Social Anxiety and Social Fearlessness

After seeing Aburame Shibi come over, Hyuga Satoru breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Might Duy and Guy. "Senior Duy, since my teacher has agreed, you can join my squad."

Might Duy hesitantly looked toward Tanai Ryosuke, whose face was a picture of despair as he wished he could shove his head into his stomach.

Why are you looking at me? They want you to go, so go! If Aburame Shibi fixates on me, won't he find some chance to take me out on the road?

Seeing that Tanai Ryosuke had no objections, Might Duy's nose suddenly stung. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he could not help stepping forward and wrapping Hyuga Satoru in a hug.

"Boohoohoo, thank you so much... My blood of youth is burning fiercely once again!"

Hyuga Satoru instinctively leaned back, trying to keep Might Duy from flinging tears onto his clothes.

This scene was also seen by Anko and Uchiha Rin, who were walking over from behind.

"Satoru... When did he become so kindhearted?"

Uchiha Rin wore a complicated expression. "Looks like I underestimated him before. Aside from having an absurd appetite and being lazy and gluttonous, he's actually quite cheerful."

With his body forcibly squeezed by Might Duy's huge hands, Hyuga Satoru felt as though he could barely breathe.

"Senior... Senior Duy, ease up."

"Ah, I'm so sorry, Satoru."

Might Duy hurriedly released Hyuga Satoru and took a step back with an apologetic look.

Hyuga Satoru breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Might Duy and Guy suddenly embrace each other, kneel on the ground, and burst into loud sobs.

"Guy, did you hear that? Someone actually invited us to join their squad!"

"Yes, Father! I'm so moved!"

"This is youth! Guy, let the undying flames of youth burn once more!"

"Yes, Father!"

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Uchiha Rin helplessly covered her face with one hand and sighed. "I take back what I said. Will there really be no problems if Satoru lets those two freaks join the squad?"

"Probably not..." Anko smiled awkwardly. "Guy's personality is a little strange, but he's still reliable when it counts."

At that moment, the caravan leader, Inoyama Taro, stammered, "Um... can we set off now?"

He had actually been extremely impatient for a while, but when he saw how Jonin Ryosuke had reacted to the newly arrived Aburame Shibi, he was stunned.

This ninja named Aburame Shibi had made Jonin Ryosuke treat him with such respect, even a trace of fear. His strength and status had to be extremely high, right?

He absolutely could not offend him!

Thus, he had forced the entire caravan to watch Duy and Guy's melodramatic performance.

"Mm." Seeing everyone around him looking his way, Aburame Shibi nodded.

In the forests of the Land of Fire, a large caravan traveled along a road cut through the woods.

Yet within this caravan, two completely different situations had suddenly emerged.

"Here, Lord Shibi. This is watermelon produced in Grass Country. It's especially sweet, please try some."

"Lord Shibi, this is Iron Country's specialty braised beef. It's delicious."

"Lord Shibi, this is..."

A group of people in the caravan bustled around Aburame Shibi, fawningly offering him all kinds of delicacies, while the situation on the other side of the caravan, where Ryosuke's squad was, was completely different.

Taking a bite of the dry rations in his hand, Kento watched the feast around Aburame Shibi, his eyes nearly turning green with envy.

"Those bastards from the caravan kept sucking up to us before that squad arrived. Now look at them—they've all run over there!"

"Kento, keep your voice down." Ryosuke shuddered and immediately scolded him in a low voice. "If Aburame Shibi hears you, we're finished."

Kento shrank his neck. "Lord Ryosuke, is Aburame Shibi really that terrifying? You're a Jonin too, yet you're so afraid of him?"

"It's not fear." Ryosuke glanced around before speaking quietly. "It's respect—respect for the strong. You're only a Chunin, so you don't understand. Aburame Shibi has an enormous reputation among Jonin."

"They say that when he was in the ANBU, he handled missions where survival was nearly impossible. He earned the title of all-round ninja, always operated alone, and no ninja who fell into his hands ever left behind an intact corpse."

"I really never expected him to come out and lead a squad. Otherwise, I never would have offended him. If he remembers this, it'll definitely be the most terrifying memory of my life!"

Hearing Ryosuke's introduction of Aburame Shibi, Kento immediately shuddered and swallowed hard.

On the other side, Aburame Shibi frowned impatiently, completely ignoring the group of caravan members fawning around him.

"Amazing. No wonder even Jonin Ryosuke respects him so much. It seems this kind of thing simply isn't worthy of Lord Shibi's attention."

"Exactly. Lord Shibi is so aloof. Is that just how the strong are?"

"Lord Shibi's lofty aura fills us with boundless admiration."

The caravan members instantly turned into bootlickers, showering Aburame Shibi with extravagant praise until Hyuga Satoru nearly threw up.

Have you ever considered that maybe Teacher Shibi is ignoring you because he has social anxiety?

Hyuga Satoru knew all too well that the seemingly aloof and invincible Aburame Shibi actually suffered from severe social anxiety. When there were too many people around, he completely froze up.

He knew exactly what Aburame Shibi's inner monologue had to be right now: Why are you all surrounding me? Do I have pockmarks on my face? Don't look at me, don't look at me... Ugh, just leave already!

Hyuga Satoru took a deep breath, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. So let this good student who respected his teacher and elders save his teacher from this sea of suffering!

If I don't go to hell, who will?

Hyuga Satoru instantly became a social butterfly and rushed forward, snatching the watermelon offered by a caravan member.

"Wow, is this the legendary giant watermelon from Grass Country? It really is so juicy!"

"Oh? This Iron Country specialty braised beef smells so rich. It's not too much for me to have a taste, right?"

"And this too—hand it over!"

The caravan members: ???

By the time they came to their senses, anger had appeared on their faces as they watched Hyuga Satoru hug the watermelon and gnaw at it wildly. But since Aburame Shibi said nothing, they could not say anything either.

"Hey, Rin, Anko, Senior Duy, you should come try some too! Eating watermelon is such a wonderful thing!"

Hyuga Satoru's mouth was covered in watermelon pulp as he waved to the others behind him.

Uchiha Rin and Anko were instantly dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open.

"Satoru... He really is full of surprises."

"I just hope those caravan people don't get angry. The mission has only just begun; causing trouble would be troublesome." Uchiha Rin helplessly rubbed her forehead.

Unlike the reserved Anko and Uchiha Rin, Might Duy and Guy did not stand on ceremony at all. They immediately darted to Hyuga Satoru's side, each grabbed a slice of watermelon, and started devouring it.

"So delicious!"

"I'm so touched! Satoru actually shared such precious food with us. The flames of youth within me are burning again!"

After tossing aside their finished watermelon rinds, Duy and Guy hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Seeing this, the members of Ryosuke's squad twitched their eyelids, and the dry rations in their hands instantly seemed far less appetizing.