Friends You Can Count On

is episode 236 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.

Summary
In Konohagakure, Shino is telling a story to a few younger Konoha shinobi that are curious about the upcoming war. Shino tells them that he was scared but he was not worried because he had friends he could depend on. Shino recounts a mission he had while a genin to capture a bandit. The mission was initially unsuccessful, as the bandit was able to defeat Shino in close combat taijutsu and at the same time called him weak and mocked him use of insects in battle. With his pride hurt, Shino locked himself away at his home, but Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata instead opted to help him train to improve his taijutsu. Kiba and Hinata later track down the bandit but are overwhelmed and eventually caught in the direct line of one of his attacks. They are however saved by Shino who then engages the bandit in close-combat and eventually overwhelms him with his Iron Tackle. Hinata then frees herself and Kiba and with their help, the bandit is incapacitated. It is later revealed that Kurenai, who was noticeably absent during the events, had been watching over them all along.

Trivia

 * A running gag in this episode is that while soaking in the hot springs, Shino's pores seemingly open up too much allowing his bugs to leave his body, greatly creeping Kiba out.