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

Neither Shikamaru nor Shikaku, the father and son, talked about what happened that day again, as if nothing had changed.

The only change is that Konoha's consultants have become five, and the investigations of Mito Kado En and Utane Koharu have come to an end, and they have returned to the positions of consultants.

What disappointed Hinata Hiashi was that he was not able to get rid of this position. Instead, he became even more lazy after having more consultants.

Shikamaru, who often went in and out of the Hokage building, also saw the two advisors who were reinstated, and couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

Another thing that made Shikamaru unhappy was that he asked the Anbu to take back the scroll that Sasuke gave him without even looking at it.

Although he understood that the village's approach was correct, he was still unhappy that he didn't get to see the antelope in the end.

"It's so boring..."

I don't know if Shikamaru was talking about his current state or if he was referring to something else.

The days were the same as usual. Every time a certain time came, Shikamaru would slip back home from the signal department, not taking his work seriously at all. Anyone who was more careful would notice that something was wrong with him.

It's not the same as laziness. Although Shikamaru used to find it troublesome, he would still try his best to complete the work assigned to him. But now he just does it perfunctorily.

That day, when Shikamaru took the work report of the Signal Department to Tsunade for review as usual, Tsunade unexpectedly asked him to stay for a while longer.

"Nara Shikamaru, you haven't been in a good state lately."

Tsunade said as she looked over the report, her tone somewhat nonchalant.

"Thank you for your care, Hokage. I will adjust myself well."

Shikamaru's formulaic answer made Tsunade sigh. It seemed that Ye Lan's defection had affected many ninjas in the village.

Tsunade knew better than anyone how many people had let Danzo go that night. She didn't talk to them because she herself was unhappy with Danzo. It was estimated that what Ye Lan said that day was true.

Now that I think about it, if my grandfather knew about this, he would not let him off easily. I was too impulsive at that time because of Ye Lan’s betrayal.

"If not, go and relax. I have some tasks that no one is doing."

Tsunade put her chin in her hands and said after thinking for a while.

Shikamaru must at least take over his father's position in the future. His current state is not conducive to the development of the village. Tsunade cannot let Shikamaru stay like this, otherwise he will be ruined.

"Task?"

Shikamaru pointed at himself. Apart from the second Chunin Exam, he had not actually performed many missions outside the village. Most of his missions were within the village, in the Secret Code Department. Now it seemed that Tsunade was ready to let him take a break.

"Well, Asuma's injury is almost healed. Let him take your Team 10 to carry out the mission. Don't worry, it's not a particularly difficult mission. It's only B-rank."

Tsunade handed Shikamaru a mission scroll, and Shikamaru opened it and began to read at Tsunade's suggestion.

It is a mission about transportation. It is indeed not a difficult task to transport some material merchants to the Iron Kingdom.

"Just think of it as a chance to change your mood. When you come back, work hard for me. Do you hear me?"

Tsunade didn't want to see Shikamaru's listless look anymore, so she waved her hand and asked him to leave the room.

...

"That's great. We haven't been on a mission together for a long time."

Team 10 had already assembled, and once they were outside the village, Ino sighed.

"Team 10 has reassembled. This is my first mission after being discharged from the hospital. Don't let me down."

Asma said, holding a cigarette in his mouth, that he was suffocating in the hospital. The nurses took away all his cigarettes. It has been a long time since he had such a good smoke.

"I know, you're so verbose."

Shikamaru picked his ears, looking a little impatient, but only in front of his teammates could he show his true side.

"Don't forget, we still have to ensure the safety of the goods. This journey is not a short one."

The only one who was a little unhappy was Shikamaru. The distance from the Land of Fire to the Land of Iron was indeed not very short. Plus, there were horse-drawn carriages pulling goods, so they could only maintain this speed, which would waste quite a bit of time along the way.

For Shikamaru, who just wanted to eat and drink at home, this trip was going to be quite a suffering.

"Most of this mission depends on you. My injuries haven't fully healed yet. You can't expect me to take care of all the B-rank missions."

"Is the teacher's injury not healed yet?"

Ino looked at Asuma with some concern. She was more concerned about Asuma's injuries than the mission.

"It's not that easy..."

Asma smiled bitterly and shook his head. He was lucky to be alive. There was a big hole in his chest and he was still scared.

As they were talking, a group of people started their journey, mostly talking and laughing along the way. For this kind of mission, most of the people who came to intercept the goods were wandering ninjas with low strength or some gangsters and robbers.

Just like Asuma said, there was no need for him to take any action. Team 10, which had become Chunins, could handle it and they didn't encounter any difficulties along the way.

Perhaps because he had no other worries, Shikamaru smiled more often when he was with his companions, and he was no longer as dull as he was in the village.

Asuma had been observing Shikamaru's performance along the way. When he arrived, Tsunade specifically explained Shikamaru's situation to him. Seeing that Shikamaru could relax, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's stop here for today. Everyone, take a rest here. We will almost reach the Iron Kingdom tomorrow."

Asuma said as he looked at the sky.

"I want to eat delicious food."

Shikamaru touched his belly and said somewhat resentfully that he was the unhappiest person present.

At first, I could still eat the food I brought with me, but later, when I ran out of supplies, I could only eat dry rations or ration pills. Although I wasn’t hungry, I had no appetite at all, and I felt like I had lost a lot of weight.

"Chouji, we'll be able to eat delicious food when we get to the big city in the Land of Iron tomorrow. I heard that place isn't much different from the capital of the Land of Fire."

Shikamaru stepped forward to comfort Choji.

"Like the one we had when we were on a mission with Senior Ye Lan?"

Choji's eyes lit up as he remembered the feast he had in the capital of the Land of Fire.

Shikamaru was stunned for a moment when he heard Ye Lan's name, then returned to his original expression.

"Yes, just like that time."

Just as they were preparing for a big meal tomorrow, Ino, who had been on guard, spoke.

"Two streams of chakra are approaching us, and the amount of chakra is...very large!"

As a member of the Yamanaka clan, Ino not only has a deeper grasp of the clan's secret arts, but she has also learned perception ninjutsu, and Team 10's vigilance relies on her.

"Very big? What kind of person?"

Asuma began to get nervous, his current condition was not good, and if Ino said so, he was at least at the Jonin level.

How could a Jonin-level person target this kind of cargo? He wasn't worried about the mission failing, but he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop the other party, as his students were still here.

"Yes Yes..."

Ino opened her eyes, stuttering a little, with a look of surprise in her eyes.

There was no need for her to explain anymore, as Shikamaru and the others had already noticed the person coming.

Two figures slowly appeared in their sight. One of them was a slightly taller figure carrying a long sword wrapped in bandages. Asuma recognized him at a glance as Hoshigaki Kisame who had once hurt him.

And the other one surprised them all.

The familiar middle-parted hedgehog hairstyle and the cold eyes had not changed at all. It was their former classmate Uchiha Sasuke.