Ep 148: Even Akamaru is jealous of his searching ability!
Search for the Phantom Bikouchuu!
Shown with Ep147 but different story arcs.

At the Konoha hospital, Kiba, Shino and Hinata go to visit Kurenai. On the way they see Tsunade and Shizune. Hinata apparently had fainted before when she saw Naruto wrapped in bandages. Now as she opens the door, Naruto hangs down from the ceiling in front of her. He’s been looking for Tsunade. Hinata turns red, screams and headbutts Naruto into a wall. Then she faints.

Hinata wakes and hears Kurenai ask about Mizuki. He was interrogated by the Anbu but there is no information connecting him to Orochimaru. Naruto continues to plea with Tsunade to let him go find Sasuke.

At the Hyuuga house, Neji trains with Hiashi. Hinata serves them tea and a snack then leaves with Kiba and Shino. Hiashi and Neji take a break. Hiashi tells Neji that if Hinata were here, he’d ask Neji to watch over her, which would help him in his training.

Hinata trains with her teammates. She somehow destroys a number of kunais. They take a break and Hinata asks what would they do if a comrade suddenly disappeared. Kiba says they don’t have any clues to help Naruto, but then Shino mentions Bikouchuu. They go see Tsunade and she comments that the legendary bug Bikouchuu went extinct a while ago. Shino says they were only in danger of being extinct. The Aburame clan just stopped using them. Shizune asks about it. Tsunade replies that it’s not surprising that she doesn’t know. The last time a Bikouchuu was used was during the last war. Tsunade explains it’s a bug used by bug specialists.

A newly hatched larvae quickly turns into a pupa and transforms into the adult stage. If it is exposed to a smell during that stage, no matter how faint the scent is, it will follow that scent to its destination. Their sense of smell is said to be several thousand times better than a human’s. They only lay 1 egg over several years. Shino says this year is the breeding season and right now is when they hatch. They can expose the Bikouchuu to Sasuke’s belongings to find his whereabouts. But Shino says there is only a 10% chance of finding a Bikouchuu. Tsunade gives them the mission of finding a Bikouchuu with Shino as the team leader. Then she suddenly throws a kunai at the ceiling panel and Naruto drops down. She tells him that if he can’t find a Bikouchuu he has to give up on Sasuke.

Hiashi talks to Hinata before her mission and tells her not to get in everyone’s way. Hinata hurries away and nearly runs into Neji but does a nice pivot to get out of his way, leaving Neji to think what move was that.

Naruto hurries ahead but the rest of the team slowly follows. Shino says even trained ninja will take two days to reach the Bikouchuu by foot. The eggs won’t appear for several days until the morning it rains. Shino sternly warns Naruto that he is the team leader.

Meanwhile Sakura tries to heal a rabbit with an injured foot. Tsunade tells her that the team has left but Sakura knows it’s best for her to stay and train.

The sun is setting so Shino tells the team to stop and set up camp despite Naruto’s protests. As the rest of the team sleeps, Hinata goes to train by the waterfall. Naruto gets up to pee and sees the silhouette of a naked girl twirling around. He approaches her, trips, falls into the water. The girl is gone.

The next morning Naruto tells them about the girl he saw and Hinata turns red again. Shino finds some edible fruit but warns the team not to eat any that are human size. Too late, Naruto already eats one and comes down with a stomachache. The team arrives at a deep crater forest where the Bikouchuu has dwelled for 1000 years. As they climb down Naruto falls but Shino’s bugs save him. Two men and a woman watch them from a tree branch. The Kamezuru clan are also looking for the Bikouchuu.

Review: Promising premise, if only they can work in some better action than the last arc.

Notes:

Shino and Hinata wear their coats to sleep while Naruto and Kiba take theirs off.

Thoughts:

Tsunade mentions the last war which was about 13 years ago. Shizune would have been about 14 years old, old enough to remember.

Why does Hinata train naked?