The Craving Hit-Get This Old Man a Bottle of Ice-cold Wine

"Hey, Naruto, what's that thing next to you?"

"Things? "Nine-Tails was annoyed and bared its Kiba Inuzuka. Akamaru, seeing this, trembled with fear and hid behind Kiba Inuzuka's neck.

"Hmph, just a stray dog I picked up on the street." Naruto said smugly. "How about it, isn't it cute?"

"Akamaru said it's dangerous. Are you sure you picked it up by the roadside?" Kiba Inuzuka was also a little unsure. He looked at the dog on the ground that looked like a fox and scratched his head as he spoke.

"But this dog isn't too fierce, so why is Akamaru so afraid?"

"It just doesn't like you. Hinata touched it too, and nothing happened to her." Naruto pointed to Hinata not far away. "If you don't believe me, have Hinata come over here."

The mission wasn't urgent, Kiba Inuzuka said with some skepticism, waving and calling out to Hinata was not far away.

"Hey! Hinata, could you come over here for a moment?"

"Good."

Hinata responded and ran over nervously. She glanced at Naruto first, then lowered her eyes instantly.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, I see. Hinata, why don't you try hugging that dog?" Kiba Inuzuka instructed. "You don't actually have to hug it, because it's too fierce. Just pretend to hug it."

After saying that, he added, still somewhat uneasy.

"I'll be watching from the side; there won't be any danger."

But when he looked over again, Hinata was no longer there. The fierce fox-dog was lying in Hinata's arms, looking completely harmless.

Kiba Inuzuka: "."

Naruto stood by with his arms crossed, watching with amusement, and offered words of encouragement.

"Now you believe it, kid, if you're no good, don't blame the road for being uneven."

Kiba Inuzuka's face turned green. "Your dog is just like you, treating people differently, isn't it?"

"I didn't train it either, so don't talk nonsense," Naruto said, spreading his hands. "This was entirely its own choice; it's just that you don't look like a good person."

"Who are you saying doesn't look like a good person!" Kiba Inuzuka was about to start arguing again.

"Calm down, Kiba." Shino Aburame, wearing small round black sunglasses, walked over and looked at the Nine-Tails in Hinata's arms. "Akamaru's feeling was right, that thing is indeed very dangerous, and my insects are also afraid of it."

"Then," Kiba Inuzuka frowned slightly, looking in Naruto's direction, "That guy is completely unprepared, should we warn him?"

"Not for now. That thing doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards Hinata, and the insects don't seem to sense much malice either; it's just out of natural fear."

Shino Aburame's face was half-covered by her large trench coat, and she maintained her calm and composed demeanor throughout.

"Let's wait and see."

It takes two full days to travel from Konohagakure to the forest where the Scent-Tracking Bug gather.

Furthermore, given that the eggs of the Scent-Tracking Bug only hatch after rain, the group's speed, whether fast or slow, will not affect their progress, as there will be no rain for two days.

In other words, even if you arrive at your destination early, you still need to wait there for the rain to come.

Because the Land of Fire has a geography characterized by few mountains and many hills, and is frequently exposed to sea breezes, rainfall is relatively even throughout the year. Therefore, even if it's not raining when you arrive, you only need to wait there for a few days.

After setting off, the group moved at a moderate pace, just walking.

Shino Aburame's insects and Kiba Inuzuka's Ninja Hound Akamaru were both afraid of the Nine-Tails, so Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame naturally walked together in front, leaving Hinata and Naruto behind.

In preparation for the mission, almost everyone carried a bag, Naruto included, with just a few clothes stuffed inside. Everything he needed was in his Sealing Space, so he didn't need to bring anything extra.

If you want something, just use your backpack as a cover to take it out. This backpack is a bit big, so it's reasonable to take out a meter-long knife from it, right?

Nine-Tails followed along, and several times when it got tired of walking on the ground, it jumped onto Naruto's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"I'm craving a drink. Quickly, bring me a bottle of ice-cold liquor."

