The gray sky stretched as far as the eye could see. Cold raindrops began to fall slowly, as if the world itself mourned the death of a forgotten warrior. In the middle of a dusty path, surrounded by withered trees and the remnants of an old battle, a body lay motionless. Or so it seemed.
A sudden jolt. A gasp.
Eidan opened his eyes.
His chest rose and fell with difficulty, his lungs screaming for air as if they hadn't been used in years. Pain. Every part of his body burned, but something else dominated his mind: confusion.
"Where am I…?" he muttered hoarsely.
Then, a translucent screen appeared before him, floating in the air. Lines of text began to write themselves with precise speed, as if time itself had stopped to explain his new fate.
[Host Synchronization System – Activated
Body Status: Synchronization 97%
Alert: The host has taken possession of the body of Raigen, former prodigy of the Shitō Clan, sword-wielders from the Land of Iron.
Recent History: After a diplomatic incident with shinobi from Kumogakure, your father was insulted. Raigen, driven by his honor and fury, challenged the ninja delegation… and lost.
To avoid further conflicts your uncle propose your banishment. With no other choice your father accept and exiled you from the clan. Since then, you became a ronin, taking low-paying jobs and surviving with difficulty.
Last Recorded Event: While traveling to Amegakure in hopes of regaining your honor, he witnessed a massacre between Sunagakure and Amegakure shinobi. He was discovered and killed]
Eidan fell silent. He had died. Or rather, someone had—and now he occupied that place. His thoughts swirled, but something stronger than fear rose to the surface: determination.
"System…? Do I have a mission? Is there a reason I was sent here?"
The answer came immediately.
[System Response: No.
Your only goal is to become stronger. The system is designed to assist you in your growth. There is no preordained destiny. Only your will]
A slight smile formed on Eidan's lips.
"Do I at least get a starter pack?"
[Starter Pack Delivery – Confirmed
Skill Template: Giyu Tomioka (Water Breathing)
Skill Template: Muichiro Tokito (Mist Breathing)
Item: Jin Sakai's Katana
Support Item: Detailed Map of the Five Elemental Nations]
The surge of power was sudden. Images, techniques, and sensations flooded his mind. He felt the serene calm of water, the silent lethality of mist, and the righteous steel forged into Jin Sakai's blade. His body reacted as if it had already trained in these arts for years. He didn't master them yet, but the potential was there.
Eidan closed his eyes and relived that final scene. Three jōnin from Sunagakure advancing toward him. One of them laughed mockingly, standing among the corpses of Amegakure ninja.
But this time… the vision changed.
Under his control, his body flowed like water, weaving through attacks, deflecting kunai with the precision of a master. Mist techniques veiled the battlefield, blinding and confusing his enemies. And his sword—not just any sword, but the legendary blade of the Ghost—sliced through the air with restrained fury, drawing lines of death.
He opened his eyes. The memory wasn't his, but the desire was. With these skills… he could be unstoppable.
"Amegakure," he whispered, slowly standing, his body still stiff but renewed. "If I'm starting over… I'll rise from the mud. And make them remember my name."
He summoned Jin Sakai's katana. A faint mist rose around him as he gripped it for the first time. It was light, balanced, and razor-sharp. A true extension of his soul.
Without looking back, he began walking toward the Hidden Rain Village. The falling rain seemed to welcome him.
[Host Name: Eidan]
[Status: Ronin]
[Location: Border of the Land of Rivers – Heading to Amegakure]
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The rain was endless.
As Eidan made his way through winding paths and nameless villages on the road to Amegakure, he began to see it more clearly: the world was unraveling. Crops drowned in floods, children begged for scraps, and border towns were half-abandoned, their men taken by war or lost to fear. The deeper he walked into the Land of Rain, the more he saw it—a world strangled by conflict.
One morning, as gray clouds loomed overhead, he heard the sharp clash of steel and the frantic screams of men. Climbing a hill, he spotted a caravan under attack. Bandits—dozens of them—had surrounded it.
