37. Family Meeting

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...

Naruto hadn't slept for several days, dealing with matters in the black market; he had been home maybe only twice to grab something or quickly eat lunch.

He was now walking the streets of Konoha with dark circles under his eyes. He had learned that even though nourishing the brain and body with chakra, he couldn't function without sleep. He could maintain sharpness of mind at a fairly high level for about two days when nourishing the brain and body with chakra, but after that, his sharpness slowly declined, and by the third day without sleep, he barely functioned. Naruto was still injured and needed to heal, so he was very tired.

Three days had passed since Naruto killed almost all the leaders of the black market; he now had a moment to spare, so he went to get something to eat. As he was about to enter a high-class restaurant known for its quality meat, Naruto accidentally noticed familiar chakra with his sensory sense.

He immediately headed in that direction and soon entered a ramen shop, quite popular in the area. He had been here a few times with his whole family; Kushina often told stories when she came here with Minato on their first dates. It was her favorite restaurant in her youth, and her passion for this place was inherited by her daughter, Himiko, who had an unhealthy obsession with ramen, even greater than her mother's. According to Naruto, it was sick; he could never understand how Himiko could eat so much of this unhealthy food.

— Onii-chan? How did you know we were here? — Himiko called out, while gobbling down yet another bowl of ramen. There were many empty bowls next to her.

— I didn't know you were here; I was just hungry — Naruto replied and sat down next to them.

— You shouldn't underestimate that people are looking for you as soon as they appear in your field of view — Menma said amused.

— Aren't you supposed to be in the academy today? — Naruto asked surprised. Even if they were the best in their classes, they shouldn't skip classes; after all, they could learn a lot, especially Himiko, who had quite poor grades.

— Today is Saturday, Onii-chan — Himiko groaned — When was the last time you came to the surface? You look like a corpse!

Naruto chuckled at her comment. Indeed, his skin looked a bit pale, and his half-closed eyes indicated that he had spent a lot of time studying and doing some research.

— Don't think of your older brother as a crazy scientist who never leaves the laboratory; I've been busy lately and haven't slept much — Naruto patted her head admonishingly — Besides, I've been home a few times, so by logical reasoning, I go outside.

— What have you been doing? Tell us something about your work — Menma asked Naruto. He knew little about his older brother, and he was never willing to tell them any interesting stories.

— Hmm... — Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking.

At that moment, Teuchi, the owner of the ramen restaurant, approached Naruto and asked:

— What can I get you?

— Oh... Two, or maybe even three bowls of pork ramen with plenty of extra herbs — he replied.

— Coming right up!

— Onii-chan, don't try to dodge the question; tell us something interesting...! — Himiko demanded cutely.

Perhaps it was due to his tiredness, but Naruto succumbed to his younger sister's sweet eyes.

He sighed and said — Alright, but it's nothing interesting... Hmm... I've been studying a certain field of "sensing and controlling the body" for some time; it should be called something better, but it's practically a forgotten field among shinobi...

A few minutes later, Naruto's order arrived, and without much courtesy or concern for his appearance, he talked about his training and devoured ramen at the same time.

Menma and Himiko listened with interest to Naruto's training. It was something unconventional; Naruto was doing something different from what they were taught at the academy. Was it thanks to such training that he was so strong at such a young age? Even with his handicap and illnesses?

— Wow, that's amazing Nii-san! — Menma couldn't hide his admiration — I have a question, don't you lose your body mass when increasing blood flow? It's related to increased metabolism, so you quickly lose your body mass in a short time, even if you do it only for a few minutes...!

Naruto looked surprised at Menma and laughed — How do you know that?

— From academy classes, of course; I have the best grades in the class — Menma boasted proudly.

— Haha, right, well, actually yes, that's why I have to eat a lot of calories — Naruto revealed his thin body with protruding ribs from under his clothes.

Menma and Himiko looked shocked at their older brother, who was practically a walking skeleton.

— Don't make such ugly faces; I've already said I've been busy lately, so I've lost a kilo or two — Naruto chuckled.

— Y-you're sick...! — Himiko exclaimed horrified — You must eat much more, twice as much as usual...! Oh... Teuchi-sama! I'll have three more bowls of ramen for Onii-chan!

Naruto could only shake his head amused. He didn't look that bad compared to how thin he was in the past. Now he at least had some muscles in his body, not many, but still something.

They talked for a while longer, and when Naruto finished his meal, he paid for all three and was about to leave.

— Nii-san? Will you come back for dinner tonight? — Menma asked.

— Hmm? Why? I'm not sure, I have a lot of work... — Naruto admitted honestly.

— Uncle Jiraiya is in the village, and he'll have dinner with us, and Ka-chan managed to convince Kakashi-nii-san and grandma Tsunade to come...! — Himiko said.

— Shizune-nee-chan will also come — Menma added hastily.

— Oh... — Naruto felt a slight squeeze in his heart — I'll see...

He replied and left.

...

Half a day passed during which Naruto, with "Dragon" by his side, conducted a revolution in the black market.

Naruto eliminated about 20% of useless people. He had nearly four hundred murders to his name, but a significant portion of people were also killed on his orders, so this number would be two or even three times higher!

Most of the dead bodies were hidden from the public eye and various unnecessary people, including the ANBU. Their bodies were either burned or buried underground.

Naruto appointed "Dragon" as the person in charge of all matters in the black market. Under his command, Naruto incorporated new personalities to manage the three main criminal groups for him. They became the new "leaders" of the black market and the three criminal groups. However, it was "Dragon" who truly led them, and Naruto led through "Dragon." The whole trio were Naruto's personal subordinates who swore loyalty to him and were at the level of high Chunin. Although they didn't possess the same strength as the previous leaders, they made up for it with intelligence and cunning. Thanks to this, they were perfectly suited for their positions.

