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

Shikamaru recalled the direction of Ryosuke's house. He had heard about it before. It was not far from the Ninja School and its geographical location was considered good in Konoha.

He risked almost offending two consultants to get the wages, but in the end the other party took 1% of it. Although this 1% is small, there are at least two or three hundred workers on the construction site, which means that he only eats the wages of two or three people every day.

A Kuan's salary is enough for a family of three to live on. If it weren't for the elderly and two children, his wife wouldn't have to work odd jobs in the noodle shop.

We walked to Ryosuke's residence, a two-story villa, which was considered very luxurious in Konoha.

Just as he was about to go forward, he saw Ryosuke who had just returned from the construction site. Shikamaru was about to call him, but the door of Ryosuke's house opened directly, and he saw a middle-aged woman holding a child welcoming him home.

After Ryosuke entered the house, Shikamaru thought about it and bought some not-too-expensive gifts from the nearby store, then walked to the door and started knocking.

"Who?"

Ryosuke's somewhat surprised voice came from the room. It could be heard that there was some noise in the room. If it weren't for Ryosuke's loud voice, it wouldn't be audible.

He just responded in reaction, and before Shikamaru could reply the door opened.

Ryosuke looked at Shikamaru holding the gift with some astonishment. Shikamaru took the opportunity to look inside and saw a large table in the hall of the house.

There was a large group of children gathered there, about seven or eight of them, and two elderly people sitting there with a bit of dementia. The middle-aged woman I just saw was holding the youngest child and feeding him.

"I came to talk to you about the compensation."

Shikamaru saw everything and was unable to utter the words of accusation that he had originally wanted to say, so he could only make up an excuse.

"Ah, couldn't you just tell me about this? And bring a gift. Come in quickly."

Ryosuke reacted and quickly took the gift from Shikamaru.

"There are many children in the family, so please don't be surprised if they are a little messy."

Ryosuke held the gift and looked at the messy room, not knowing where to put it for a moment. It was the middle-aged woman who gave him a hint, put the child in her arms in the crib and took the gift.

"Are these your children?"

Shikamaru said somewhat at a loss, and after careful counting, there were eight in total including the youngest one lying on the bed.

"Sit down first. Standing is meaningless."

Ryosuke asked Shikamaru to find an empty seat and sit down, and said slowly, "No matter how capable my wife is, she can't give birth to so many children. Many of these are the children of my co-workers."

"From a co-worker?"

Shikamaru's mood finally calmed down a little. He took the tea poured by Ryosuke's wife and nodded in thanks.

"Some old friends of mine are gone now, and there's no one to take care of their children. I can't bear to do that, so I just take them in and raise them myself."

Ryosuke let out a long sigh.

"Doesn't Konoha have an orphanage?"

"There are limited places in the orphanage, and I don't feel comfortable leaving the child there."

Ryosuke was about to take out a cigarette when it was snatched away by a girl about ten years old.

"No smoking in the house!"

Ryosuke quickly said yes with a smile and touched the other person's head.

“It’s not easy for you either.”

Shikamaru suddenly felt that the 1% salary was not unacceptable.

"Don't look at me like this, I actually have hope."

Ryosuke's expression was completely different from the one he had at the construction site. Without any flattery, he looked at a photo placed in the hall with some pride.

Shikamaru saw a family photo. In the middle was Ryosuke hugging a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old. The boy was wearing a Konoha forehead protector.

"I got the news about you from my son. Actually, he is your classmate."

Ryosuke said with some pride.

Shikamaru looked carefully at the boy wearing the forehead protector and realized he had no impression of him at all, so he didn't know how to answer.

"Of course, he can't compare to someone like you who has become a Jonin. That kid hasn't even become a Chunin yet."

Ryosuke's tone was a little annoyed, but he didn't blame him.

"Last time I asked his teacher, Tekuno. I don't know if you recognize him, but I finally taught him a ninjutsu called Doryubi. Is this jutsu powerful, Lord Shikamaru?"

When talking about his son, Ryosuke reveals his truest side.

Shikamaru had some impression of Tekuno. He was a teammate of Baiyun Yeshan, the temporary consultant who came from a civilian background. Unexpectedly, he was the guiding jonin of Ryosuke's son.

As for the technique of Doryokubi, Shikamaru thought about it and replied, "It's a pretty good ninjutsu. Kakashi, the teacher of Konoha, is also good at this technique."

"Hiss, Copy Ninja Kakashi! I heard about this ninja, is he your teacher?"

Ryosuke took an exaggerated breath. This level of ninja was too far away from them. Only as a foreman, Ryosuke understood Kakashi's reputation.

"No, no, no, he is my classmate's teacher. I am just more familiar with him."

Shikamaru waved his hands quickly. He didn't expect that Teacher Kakashi was so powerful in Ryosuke's eyes.

"What about your teacher?"

Maybe it was because Shikamaru came to his house that he now had the courage to ask questions that he usually didn't dare to ask.

"Asuma!?"

Shikamaru said awkwardly with his voice a little distorted.

"Asuma Sarutobi? The one with a 3500 million ryo bounty underground?"

Ryosuke's voice suddenly became louder by who knows how many times, causing his wife to look at him with dissatisfaction.

Ryosuke quickly apologized, then approached Shikamaru and said, "Your teacher is really amazing as well."

Shikamaru nodded repeatedly. In fact, he didn't know which aspect he was good at. Although Asuma was not weak, he was injured repeatedly and it was hard to say whether he was strong or not.

"Alas, I don't know what level my son can reach in the end. I will be satisfied if he can become a top, oh no, a special jonin."

Ryosuke also understood that his son could never compare with Shikamaru, and if he could become a special jonin, he would have a place in the village.

Look at Gang Zitie and Shen Yue Chu Yun. Even though they always complain that the job of a gatekeeper is difficult, I wonder how many people want to work in such a place.

"Master Shikamaru, you are not here for the compensation this time, right?"

They had almost finished chatting, and Ryosuke's expression changed and said.

"No, I just came here to take a look."

Shikamaru decided not to mention the 1% of wages.

"You are a good person, I wronged you. I thought at first that the Hokage paid more than 3% of the salary, so I arbitrarily deducted the 1% of the salary."

Ryosuke talked about this matter instead.

Shikamaru also recalled their initial conversation and the way Ryosuke had looked at him.

"10% is not okay, but 8% is fine..."

“The wage increase is only 3%.”

Being wrongly accused for no reason would make anyone feel good. Shikamaru looked at Ryosuke with a bad expression.

"I just thought of you like everyone else. It's my fault. I will return the 1% of the wages to the workers."

Ryosuke stood up and bowed solemnly to Shikamaru. When Ryosuke's wife saw this, she looked at them with some concern.

...

In the end, Shikamaru didn't say anything accusing and left Ryosuke's house with a heavy heart.

The image of Mitomon En's furious look and Ryosuke's various behaviors today appeared in his mind again.

Only now did Shikamaru realize that he and their group, which were regarded as the backbone of Konoha in the future, had never heard the real voices of the grassroots.

There is no exact boundary between right and wrong.