an individual who had recently forcibly seized up to 10% of the power and influence in the black market and on Red Light Street. "Stranger" posed a threat to the positions of the three largest groups in the black market and needed to be eliminated.

On this late night, an hour before midnight, seven people gathered around a wide table in an abandoned building. They were all individuals with the greatest influence in the black market and represented the most powerful forces in their respective groups "Stranger" posed a threat to the positions of the three largest groups in the black market and needed to be eliminated.

On this late night, an hour before midnight, seven people gathered around a wide table in an abandoned building. They were all individuals with the greatest influence in the black market and represented the most powerful forces in their respective groups.