My Jonin Instructor Was Clearly Super Strong, So Why Was He So Socially Anxious?

Leaf Village.

Inside an Akimichi Clan barbecue restaurant.

Aburame Shibi stared at the mountain of empty plates piled up before him and began to question his life.

Three hours earlier, to celebrate the formation of Team Three, he had invited its members out for barbecue according to Leaf Village custom.

He had thought it would be nothing more than a simple meal, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

Fast!

Too fast!

Was this even a human appetite?

The instant the grilled meat was served, Hyuga Satoru devoured it ravenously, as if some demon suppressed in his bloodline had been set free.

He alone had eaten more than half of the mountain of barbecue plates.

Meanwhile, Anko was also stuffing herself without restraint, and the amount of grilled meat was visibly dwindling at an alarming rate.

The two of them were now clutching their bulging stomachs and lounging comfortably on the sofa.

"Um... the total is twenty thousand ryo. Which one of you will be paying?"

The chubby restaurant owner stood by the table, holding the ledger with the bill, completely at a loss.

Twenty! Thousand! Ryo!

When he heard the price, Aburame Shibi felt as though a bolt from the blue had struck him squarely on the head. He froze in his seat.

You two...

Aburame Shibi gritted his teeth as he looked at Hyuga Satoru and Anko. Both were resting on the sofa, their faces full of satisfaction and bliss.

"Um... how about I pay?" Uchiha Rin took a sip of tea and asked tentatively.

She felt a little embarrassed about it. Besides, she was not short on money.

"No!"

Aburame Shibi refused firmly, trembling as he pulled a stack of crisp new banknotes from his wallet. No matter what, he could not let his students pay.

This was his last shred of dignity!

Ah! His heart was bleeding...

"Please come again."

The owner stood at the entrance, smiling as he waved them off.

The moment they left the barbecue restaurant, Aburame Shibi immediately left the team under the pretext of having a mission. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would suffer an even worse defeat.

"Shibi-sensei was pretty interesting, wasn't he? He seemed different from the rumors." Uchiha Rin shrugged.

"He was pretty interesting. When I first saw him, I thought he was the especially hard-to-get-along-with type, but..."

Anko snickered, having completely forgotten how she had struggled desperately within that swarm of insects earlier.

Hyuga Satoru rubbed his swollen stomach contentedly. It was not that he had eaten so much to take advantage of Shibi; sustaining both the Byakugan bloodline and his Life Magnetic Field meant his appetite had always far exceeded that of ordinary people. Eating large amounts also helped him improve his physical abilities.

Clicking his tongue softly, Hyuga Satoru murmured, "I feel like our instructor has a mild case of... social anxiety."

"Social anxiety?" It was Anko's first time hearing the term, and she looked at Hyuga Satoru curiously.

"Yeah... it basically means he isn't good at socializing. Though for the Aburame Clan, it seems like most of them are like that."

Anko thought of how Aburame Shibi wrapped himself so tightly that only a small patch of skin on his face was exposed, as though he were terrified of being noticed. Suddenly, she felt that social anxiety was an exceptionally fitting term.

Just as expected of you, Satoru. I learned another new word.

Hyuga Satoru thought about it. His future mission life would probably be quite interesting—my jonin instructor was clearly super strong, so why was he so socially anxious?

A knock sounded from the Hokage's office.

"Come in."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been buried in official paperwork. He looked up to see a man wrapped in loose robes enter, looking somewhat dejected.

"Shibi. How was it? Are you satisfied with the members of your new team?"

"They are all exceptionally talented geniuses, but I'm not sure whether I can teach them properly."

"Shibi, don't sell yourself short. You are one of Leaf Village's renowned all-round jonin!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile.

Aburame Shibi gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Lord Hokage, you know that I am called an all-round jonin because, compared to teamwork, I prefer fighting alone. Teaching students is truly a bit difficult for me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen set aside his work, sat upright, and looked at him seriously.

"Shibi, being a ninja is a profession that requires cooperation. An individual's strength is ultimately limited. The three of them have yet to determine their paths of growth, and only an all-round jonin like you is best suited for this task. This will be no small opportunity for growth, both for you and for the entire team."

"Is that so? Lord Hokage, you truly gave this a great deal of thought." Aburame Shibi nodded.

"It's good that you understand. Now report their situation to me."

Aburame Shibi thought of that Byakugan brat who had cleanly slit his clone's throat. He suddenly smiled and said, "That Hyuga brat with two bloodlines is a very interesting person. His appetite is astonishing too. He..."

"Hey, Satoru, is this really the training life after graduation you told me about?"

In an area littered with trash, Anko covered her nose and mouth with a towel in disgust as she vigorously poked at a clogged sewer with a wooden stick.

"Mm... look on the bright side. This counts as training our willpower too, doesn't it?" Hyuga Satoru said as he swept up trash nearby.

"So helping an old lady clear a clogged sewer counts as training too?"

Uh...

Anko sighed. Every mission they had received these past few days had been garbage work like finding cats, finding dogs, or clearing sewers. She suddenly missed her days at the ninja academy. The workload had not been heavy, and at least she had not needed to do such dirty, exhausting chores.

Why did I listen to Satoru's sweet talk and graduate in the first place?

Wouldn't it have been nice to just take it easy? Anko gritted her teeth in resentment.

She had learned the phrase "take it easy" from Hyuga Satoru, and it perfectly matched her philosophy. But when she glanced at Hyuga Satoru and Uchiha Rin beside her, she realized that with two monsters from great clans at her side, taking it easy was so hard! she roared inwardly.

Hyuga Satoru did not have much of an objection. Completing D-rank missions was a necessary requirement before taking higher-ranked missions. Still, he seriously suspected that missions like clearing sewers were deliberately accepted by Aburame Shibi as revenge.

What a petty ninja!

As for his daily training, it had not been greatly affected. On the back mountain where he usually trained, a Shadow Clone was making up for the effort he had missed.

He had obtained the Shadow Clone training method from Uchiha Rin. For her, a B-rank training ninjutsu was not particularly precious.

After spending some time mastering the Shadow Clone, he could now train and complete missions without neglecting either.

Hyuga Satoru had always felt a sense of urgency. The coming Third Shinobi World War, along with the shackles on his forehead, constantly drove him onward.

Without strength, he would be nothing but meat on the chopping block. Life at the ninja academy had been comfortable, but it did not fit his ideals. Only by constantly moving forward could he feel secure.

The main family's attitude toward him was rather subtle. No matter what, the title of the first dual-bloodline ninja in Hyuga history would draw plenty of attention. From what he understood, it was seemingly pressure from the Hokage's side that allowed him to live so peacefully within the Hyuga Clan for now.

Caged Bird. If outside forces could not remove it in the short term, then research was the only path left. A large part of why he had brought Anko into the team was to establish a connection with Orochimaru. After all, in the original story, Anko had become Orochimaru's disciple.

"I really hope we can start taking combat missions soon!"

Uchiha Rin's voice pulled Hyuga Satoru back to reality. He looked up and saw her stretching her limbs, her face brimming with eagerness.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Uchiha Rin looked at him, her dark eyes filled with anticipation.

"The clan elders said the Sharingan can only awaken in the midst of life and death. I can't wait to obtain that kind of power."

She was way too driven. Hyuga Satoru's mouth twitched slightly.