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

Konoha, it was the familiar Hokage's office again.

Shikamaru has become a frequent visitor here. He handed his work report to the Hokage for review. This was the last report of the year.

That's what Shikamaru thought in his heart.

“Is the factory still functioning properly?”

Without waiting for Shikamaru to answer, Tsunade flipped through the report in her hand. No one in Konoha had expected that building a factory would be such a troublesome thing.

The factory had now been built and was even able to go into production, but at that time the recruitment of factory employees had encountered difficulties. Yuyin's technical workers could not be asked to do menial work, and the wealthier families in the village also looked down on jobs outside the village.

So the job of factory workers fell to the group of people who were working at the construction site at the time, but these were not enough, so Konoha recruited a group of people from some small villages around the village to barely fill the gap.

Before Shikamaru could catch his breath, these groups of people split into different groups again. The skilled workers of Yuyin disliked that they were not as good as the workers from their original village, because they worked slowly and had too much work to do; Ryosuke's group thought that the workers around the village had too few requirements and would do anything for a little money, so a group of big shot workers reduced their salaries.

Only the workers from outside the village dared not to offend anyone and just did their jobs quietly, but no one was willing to pay attention to them.

What's worse is that because of the loud noise from the factory, it gradually caused dissatisfaction among some people living outside the village. In addition, every time they got off work, they were covered in dirt, which made the villagers dislike them.

What's even more outrageous is that they would say that only the poorest people in the village who couldn't find a job went to work in the factory, which almost led to a conflict between the factory workers and the villagers.

The only good news is that some smart vendors saw the business opportunity and set up small stalls and shops around the factories outside the village. Some workers who were unwilling to buy things in the village now consume here.

In the end, the area around the factory became a small market, and even some villagers from other villages moved here to settle down.

"We must add more ninjas to guard the factory. A small team of Anbu is not enough. We also need ninjas on patrol. Otherwise, there will be too many people to manage."

Shikamaru’s task is not to stop managing the factory once it is built. He has to manage it for two years after it starts production and then hand it over to the next successor after it becomes stable.

"I will pass down the order on this matter. Have there been any more conflicts between the workers and the villagers?"

With the factory's first batch of cars already sold and seeing the sweet-smelling money flowing into Konoha, these troubles are still acceptable for now.

But some things still need to be prevented before they happen. Tsunade asked Shikamaru this because it shows how much the village values ​​the factory.

"After the market outside the factory was established, the two sides had less contact, and now I haven't heard of any conflicts between the workers and the villagers."

"Well, it's almost the New Year and the factory is closed for the holidays. You've worked hard these days. Go back and have a good rest."

Shikamaru rubbed his sore neck. Indeed, he had less time for practice recently and was completely busy with factory affairs.

Just as Shikamaru was about to leave, Tsunade mentioned it again.

"By the way, Naruto should be back soon after the New Year."

"That Naruto guy."

Shikamaru thought of the yellow-haired boy who was always noisy and causing accidents, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"His training with Jiraiya-sama is also about to end?"

Tsunade said while lying on the reclining chair, "It's almost over. The main reason I told you about this in advance is because of one thing."

Shikamaru put away his smile. It looked like this was going to be another difficult task.

"Regarding Sasuke and Ye Lan's departure, I have always been worried that it would affect Naruto's training, so I have never told him. Jiraiya also helped me keep it a secret."

Shikamaru hadn't expected this to be the case, but guess what, it was definitely what Tsunade did.

"So Naruto, please help me persuade him after you return to the village. You two are very good friends, and maybe he will listen better to us adults than to you. And you also understand that it is impossible for Sasuke and Ye Lan to return to the village."

Tsunade's eyes were filled with a hint of sadness. In some ways she had to consider Naruto's feelings. Given Naruto's personality, she would not be surprised if he did something out of line.

"Persuade Naruto?"

Shikamaru muttered quietly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"I'm giving this to you. You have to treat it as an S-rank mission. Do you understand?"

Tsunade instructed Shikamaru.

...

The roar of engines could be heard from the slightly muddy road.

At a glance, a convoy was slowly passing by. These were transport trucks jointly developed by Yuyin and Konoha. Unlike traditional tires, the rear wheels of these trucks were replaced by tracks in order to be able to adapt to most terrains.

The trucks were also painted with the logos of Konoha and Amegakure, so even some bandits and robbers didn't dare to target the convoy.

"Grandpa Takumi, I didn't expect you to be the chief engineer sent by Yuyin this time. I haven't even been to the factory to see you."

Karin, Tayuya and a one-eyed old man were sitting in a truck. They were going to return to Amegakure during the New Year break.

"Hehe, this is the order of Xiu Jonin, so as not to disturb your studies."

Although this old man named Zhuo Mo looks a bit fierce, one can still tell from his tone that he is a kind old man.

"I don't know why the village asked us to go back. I was too lazy to move, and I heard that Konoha's New Year celebrations were quite lively."

Karin said in a somewhat lazy tone.

"You damn bitch, no one is asking you to go back. If you want to stay in Konoha, then stay. I see you have a pretty good relationship with that Haruno Sakura, don't you?"

It goes without saying that even Duoyou was mocking such vulgar words.

"Tayuya, I'm going to smash your mouth into pieces sooner or later!"

Karin wasn't someone who was easy to mess with, so she retorted subconsciously, and the two girls started fighting again.

"Alright, alright. I don't know what the village was thinking when they sent you two together to Konoha."

Zhuoma wiped the sweat from his forehead and then coughed lightly.

"We've already left Konoha, so there's no harm in telling you. The village must have a reason for asking us to go back. In my case, it's because the village's R&D department seems to have come up with something new and asked me to take a look. Yours must have other uses."

Takuma's status in Yugakure is actually not low. Apart from Scorpion, he has the highest reputation in the R&D department.

And this person was the one recommended by Pain to join the R&D department. What Ye Lan didn't know was that Pain's other Six Paths were all produced with the help of this old man. This was a secret known only to Nagato and Konan.

In some ways, Nagato trusts Takuma more than most members of Akatsuki.

"Will the other members return to the village as well?"

Karin no longer plays around with Tayuya. It would be great if she could meet Sasuke when she returns to Amegakure.

"I haven't heard of this. They should all come back during the Chinese New Year."

Apart from the craftsmanship, Zhuomu would not care about too many things. He was asked to come here to take charge in order to maintain order, and also in case Konoha had any new breakthroughs in this regard, Yuyin would be able to know about it in time.

"Sasuke, Sasuke..."

Although it was just an ambiguous answer, Karin began to look forward to it, as she hadn't seen Sasuke for a long time.