The only response it received was Naruto's merciless refusal. He grabbed its neck, lowered his voice, and said with a ferocious expression.

"Are you crazy or am I crazy?! Let them see a Fox-dog walking around drinking from a bottle?"

"Enough nonsense. If you don't give me the wine, I'm not leaving." Nine-Tails sneered, revealing the same look Anya had in her eyes. "Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"Give you a head, I really want to send you to be used for breeding right now." Naruto's smile was sinister.

"Naruto, are you guys fighting?" Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve and asked in a low, worried voice.

"No, no." Naruto turned his head away, and Nine-Tails also acted as if nothing had happened.

"Tonight," Naruto said in a voice only Nine-Tails could hear.

"Make a deal."

"That's good." Hinata was a little confused, but she could sense that the person and the dog had made some kind of deal, and things returned to normal.

Ahead, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame had already walked some distance.

"Shino, I think I heard Naruto talking to that dog."

"It might be Ninja Hound or something," Shino said calmly as he walked.

"Hey! Why are you acting like this too?" Kiba Inuzuka said, gesturing with his hands as he walked. "It's strange, isn't it? Naruto clearly said they were stray dogs before, but now they're suddenly Ninja Hound!"

"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't make any sense!"

"Kiba, be quiet." Shino Aburame glanced at him sideways, the reflection of her sunglasses flashing slightly. "The world is so big, anything is possible."

"Isn't Kakashi, the Summoning Beast who Leading Jonin Team Seven, using Ninja Hound as his summoning animal?"

"If that's what you're saying," Ya scratched his head and said dejectedly, "Fine, I don't care anymore."

Shino Aburame was silent for a while, then turned around and glanced at Hinata and Naruto who were following behind.

"Kiba, since we're all on the same team, you should give Naruto more trust. He's not the kind of person who would put his teammates in danger so easily."

". knew."

Afternoon.

As the sun began to set, Shino, relying on the excellent reconnaissance abilities of the Kikaichū, found a perfect spot for camping and took out necessities such as tents from the Scroll of Seals.

"It's getting late, let's camp here." Shino Aburame didn't say much, but decisively gave the order.

"Okay," the three answered in unison.

The squad leader was Shino Aburame, Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka worked well with him, and Naruto had no objections.

Not far from the campsite was a small waterfall and pool, and the four of them divided the work. Kiba and Naruto were in charge of setting up the tents, Hinata went to collect firewood, Shino fetched water.

"Is that side secured yet? Damn it!" Kiba Inuzuka asked, looking up.

"Alright, alright, stop rushing me," Naruto said impatiently. "Even Akamaru can talk better than you!"

"You little brat!"

The two bickered but quickly set up the tent, which was spacious enough for four people to sleep in.

Hinata returned from the forest carrying a pile of dry branches. The forest was full of wild animals, and ninjas would not use Ninjutsu to deal with them unless absolutely necessary.

Fire is the best way to drive away wild animals, and if you are participating in a dangerous mission against the enemy, you may be wary of starting a fire.

However, this mission is to find the Scent-Tracking Bug, which is a search mission. Generally speaking, there will not be too much danger, so it is allowed to start a fire.

Just then, Shino returned from scouting the area. He had set up Kikaichū around the area as a precaution and also completed his task of fetching water.

"We can prepare to light the fire and boil the water," Shino Aburame said.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Kiba Inuzuka deftly pulled out a lighter from his pocket; it was something that used a small amount of Chakra as fuel to ignite.

It won't explode from fire or break from rain; truly an essential piece of Shinobi World black technology for home and travel. Its principle is simply to convert a ninja's Chakra into Fire-style chakra, requiring only a small amount of ignition.

Hinata and Shino were already sitting by the fire, taking out their dry rations, preparing to eat a quick meal and then go to sleep.

