Hokage: Immortal, I Open Unlimited Eight Gates

"That's it. That's okay. Then I can only go with Ding Zuo and the others."

Uchiha Chiba nodded. "I'll leave first, and I'll go with you next time."

She wanted to ask Mikoto to come with them, but Mikoto had already made plans with Kushina, so she couldn't break that appointment.

"Mikoto, are you at home?"

Just as Uchiha Chiba was about to head home to wait for her friends, the voice of Uzumaki Kushina suddenly called out from behind her.

Turning around, she saw not only Kushina but also Zhuludie, Shengshu, and Shikaku.

Uchiha Chiba looked confused. "Shikaku, why are you here? Didn't I ask you to come to my house?"

Nara Shikaku spread his hands helplessly. "We went to your house, but you weren't there. So Kushina suggested we come here to check on Mikoto."

Uchiha Mikoto, noticing Kushina's arrival, turned to her grandfather, Uchiha Inada.

"Grandpa, I'm going out."

Uchiha Inada smiled and nodded. "I know. Go ahead."

Walking out of Mikoto's house, Kushina pulled Mikoto aside.

"Mikoto, let's not go shopping today, okay?"

Uchiha Mikoto was puzzled. Didn't they agree to go shopping yesterday? Why the sudden change?

"If we're not shopping, then where are we going?" Mikoto asked.

Uzumaki Kushina immediately replied, "How about we go fishing with the Nawaki and the others?"

Uchiha Mikoto raised an eyebrow, curious as to why Kushina suddenly wanted to change plans.

Seeing Mikoto's questioning gaze, Kushina sighed and admitted, "Okay, okay, it's because of Nawaki…"

Uchiha Chiba looked at everyone. "Have you brought everything?"

"I've got it, it's all here." Nara Shikaku raised the scroll in his hand.

"And me, and me," Akamichi Choza proudly showed his scroll.

Uchiha Chiba nodded. Nara and Akamichi were known for their expertise in medicinal materials and catering in the Fire Country, so it was no surprise they could pull out scrolls so easily.

"Now that everyone's here, let's set off."

"Wait a minute, Chiba, Kushina and the others haven't arrived yet."

Uchiha Chiba raised an eyebrow. "Aren't they going shopping? They shouldn't be joining us."

Nawaki looked a little embarrassed. "Well, yesterday I told Kushina you were going to make grilled fish, and she insisted on coming along."

"Really? Then we'll wait for them."

Uchiha Chiba wasn't bothered by Kushina tagging along. It didn't matter to him if one more person joined. As for Mikoto, it was all part of the plan.

It wasn't long before Kushina and Mikoto returned to the group.

"Let's go. Mikoto agreed."

By the small river outside the Death Forest, Uchiha Chiba checked the time. It was still early, so there was no rush to make preparations.

Shikaku looked up at the sky. "It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the water's clear, and the trees are green. Perfect for fishing."

He took out the seal scroll, unrolled it, and placed it on the ground.

"Unseal."

"Bang, bang, bang."

As Shikaku finished speaking, several fishing rods and bait appeared on the grass.

Akamichi Choza, who was eating potato chips on the side, counted the rods on the ground.

"Shikaku, you didn't bring enough fishing rods."

Nara Shikaku shrugged. "What can I do? Mikoto and Kushina joined last minute."

"It's fine," Uchiha Chiba said. "You can share. Mikoto and I can go for a walk in the woods."

Kushina wasn't interested in fishing, so she came here to see how good Uchiha Chiba's cooking skills were and to watch Nawaki's defeat.

Uchiha Chiba thought for a moment and said, "Let me go with you. It's quite dangerous in the Death Forest."

He knew how risky it could be there, especially with the dangerous beasts that had appeared during previous Chūnin exams.

Kushina waved him off. "No need. We won't go too deep. We'll just stick to the edge."

Before Uchiha Chiba could protest, Kushina pulled Mikoto away, and they jumped off together.

Looking at the two of them as they left, Uchiha Chiba hesitated, but Aburame Zhiwei spoke up.

"Don't worry, Chiba. I put my bugs on Mikoto and the others. If anything happens, they'll alert me."

Uchiha Chiba nodded, relieved. "Thanks, Zhiwei."

Zhiwei nodded and waved off his concern.

With that issue taken care of, Uchiha Chiba turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, let's go fishing. And remember, try to catch as much as possible. Otherwise, someone might go hungry."

Everyone became serious. After all, there were a couple of big eaters in the group.

Time passed slowly.

Suddenly, Nawaki grabbed his hair and shouted.

"Ahhh! Why haven't I caught a single fish yet?!"

Nara Shikaku, who was standing by calmly, glanced at the frustrated Nawaki. "Quiet, Nawaki. You're scaring away the fish."

"I'm the only one who hasn't caught anything!" Nawaki complained. "I know it's not me. The fish must be avoiding my hook!"

With that, he lay back on the grass, blaming the fish for his bad luck.

But just as he was about to give up, Akamichi Nawaki pointed toward the water.

"Hey, Nawaki, there's a catfish! Look, it's coming right for your hook."

Nawaki jumped up instantly and focused on the fish.

Sure enough, a one-meter-long black catfish swam near his line. Nawaki clenched his fists, silently willing the fish to bite.

But the catfish just swam around the hook, seemingly uninterested in biting.

Ten minutes passed. The catfish was still there, but Nawaki was growing increasingly frustrated.

"Nawaki, the fish is taunting you. Can you stand it?"

Uchiha Chiba glanced at Nawaki, who looked like he was about to explode. "If it were me, I'd just jump in and catch it."

Nawaki, growing more desperate, had had enough of waiting.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" he shouted, launching a powerful Jōnin-level technique.

Uchiha Chiba was stunned. "Is this guy for real?"

Nawaki had gone completely mad, using a high-level technique just to catch a fish.

Everyone watched in disbelief as a water dragon emerged from the river, coiling around the catfish and pulling it toward the shore.

"What are you all staring at? Why aren't you running?" Uchiha Chiba quickly warned.

This was getting out of hand.