At first, Eidan prepared to intervene. But something made him stop.
From the treeline, figures in burst forth bearing the Konoha leaf insignia on their foreheads. In seconds, the battlefield shifted. If it could even be called that.
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was a massacre.
The bandits fell like stalks of wheat before the reaper's scythe. Shuriken flew, jutsu flared, and bodies hit the ground with sickening thuds. Eidan didn't blink. He just watched. This was the difference. Power like this didn't belong to men like him—not yet.
As silence fell and the last bandit dropped, Eidan descended toward the caravan, his steps careful. He didn't reach ten meters before a shuriken embedded itself in the mud before his foot—a silent warning.
Four figures stood ahead, blocking his path.
Three of them were children, likely genin from the looks of them. The fourth was older, a man in his mid-thirties with sharp eyes and a steady stance. Chūnin, maybe higher the flak jacket wasn't yet standar in the ninja villages and his armor was the same as that of Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru during the Second Shinobi War. None of them looked welcoming.
The man spoke first.
"State your intentions."
Eidan didn't reach for his blade.
"I'm heading to Amegakure. Same direction as you. No conflict here."
There was a pause. The children didn't lower their guard, but the older shinobi gave a slight nod. "Then stay behind or ahead of us."
Eidan stepped aside and let them pass, then resumed his walk, ahead of the group but within sight. The caravan people looked at him with cautious empathy, unsure if he was protector or threat. It didn't matter.
Samurai no longer had a place in this world. The battlefield belonged to shinobi now—tools of the daimyō and shadowy ambitions. Except for the Land of Iron, trained samurai were vanishing, relics of a dying age.
And yet he kept on walking.
The gates of Amegakure rose before him days later, dark metal spires veiled by mist and ceaseless rain. Two gate guards, shinobi in gray and black, stepped forward as he approached.
"Halt. State your business."
Eidan stood tall, hand resting on the hilt of Jin Sakai's katana.
"I've come to join Amegakure's forces."
There was a moment of silence. Then both guards burst into laughter.
"You? A ronin?" one said between chuckles. "Let me guess, you got tired of polishing boots for a daimyō?"
"Another lost sword trying to find relevance," the other scoffed. "Go home. Or to the grave."
But Eidan's voice cut through the laughter.
"Hanzo once said that samurai wielded strength even ninja could respect."
The guards froze. And from behind them, a group of shinobi approaching the gates heard it too. One of them stopped mid-step.
He turned slowly. A man in dark armor, a dao sword strapped to his back, and a bandana bearing the Amegakure symbol. His eyes narrowed.
Shiranami. A veteran jōnin. One of Hanzo's earliest followers.
He walked toward Eidan, rain dripping from his cloak. "How do you know those words?" he asked, voice low but firm. "That was many years ago."
"In the Land of Iron," Eidan replied, "it's a well-known tale."
There was a silence between them. Shiranami studied him closely, then gave a slow nod.
"How interesting."
His gaze drifted to the katana at Eidan's side, then back to his eyes. After a pause, he turned to the guards.
"Let him in. He's with me."
Without another word, Shiranami led him through the gates and into the steel heart of Amegakure. The city was a maze of towers, pipes, and platforms, all drowned in mist and silence.
He brought Eidan to a small building near the barracks.
"This is the mercenary office," he said. "You'll work for Ame, earn your keep. Once you complete the required service quota, you'll be allowed to formally enlist."
Eidan nodded.
"But I'll give you advice," Shiranami continued. "Don't rush to enlist. The world is shifting. Movements between the great villages are increasing. If war comes, it won't spare anyone. Not even us."
Eidan absorbed the warning, then offered something in return.
"I saw Suna-nin clashing with Ame-nin near the border with the Land of Rivers. A massacre. They left none alive."
Shiranami's expression hardened. Without another word, he turned and disappeared into the rain—off to report what he had just learned.
Eidan looked up at the sky. The storm wasn't just in the clouds.