Chapter 45:- Special Chapter [XIII]

As they settled down by the lake, each found a comfortable spot to start fishing. A few minutes passed in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle lapping of water against the shore.

Then, suddenly Kiba's fishing rod jerked suddenly. With an excited loud yell, he reeled in a small Yellow Perch.

"Look at this! First catch of the day! Let's see who could catch the most number of fish by the end of the day." Kiba looked really proud of himself. 

"Nice catch, Kiba, but the day is still young!!!" Naruto said while focusing more intently on his own fishing line.

Shikamaru just yawned and lounged back against a tree.

"What a Drag!!!!" He muttered. He was clearly more interested in relaxing than competing over who caught the most number of fish. Shino remained quiet. He continued to shift between his fishing rod and the surrounding nature. Like Shika, he wasn't that interested in fishing either. 

Not long after, Kiba's rod bent again. This time, he pulled up a large Catfish. "Hahaha! Looks like I'm the fishing king today!" Seeing his smug grin, Naruto and Choji felt irritated. They wanted to wipe the smug grin from his face. 

As the afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, the bucket beside each of the boys slowly filled with their catches. Shikamaru had long stopped fishing. He was feeling too lazy to compete with anyone. He just lay under a tree and just closed his eyes. His fishing rod lay forgotten beside him. Shino had slipped away into the surrounding forest. He was on a quest to discover new bug species.

Choji, Kiba, and Naruto remained by the water's edge, their lines still cast into the lake.

Choji's stomach began to rumble. He rubbed his stomach feeling hungry. He turned to Naruto with a hopeful look. "Naruto, I'm really hungry now. How about we start grilling the fish we've caught?" He suggested while he glanced at the empty snack wrappers scattered beside him.

Naruto turned to Kiba. "What about you Kiba?" 

Kiba was also beginning to feel hungry. "Sounds good to me" Kiba's gaze was fixed on his nearly overflowing bucket of fish. He had caught a variety of fish. In his mind, he had won this challenge. 

"Alright, let's do it!!!" Naruto agreed with a smile. He stood up and stretched his arms after hours of fishing. 

"Alright but to grill the fishes, I would need some seasonings. We don't have any seasonings with us. I guess I will make a quick trip back to the village to buy some essential seasonings before we start grilling the fish." Naruto's shadow clone was going to continue fishing while he was going to head back to the village quickly. 

Choji, whose thoughts are already on food, called out to Naruto before he could leave. "Hey, Naruto, could you also grab some snacks for me from the village?" His request was typical of his always-hungry nature.

Kiba who was still focused on his fishing also added his request without turning around. "Naruto, can you bring back some cold drinks? It's really warm out here." 

Sigh!!!!

Naruto let out a small sigh. He felt like he had turned into a personal errand runner for his friends. He turned to Shikamaru, who was lying under a tree. Even though he seemed asleep, Naruto knew better.

"Shika, you need anything?"

Shikamaru, without opening his eyes, responded lazily, "Nothing." His voice was calm and unbothered. He just wanted to stay like this. 

Naruto smiled and shook his head lightly. He set off towards the village. He mentally prepared a shopping list, balancing his friends' requests with what they would need for their barbecue. 

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Scene change____

 It did not take long for Naruto to return to the village. Once he returned back to the village, he quickly created a few clones and gave them a few thousand Ryo each to buy snacks and cold drinks for everyone. Even if it was Choji and Kiba who specifically requested cold drinks and snacks, everyone was going to eat them once he brought them back. 

While the real Naruto went to the local market to buy seasonings. The market was full of people. On both sides of the road. 

"Man, it's really crowded here," Naruto said out loud. 

"Naruto, is that you?" Sakura called out Naruto from behind. 

When Naruto turned around, he was surprised to see Sakura 10 meters away. She was among the crowd. If not for her unique hair color, then Naruto wouldn't even have spotted her. 

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto walked up to Sakura and asked her. 

"I got lost. Hehe!!!" Sakura said with a smile. Now she was kind of glad that she got separated from others. This allowed her to be with Naruto alone. Now she just hoped that others would stay away from her so that she could spend as much time as possible with Naruto. 

Naruto noticed a few shopping bags in her hand. "Were you shopping?" 

"Yes!!! I was buying some clothes. What about you? What were you doing?" She asked. 

"Actually, until now we have been outside of the village. We were having a competition to see who could catch the most number of fish." Naruto said with a grin. 

"I returned here to get some drinks and some seasonings to grill fish that we caught." 

"Oh.....!!! It sounds like you boys are having fun." Sakura said to herself. It didn't mean she and the girls weren't having fun. 

'No wonder we couldn't find them at the inn or around the village. They had been outside of the village this whole time.' Sakura thought. 

While shopping, the girls, Hinata and Hanabi tried to look for Naruto using their Byakugan. But no matter where they looked, they couldn't find Naruto and the boys in the village. 

"Naruto-kun, will you help me find others? I have been looking for them for a while now." Sakura was lying. Although she did got separated from others, she was just asking for his help so that she could be with him longer. 

"Sakura-chan, that might not be necessary. With Hanabi and Hinata's Byakugan, they could easily find you. Right now why don't we enjoy our time together." Hearing this Sakura slightly blushed but she nodded her head. 

Shadow Clone Jutsu!!!!

Bang!!!!

As the white smoke disappeared, another Naruto appeared before him. 

"Go and buy all the necessary seasonings needed for grilling fish." Naruto said while handing a few thousand Ryo to the clone Naruto. 

Once the clone Naruto left, Naruto turned to Sakura and asked. "So what shall we do while waiting for them?" He did not mind hanging out with Sakura until others found her. Having shadow clones definitely made things easier for him. 

Watching Naruto use clones to do his chores, Sakura really felt that she should start using shadow clone in her daily life activities as well. This would give her much more time for other things. 

"Come with me, Naruto-kun!!!" Sakura grabbed his hand and took him inside one of the clothing shops. 

It was a women's clothing store. As Sakura pulled Naruto inside, all the ladies, including the female staff members were watching at Naruto. After all, it's not everyday that such a handsome young man came to their shop. They were slightly disappointed seeing Sakura holding his hand. 

"Sakura-chan.....!!!" Naruto looked puzzled. 

"While waiting for others, why don't you feel me pick a dress. Since we have nothing else to do." Sakura was slightly blushing.

She did not let go of his hand. She wanted to wear the dress that he was going to chose for him. 

"Sure. I don't mind." Naruto while following her. While walking back, he stared at her long pink hair. Seeing her long pink hair, he couldn't help but smile. In his other world, Sakura had chosen to cut her long beautiful hair. He was kind of saddened by it but he had to admit that she will looked good in short hair. 

Sakura already had chosen two dresses previously. But she was unsure which one to buy. Since she is short on cash, she cannot buy both of them. 

"Which one do you think I should buy?" Sakura asked while holding two beautiful dress. 

The two beautiful dresses that Sakura was showing Naruto were two beautiful uniquely designed Kimonos. 

"Say which one do you think I should buy. I like both of them." Sakura asked with a smile. She was also slightly blushing. After all, this was her first time asking a man to pick a dress for her.

She was loving this moment with Naruto. This time that she was spending with him was going to be one of her most precious memories. In her heart, her current wish was to spend the whole day with Naruto. Though that wasn't possible, she hoped to spend as much time as possible with him. 

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