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...

Weeks and months slowly passed, and as Naruto predicted, Himiko's grades shot up dramatically. Even Iruka himself was surprised. Himiko started participating more in classes and volunteering answers more often, which was truly remarkable. Previously, she hardly did any of that. Additionally, her understanding of some topics was sometimes profound. Iruka couldn't help but wonder, but after all, she was being taught by Naruto himself, the Science Genius.

Although he himself never attended the Shinobi Academy, Naruto is well-known here due to his genius. People talk the most about certain individuals within the circle where their talents are recognized, and the Academy is such a place. After all, it is here that students gain the knowledge to become Shinobi. Moreover, he is Himiko and Menma's older brother, as well as the eldest son of the Hokage, so it's no wonder that students and teachers talk about him.

Today were the midterm exams, and Naruto, on this occasion, escorted Menma and Himiko straight to the Academy.

Standing in front of its entrance and bidding farewell slowly, Naruto sees many parents seeing their children off to classes. He also notices Itachi, who came with his younger brother, Sasuke.

"Hey, Naruto," Itachi greeted him politely. They see each other from time to time so Naruto can check Itachi's health.

"Yo, you're getting so old, you look more like Sasuke-kun's father than his older brother," Naruto joked, causing Himiko to release a quiet giggle from her lips.

"Hey, don't make fun of my Nii-san!" Sasuke blushed slightly, bursting with childish anger.

Sasuke, just like Himiko, looked oddly similar in Naruto's eyes. Both were incredibly sweet and innocent, and there was something about them that Naruto couldn't fully understand.

"Weren't you the one with gray hair at the age of eight?" Itachi remarked, needling him.

"Oh, right! Grumpy old man...!" Sasuke couldn't help but comment.

Naruto was momentarily stunned, then burst into loud laughter.

"Grumpy old man, huh?" Naruto chuckled, patting Sasuke on the head, to which he recoiled in disgust.

Itachi coughed, "You should go, Sasuke, or you'll be late for class."

Sasuke groaned, reluctant to part with his brother, but he complied.

"You too, classes are about to begin," Naruto instructed his younger siblings.

"See you later, Nii-san...!"

"Later!"

After the departure of the three students, Itachi and Naruto were left alone. After a moment, Itachi addressed him, "You shouldn't intrude into Sasuke's personal space so carelessly."

"Are you jealous?" Naruto raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"I'm not, he just doesn't like being touched by strangers," Itachi replied stone-facedly.

"You are, and you definitely are," Naruto burst into mocking laughter.

Itachi left it without comment, seeing no point in continuing the topic with Naruto since he doesn't understand the meaning of simple words he says.

"I'll be going," Itachi said.

"Don't you want to go somewhere together?" Naruto threw a question his way.

"If it won't take long. I plan to surprise Sasuke later for doing well on the exam."

"They haven't even started them yet, why do you assume they'll do well?"

"Don't you also assume that your siblings will write them perfectly?"

"That's different, I'm helping them study after all."

Itachi wanted to negate that arrogance, but actually, it's justified; Naruto is a genius, so if he helps his siblings study, they will surely have a perfect result.

"Maybe we should grab something to eat? I haven't eaten anything today," Naruto suggested.

"Do you feel like having wagyu beef?"

"If you're paying, I'd love to."

...

"...if I managed to acquire a stronger body, could I recover?" Itachi suddenly asked Naruto, while having a meal at a luxurious restaurant. He had already checked if anyone was watching them, so he asked calmly. Their table was also secluded from others, so he didn't have big concerns about being overheard.

"Why do you think that? Theoretically yes, but you can't achieve it through training. Your body has certain dysfunctions that fight each other, causing symptoms of illness. That's a simple, non-scientific way to put it. A strong body has no dysfunctions, but you can't achieve a strong body through training," Naruto explained, scrutinizing Itachi carefully.

"Is there any way to achieve a strong body? What does a strong body mean to you, Naruto?" Itachi inquired.

"All processes in the body run correctly, and it's injury-resistant at the highest level of efficiency..." Naruto replied after a moment of thought.

"I see."

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto answered Itachi's earlier question, "Medically and morally, and above all morally, you can't surpass illness."

Itachi looked slightly surprised at Naruto, "So my illness isn't incurable?"

"Don't get me wrong, at the moment, from a medical point of view, it's incurable, however, well, theoretically, there are a few options to surpass it from a scientific point of view."

"...but it's highly immoral?" Itachi finished, connecting a few facts from Naruto's speech.

Naruto confirmed it with a nod.

For many months, Itachi pondered over his health situation and his illness, and to some extent, he understood it. His intelligence might be nothing compared to Naruto's and often could be overshadowed by him, but it couldn't be underestimated; Itachi is truly very intelligent compared to ordinary people. Microscopic vasculitis usually occurs in older people with weak bodies, logically, to cure it, you need to possess a strong body. However, training won't help here; a strong body must be achieved in a different way, one that Naruto didn't want to talk about.

However, Naruto confirmed that such an option is possible, for now, it was enough for Itachi...

...

