First Task

Shino Aburame stood at the entrance of the Hokage's office, his teacher Kurenai Yūhi standing beside him. Behind him were his teammates, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyūga. Their Genin forehead guards were worn on their heads, eagerly awaiting their first mission.

Watching Kiba clamouring with excitement over the upcoming mission, Shino calmly adjusted his glasses but didn't say anything. Although his parents didn't tell him, he already knew that the Genins will start with low-ranked missions. It wasn't really something to be excited about.

The door to the Hokage's office creaked opened and revealed a spacious room, with a blinding light pouring out.

And then, as Shino's eyes adjusted to the brightness, he notice the most stunning feature of the room: a wide bank of windows, lining the walls like a gateway to the world beyond. With each pane of glass perfectly aligned, it's as if the entire room has been designed to let the sun worship the owner inside the room.

In the heart of the room, bathed in the warm glow of sunlight streaming through the towering windows, stood the Hokage's desk.

Before it, immaculate stacks of books stood in perfect order, each one brimming with knowledge and secrets. And on the desk itself, a web of scrolls and documents spread out, each one a precious piece of information in the hands of the Hokage.

Kurenai calmly led them inside. Here, Shino's glasses glinted as he observed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for the first time ever since he came to this world.

He was an old man of small stature, with a tapestry of wrinkles and liver spots on his skin, telling the story of a life long-lived. His hair hangs in thin strands of grey, like whispers of a time long gone.

Yet despite the ravages of age, the old man radiates an aura of authority and power, a testament to the life he has led.

And as Shino's eyes trace the lines of his body, they settle on the official uniform he wears with such pride. The hat, the haori, the red kimono tied with a white sash - all symbols of his position and the respect it commands.

To stand before this man is to stand before history itself, to witness the legacy of a lifetime of service to his people. To the ninjas, he was a leader. To the children, he was a kind old man.

The old man smiled warmly at the young Genins and motioned for Kurenai to pick some tasks.

"Ah, Team 8," Hiruzen said, motioning for them to take a scroll. "I recommend these here as your first mission." He handed Kurenai a scroll, which she unrolled and began to read. Kiba leaned forward, eager to hear what their mission would be.

"It looks like your first task is to assist the villagers with some basic chores and tasks," Kurenai said, looking up from the scroll. "Things like cleaning, fetching water, and helping with crops."

Shino nodded, taking in the information. It was a simple enough task as expected, but he knew that there was always more to it than met the eye.

"I'm sure we can handle more than that," Kiba said, grinning confidently. "Akamaru and I will have those chores done in no time! Why don't we pick a higher-leve tasks, Kurenai sensei!"

Kurenai's eyes flickered over to Kiba and said in a calm tone, "All Genins must start with these missions. These are the rules."

"Che-" Kiba uttered in disatisfaction with hands placed on the back of his head.

Hinata smiled shyly, her eyes bright with anticipation. "I'll do my best to help," she said softly.

Shino remained silent, his mind already turning as he thought about how he could use his insects to assist in the tasks they had been assigned. As they left the Hokage's office and made their way towards the town, he took note of the surroundings, scouting out possible safe routes for his drone.

As they arrived in town, Kurenai left them to their own devices after handing the task list to Shino. She told them that they must decide on how to split the work themselves as this was also a learning experience.

Hinata had no opinions. Kiba just looked back and forth between the tasks, not knowing which to take. Shino adjusted his glasses as he saw this and decided to take things into his own hands, "How about this? Kiba is suitable for this task because-"

"Yo, I'll do this one then! Alright, see you guys later! Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba snatched the cleaning task that Shino pointed out

"Arf! Arf!"

Before Shino explained how he could complete it easily, Kiba had already rushed off with Akamaru.

Shino can only hope that this reckless companion of his can figure out how to tackle the task and not make a mess.

Shino then glanced at Hinata who was shyly poking her fingers together, yet it was clear that she still kept some distance away from Shino.

Although she was a girl, Shino had no qualms with assigning her a heavy task, "Hinata, would you like to take the fetching water task? I think I am most suitable for-"

"Mmm."

Before Shino could finish, Hinata swiped the task and jogged away, leaving Shino awkwardly standing alone on the street.

Shino adjusted his glasses and couldn't help but mutter, "Am I that scary?"

Shaking his head, Shino then headed off to do the farming task. Pest control may be a daunting task for others, but not for the Aburame clan. As he walked forward, tiny insects flowed out from his body and slipped away to scout the area.

Days passed. After a couple of days of individual tasks, the tasks that Kurenai sensei took began to gear towards teamwork. Naturally, this had its purpose and Shino could see this clearly. So, he led the group to do the tasks together … well, in fact, it was usually Kiba leading because he would be the first rushing forward.

From performing a show to orphans to searching for a lost cat. Team 8 stably completed these missions one by one. Some of these missions were even completed multiple times … such as finding the lost cat. Shino had to admit that the cat knew how to contribute to the GDP of Konoha because it was actually the same cat lost every time...

Shino watched as his teammates worked, taking mental notes on their abilities and strengths. He knew that by observing them, he could learn how best to utilize their skills in future missions. He was a bug man that relies on strategy rather than hard power. So, having two melee tanks who rush forward was the best news for Shino who played the role of support.

