Konoha: I, Uchiha, am brimming with positive energy

Chapter 353 Temari: I Need to Find Shikamaru

"Temari?"

Pushing open the door to his hotel room, Nara Shikamaru was startled to find Temari absent. He felt a pang of panic; he had said some hurtful things to Temari that morning, and even now, recalling those memories, Shikamaru felt like he was doomed.

He needs to find Temari immediately and apologize to her properly, otherwise he won't even be able to get a hot meal for the next few days.

"If she's not at the inn, where could Temari be? I just remembered Temari's existence, which means she must have regained her existence through her own efforts. And if she was in the village this morning, where is she?"

Nara Shikamaru's mind worked quickly, and he immediately locked onto a location: Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy.

Recently, only two people have been studying the white whale: Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoichi. Compared to Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoichi only wanted some flesh and blood and the white whale's organs and tissues.

Compared to the enormous size of the white whale, the amount of flesh and blood that Uchiha Yoichi needed was pitifully small, less than one-twentieth of what Orochimaru wanted; however, in the entire ninja world, Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoichi were probably the only ones who used the white whale's flesh and blood for research.

Temari didn't know where Orochimaru was either. After realizing this, Nara Shikamaru immediately rushed to Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy.

Upon arriving at Yangyi Pharmacy, Nara Shikamaru was about to push the door open when he heard the clanging of metal chains as soon as he opened it a crack. He then saw chains wrapped around the doorknob inside.

"Locked it from the inside with a chain? There are still people inside."

Just as Nara Shikamaru realized this, he saw Uchiha Yoichi appear through the crack in the door. However, he didn't immediately unlock the chains, but instead asked, "What is it?"

"I'm thinking of Temari. Her existence was erased by that white whale. I'm thinking of her now. Have you seen Temari today?"

Nara Shikamaru hurriedly said to Uchiha Yoichi that he was eager to know Temari's whereabouts, but just as he finished speaking, he heard someone inside clapping.

"Are you entertaining guests? I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to inquire about Temari's whereabouts."

Nara Shikamaru said somewhat apologetically, but then he unconsciously twitched his nose as if he had smelled something.

"I'm conducting an experiment, so don't worry about those voices; but who is Temari you mentioned? And what about the white whale's elimination of existence—was it the woman brought that day?"

Uchiha Yoichi pretended to suddenly remember something, and then said to Nara Shikamaru, "I don't know where she went. Although she came looking for me yesterday, I haven't seen her all day today."

"And I don't know much about the entity you mentioned that disappeared with the beluga whale. What happened?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another sound came from inside, as if there was some panting.

"No, it's nothing. Since Temari isn't here, I won't bother you any longer."

Nara Shikamaru sensed something was off, but his thoughts were still with Temari, so he said goodbye and left.

After Nara Shikamaru left, Uchiha Yoichi closed the door, then vanished in a wisp of mist, leaving a command paper floating on the ground.

"Shikakomaru"

Temari, lying on the ground, was somewhat dazed, but she still remembered what had just happened. Shikamaru remembered her, that was great.

If Temari hadn't still been somewhat conscious and hadn't been reluctant to let Shikamaru know she was there, Uchiha Yoichi's hand definitely wouldn't have been able to cover her mouth, and she would have made an even louder sound.

"It's not good to perform downstairs, let's go upstairs, Mrs. Temari!"

After Uchiha Yang finished speaking, he picked up Temari, then took the camera and prepared to go upstairs.

Temari, feeling utterly weak, managed to say in broken sentences, "Go home. I need to find Shikamaru."

"It's not over yet, Lady Temari. You recorded a guarantee and even signed a contract."

Uchiha Yoichi completely ignored Temari's words and carried her upstairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As darkness fell and the night deepened, Nara Shikamaru still did not give up searching for Temari.

Midway through, Naruto Uzumaki couldn't stand it anymore and planned to mobilize the village's ninjas to help Nara Shikamaru search, but Nara Shikamaru refused.

Now is the time to prove his sincerity!

After searching for more than an hour, Nara Shikamaru finally spotted a figure sitting at the iron fence on the outskirts of the Forest of Death.

He rushed forward and recognized the figure as Temari. Relieved, he approached her, bowed deeply, and said, "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, Temari, please forgive me!"

After Shikamaru finished speaking, Temari did not reply, and the surrounding atmosphere became quiet for a while.

Not hearing Temari's words, Nara Shikamaru didn't dare to get up. After two minutes, Temari finally spoke, "You remembered me?"

"I remember now, I remember everything. I'm sorry, Temari, it's all my fault."

As Nara Shikamaru spoke, he looked up and immediately saw Temari's tear-streaked face. Without saying a word, he simply hugged Temari and said, "Let's go home, Temari."

