Bikōchū Search Mission

Seeing how desperate Naruto was to find Sasuke, Team 8 came up with a solution. They requested to Tsunade for a mission to find the legendary Bikochu beetle that could track any target as long as it had the target's scent. As Kurenai was still hospitalized and there were no other missions available, she approved of their request. Naruto was placed on the team as well after being caught spying. Naruto was annoyed however to be under Shino's command. Upon finally arriving at the nesting grounds of the Bikochu, the team found great difficulty searching for the Bikochu.

Things became even more complicated when it was discovered that the Kamizuru clan of the Iwagakure were also after the beetle in hopes of restoring their clan honor. After Naruto and his team managed to capture the Bikochu and it laid an egg, Hinata was captured by the enemies and used as a hostage to get the Bikochu egg. While Naruto and his team tried to save her, they fell prey to the enemies' trap and were captured as well. Fortunately, Shino had already hid the Bikochu too thoroughly for the enemies to find. After aggravating the enemies too much, one of them decided to kill Naruto. Fortunately, Hinata appeared and saved her team after escaping her imprisonment. Naruto then watched in amazement at Hinata's new original jutsu that completely overpowered the enemies' bee-oriented jutsu. He was even more shocked to hear he was the one who inspired Hinata to attempt making something so complex and powerful.

After Naruto defeated the last enemy, the Bikochu egg finally began to hatch. Naruto unfortunately could not find Sasuke's headband that he brought for Sasuke's scent. In a fit of desperation, Naruto accidentally farted, causing the baby Bikochu to memorize Naruto's scent. This meant the mission was a failure as a Bikochu can only memorize one scent in its lifetime and it will take another year before another egg is hatched. Upon returning to the village, Naruto was forced to face an enraged Sakura's wrath for messing up their last chance to find Sasuke.

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