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

After passing through the busy streets, Shikamaru finally found the gray wolf he had just encountered in an old house.

This kind of house is similar to the single dormitory where Naruto lives, except that it is dirtier and there are few people in the corridor.

Just as Gray Wolf was about to open the door, he was stopped by Shikamaru.

"Well, Mr. Gray Wolf, the wrong package of medicine was taken. Uncle Suzaku had to ask me to come over and talk to you."

In the end, Shikamaru didn't tell anyone about the package of medicinal herbs. He still wanted to take it back.

When Gray Wolf heard Shikamaru's voice, he paused in his attempt to open the door.

He no longer had the temperament that belonged to the Anbu in the past, and his hunched back seemed unable to straighten up again.

But after seeing Shikamaru, the gray wolf lost his timid nature. He looked at Shikamaru sharply and then laughed.

"Thanks for your concern, but I don't think I took the wrong thing."

After saying that, he opened the door and was about to go in. Shikamaru didn't have time to think and stepped forward to stop the door from closing.

He said with a somewhat anxious look on his face, "You really got the wrong herbs. You will die if you take too much."

After hearing this, Gray Wolf stopped closing the door, looked at Shikamaru deeply, and opened the door again.

"The house is a bit messy, please come in first."

Shikamaru saw that Gray Wolf had listened and was about to take a breath, but when he thought about Gray Wolf's performance and words just now, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

"please."

After Shikamaru sat down, the master, Gray Wolf, poured him a glass of water. Gray Wolf couldn't afford any expensive tea now.

Shikamaru took it, took a sip to calm himself down, and then spoke tentatively.

"You, already know?"

The gray wolf nodded. Silence was the best response.

“Why did you choose that?”

Shikamaru was puzzled and for a moment couldn't figure out what Gray Wolf was thinking.

"Choice? Am I qualified for this, Nara Shikamaru?"

Seeing Shikamaru's puzzled expression, Gray Wolf explained.

"That day I was captured by Danzo's men. They tortured me, but what did I know? So I was imprisoned, and my leg tendons were cut."

Only then did Shikamaru notice that the gray wolf's walking posture was a little unusual, but he had not paid attention to it until now.

"After what happened, I was released. Lady Tsunade was a good person. Although she was unable to completely cure me, she was able to walk again. However, I was no longer able to be a ninja and was abandoned."

How could a physical ninja with limited mobility serve as an ANBU? He was eventually forgotten in a corner.

No, actually he has not been forgotten, but has been picked up again for recycling. In other words, he is already in this state, so making him even more miserable will make no difference.

"Why didn't you tell the Hokage about this?"

No matter what, Tsunade would not be so harsh on her subordinates. Even if she could not become a ninja, she would treat Gray Wolf well and would not let him end up like this.

"People always have some concerns."

Gray Wolf's eyes softened as he looked towards a picture frame in the room.

The whole room seemed a bit dirty, except for the photo frame which was wiped clean. Shikamaru looked at it and saw that it was a photo of a family of three.

Gray Wolf was among them, and the other two were an ordinary-looking woman and a girl of two or three years old.

Needless to say, Shikamaru understood that these two people were Gray Wolf's wife and daughter.

"They have been arranged to live in the capital of the Land of Fire, and I have nothing to worry about. Even though I am disabled now, I can still make some contributions to Konoha, which is not bad."

Gray Wolf said self-deprecatingly.

"Will you resent Sasuke and Ye Lan?"

Shikamaru asked anxiously.

"No, although I didn't see what happened at the time, I have a rough idea of ​​what happened based on what I encountered and rumors. If something like this happened in my family, I might not have the courage that the squad leader has."

Gray Wolf is no longer a ninja, his life is almost coming to an end, so he speaks freely at this moment.

"You really do respect Sasuke."

Gray Wolf still calls Sasuke "class leader", which shows that he recognizes Sasuke.

"It's just that not everyone can do that. I can only say that it's worthy of the Uchiha clan."

Any action requires capital. If Gray Wolf had the strength of Sasuke and Ye Lan, how could he have fallen to this point.

"Do you still want to drink that medicine?"

"I no longer have room to struggle. I have to do this for my family."

"Perhaps there is still some hope if we try harder. I can explain your situation to Lady Tsunade. Also, I have a friend who was also seriously injured at the time and was abandoned for a time. Now he has become a ninja again."

The person Shikamaru was talking about was Rock Lee. Rock Lee had been seriously injured at the time, but was also rescued.

Gray Wolf glanced at Shikamaru and shook his head.

"Although you are very smart, Shikamaru. But you have never seen the life of ordinary ninjas like us. I am not even qualified to work hard."

What a luxury it is for a person to have a direction to work towards and to be able to see hope. No matter how much Xiao Li says that he is a mediocre person, he can see hope as long as he works hard.

The majority of people are like Gray Wolf, who have been doing nothing for many years and are still standing still.

"I thought I was mentally prepared, but I didn't understand what it felt like until I was actually in it. I remember what the kid from the Hyuga family said, that people are born with their destiny, and now I'm almost at the end of my life."

"But Naruto..."

Seeing Gray Wolf's dejected look, Shikamaru couldn't help but retort.

"Uzumaki Naruto, he is the son of the Fourth Hokage. Shikamaru, you must have guessed it a long time ago. He says that he is the last one in the class, but in fact, his background is stronger than anyone else. If Ye Lan hadn't returned to the village, even the class monitor couldn't compare to him."

As a member of the Anbu, Gray Wolf knew all these things. When the Fourth Hokage took office, he was still standing there watching. Any ninja with a little bit of strength knew that Uzumaki Naruto was his son.

Shikamaru stopped arguing, he had already noticed what Gray Wolf said, he could see it from the way his father treated Naruto when he was a child.

Moreover, the Uzumaki clan was once a famous clan. The only people from the Uzumaki clan in Konoha were the wife of the First Hokage and the wife of the Fourth Hokage.

It's easy to guess whose son Uzumaki Naruto is.

"The Hokage's son becomes the Hokage, and the descendant of the traitorous ninja becomes a traitorous ninja. Now it seems to be another reincarnation."

Shikamaru felt horrified when he heard what Gray Wolf said. Was all this really destined? Something called fate was controlling everything.

No matter how smart a person is, he cannot stop a person who is determined to die. Shikamaru no longer had the face to stay as persuasion was useless. In the end, Shikamaru didn't even know how he left Gray Wolf's room and returned home in a daze.