"Hey, Naruto, what's that thing next to you?"
'Thing?' Kurama was instantly annoyed and bared his teeth at Kiba. Seeing this, Akamaru was so scared that he trembled and hid behind Kiba's neck.
"Hehe, just a stray dog I picked up on the side of the road." Naruto smirked, clearly proud of himself, "How is it? Does it look good?"
"Akamaru said it's very dangerous. Are you sure it's just a stray?" Kiba scratched his head, unsure as he looked at the dog that resembled a fox.
"But this dog doesn't seem that fierce. Why would Akamaru be so scared?"
"It just doesn't like you. Hinata has patted him before and nothing happened." Naruto pointed towards Hinata, who was standing not too far away, "If you don't believe me, ask Hinata to come over."
The mission was not urgent, so Kiba, still somewhat skeptical, waved and shouted to Hinata who was not far away.
"Hey! Hinata, can you come over for a second?"
"Okay."
Hinata responded and jogged over nervously. She glanced at Naruto first before quickly lowering her eyes.
"What's up?"
"Oh, it's like this, Hinata. Could you try to carry that dog?" Kiba warned, "You don't have to really carry it since it's pretty fierce, just pretend to do it."
After saying that, he added another caution.
"I'll be watching from the side. There won't be any danger."
But before he could finish, Hinata had already moved, and the supposedly fierce fox-like dog was now lying in her arms, looking completely harmless.
Kiba: "…"
Naruto stood there with his arms crossed, finding the situation amusing. He then offered words of encouragement to Kiba with a grin, "Do you believe me now, brat? Don't blame the path for being uneven if you can't walk straight."
Hearing this, Kiba's face turned green, "The dog you raised is really the same as you. Treating everyone differently, hmph!"
"I haven't trained it or anything, so don't go making stuff up." Naruto spread his hands and said, "He is acting completely on his own. Maybe it just doesn't like your face."
"Who are you saying doesn't look like a good person!" Kiba, on the verge of another argument, began to lose his cool.
"Calm down, Kiba." Shino, wearing his signature round black sunglasses, came over and looked at Kyubi in Hinata's arms, "Akamaru's instincts aren't wrong. That thing is indeed very dangerous. Even my insects are afraid of it."
"Then…" Kiba frowned slightly and glanced in Naruto's direction, "That guy is completely defenseless. Should we warn him?"
"No need for now. It doesn't seem to harbor any ill intent towards Hinata. My insects don't sense any strong hostility either, just a natural fear."
Shino, with half his face hidden by his oversized coat, remained calm and composed, "Let's observe for a while longer."
It takes a full two days of travel from Konoha to reach the forest where the rare Bikochu gather.
According to Bikochu's characteristic, these insects' eggs will only hatch after a rainfall, so the group's speed will not affect their progress regardless of whether it is fast or slow, as no rain is expected for the next two days.
In other words, even if they arrive early, they'll need to wait for the rain to arrive.
The geography of the Land of Fire, with its lack of high mountains and many hills, allows the sea breeze to blow freely, resulting in evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year. So, even if they get there without rain, they just need to wait a few days.
After setting out, the group's pace was leisurely, just at a normal walking speed.
Due to their natural fear of Kyubi, Shino's insects and Kiba's Ninken, Akamaru, naturally avoided him. As a result, Kiba and Shino paired up and walked ahead, leaving Hinata and Naruto behind.
For the mission, everyone carried backpacks, and Naruto was no exception. He stuffed a few clothes into his bag. Most of the things he needed were in the seal space, so he didn't have to carry much.
Whenever he needed something, he could just use his backpack as cover to pull it out. The backpack was large enough that pulling out a one-meter-long sword would seem reasonable, right?
Kyubi followed along but got tired of walking on the ground a few times, so he jumped onto Naruto's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I'm craving for some alcohol. Get me a bottle of a chilled sake, quick."
The only response he got was Naruto's ruthless rejection. Naruto pulled Kyubi's neck and lowered his voice with a ferocious look on his face, "Are you crazy, or am I? You want them to see a fox-dog carrying a bottle of sake and drinking as it walks?"
"Stop yapping. If you don't get me a drink, I'm not moving another step." Kyubi gave him a sly look, his expression similar to Anya's from Spy x Family, "Well, are you going to get it or not?"
"Damn it, I'm really tempted to send you off for breeding right now." Naruto's smile turned icy.
"Naruto-kun, are you two fighting?" Hinata gently tugged on Naruto's sleeve, her voice filled with concern.
"No, no." Naruto quickly turned his head away, and Kyubi also acted as if nothing had happened.
"Tonight." Naruto whispered in a voice that only Kyubi could hear.
"Deal."
"That's good then." Hinata was still a bit confused, but she could feel that the man and the dog seemed to have reached some kind of deal, and they both seemed to return to normal.
At the front, Kiba and Shino had already walked some distance away.
"Shino, I think I heard Naruto talking to that dog."
"It could be a Ninken or something like that," Shino responded calmly as they walked.
"Hey! How can you be so nonchalant?" Kiba gestured animatedly as he spoke, "It's very strange, isn't it? Naruto clearly said it was a stray dog before, but now it's suddenly a Ninken!"
"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't make sense!"
"Kiba, keep your voice down." Shino glanced at him, the reflection from his sunglasses glinting, "The world is a big place g, anything is possible."
"After all, Kakashi, the Jonin Instructor of Team 7, also has summoned Ninken, doesn't he?"
"When you put it that way…" Kiba scratched his head and said dejectedly, "Fine, I won't worry about it."
Shino was silent for a while, then glanced back at Hinata and Naruto walking behind them.
"Kiba, since we're all members of the same team, you should trust Naruto more. He's not the kind of person who would casually put his teammates in danger."
"… Got it."