1 1: Ashikaga Town

"998, 999, 1000..."

In a dojo, a young man was dripping with sweat as he swung a shinai (a Japanese sword made of bamboo) with full concentration.

A middle-aged man stood on the sidelines silently watching the young man practice. He stood at an ordinary height for a man and had an average build. He wore round spectacles and had his jet-black hair pulled back in a ponytail. His yukata, which was white, was concealed by a brown haori with long sleeves.

'That's my boy,' thought Takeda Izumo, the father of the young man in front of him.

If there was one thing in his life to be proud of, it would be his son. His son, Takeda Shoji, was a genius like no other.

However, Takeda Shoji had a rather different opinion on that.

He used to go by the name of Alex Mercer. Before, he worked a regular 9-to-5 schedule with two days off per week and lived alone. Even though his life was somewhat unremarkable, he was content with it.

One morning, when he was on his way to work, he suddenly found himself in this world with no memory of the events leading up to it. Worse still, he discovered he was a baby. Then, it finally dawned on him; he had been reincarnated.

The new family he was born into was fairly well-off. His new father, Takeda Izumo, was a retired samurai and was now the master of the Isshin Dojo. Meanwhile, his new mother, Takeda Shizuka, was just an ordinary housewife. He was happy to finally have parents in his new life after growing up without one.

Growing older, he became aware that he was actually in ancient Japan. So, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps, to become a samurai—not that he ever had any other option, really. When he turned eight, he couldn't have been happier when he awakened his system.

He was given two choices by the system, asking whether he wanted to awaken the ninja system or the samurai system.

Did he even need to think?

In ancient Japan, samurai were warriors that belonged to the noble classes, while ninjas were just hired guns, mercenaries. Why the system gave him the ninja option was beyond him.

So, with that thought in mind, he eagerly opted for the samurai system, a decision he would come to deeply regret. Oh, if only he knew.

Time went on, and days became weeks. Life for him settled into a routine. Every day, he would practice swordsmanship under the supervision of the system. He spent a whole year doing just that.

Then, one day, he heard his father talking about a food shortage in their country. The food supply wasn't the only thing his father said that had him worried. Did his father just say, "Land of Iron?"

'Hmm, that name certainly rings a bell. Meh, it's just a name,' he thought dismissively. Just a coincidence, he told himself. In reality, he was shaking in his boots. He was only trying to put his mind at ease.

One week later, his worst fear finally came true. While strolling through town, he spotted a trio decked out in full ninja garb. Not the black ninja outfit from the movies. He meant the clothes the ninjas wore in Naruto.

They were dressed in the standard issue Konoha uniform, complete with the trademark forehead protectors. If that wasn't enough, the fact that one of them had a Byakugan was the final straw.

He was in the Naruto universe. Then, it hit him like a ton of bricks; he was a samurai in the Ninja World.

That night, he was crying in his room, begging with his system to let him pick a different choice. Unfortunately for him, his system was having none of it. Even worse, his system got upset with him.

If the tasks he had done before were easy, or "easy mode" in game terms, he was now on "hell mode." He now had to do a lot of tasks every day just to avoid the system's punishment.

Soon, word spread throughout the town that young Takeda Shoji was a diligent kid who wanted to become a samurai just like his father. His parents at first, were confused by his sudden change. Though they soon realised that the change was good for Takeda Shoji and left their child to his own devices.

However, no one knew that the reason he was working so hard was just to complete his daily tasks. He couldn't go around telling everyone he was acting under duress from the system, could he? It wouldn't take long for him to be dissected on Orochimaru's table if word got out that he had a system.

He had no choice but to quietly persevere through his training and play the part of a dedicated samurai wannabe.

So, in the town of Ashikaga, everyone could see a child training with his sword from dawn 'til dusk. His fame even spread to all parts of the Land of Iron.

Yet, Takeda Shoji was completely unaware of all of this. He kept doing swordsmanship practice every day without rest just so he could escape the terrible punishments from the system.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"Ding! Gain 10 points for completing the daily basic practice."

The system's voice rang out in Takeda Shoji's mind.

He had just finished the daily tasks that the system gave him. Once he'd pass out after every practice, but now he was able to keep going.

Three years had passed since he first picked up a sword and learned how to use it. He was eleven years old now, making him the same age as Konoha Academy's graduates.

He was rather tall for his age and had a plain look that was saved only by his almond-shaped brown eyes and short, spiky, black hair.

