[Bumping into Tsunade!]
A week later, Hyuga Bin found himself in a remote alley, cornered by a trio of young Uchiha boys who had seized the chance to confront him.
The Uchiha clan had long been known for its pride and arrogance. Many of its members looked down on others and passed that superiority complex to the next generation. As a result, even young children from the clan often displayed an inflated sense of self-worth.
These three boys, barely five or six years old, had the nerve to gang up on Hyuga Bin.
Though currently in the body of a toddler, Hyuga Bin was an adult at heart. Facing three opponents, he didn't waste time trying to dodge all their attacks—instead, he focused on taking one of them down. The result was a brawl that left him battered and bruised, though he succeeded in injuring one of the boys significantly.
Considering his current three-and-a-half-year-old body, managing to "counter-kill" one opponent in a three-on-one fight was actually impressive.
Still, Hyuga Bin couldn't feel proud. Not only was he physically hurt, but he had also failed the system's mission—he was supposed to defeat all three Uchiha boys, not just one.
His first mission... ended in failure.
Yet Hyuga Bin wasn't discouraged. After all, he had only received the system a few days ago. There would be many more chances to grow stronger.
When he returned home with visible injuries, there was no way to hide what had happened. Not that he intended to. When Hyuga Masato questioned him, Hyuga Bin truthfully explained that he'd fought the Uchiha trio and managed to stand his ground.
After hearing the full story and praising Hyuga Bin for his bravery, Hyuga Masato's expression turned cold. He decided to personally visit the Uchiha Police Force to demand an explanation.
If Hyuga Bin had been defeated by Uchiha kids his own age, Masato might have let it go. But being ganged up on by older children—ones already enrolled in the Ninja Academy—was unacceptable.
If the Uchiha clan couldn't give him a satisfactory answer, Hyuga Masato was prepared to escalate the matter directly to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He might be just a jonin from the Hyuga branch family, but he would not tolerate his son being bullied.
---
In the days that followed, Hyuga Bin made a habit of lingering around crowded areas in Konoha. In doing so, he managed to trigger option tasks involving several well-known figures.
He encountered both Orochimaru and the Third Hokage. However, both missions were too risky—either morally compromising or life-threatening—so he chose to avoid them. As a result, he was passively rewarded with +0.1 boosts to his physical strength and stamina.
At this point in time, Orochimaru had already begun researching immortality in response to the fragility of life exposed during the Second Shinobi World War. In less than a decade, he would defect from Konoha.
Hyuga Bin knew that getting involved with someone like Orochimaru—especially in any "experimental" sense—was a disaster waiting to happen. Even though one mission promised the A-rank reward of the Hyuga clan's secret technique, Kaiten, Bin wisely opted out.
Then there was the Third Hokage's option task, which involved discussing village politics. Knowing Hiruzen's reputation as a cunning old manipulator, Hyuga Bin avoided that too.
Hyuga Bin wasn't reckless. He was playing it safe.
---
"If Orochimaru gave me two option triggers," Hyuga Bin mused, "then Tsunade and Jiraiya should too, right?"
Having made up his mind, Hyuga Bin began planning how to "accidentally" encounter the other two Sannin. He dubbed them the holy trinity of vices—gambling, drinking, and... questionable pursuits.
Compared to the dangerous Orochimaru and the scheming Hiruzen, Tsunade and Jiraiya were far less threatening.
Hyuga Bin had always despised gambling and drugs in his previous life, which ironically made Jiraiya the one he respected most.
Unfortunately, this was Year 37 of the Konoha calendar. Jiraiya wasn't in the village—he was currently in the Rain Country, training a certain silver-haired, eye-patched orphan with dreams of peace.
So that left Tsunade.
By now, her brother Nawaki had been dead for two years, and her lover Dan had just died earlier this year. She was in her twenties, at the height of her beauty and fame, but emotionally wrecked.
On the third evening of staking out the gambling district, Hyuga Bin finally spotted her exiting a casino—flat broke and in debt once again.
Even from across the street, Hyuga Bin could see her stunning face, though her eyes were empty, and her expression hollow. She looked like someone who had lost everything that mattered.
Hyuga Bin stayed seated on a public bench near the road she was walking along. As she drew closer, he waited for the system to trigger a task.
Sure enough, when she was less than three meters away, the system presented him with three choices:
---
[Option A]: Comfort Tsunade with your most sincere words.
Reward: Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode (S-rank)
[Option B]: Mock Tsunade as a coward unworthy of life.
Reward: Superhuman Strength (A-rank)
[Option C]: Ignore Tsunade completely.
Reward: Random stat +0.1
---
Hyuga Bin immediately ruled out B and C.
Option C's reward was too weak. Option B could easily get him punched into next week by Tsunade. But option A… that was golden.
If he could gain access to the techniques of the Slug Sage, then once his body matured, he'd have Kage-level strength. That was the kind of power he needed.
Unlike Orochimaru, Tsunade wasn't the kind to experiment on children. Even if his words came off as unnatural, she'd likely chalk it up to childhood weirdness and move on.
The weather was good. The timing felt right. Hyuga Bin decided to go for it.
He stood up, walked toward Tsunade, and called out politely, "Lady Tsunade."
She paused, looking down at the tiny Hyuga boy before her.
Hyuga Bin glanced up—and couldn't help but notice the two very prominent features right at his eye level. Still, his gaze remained clear and focused. In a calm, childlike voice, he said something no toddler should be able to articulate:
"My mother once said: life has its ups and downs. But if you can learn to take things lightly, your heart won't stay heavy. Life isn't all pain or joy—so try not to get stuck in the past."
Tsunade gave a faint "Yeah," not really processing the words, or perhaps not wanting to. It wasn't something a child should be saying.
After all, this was a Hyuga child. From a respected clan. It was… odd.
Still, Hyuga Bin didn't care how it looked. He just wanted to complete the mission and make an impression.
"I don't know what you've gone through," he added, "but I hope you won't give up on doing your best."
With that, he reached into his pocket and handed her a small candy.
Then he turned and walked away.