"Um"

Temari responded softly, and the two remained silent for the next few minutes. After what seemed like an eternity, Shikamaru finally spoke, saying, "Let's go back. Shikadai is probably still waiting at home."

"That Lu Dai guy, why isn't he asleep this late?"

Temari scolded him subconsciously, then she and Nara Shikamaru exchanged a glance, as if they had rediscovered the relationship they had shared as husband and wife a few days ago, and laughed at the same time.

The two then headed home.

However, on the way back, Temari slowly closed her eyes, recalling the events of the day, her heart filled with complex emotions.

She woke up shortly after nightfall, seemingly after taking a recovery pill. After recovering, she almost got into a fight out of anger, but Temari, considering her situation, ultimately abandoned the idea.

However, after leaving Uchiha Yoichi's pharmacy, Temari didn't know where to go or how to face Shikamaru, so she used her transformation technique to evade the Konoha ninjas and arrived near the Forest of Death.

She sat there for hours until Nara Shikamaru found her.

On the way back, Temari glanced at Nara Shikamaru from time to time, and he made the same gesture as her. When their eyes met, they couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

However, the more Temari saw Shikamaru's smile, the heavier her guilt became. Temari knew best why Shikamaru thought of her; she had paid a heavy price this afternoon.

"Shikamaru, I'm sorry."

Thinking of the video recordings and contracts still in Uchiha Yoichi's possession, Temari secretly made up her mind that she must take those things back and destroy them, even if it meant killing Uchiha Yoichi!

When they got home, Nara Shikadai was indeed not asleep and waited for the two of them to return at the door.

Upon seeing Temari, Nara Shikadai immediately spoke first: "I'm sorry, Mom, I haven't remembered you these past two days, and I've even been avoiding you."

Temari snorted, put her hands on her hips, and said to Nara Shikadai, "Go to sleep, Shikadai. If I see you sleeping in and being late tomorrow morning, don't blame me for dealing with you!"

"Okay, I'll go rest now."

When Nara Shikadai heard Temari's words, he knew everything was alright, so he put his hands on his head and walked towards his room, muttering things like, "What a nuisance, I have to go to school tomorrow."

After Nara Shikamaru returned home, he and Temari went to the living room. After pouring Temari a cup of tea, Shikamaru sat down and asked, "Temari, what happened? Why did I suddenly think of you this afternoon? What was the reason?"

The question, "Is it related to that Yoichi?" only echoed in Nara Shikamaru's mind, but he didn't ask it aloud.

"I don't know. I've been near the Forest of Death and even further away in the Valley of the End all day. Why did you suddenly think of me?"

Temari changed the subject and asked, knowing that Nara Shikamaru was very smart, so she couldn't lie, because the more lies she told, the more flaws she would reveal. Although she really didn't want to use that bastard's suggestion, in order to cover up the matter, Temari still suppressed her disgust and used Uchiha Yoichi's method.

We'll find a chance to deal with that bastard later and get our things back. Then her family will be fine.

"I don't know either. The village knows nothing about the origins and abilities of the strange beasts. Now we can only hope that Orochimaru can find out something from their research."

Nara Shikamaru shook his head and said, not noticing anything in Temari's words. He stroked his chin and guessed, "Could it be related to time? That white whale is dead. Could it be related to time? When the caster dies, the jutsu is naturally dispelled."

"I don't know, is there been any progress in the village?"

Temari pretended to be puzzled, but she knew very well that it was the secret medicine she took from Uchiha Yoichi that cured her strange condition and changed everyone's perception.

"No, the fourth monster hasn't been found yet. The village is still under guard. I was supposed to be on duty tonight, but Naruto helped me."

Nara Shikamaru sighed as he said this. Counting the time, there have been four monster disasters in the ninja world, but so far they have only discovered the first two.

The first strange beast that appeared is still in the deep sea, and the second strange beast that appeared was inexplicably killed. Konoha has secretly investigated the people who reported it, and they were all ordinary people.

According to the prophecy given by Uchiha Yoichi, the appearance of strange beasts would surely bring treasures, but apart from the first treasure fruit, Konoha did not see any so-called treasures three times.

The third and fourth times didn't even occur within the territory of the Five Great Nations; they were probably in other parts of the ninja world. However, outside of the ninja nations, the environment is extremely harsh, and even ninjas can't explore such places for very long.

After discussion, the five Kage had no choice but to abandon their investigation and focus on protecting the area for the next ten days or so.

After Nara Shikamaru finished explaining the village's recent situation, he shook his head and said to Temari, "Rest now, Temari. The family is counting on you these days."

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower first, Shikamaru."

Temari said that she needed to have a thorough medical check-up before she could sleep peacefully.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)