"Not a hundred percent?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Huh...? Aren't you happy? I got 97% on the exam!" Himiko exclaimed.

"But it's not a perfect score... I made a bet with Itachi at the restaurant on who would get a higher score, you or Sasuke-kun. How many percent did he get?" Naruto inquired.

"95%, and still, I was better than him...! You should be happy for my success, not grumbling...!" Himiko complained disappointedly, and Naruto chuckled awkwardly.

"Sorry... You did great!" Naruto patted her head, to which Himiko puffed her cheeks offendedly.

"And what about you, Menma-kun? How did you do?"

"As always, I was the best in the class with a perfect score...!" Menma proudly puffed his chest, waiting for praise from his brother.

Naruto chuckled at his behavior, "I'm really proud of both of you, congratulations."

Naruto congratulated them and placed the meal he made on the table. It wasn't as magnificent as Kushina's, but it was still tasty with good quality ingredients that Naruto chose.

"Oh, Himiko-chan, maybe I can teach you how to cook? You can help me because I don't always have time to prepare dinner for you after academy," Naruto asked his sister.

"Can I learn to make homemade ramen like Mom?" Himiko was hopeful.

"Sure, why not? However, I don't want you to cook ramen all the time; it's terribly calorie-rich and unhealthy...!" Naruto reminded her, to which she groaned displeased.

Wanting to convince her of this idea, Naruto continued, "As a woman, just like Mom, you should know how to cook meals for your family. When you have a husband and your own children in the future, you'll have to cook for them, so it's better to learn it earlier."

"Eeechh?! My own children?" Himiko blushed at the crazy idea.

"Haha...! Maybe Sasuke-kun will be your husband in the future?" Menma couldn't resist teasing his sister.

"W-what?! No way!" Himiko burst out, her face turning completely red.

Trying to join in the game, Naruto added something of his own, "Maybe I should talk to Itachi about an arranged marriage? It's not unusual in big Clans, plus it has a lot of benefits, not only does it help strengthen the bonds between two specific Clans, but the children from such a marriage will also be very talented."

"Never in my life!" Himiko exclaimed, completely opposed to this idea.

Naruto and Menma laughed loudly, and it took Himiko a while to realize they were teasing her, which made her even more angry. In the end, Naruto didn't manage to convince her to learn cooking today, but it was worth teasing her like that.

...

A few weeks later, in the evening...

Naruto returned home quite late today; he spent a long time in his private laboratory, so he couldn't come back earlier. Lately, they had a small breakthrough in Kenzo's research and experiments, so he had to deal with it.

Just as he crossed the threshold, Naruto sensed a depressing, perhaps even negative aura. It was coming from his younger sister, Himiko.

Naruto narrowed his eyes unpleasantly; something was definitely wrong. It was further confirmed by Menma's sudden appearance. His face expressed worry and concern.

"Nii-san! Himiko-chan is..." 

"Yes, I can feel it. What happened?" Naruto asked immediately.

"I don't know, she went to play with friends after classes today and came back like this... I tried to talk to her, but she shut herself off," Menma explained.

"I understand... I'm sorry, I couldn't come back earlier and left you with this alone."

"What...? Don't say that, Nii-san...! You work hard, and we can't always rely on you! You can't blame yourself for something like this!"

Naruto unpacked himself after returning home, and after a few minutes, he stood in front of his sister's door.

He involuntarily sighed because of the strange pressure within himself. Hundreds of thoughts crossed his mind as he tried to get to the bottom of her gloomy mood, but he wouldn't find out until he asked her himself.

"Himiko-chan, I'm coming in," Naruto announced and turned the doorknob. The door was locked, but Naruto quickly opened it.

With his sensory ability, he sensed Himiko's panic and movement, but she quickly settled as if she had been sleeping the whole time, making no sound.

Naruto closed the door behind him and sat quietly on her bed. She seemed to breathe quietly and regularly, as if she was really sleeping; she was good at pretending. However, her emotions surfaced, allowing Naruto to pick up on them.

"Will you tell me what happened...?" Naruto asked gently, placing his hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly.

A longer moment passed before Himiko opened her eyelids and looked at Naruto. Her eyes were red from tears and expressed gloom.

"It's nothing... I'll manage, Onii-chan."

"That's a lie; let it out, and you'll feel much better," Naruto encouraged her, just as their Mom did once when he found out about his condition.

"Don't you believe me?" Naruto replied after Himiko continued to be silent.

"T-that's, no..."

"Okay, then I'll stay with you tonight. If you decide to let it out, I'll be here for you all the time."

Naruto adjusted the blanket and pulled it over both of them. He hugged his sister lightly and closed his eyes, as if preparing to sleep. Himiko looked at him in shock, and for a longer moment, she didn't look away from him, feeling disoriented.

Himiko opened her mouth several times, but each time she closed it. Finally, she closed her eyes and let the tears flow calmly. Somehow Naruto's presence was strangely soothing, and she quickly fell asleep.

Now she was really asleep; she was really troubled by something, and it was really wearing her down mentally. Before she opens up to him, she needs to sleep it off.