Whilst the Sasuke Retrieval Arc in Naruto appeared mostly successful with the defeat of the Sound Four, the ultimate goal of the mission was a failure. Team Shikamaru was bloody and beaten by the end, with the Sand Siblings arriving only in time to save them and then tend to the wounded. Due to their sorry state, the team was unable to pursue Naruto Uzumaki and assist in the fight with Sasuke Uchiha.
There was one particular genin outside the village at the time of Team Sihkamaru’s assembly. Shino Aburame, the strongest member of Team 8, pre-time skip, was on a mission with his father, the jōnin Shibi Aburame. The very fact that Shino was assigned to jōnin mission outside of Team 8 speaks volumes of his capability, and his performance in both the chūnin exam and his fight against Kankuro support his ability. When considering how hastily Team Shikamaru was put together, how would the mission have differed, if at all, should Shino have been present?
What if Shino Replaced Kiba?
The first way to approach the question comes with Shino taking the place of the Team 8 representative. At this point in the story, Shino was far stronger than Kiba Inuzuka and was also equipped with tracking capabilities through the usage of his kikaichū. There is no doubt that Shino would plant an insect on Sasuke’s barrel and use it to keep close tabs on the location of the Sound Four. At first, this would mean the team would need other means to locate them before the first bout, but upon the initial battle coming to an end with Jirōbō’s boulder jutsu, their location would be continuously tracked by Shino.
The structure of the combat would likely remain the same. Chōji Akimichi would still wish to face Jirōbō alone in Shikamaru Nara’s honor and Neji Hyuga would still be the best option to counter Kidōmaru. However, considering how easily Kankuro decimated Sakon and Ukon, Shino would have little trouble with the pair. Shino was one of the strongest of the Konoha genin, only beaten out by Naruto and Neji at the time of the arc, and Sakon struggled with Kiba. Shino would defeat him before Kankuro even arrived. This would allow both Shino and Kankuro to assist Gaara and Rock Lee against Kimimaro Kaguya.
What if Shino Joined the Five Man Team?
Even if Shino and Kankuro were able to come to the aid of Gaara, Kimimaro was far too powerful for Shino and Kankuro to effectively make a major difference in the combat. The way the situation unfolds is similar to that of the anime if Shino even decided to give chase. Considering he fully intended to follow Naruto to face Gaara together shows he desires to assist wherever possible. When analyzing this factor, if Shino had been present with Kiba and created a six-man team, he would have done exactly that.
With Shino’s presence alongside the canon squad, the battles would have certainly played out considerably differently. There would be fewer injured, and perhaps not even a break-up of the squad when Kimimaro arrived. This scenario is harder to perceive due to the massive difference one extra ninja would have made to the outcome, but it would have likely ended with Shino having the opportunity to assist Naruto in his fight with Sasuke. Whilst it would have taken away from the dramatic nature of their fight, Shino would have certainly tipped the hairsbreadth conclusion in the fight in Naruto’s favour — Shino is the perfect support ninja.
It is interesting to consider the different outcomes of events within the series. Shino’s reaction to being left out of the mission makes it very apparent he regretted being unable to help when the Konoha genin needed as much support as they could muster. Though, the question of if the outcome would be different comes two-fold — retrieving Sasuke would have still failed if he replaced Kiba; if he joined an already made five-man team he would have been able to back up Naruto.