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

Shikamaru returned home after finishing a day's work, and as soon as he entered the house, he saw his father packing up his things.

Although he had talked less and less with his father recently, Shikamaru still took a few glances at him with concern. When he saw that he had neatly put away some tools and ninja instruments, he said in surprise.

"You're going out on a mission?"

You should know that the position of Jonin squad leader rarely takes the initiative to go out of the village to perform tasks. Usually he helps the Hokage deal with some matters within the village.

However, Shikamaru's mind worked quickly, and he immediately guessed something based on what had happened in the village recently.

"Are you going to attend the Five Kage Tournament with Lady Tsunade?"

Shikaku stopped packing up his ninja tools, turned to look at Shikamaru, and sighed at the distant look in his eyes.

"That's right, it's me and Haiyi who will be attending the Five Kage Tournament with Lord Hokage this time."

Shikamaru didn't expect Tsunade to choose these two people. Shikaku and Haiyi both hold important positions in Konoha. Now he felt that he and Asuma had more pressure to guard the village.

Shikaku saw through his son's thoughts and stepped forward to speak.

"Don't be too stressed. If you have any questions, ask Asuma. If that doesn't work, you can always ask Choza. Even if Akatsuki is very brave, they won't attack Konoha directly. You just need to keep an eye on those people from the Rain Country."

Shikamaru looked at his father's worried face and opened his mouth, but in the end no words came out.

In fact, the people from the Rain Country are very honest at the moment. Instead, there have been many conflicts among the villagers around Konoha. Because they have more wages in their hands, they are more confident in their words, and more people are drinking and making trouble.

This is why he has been working so late every day recently. It seems that the wages have increased and the number of workers who used to work honestly has decreased.

Seeing that his son had no desire to talk to him any further, Shikaku had no choice but to give him a warning.

"Shikamaru, you must remember that you are a ninja of Konoha at all times. You must consider the interests of Konoha."

After saying that, he continued packing his luggage without caring about Shikamaru's expression.

The next day, Shikamaru watched Tsunade and the others leave. Many people came to the farewell ceremony alone. Looking at the momentum, they thought that Tsunade had won a victory.

"Alright, alright, just send it here. We're going to negotiate, why are we making such a mess?"

Tsunade also expressed dissatisfaction, saying that the village has money but it cannot be wasted like this. What are they doing here if they don't work?

"Don't say that, Tsuna-chan. This is all from everyone's point of view. The Five Kage Tournament hasn't been held in a while, and we must not let the other villages see us all."

Tsunade almost got goosebumps when Utane Koharu called her "Xiao Tsunade". She wanted to blame her but held back when she saw the happy faces of the consultants.

"Shikaku, Haiyi, hurry up and leave!"

In the end, she could only ask the two jonin who followed her to leave quickly.

After the farce, everyone started working as usual.

Shikamaru also returned to the factory area and started working, but he stopped when he passed by the stall. The stall was fully stocked with tools, but there was no one there.

Shikamaru thought the other party had left for something, but at this time a sound was heard from the alley not far from the stall.

Shikamaru curiously walked over, but heard some cursing as soon as he entered.

"Later I learned how cruelly your husband exploited us. He even dared to deduct the wages paid by the village!"

"Say nothing to her! Ask her to pay back the money! I heard that she received a lot of pension after her son died!"

"That's right! I saw you guys making a lot of money setting up a stall here! Return the money now!"

"Don't be like this, let's discuss everything properly."

Shikamaru recognized the voice as the wife of the injured worker A Kuan, and there was fear in her tone.

"None of your business! Get out of the way! My husband is a crippled fellow!"

There was a loud crash and it seemed as if A Kuan's wife was pushed aside.

"Hey, guys, this woman is actually pretty good-looking. She likes to meddle in other people's business, so let her have a taste of my power."

An obscene voice sounded, causing Shikamaru to quicken his pace.

"What do you want to do? If you have anything to say, come to me. It has nothing to do with her!"

The voice belonged to Ryosuke's wife.

"You finally spoke, bitch. You were just pretending to be dumb. Let's stop it and give us our money back!"

Hearing the other party's tone asking for money, Ryosuke's wife held the other person's hand tightly and then loosened it.

"Tsk, you are no longer a foreman. See how arrogant you are. Didn't your ninja son die anyway?"

Shikamaru yelled just as a tragedy was about to happen.

"What do you want to do!"

Only then did these people stop what they were doing and look back in the direction of the sound.

Three tall and strong men were pushing two weak women. A Kuan's wife, who was pushed down, had most of her clothes torn off.

Seeing this scene, Shikamaru felt furious for the first time. Why did he fight for their benefits? They actually did such beastly things.

"Shika...Shikamaru-sama, we are...drunk, we are just joking."

The leading man also felt something was not right when he saw Shikamaru's look. Shikamaru's position and reputation had spread throughout the factory area, and the workers here would be seeking death if they went against him.

"Drank too much?"

Shikamaru was almost laughing out of anger, and regardless of the ninja rules, he swung his fist at the other party.

Ordinary people could not withstand his punch. One punch could directly break two of their back teeth.

The other two were frightened and tried to run away, but Shikamaru didn't care and just put his hands on the wall.

The dark alley was filled with shadows, and shadows with darker colors emerged from between his fingers.

As for the family secret technique, he didn't even need to form hand seals to release this lowest level shadow ninjutsu, and the two ordinary people who were escaping were directly frozen in place.

"Do you know that you can be put in jail for ten years for your actions?"

Shikamaru rarely showed a hint of murderous intent. He already felt a little guilty towards Ryosuke's family. He didn't expect that he was too embarrassed to get close to them again, which made others have ideas about them.

"Master Shikamaru, don't!"

Perhaps because she had more experience, Ryosuke's wife no longer cared that A-Kan's wife was naked, and hurriedly grabbed Shikamaru who was full of murderous intent.

After being pulled back by Ryosuke's wife, Shikamaru's eyes suddenly became clear. The ninja code states that one cannot attack ordinary people. At this moment, Shikamaru has violated a taboo.

However, Shikamaru felt that it was too easy to let the other party go, so he did not cancel the ninjutsu, but just looked at Ryosuke's wife with some doubts.

"Let them go. After all, nothing has happened to us, and we were the ones who owed the money first."

Ryosuke said shamefully.

Shikamaru was silent. He knew that Ryosuke had withheld workers' wages in the past. He remembered that he had seen these men on the construction site before, and it was clear that Ryosuke's family was not in the right.

Thinking of this, Shikamaru retracted his ninjutsu and spoke to the men.

"Get out of here!"

These men crawled out of the alley as if they had been pardoned.

Shikamaru then turned around and looked at the two thin women. When he saw A-Kan's wife out of the corner of his eye, he took off his coat and handed it to her.

A Kuan’s wife hurriedly thanked him. She was shocked by what had just happened.

It was at this time that Shikamaru began to look at Akuan's wife, wondering how this family had become like this.

Feeling embarrassed by being stared at by Shikamaru, the other person tidied up his messy hair, but this allowed the sharp-eyed Shikamaru to see the bruise on his wrist.

He grabbed the other person and questioned him.

"Who beat you like this?"