Having finished his training, he was looking forward to a day of rest and relaxation, but fate had other plans.

"Ding!

"Mission: Defeat the samurai who has come to challenge you!"

"Description: Your reputation has grown throughout the Land of Iron. You must now prove to everyone that you have what it takes to become a samurai."

What the hell? Who the heck said that? He swore he would give that guy the worst beating of his life.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the dojo. He knew right away that the samurai the system told him had already arrived.

After drying himself with a towel, he put on a clean white shirt and reached for his katana, Wado Ichimonji, that was given to him by the system about half a year ago.

As he was leaving for the dojo, several students from the dojo ran over, shouting. "Lord Takeda! Someone—"

"I already know. Let's go see them," he cut them off.

He then retrieved the haori that he had previously hung on the tree; the haori bore the embroidered emblem of the Takeda family, before making his way to the dojo.

He moved at a slow pace. The reason he was moving so slowly was because he didn't want to fight and was hoping to wear out his opponent so that they'd give up and leave.

As he stepped into the dojo, he saw there was already a fairly large crowd. Some people, however, left in a hurry after seeing him. Maybe they were disappointed to see he was just a kid.

He saw them leaving but did nothing to stop them. In fact, he was hoping everyone would leave so no one could bother him.

He took stock of the samurai around him, and a few didn't seem to pay him any attention. Right then, a swordsman who looked like a ronin came up and said, "Excuse me, are you Takeda Shoji?"

He nodded. "Are you all here to challenge me?"

His question was met with nods from the ronin and the others.

"Our dojo doesn't accept challengers," he refused without hesitation.

"Hey! You can't refuse our challenges!" the ronin yelled.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? We don't accept challengers here. Please leave," he said firmly.

"Nope! You are a samurai. Where is your honour!" the ronin spat.

He then addressed the warriors surrounding him, and they all nodded in agreement with what he had just said.

'Damn samurai!' Shoji cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, but I really can't accept your challenges—"

But before he could finish what he was about to say, the samurai immediately began to protest.

Shoji raised a hand quickly to silence them. "While I may be a samurai, I am no more than a young boy. There's no way I can fight you all."

After hearing Shoji's explanation, the samurai finally blushed in shame, having realised their blunder.

"I've got an idea!" All eyes returned to him.

"Why don't you compete with each other first? Whoever comes out on top will get to fight me."

As soon as he made the suggestion, the samurai began looking for their opponents. Shortly after that, there was chaos all over the dojo.

Takeda Shoji groaned as he watched the samurai swing their swords wildly. He had to stop this right away or someone would die soon.

After much effort, he was able to stop everyone from fighting. He then asked the students to bring the shinai to them. This should keep them from killing each other, hopefully.

However, he was unaware that his actions had increased the samurai's respect for him. After all, if Shoji hadn't brought it up, they would definitely use live steel for the sake of their reputation.

As the fights between the samurai went on, the people of Ashikaga Town also came to watch. When he realised this could be a lucrative business opportunity, he had the students start selling tickets right away.

The students at first balked at the idea because they felt it would bring shame to these samurai. Samurai fought for honour and glory. Use them to make money? No samurai could stand this.

'Honour and glory, my ass!' Shoji thought.

"Look at them! Their clothes are tattered. Some of them couldn't even take a bath. Do you still call them samurai?" he said, wiping fake tears from his eyes.

The students turned their attention to the samurai in front of them. Indeed, it was more accurate to call them ronin than samurai. Only a few of them were dressed nicely. The sad sight of these samurai rendered them speechless.

Seeing as how they were starting to waver, he gave them the last push they needed.

"Why not use this opportunity to lend a hand to them? Let's give them some money so they can make their lives better," he added.

"But glory is more important than life!" a student said.

In response, he took his sheathed katana and gave a light tap on the student's head.

"Shut up!" he snapped. "Of course I know how important the glory of a samurai is! But why would you put your life on the line for a challenge that has no real purpose?"

The student who was yelled at could only hang his head low and remain silent. When the students began to collect money from the spectators, he did a little mental jig while keeping his face impassive.

A small group of samurai who witnessed this scene clenched their fists in anger. They took back what they said about this kid earlier.

'Trying to make money off us? Go ahead! We will show you what it means to become a samurai later,' they thought furiously, their eyes shooting dagger at Shoji.