Apart from the 20% of people Naruto had to eliminate, the rest accepted the change of leadership in the largest criminal groups and continued their activities. It wasn't that they had any influence; they were just ants that had to follow orders. For most of them, only money mattered, not who gave them orders.

Naruto's pseudonym in the black market was "Stranger." Naruto had been famous here for a long time, but now it had exceeded all norms and expectations he could have had. Every person on Red Lantern Street talked about him; his pseudonym had also changed, and now he was called "Devil," who subjugated everything and everyone in the black market.

People speculated how long he would be able to maintain his position. They tried to guess his true identity. Some bet on when the Fourth Hokage would intervene and end it all. After what he had done, everyone expected a "purge," and many were moving to other places, trying to avoid catastrophe.

Naruto managed to sleep for about an hour, and now he was returning home for dinner. It might have been a bad decision on his part because he hadn't sorted out everything in the black market yet, but he wanted to do it for some reason.

Before entering, he freshened up his appearance to look more lively. He took a shower and put on some new clothes, not stained with blood.

Without knocking, he entered and greeted everyone.

— I guess I'm a bit late — he said, seeing that they had already started dinner.

— Oh... No! You're just in time; it would be worse if the food was cold...! — Kushina said hastily, a happy smile painted on her lips at his arrival — Sit down; I'll serve you your portion.

— Thank you — he did as she said and sat next to his father at the last empty seat at the table.

— Haven't you lost weight recently? — Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him.

— I've been quite busy — he waved his hand, not too concerned about it.

— You should pay more attention to your meals because you often find yourself busy — she scolded him.

— Right, I've already fed him because he looked like a corpse this morning! — Himiko interjected.

She looked quite proud, and Minato chuckled at her comment.

— You did well; Naruto is sometimes forgetful.

At that moment, Kushina served Naruto his portion of food. It was ramen. It would be the seventh bowl he would eat today, and he couldn't help but inwardly sigh at this fact, but he didn't show it, not wanting to sadden his Ka-chan. In the meantime, he glanced at his younger sister, who was enjoying the ramen. Really, how could she fit so much of that food in herself? Naruto felt that if he ate as much ramen as she did, he would surely grow disgusted with it.

Kushina sat down at the table again, on the other side of Minato, and everyone began to eat, exchanging conversations.

Although Naruto didn't participate in most of them, he felt inside himself that it was worth coming home for dinner. Sometimes he forgot that such family moments were truly wonderful.

— Why are you smiling like that, Naruto-kun? — Shizune looked at Naruto strangely.

— Oh, nothing, I'm just enjoying the moment... — he replied, slightly embarrassed.

Shizune quietly chuckled at his response. He rarely showed such a side, and it was strange to see him like this. However, this warm side of Naruto wasn't so bad.

— Naruto, you haven't seen Itachi for a while, right? — Minato asked, or rather stated. It was obvious.

— Well, he sent me a few messages through a crow in the style of "how are you?", but yes, I haven't seen him in person since the Uchiha Clan went into seclusion.

— Fugaku came to my office recently; I haven't talked to him in a while, but he said that Itachi will probably contact you soon. He didn't say for what purpose, but Fugaku himself acted somewhat unnaturally, well, seclusion might not be good for him — Minato shrugged, not too concerned about it.

The Uchiha Clan resolved their issues with the rebellion, but they had to go into seclusion to deal with the consequences of certain actions.

— I understand, I wonder what's going on with him — he replied, pondering. Itachi never contacted him without a significant reason, so Naruto was probably now waiting for his friend to repay two debts he owed him.

— Maybe we'll get to meet together — Kushina thought aloud — I haven't seen Mikoto and little Sasuke-kun in a while.

— I see him every day at the academy...! — Himiko grumbled — He's terribly annoying, he only talks about his older brother...!

— Well, then you should also talk more about me to your friends — Naruto chuckled at the idea.

— And you're already quite popular; Menma praises you to everyone he meets...! — Himiko retorted, and Menma blushed with embarrassment.

— Hey...! That's not true...! — Menma tried to defend himself.

— Oh, really? — Naruto's eyes lit up; he looked a bit excited.

Finally, isn't it cool when your younger siblings talk about you with such admiration? Bragging about your older brother is definitely cool in Naruto's mind.

— Maybe you should take your siblings to the academy someday, what do you think, Naruto? — Kushina suggested.

— Sure — he replied immediately. He wanted to refuse due to the lack of time, but quickly dismissed that thought.

— Great! — Kushina clapped her hands happily. Usually, Menma and Himiko went to the academy on their own, but going out as a trio could be fun.

— Maybe I should also accompany you to work, Tsunade-hime? — Jiraiya suggested suggestively to his teammate.

— Get lost, you old pervert...! — Tsunade growled in disgust.

Kakashi glanced at them from behind his favorite erotic book, and with each subsequent exchange of conversation between them, he became more convinced that Jiraiya wrote those wonderful books based on his unfulfilled fantasies with Tsunade.

The evening slowly passed as everyone happily chatted. They may not have been related by blood, but they could be called a family that shared many wonderful memories.

Kushina was washing the dishes as everyone slowly dispersed. The guests were returning to their homes, and the children were going to bed. Unaware, Kushina scratched her neck once again. It was already the umpteenth time. She wasn't aware yet, but small, purple spots were appearing on her body. They resembled some sort of allergy, but it was something much worse.

Naruto was not aware of it, but happy days for his family were slowly coming to an end. The heavens truly cursed him and everyone closest to him...