Naruto - A Cursed System

"It's been a year since Dango left, right? Let's prepare a welcome party for him."

"We shouldn't rush it. We don't know if he'll be back today. Maybe it will take him a couple of days to arrive."

"Shhh... the house's lights are on. Someone has been there while we were gone."

Twenty away from the hut were Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. They were now returning to the hunt after looking and helping anybody in Amegakure. During a conversation between Yahiko and Konan about Dango's (Now Yukio's) whereabouts, Nagato noticed that someone has been in their house.

"Can you see if there's anyone inside?" Yahiko asked.

Nagato's brows furrowed and he shook his head, "I-I can't tell. I don't see anyone there. We should still be careful."

Being the talented shinobi they were, they silently arrived in front of the hut and opened the door. Unexpectedly, a familiar voice called out to them, "Yahiko? Konan? Nagato? Are you back? When I came back, I thought you guys moved away!"

The trio immediately stopped trying to be sneaky and rushed to the direction the voice came from; the kitchen. When they arrived, they were pleasantly surprised to see their little brother.

"Dango!" Yahiko gave a big hug to his little brother. The other two came over and asked about Yukio's training.

"Hm... you don't look like you've changed. I think you got taller. Did you lie about training?" Yahiko asked with suspicion. Konan also noticed this and was slightly disappointed.

Before Yukio could tell them, Nagato came to his rescue, "I think you're wrong, Yahiko. He's gotten stronger. Just not in the way we expect."

Walking back to the food he was preparing, Yukio reassured them, "I did get stronger. We can have a spar if you think I'm lying."

"We believe you. Especially if Nagato agrees that you have gotten stronger." Konan said as she shook her head. She then noticed what Yukio was doing, "Are you making food?"

"Sorry, it's a habit. But yup! Allow me to cook for you guys."

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato immediately sat down at the table the moment they heard Yukio's request. They watched as Yukio brought out several dishes of fish food.

Once every dish was served, Yukio and the three of them began their midnight dinner. From time to time, they would compliment Yukio's cooking skills. While they were enjoying the meals, the four of them talked about what had happened in the past year since Yukio's departure.

"Huh? You changed your name?" Konan asked when Yukio told them his decision to change his name.

"Yeah, I changed it to Yukio. I found it more appropriate. Please call me Yukio from now on."

"It is your name. You get to do whatever you want with it."

As they were talking, Yukio got a good look at his siblings. They had grown taller, but Yukio could tell that they were still growing. They were wearing black cloaks that reminded him of the Akatsuki, making him wonder if the organization was going to be created soon.

"Enough about me. What did you guys do the year I was gone? Did Jiraiya Sensei visit?"

Yahiko answered his question, "Asides from training, we usually head to Amegakure and help out with the remaining civilians. The village is also in need of repair due to the damages sustained during the Second Shinobi War, so we're helping out with that from time to time."

As he spoke about the second war, Yukio saw them make a sad expression. Yahiko continued, "You might not have heard, but the Third Shinobi War has officially started less than a month ago. So far, there have been little skirmishes within Amegakure, but they aren't as devastating as the ones during the second war."

"The Third Shinobi War started a month ago? I saw a skirmish on my way here, but I was able to avoid it."

"You did the right thing. It's best to avoid conflict."

"What about Jiraiya Sensei?"

"He hadn't visit ever since he left us. Apparently, he is now the teacher of a group of kids back at Konoha and was busy with them. We would occasionally send letters about our daily life from time to time. We were thinking of sending him a letter about your training, but we decided against it. We didn't want him to needlessly worry about you, but now that I think about it. I'm pretty sure that he would have been confident in your safety, just like we were a year ago."

The group of siblings continued their conversation for nearly half an hour. Nagato spoke the least as he was more focused on observing Yukio. He had noticed the weird worm-like mass of negativity that usually hanged around Yukio had gotten longer.

Yukio noticed the stares, but he didn't care. He knew that Nagato was somewhat aware of Hex's existence, but wasn't aware enough to physically touch it. Yukio was prepared to give Nagato a truthful answer if he ever asked about it. Of course, it will be under a binding vow.

They finished the meal, cleaned the dishes, and went to bed. As Yukio lay in bed, he thought about the advancement mission.

'Erase all physical traces of my existence, yet find the purpose of my existence. The first point is the hardest and the one I need to be the most careful about. It might include things written or made by me, things that I touched, anything that has my name written on it, etc. There are just too many things to consider. I'm going to have to rely on [Advanced Searching]. I wonder if I could create a jutsu that could help me?'

'What should I do tomorrow?'