Shoji, however, paid them no mind as he watched the samurai battle it out, using various sword styles, many of which he recognized. There were only so many schools of swordsmanship in the Land of Iron.

But there was always one who was a little bit more...unconventional than the rest. Before Shoji, a man was sprawled out on the floor. The man had his hand on his crotch, his eyes rolled back, and foam was coming from his mouth. He seemed to be in a lot of pain.

A samurai stood next to the unconscious man, staring defiantly at Shoji, causing the latter to twitch his lips.

"So," Shoji slowly began. "Did you plan to do that?" he asked.

Surprisingly, the samurai said, "Yes!"

At Shoji's raised eyebrow, the samurai explained. "As a samurai, the most important thing is to beat your opponent. So, this should be my win."

Shoji cast a pitying glance at the unconscious man before nodding to the samurai, motioning him to continue.

"Also, the rule doesn't say anything about hitting the crotch," the samurai added.

"That's a good point, you got me there," Shoji admitted.

In the end, he went against what everyone thought and let the samurai enter the next round simply so he could beat everybody else. After all, who let these samurai disturb his peaceful life? Yes, he still held a grudge against them; it was just who he was.

Aside from the typical samurai, there were also a few who carried other weapons. Some of them even had a spear. You peasants! And what's up with that kusarigama? (A scythe and a heavy iron weight connected together with metal chains) Who do you think you are? Hanzo?

All he could do was shake his head. In the Ninja World, there was no distinction between weapons. Everything from a rapier to an axe to a hammer was a sword in their eyes. The only things that were called differently were kunai and shuriken.

Just look at the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from the Hidden Mist. How many of them actually had a sword in their hand?

Since no one was permitted to use a weapon other than the shinai, these samurai had no choice but to leave in disappointment.

Next, he turned his attention to another group of samurai, which he was more concerned about. They were the new samurai. Now you might be wondering why they were called the new samurai.

It was because of chakra. Chakra wasn't something humans had before the arrival of the Otsutsuki Clan. Back then, most wars were fought by samurai.

However, as chakra became more widely available, samurai began to lose their status, and ninja took over their place. How could the samurai just stand by and do nothing? As a result, some samurai started taking ninja training. They learned how to use chakra to counteract this trend.

These samurai eventually became known as the "new samurai" in the Land of Iron.

While many samurai may have come to see chakra as essential, not all of them shared this view. Some were opposed to the practice of chakra. They believed there must be another way to restore the samurai to their former glory besides using chakra.

These people were called the old samurai. Both Shoji and his father were one of their representatives.

He was especially interested in these new samurai because he had never met anyone who could use chakra before. Yes, this was his first-time meeting one. In fact, he didn't even have chakra.

Ashikaga Town was just a small town in the Land of Iron, and there was no need for them to hire ninjas. Bandits didn't come around very often, and most of the dojo students could handle them.

So, he was very curious about these new samurai. If possible, he would also like to learn how to use chakra from them. Right as he was about to get acquainted with these samurai, a voice from the system quickly dashed his hopes.

"Host! You are not allowed to use chakra in battle."

"What! Why?" he asked.

"Because you have chosen the samurai system," the system replied, much to his anger.

"You know what? Screw you! I'm going to use it anyway," he retorted.

"If you insist, then I can only take your little Shoji away," the system threatened.

"Hehe, system, come on now. I was just joking." He quickly changed his tune when he heard the warning from the system.

All of a sudden, he heard the crowd shouting. He turned around just in time to see a man knocking out his opponents with a chakra-enhanced fist to the face. Finally, they had a winner.

The crowd erupted in applause as he approached the man, who turned out to be the ronin with whom he had argued earlier.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Satoshi Hino," the ronin answered.

He stared thoughtfully at the ronin before him. The ronin was in his early thirties and had an average look, the kind of person who wouldn't stand out in a crowd. He would make a great ninja if he wasn't in Naruto.

"Are you going to fight me right now or tomorrow?"

After giving it some thought, Satoshi Hino said, "Tomorrow morning!"

His chakra was almost bottomed out. He was aware that Shoji, despite being a young boy, had already defeated several adult samurai. This led him to take a cautious approach.

"Okay!" Shoji agreed. "We're having our duel tomorrow morning!"

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Takeda Shoji (MC) - Takeshi Yamamoto from Reborn!

Takeda Izumo - Koushirou from One Piece

Takeda Shizuka - A yamato nadeshiko (I can't decide, so feel free to picture her as anyone you like)