Hinata's Adventure

Miss Hinata had only just turned six, yet she already had no fewer troubles than an adult.

To others, her status as the legitimate daughter of Konoha's prestigious Hyuga clan was a dazzling halo of glory; to Hinata herself, it was a burden her little shoulders could not bear. Her talent was simply too ordinary. Despite receiving the most advanced and rigorous training in her father's family, she was still far weaker than the branch-family children her age.

Although she persisted in completing her training every time, gritting her teeth and swallowing the pain and exhaustion, she would always see her father's stiff expression and disappointed eyes.

In her memories, her father had never smiled at her again after he began teaching her martial arts, had he?

Hinata also knew what her personality was like, and her father looked down on it even more. She was too soft and timid. She could barely raise her voice when speaking to people, showing none of the bearing expected of the heir to Konoha's foremost clan. It filled her father with the angry frustration of someone who feared his successor was hopeless.

Especially since she had been bullied several times by a few commoner children her age on the street. It was utterly ridiculous—the heir to a famous ninja clan being bullied in the street by a few commoner children. When she returned home and tearfully complained to her father, all she received was an even sterner face and a frosty reprimand: "As the legitimate daughter of the main family, is that all you're capable of?"

Though young, soft, and delicate, Hinata was actually very clever. She knew that the squad of chūnin her father had sent to protect her never left her side, hiding somewhere nearby.

Yet when she had been bullied before, they had only watched coldly without any intention of intervening. That had to be her father's order too, right? She had really disappointed him...

Thinking of this, Hinata, hurrying home from the bathhouse, remembered that she would soon have to pass through those children's territory again. Would she be bullied once more? But I really don't dare fight back...

Oh, right. There was also the scroll the legendary Lord Jiraiya had given her. Hinata's little hands tightened around the thick scroll, and she wondered: Was what Lord Jiraiya said true? Do I really have that kind of potential, enough to shoulder a great responsibility? If so, maybe Father will acknowledge me again after he finds out?

With a faint, inexplicable anticipation in her heart, Hinata's steps home gradually grew lighter, and her little body finally displayed the carefree excitement a child ought to have.

What she did not know was that... the chūnin squad protecting her had already exploded into chaos.

It began when the guards suddenly discovered that someone had dared to peek outside while their young lady was bathing!

They were just preparing to cripple the arrogant pervert and teach him a lesson he would never forget when they suddenly realized that the pervert was none other than the legendary Three Ninja, Jiraiya!

What happened next was even more bizarre. Lord Jiraiya had actually taken out a summoning scroll and asked Miss Hinata to sign a contract, while showering her with free praise about her extraordinary bones and limitless prospects. Everyone knew that the inheritance of a summoning scroll was only passed down to direct disciples in the shinobi world. Only prodigies like the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, were qualified to receive the mantle of Mount Myoboku's successor from Jiraiya! Wasn't their young lady always considered untalented, nearly reduced to a laughingstock for clan members during idle gossip? Could it be that Miss Hinata actually possessed some hidden constitution, with extraordinary talent that would let her leap over the dragon gate and rise without limit once awakened? The chūnin who often read novels had already begun imagining a story in which a useless heiress encountered an expert, received his guidance, rose a thousand miles a day, slapped faces while showing off, and became a legend of the shinobi world.

Regardless, they had to report this to the clan head as soon as possible! One of the chūnin immediately gathered his strength and used the Body Flicker Technique, rushing all the way toward the clan compound with this major news.

Hinata eventually reached that familiar neighborhood. Her little head hung low, her eyes fixed on the ground, and both arms hugged her chest tightly, hiding the "legendary scroll" she had just received. She prayed silently: Don't run into them. Don't run into them.

But reality always went against one's wishes. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as Murphy's Law.

Several figures suddenly appeared around the corner. Though they were all young, their faces were filled with viciousness. The blond boy in the lead wore an arrogant, triumphant expression and spoke in the peculiar tone common among street thugs, using words far too mature for his age: "Yo, isn't this our Miss Hinata? How dare you come to our territory again?"

"Ugh..." Hinata let out a soft whimper. Her throat trembled, but she could not manage to say anything for a long while.

"Haha! So this is how a noble young lady acts!" The blond boy turned to his lackeys. "Everyone, let's go teach our young lady another lesson!"

"Hahahaha... sure thing!" The other boys burst out laughing and echoed their leader.

"P-please... don't do this..." Hinata finally forced out a sentence. Tears had already begun to well up in her pure white eyes. "Why do you always bully me?"

Unfortunately, these brats were far too young to understand how to treat a pretty girl gently. Hinata's pitiful appearance did not move them in the slightest. Instead, they pressed forward another step. "No reason. Bullying Miss Hinata is just fun, hahaha."

The shadows gradually closed in. Hinata began trembling even more violently, her tiny body curling up involuntarily like a frightened kitten as she hugged the scroll against her chest even tighter.

"Wait!" The little punk seemed to have spotted something new. "What are you hiding in your arms? Hand it over!"

Was she really going to let them take the scroll Lord Jiraiya had entrusted to her? The timid girl, so accustomed to being bullied, felt an unusual surge in her heart. Her voice gained a strangely resolute strength. "No. This is very important. I can't let you take it!"

Huh? The blond boy's expression twisted further, as if he had discovered something fascinating. This young lady actually dared to resist? Instead, that stirred up a warped sense of accomplishment in the boys. Without another word, they swarmed around Hinata and pried at her arms, trying to seize the supposedly important object.

No... I can't let them take it. For the first time in her life, Hinata felt the power of responsibility and duty. She clung desperately to the scroll and resisted with all her might. Yet at only six years old, she ultimately lacked the strength. Her tightly locked arms gradually weakened, and she was about to lose the treasure entrusted to her by one of the Three Ninja.

Tahm had not expected it, and neither had the "salesman" Jiraiya. A joking bit of "con artistry" had strangely stirred ripples in the little girl's stagnant heart after her repeated setbacks, inexplicably changing the course of many people's lives in the future.

Hinata suddenly remembered Jiraiya's earlier words: "This scroll contains the power to change the era. I entrust it to you. Girl, open it and move forward bravely."

If Hinata had read Jiraiya's earlier flop novels, she would have known that this was merely a line from one of his books. Similar lines could be found in every generic hot-blooded adventure novel in the shinobi world.

Yet those words gave her an inexplicable strength. She shoved away the hands reaching for the scroll and forcefully unrolled it:

Whatever you are, please help me!