"Naruto, this is for you." Hinata blushed and took out a red fruit from her bag, handing it to Naruto, assuming Naruto hadn't brought any food.

Shino and Kiba opened their school bags. The water in the pot had just boiled but there was no movement. Looking at Naruto standing motionless to the side, Shino spoke up.

"If you didn't bring any food, we can share it with you."

"Please, I can share with you too," Kiba Inuzuka grinned smugly.

"No, I brought some." Naruto looked at the three people sitting skillfully by the fire, first taking the fruit from Hinata, then pointing to the pond not far away and asking.

"Since the fire's already lit, why not go catch some fish?"

"Fishing is troublesome and a waste of rest time," Shino said.

"The pool is very deep, and it's troublesome to go into the water. Even if you work hard, you can't catch many fish," Kiba Inuzuka added.

"Woof!" Akamaru couldn't speak.

"Wait for me, I'll give it a try." Naruto ran towards the tent, then pulled a long Fishing Rod out of his bag, which completely shocked Kiba Inuzuka.

Why would you carry something like that in your bag?

"Folded!" Naruto had already run far away with his pole. Nine-Tails glanced at him and jogged after him.

"He... he... he!!" Kiba Inuzuka looked in the direction Naruto's figure disappeared, then looked at Shino. "Shino and Hinata, why didn't you stop him?"

Shino Aburame stared at the dry rations and said, "I want to eat fish too."

Hinata didn't start roasting the rations either, and whispered, "Naruto is really good at fishing."

"Tch, I don't believe it anyway!" Kiba Inuzuka muttered, but then he couldn't help but think of what Naruto had said during the Chunin Ninja Exams: he was about to throw up from eating grilled fish.

After hesitating for a moment, he simply put away the dry rations.

An awkward silence fell over the three of them as they watched the crackling fire and listened to the water in the pot slowly bubbling away, much like SpongeBob and Patrick waiting for the Magic Conch shell.

"I'll go check it out." Kiba Inuzuka couldn't stand it anymore and stood up first. "I don't believe that guy is really that good. If he's just sitting there like an idiot for half a day, I'll drag him back."

"I'll go too." Hinata stood up somewhat flusteredly.

Before the conversation, by the river.

"Kid! Give me a bottle right now!" Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox pestered relentlessly, "Don't be ungrateful!"

"Don't even think about it. I said tonight, so it's tonight." Naruto kept bringing out fish, deftly scaling and gutting them. "You'd better stay far away from drinking tonight, preferably right here."

"Kikaichū generally don't go near water, so it would be even better if you could just soak it in the water and drink it."

"You're the dog!" Nine-Tails Fox spat. "If you soak it in water and drink it, I'll immediately do a backflip."

Naruto continued working with his hands, saying disdainfully, "You said you'd give me a job tonight. If you back out now, I'll send you to be bred when we get back."

A few minutes later, Naruto was already carrying a bucket of cleaned fish back home. Nine-Tails's gaze was somewhat complicated, with an expression that said, "You're serious."

But faced with the male dog's warning, Nine-Tails didn't dare to say anything like, "I was just saying it casually."

So, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata had just gotten up and taken a few steps when Naruto bumped into them.

"Where to?" he asked, puzzled.

It wasn't too late yet; the sun was setting, casting its rays upon the three of them. Shino stood motionless a short distance away, guarding the fire, his eyes fixed on the small metal bucket in Naruto's hand through a pair of round sunglasses.

He clearly remembered that Naruto did not bring the small iron bucket before he set off, but he had the small iron bucket when he came back. So he really did carry Space Scroll with him?

However, he didn't care about such things. As a disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, it wasn't strange for him to have Space Scroll.

"Is it really a fish?" Kiba Inuzuka seemed a little excited. "You're pretty good, kid."

Naruto grinned smugly and said, "Ninjutsu is my talent, but fishing is also my hobby!"

"By the way, my dog can do backflips."