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

Shikamaru opened his mouth wide. He could never imagine that Choza would say such a thing. Why would he have such an idea of ​​letting him leave Konoha?

"What are you talking about, dad? If Shikamaru leaves Konoha, doesn't that mean he will become a rebel ninja?"

Choji opened his little eyes and walked towards his father. He thought for a moment that he had heard it wrongly.

Ino, who is usually quite noisy, surprisingly did not make any comments. After a brief moment of surprise, she was silent.

Choza didn't look at his son, instead he turned and walked over to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, if you continue to stay in Konoha, there will only be two results. One is to become a victim of Konoha's internal strife, and the other is to spend your life in a muddle like your father. If you still insist on your ideas, you should not stay in Konoha."

"But where are we going after we leave Konoha? Dad, Uncle Shikaku will give you trouble if you say that!"

Choji kept scratching his hair with both hands, wondering how things turned out like this.

Ding Zuo said directly, "This is the decision that Lu Jiu told me before he left. He already had a premonition of what would happen in the village, but he didn't expect it to be so serious!"

"Dad?"

This was the first time Shikamaru felt his father's attention. He originally thought that his father had been assimilated by the people in the village, but he didn't expect that he had already seen through his inner unrest.

"And you should know better than me where to go after leaving Konoha. Some people have already made plans."

As Ding Zuo said this, he looked towards an inconspicuous place. Shikamaru and the others followed his gaze and saw a black cat with smooth fur walked out silently.

"Ah, I thought I hid it well enough, meow."

Naraku showed up, and it had been following Shikamaru since someone told him.

Ding Zuo said in a deep voice, "Most of the Ninja Cat Clan are Uchiha's summoned beasts. You are from Uchiha Yelan, right?"

"I always thought that the Akimichi clan was a bunch of fat people who knew nothing. I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful, meow."

Naraku licked his paws nonchalantly. He had already given Choza the answer unknowingly, but he still felt a little reluctant to leave Konoha.

"It's hard not to notice the thieves who steal my barbecue every day."

Naraku suddenly stopped moving, then wagged his tail and said, "Haha, it's because your barbecue is so delicious."

Ding Zuo, "Even if I didn't do anything just now, you should have been able to save Shikamaru. It seems that Ye Lan has been eyeing him for a long time, right?"

"That's not the case. According to Ye Lan, he just wanted Shikamaru to understand the operating rules of Konoha. Asuma's death was indeed an accident."

"So you are also responsible for Asuma's death!"

Shikamaru looked at Naraku with some annoyance. In the end, he was the one who was fooled.

"Nyan, I'm really sorry about this. After all, my moves couldn't save him. Who could have thought that he would rush into the fire? And I didn't expect that Ryosuke could be so cruel."

Naraku straightened up and solemnly apologized to Shikamaru. To be honest, he had a good impression of the bearded man, who would sometimes even take the initiative to give him food.

It was like a punch in the air. Looking at the other party's sincere attitude, Shikamaru didn't know what to say. In comparison, the responsibility actually lies more on Konoha itself.

"Okay, I'll leave Shikamaru and the others in your care. If you leave now, there won't be any pursuers. I'll go talk to your father."

After confirming Naraku's identity, Ding Zuo made a decision without waiting for them to think.

"Dad, what do you mean we go with Shikamaru?"

For a moment, Choji didn't think about it. It was another matter whether Shikamaru left or not, but why did he have to leave Konoha too?

"I want to leave Konoha with Shikamaru too!"

Before Choza could say anything, Ino pulled out the Konoha forehead protector she always carried with her.

After holding it tightly, he let go of the forehead protector and threw it on the ground.

"Teacher said that children are the future. I cannot forgive these children for living in such an insecure village. I want to leave Konoha!"

Before Shikamaru made a decision, Ino took the lead and set an example. After escaping from the fire, Ino seemed to have matured all of a sudden.

"Ino, Uncle Haiyi will be sad if you do this..."

Shikamaru looked at Ino, as if he was meeting this childhood playmate for the first time.

"Shikamaru, you make the decision. Although I don't understand these, I will support you in whatever decision you make."

Choji suddenly came to his senses. At this point, there was no point in trying to persuade him. He should just trust Shikamaru.

Shikamaru took in the determined looks of his companions, Choza's encouraging eyes, and Naraku's quiet waiting.

Suddenly the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smile. He put away the chakra knife left by Asuma and said in a helpless tone.

"There's really no other way. It seems like this is the only way."

Then, his expression turned serious again, "Let's go, let's leave Konoha!"

There was no need to go back home, so they set off on the spot. Everyone knew where they were going after leaving Konoha, but no one told anyone about it.

Finally, Shikamaru looked back at Choza's lonely figure, hesitated for a moment and said.

"Uncle Ding Zuo, I'm asking you to help take care of Teacher Hong. She's pregnant."

Choza turned his back to Shikamaru, not wanting the children to see his reluctance, "Don't worry, we will help with this matter."

Shikamaru nodded, and he and his companions no longer hesitated to follow Naraku's petite figure and began to prepare to set off.

"Shikamaru!"

At this time, Ding Zuo's voice sounded again. Several people turned around and saw the other person's back, but this time Ding Zuo raised his head and looked up at the sky.

"I'll leave Choji and Ino to you!"

Shikamaru nodded slightly, and without saying anything else, he left the village where they lived with Ino and Choji.

"Asshole Shikaku, how did you make this decision!?"

After there was no sound, Ding Zuo started to complain. He didn't know when he would see his children again this time, and he understood better than anyone how difficult this road was.

...

In a cave not far from the Land of Iron, even the mask could not hide Obito's frightened eyes.

Everyone, including Black Zetsu beside him, remained silent.

The two of them observed the fight between Ye Lan and Hashirama from a great distance, Hashirama almost showing his strength before him, and Uchiha Ye Lan even dropped their jaws.

"Can you handle Uchiha Ye Lan? After seeing his strength?"

After a long time, Obito still asked Black Zetsu. Before his death, Madara told him that Black Zetsu was his will, so in a way, it could also be Madara.

Black Zetsu was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he realized that he was asking if Madara could deal with him.

It was silent for a long time before saying, "It should be possible. After Madara obtained the Rinnegan, he has completely surpassed Hashirama's power. With Ye Lan's strength, there is no way he can be stronger than Madara with the Rinnegan."

Obito was relieved, but he still felt something was wrong. He looked at Black Zetsu and said.

"Aren't you Madara's will? Why don't you know Madara's strength?"

"Eh?"

Hei Zetsu was sweating profusely. Why did he suddenly say that he was spitting? What should he do? He had to think of some way to fool this fool again.

It stammered, "You also said that I am just his will, and I have no reservations about my strength. I can only use some vague memories for comparison."

"Is that right?"

Obito was thoughtful.

"Ah, never mind that. I'm going to check out what other ninja villages are doing. As expected, the war is about to begin!"

Hei Jue didn't want to stay any longer, so he found an excuse and left quickly.