Of course, that was the original Shino. For him who has the Zerg Dominator System, things may change in the future after he spawns more powerful Zergs. However, for now, he still had to rely on his teammates until he can acquire a stable source of biomass.

Naturally, Shino wasn't the only one doing this observation. It wasn't long before Kurenai sensei showed up to tell them to gather at the training grounds after finishing their tasks. They were now going to split off some task time to receive guidance from Kurenai sensei.

It started with mostly just simple chakra control training such as tree climbing and water walking. Naturally, what followed was a lot training on how to see through illusions and break out of them. After all, Kurenai sensei was a master of genjutsu. Shino took these classes seriously, because he knew that there were some very dangerous genjutsu ninjas out there.

Of course, Kurenai also customized her personal guidance for each individual. The only downside is that Kurenai sensei would guide Kiba and Hinata, but would sometimes forget to guide Shino. This was definitely not because she was excluding Shino or had some grudge. It was simply because they forgot his existence when they were too immersed in training…

So poor Shino had to play with his bugs… alone.

Well, at least he got the attention of his father. Shino didn't want to waste too much time, so he had been asking for guidance from his father, mainly focused on illusion immunity.

Unexpectedly, this was actually possible in the Aburame clan. There were clear training procedures to establish a bug system that can constantly disturb chakra in order to become pseudo-immune to most illusions.

The reason for pseudo is because this method can't make the host immune to illusion. It only creates a system where the illusion-immune bugs would be used to automatically break the host out of an illusion.

As for what level of illusion it can dispel? That will have to wait for Shino to find out. After all, he is still mastering this technique and he still can't block Kurenai sensei's illusion.

Although this technique should be useful when learned, his father did tell him that when the technique is active, using ninjutsu outside of the Aburame clan bug techniques would be much tougher due to the disturbance of chakra.

This was a downside, but if this method can defend against the genjutsu of powerful illusionists like Itachi, then Shino was all up for it, but he is doubtful it could.

Anyways, learning something was better than just being forgotten… at least Kurenai sensei can help him test his progress when she remembers he is there. Outside of forgetting his existence sometimes, Kurenai sensei proved to be an exceptional teacher.

Although she wasn't exemplary in strength compared to characters like Kakashi, at least, there wasn't any problem with her punctuality.

As the days passed, the team settled into a routine. Kiba and Akamaru would take care of the more physical tasks, while Hinata used her keen eyesight to search for lost items and animals. Shino, meanwhile, used his insects to assist in any way he could, whether it was by tracking, carrying objects, or helping in the fields.

Despite the hard work, they all found time to joke and play with each other. Kiba would often tease Hinata, much to her embarrassment, while Shino would quietly observe and take it all in. Inwardly, he already has an inkling regarding the reason why Kiba fought so hard with Naruto during the Chuunin exam.

Training together and against each other also helped to increase their bonds. Although they still don't like his bugs, his teammates' aversion to bugs seem to decline over time. Kurenai watched over them all, her eyes never leaving her students.

A month after they started their mission, as they made their way back to turn in the task, Shino had finally confirmed a good route for his drone. While doing chores, he had managed to scout out a route without drawing too much attention.

Shino's glasses glinted enigmatically, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

After turning in the task, Shino mentioned to his team, "Today, I will be leaving early. I have to go home because-"

Kiba snorted. "You mean you were just looking for an excuse to play with your bugs, aren't you?"

Well, technically, Kiba wasn't wrong. So, Shino just nodded in agreement.

Kiba placed his hand on his head as he casually uttered, "Well, then I'll go take Akamaru for a walk. What about you, Hinata?"

Hinata who was poking her fingers together hesitantly glanced up when she was called. Her hazy white eyes stared at her two teammates as a faint blush crept up on her face. Bowing her head, her soft voice sounded, "Go home and… eat."

Well. The two boys had no comment.

"Yo, then let's meet up later on the training ground," Kiba said with a grin before he walked off with Akamaru, "Let's go Akamaru!"

"Arf! Arf!"

So, the trio separated.

Walking towards home to pickup his drone, Shino had his head bowed because he felt he wasted too much time. Although his strength did improve, but not by much.

"If I'm correct, it's been a month, and it's almost time for Kakashi-ban to go to the Land of Waves. There, Naruto will definitely hang up and get a power spike with Kurama's chakra. Sasuke would also rediscover his Sharingan cheat and start copying techniques. As for Sakura… well her forehead became bigger because she had a headache over how to keep up with Naruto and Sasuke."

Recalling the coming events, Shino knew he didn't have much time. He also has a golden finger and is also hanging up. Even if he can't match Naruto and Sasuke, at least he should have the strength of self preservation in the coming Chuunin Exam.

"My current route is not perfect, but it'll make do. I can never be completely safe, but it's already good to be less noticeable. I can't wait any longer. I need to gather biomass. I've been subtly increasing my food consumption at home, but just normal food consumption is too slow, especially since I don't want to show that I have extreme change of appetite at home."

Shino made the decision to deploy his drone. His target: The Fourty-Fourth training ground, Forest of Death.