While talking with a group of students, Shino talks about an event after the failed Sasuke Retrieval mission that brought him and his teammates closer as friends. Following their failed attempt to capture a thief that they learn is a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall, Shino enters a depression over his inability to defend himself in close-range combat. Kurenai has Kiba and Hinata take Shino to a hot spring to draw Shino from the depression; to do this while offering to train their teammate in taijutsu. But even after Shino became agile enough to dodge Kiba's attack, he still felt unworthy to be a member of Team 8 as Kiba and Hinata receive a message that the bandit is nearby. But when Kiba and Hinata are captured, Shino comes to their aid and defeats the bandit with the skills he learned.