First day on the job.
Tatsuma Aburame felt confident. Thanks to his status as a ninja, he'd landed a position on a critical production line.
This particular line had five ninja rated at genin level—a clear sign of the line's significance.
"Just let me see what secrets this factory holds," he mused confidently.
He was sure that with years of experience as a spy and extracting secrets, he could quickly gather intelligence about the factory.
He stood at his station, chatting casually with coworkers and gathering snippets of intel.
Not long after, a machine component was delivered, along with a large box of screws.
The supervisor barked orders, "This is your task—tighten these screws onto the machine parts. No slacking—your work will be checked by the next person down the line."
With that, the manager turned and left.
Tightening screws? That easy?
Tatsuma eyed the large box of screws and quickly figured it out.
Of course, stealing intelligence wasn't going to be that simple.
But that suited him just fine—he thrived on challenges.
As a ninja, he had enough patience and experience to wait for the right moment to complete his mission.
And honestly, screwing in a few screws? Too easy. Even a toddler could pull it off flawlessly.
Drawing upon the vast chakra flowing inside him, Tatsuma extended both hands and moved at blinding speed, a blur of motion.
His output was unbelievable—he completed each task in seconds.
But before he could even catch his breath, the next machine part flowed in front of him.
Fast pace? No problem, Tatsuma smirked and dove back in full throttle.
He became completely absorbed in tightening screws, losing track of time completely.
Again and again, machine components were passed down the line to him.
There's no way this job never ends!
Yet after working nonstop for half the day, Tatsuma still hadn't found a chance to rest. He only realized it was lunchtime when the bell rang.
Damn it, how had this happened? Why wouldn't the work ever stop?
He'd done plenty of undercover missions in factories before, but nothing compared to this Konoha factory.
Factories in other nations had sluggish workers—nothing like this horrifying efficiency.
As he was thinking, he unconsciously reached the cafeteria.
Outside the cafeteria entrance stood several people, blocking his path with hostile glares.
Tatsuma's eyes twitched. Had he been discovered?
Just as he prepared to release the bugs within his body and carve a path forward, the man across from him shouted, "Idiot! You wanna work yourself to death?!"
Huh?!
Tatsuma froze mid-step. The insects coiled inside him, hesitating before bursting out.
Listening to the person in front of him continue speaking: "Do you even understand that by working so hard, you're making life miserable for all of us on both the front and back lines?"
"Kid, money isn't earned this way. You should also take care of everyone else, okay?"
Tatsuma Aburame focused his gaze and finally recognized the speaker as a worker from the neighboring production line.
Their intentions were clear—they wanted him to slow down.
But Tatsuma felt the problem didn't lie with him. The workers ahead had kept increasing his workload, plain and simple.
And yet he paid no mind to these mere Genin.
He gave a cold snort and said, "How I do things requires no explanation to anyone."
His arrogant attitude immediately sparked fury among the worker ninja, but because factory rules prohibited fighting, they could only give up.
"Just you wait, kid," a few of them muttered bitterly before leaving, still fuming.
Tatsuma simply smiled faintly and didn't take it seriously at all.
He was a Jonin—how could he possibly fear a few Genin?
The gap in strength between ninja was enormous; naturally, he wasn't worried about any retaliation.
However, by afternoon, his workload had drastically increased, instantly making him realize this was their act of revenge.
Lifting his eyes, he saw the frontline workers glaring at him defiantly while never ceasing their movements.
Their pace had even picked up compared to the morning.
"A little extra work? That won't stop me," Tatsuma said confidently. Relying on his Jonin-level endurance, he dove headfirst into the rat race.
To make things harder for them, he even summoned bugs to tighten screws just to show them up.
His competitive behavior quickly swept across the entire machinery plant.
In a conveyor belt system, once one section becomes abnormal, it affects and disrupts the rest.
Initially, thanks to the ninja's physical stamina, no one would've tired easily—but now, with the sudden intensity, several people collapsed from exhaustion one after another.
By the end of the week, the machinery plant had surpassed its production goals. Tatsuma left the factory dragging his pale, weakened body.
When management begged him to keep working, Tatsuma shuddered all over.
Scary. Way too scary.
Before, he believed he was emotionless—a mere tool.
But only after working on the factory floor did he realize how mistaken he had been.
It was here, inside the factory, that he truly became a pure tool.
Tightening screws until numbness stripped him of all feeling.
He reached a secluded area where he met up with his subordinates.
Glancing around, he noticed their rosy cheeks and slightly fuller figures, clearly having enjoyed themselves during this period.
Upon seeing Tatsuma, however, his men were startled—thinking he had narrowly escaped some kind of disaster.
"Lord Tatsuma, are you alright?"
They couldn't blame his men for asking, considering Tatsuma's terrible condition.
He was pale-faced, his eyes vacant, as if he had endured unimaginable torment. A stranger might believe someone had cruelly tortured him.
"It's nothing. I'm fine. Just exhausted from work, my body needs some time to recover." As he spoke, his hand resting on the table trembled involuntarily.
Everyone's gaze fell on his trembling hand as he spoke.
Aburame Tatsuma also noticed this and immediately withdrew his trembling arm.
Tightening screws had become second nature—it was truly terrifying.
Seeing this, his subordinates couldn't help but inwardly suck in a breath of cold air.
They had heard rumors that working at the machinery plant under Lord Tatsuma was incredibly harsh, with some jerk enforcing constant overtime, driving them to wish for death rather than endure life.
"Talk about what you've found out," Aburame Tatsuma coughed slightly, interrupting his subordinates' speculations.
Upon hearing his words, their expressions immediately turned serious. One respectfully reported, "Lord Tatsuma, I've already uncovered part of the factory's secrets.
"The new devices being produced there aren't particularly sophisticated; with our Root abilities, we could easily replicate them."
Another added, nervously glancing at his superior, "Lord Tatsuma, I accidentally came across our former companion—he's currently being altered within the labor workshop."
"Lord Tatsuma," a third chimed in, "the factory makes use of large quantities of machinery, combining manual labor and machines for production, which is why output is so high."
One by one, they reported all they had uncovered during this time.
After finishing, all of them looked toward Tatsuma.
Lord Tatsuma, did you find anything special?
Tatsuma unconsciously tightened his fists, his voice laced with anger as he replied, "I've figured out what's behind the factory's high efficiency—the assembly line."
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