I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

Shikamaru came out of Ichiraku Ramen in a mess. It would be better to go for barbecue next time. He is familiar with Choji's mother, so there is no pressure.

"Get out!"

A scolding disturbed Shikamaru's thoughts, and he looked for the source, which turned out to be from the herbal medicine store opened by the Nara family.

A somewhat servile man was kicked out of the herbal medicine store, and the shop assistant came out with an ugly look on his face.

"How dare a ninja like you who failed in his mission still live in this village? If it weren't for your advisor, he wouldn't have died!"

The people around him, who originally had sympathy for the man, turned into disgust and began pointing fingers at him.

"It was because he didn't report the Uchiha's defection in time, otherwise Advisor Danzo wouldn't have died."

"Tsunade-sama is very kind. Such people are not punished."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I heard that one of his legs was broken and there was nothing the medical team could do. Lady Tsunade must have just felt sorry for him."

There was no concealment in the words around him, and the midday sun fell on his body as if he was in an ice cellar. The man's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth but could not utter any explanation.

Shikamaru looked at the man's figure and felt it was somewhat familiar. He observed everything with a slightly frowned brow. What he didn't expect was that Danzo's reputation in the village was actually quite high.

Danzo's original propaganda seemed to have some effect. In the eyes of the people who did not know the truth, Danzo was still a diligent and good consultant.

"That's enough. The Nara clan is not the kind of people who would kick someone when he's down. Besides, he has done a lot for the village."

A man with the same pineapple hairstyle came out. He had a tuft of beard on his chin and slightly thick eyebrows. He looked at the pharmacy clerk with a serious face.

"No matter what, he is not someone you can bully. Apologize."

Shikamaru's brows relaxed, it seemed that there was no need for him to show up. The person who came was Nara Suzaku from the Nara clan, and in terms of seniority, he was his uncle.

The clerk walked over somewhat unwillingly. As a clerk in a drugstore, this job was not easy to come by. The reason was not important. What mattered was that he was reluctant to give up this job.

The man didn't expect Suzaku to speak for him, so he waved his hands to indicate that he didn't care. However, under Suzaku's gaze, the waiter still bowed solemnly.

Then Suzaku took out a bag of prepared herbs and handed it to the man.

"Although I can't cure your injury, I can at least ease the pain. This is my apology for my poor discipline."

The man tried to refuse quickly, but as he was injured, he was no match for a jonin like Suzaku, so the herbs were stuffed directly into his arms.

Zhuque even patted the other person on the shoulder and said, "If you run out, just come and get it."

The excitement of the little incident had faded away, and the rest of the villagers began to disperse. Shikamaru thought about it and decided to go forward and say hello to Suzaku.

The man holding the medicinal herbs passed by Shikamaru. Shikamaru sniffed and his face changed instantly as he was familiar with the medicinal herbs.

"Why are you here? Follow me."

Suzaku also spotted Shikamaru and took him directly into a cubicle in the pharmacy.

"The medicine you gave that man was wrong. It relieved the pain, but if he took too much, he would die."

As soon as he entered the compartment, Shikamaru said gloomily that he didn't expect that the glamorous-looking Uncle Suzaku would do such a thing.

"You've made some progress. I thought you really became like your father."

Facing Shikamaru's questioning, Suzaku did not feel the slightest bit of guilt. He picked up a pot of boiling water and started making tea.

"Don't change the subject."

What concerned Shikamaru more was that the person seemed familiar to him, as if he had seen him before, but he could not recognize who he was.

"I've already told Shikaku to let you get in touch with this aspect, but you still can't keep your cool."

After making the tea, Suzaku handed Shikamaru a cup, but when he didn't take it, he smiled and put it on the table.

"Could this be what the Hokage meant?"

Shikamaru asked with a look of shock and some disbelief.

"How is it possible that Lady Tsunade would worry about such trivial matters? Besides, that person was once a subordinate of Lady Tsunade..."

Suzaku directly rejected it, saying that Tsunade couldn't get her hands dirty with such a thing.

"The Hokage's subordinates?"

To be precise, all the ninjas in Konoha are subordinates of the Hokage. Suzaku was making too general a statement.

"He is a member of Uchiha Sasuke's team. It's normal that you don't recognize him since you haven't seen him without his mask."

Shikamaru remembered that the familiar figure was indeed because he had seen him many times. Apart from the dead antelope, the only other team member left among Sasuke's later teammates was the gray wolf, whom he didn't pay much attention to.

Shikamaru had never seen this person since that night, and if Suzaku hadn't mentioned it, he would have surely forgotten about it before long.

"Since you are the former Anbu, how can you..."

Perhaps because he remembered the death of the antelope before, Shikamaru's emotions got a little out of control.

Suzaku interrupted Shikamaru and said seriously, "Strictly speaking, he did fail in his duty. Not only did he and Antelope fail to stop Sasuke, they also failed to report it to the Hokage immediately. If they had known earlier, the outcome of that night might have been different."

"Heh, you guys make it sound like you can stop Senior Ye Lan."

Suzaku's face turned cold and he put the cup on the table. "Nara Shikamaru, you are now a ninja of Konoha. Uchiha Yalan is already a traitor wanted by the Hokage. He is no longer your senior."

"Gray Wolf's dereliction of duty has already been decided. Don't ask about his affairs."

Perhaps he felt that he was too harsh. After all, Shikamaru was the successor of the Nara clan, Suzaku said with a relaxed expression.

In the final analysis, it is just to find an excuse for one's own incompetence and to give the panic-stricken village an outlet. The people of Konoha are already very familiar with this kind of thing.

Shikamaru, who understood everything, felt sick and thought there was no need to continue discussing these matters with the other party, so he turned around and was about to leave.

"I heard that you already want to become a jonin. This is a good thing. After a while, with Asuma's recommendation, Shikaku and I will find a way. As for your strength, don't worry, just practice slowly."

Seeing that Shikamaru no longer objected, Suzaku thought that the other party had listened to his advice, and began to say something that might be helpful to Shikamaru.

But such words had the opposite effect.

"Uncle Suzaku, just because I don't show any emotion doesn't mean I'm not angry, and just because I don't refute what you say doesn't mean I agree with it!"

Shikamaru said this expressionlessly, and he didn't drink a single sip of the tea that Suzaku had prepared for him.

When he left the drugstore, the guy who had just scolded Gray Wolf greeted him with a smile, and all the customers in the drugstore looked at him with kindness.

In the past, Shikamaru would have felt embarrassed by such looks, or would have thought that it was the right thing to do.

At this moment, Shikamaru only felt his hands and feet were cold, and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Recalling the direction the gray wolf had just left, Shikamaru went there without hesitation. He hadn't been able to collect the body of the antelope, so he couldn't just watch the gray wolf die.