Chapter 1: The Vault of Worlds
Akatsurugi jingled the heavy keychain in his hand as he strolled through his apartment complex. It was rent collection day, which always meant a fresh influx of cash. A satisfied smirk played on his lips.
Of course, not every tenant paid with money. There were always one or two girls who, short on funds but long on charm, negotiated their rent in… other ways. Akatsurugi certainly didn't mind; he hoped for more tenants like them. After all, what was money to him? The buildings here were just a few small assets in his portfolio. Besides, with his face blindness, very few things truly held his interest.
He was humming a cheerful tune, mentally preparing for a particularly pleasant "rent discussion" with one of the girls, when a young man with bloodshot eyes suddenly burst from a side alley. The stranger slammed several furious punches into Akatsurugi kidneys, screaming curses that faded into a muffled roar as pain overwhelmed him. The last words Akatsurugi vaguely caught were something about "sleeping with my girlfriend..."
As darkness swallowed his vision, Akatsurugi was filled with regret. If heaven gave him another chance, he would still negotiate rent with those girls. But he would absolutely, under no circumstances, brag about it on his WeChat Moments again.
Suddenly, a violent dizziness seized him. The world spun wildly. When he managed to force his eyes open, he found himself standing in a bizarre, kaleidoscopic tunnel. It shimmered with a brilliant, dazzling light, seven colors intertwining and complementing each other.
An inexplicable thrill surged in Akatsurugi's heart. Was he joining the ranks of those who traverse worlds? Was this the legendary space-time tunnel?
He moved forward cautiously, his eyes drawn to the images flashing rapidly across the tunnel's ceiling. They switched like scenes from a high-speed movie, each depicting a different world and story. There were ancient battlefields where armored soldiers clashed in bloody combat; ethereal realms where graceful immortals floated among clouds; and bustling, modern cities teeming with life...
Akatsurugi didn't let himself get lost in these wondrous scenes. He kept walking, observing each picture with a focused intensity.
"One Piece!" he blurted out. What man didn't have a dream tied to anime? Who hadn't fantasized about becoming the Pirate King?
At that moment, the scene showed a white-bearded old man holding a fruit that resembled a dragon fruit. He raised it, seemingly about to take a bite.
Acting on a pure, inexplicable impulse, Akatsurugi reached out. His hand passed through the barrier of the image, and he simply plucked the fruit away. The man in the picture stared at his now-empty hand, his face a mask of utter confusion. His Flame-Flame Fruit was just gone.
Akatsurugi was equally stunned. He could actually take things from the screen? He clutched his chest, feeling a sudden, sharp pang of regret. He'd missed out on a fortune! There had been an immortal realm earlier—why hadn't he thought to grab something from there?
The scene shifted before he could dwell on it. When he looked up again, he saw an old man leaning on a cane, gazing down upon the world with an air of supreme authority. Before him, rows of people wearing haori over kimono stood in orderly lines. The old man appeared to be presiding over a meeting.
"Soul Society?" Akatsurugi's eyes lit up. It was the world of Bleach! This was another world he had longed for.
In the image, the old man snorted in displeasure and slammed his cane heavily on the ground. The walking stick instantly transformed into a sleek, deadly sword. The old man rested the blade tip on the ground, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to speak.
Blinking, Akatsurugi acted on instinct again, his hand snaking out. With a deft pull, he took the sword.
In the meeting hall, the captains being reprimanded stared, their eyes wide with disbelief. A hand had stretched out from the void itself and snatched the Captain-Commander's sacred zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka!
Akatsurugi stared dumbly at the legendary sword now in his own hand. Did he just acquire Ryūjin Jakka so easily?
Just as he was about to see the fallout in the Soul Society, the entire tunnel shuddered violently. A tremendous force grabbed him and hurled him out into the void.
As he was ejected, Akatsurugi clutched the Flame-Flame Fruit and Ryūjin Jakka for dear life. After a dizzying, nauseating spin, he slammed his eyes open to find himself lying in a dense, unfamiliar jungle.
The trees surrounding him were enormous, towering giants. He had no idea where he was. He looked down at his hands, confirming that the Flame-Flame Fruit and the sealed Ryūjin Jakka were still there.
He let out a secret sigh of relief. With these two treasures, he at least had some capital to survive, no matter which world he'd landed in.
Suddenly, he froze. His hands… they seemed a full size smaller. With a jolt of panic, he quickly looked over his body. He was now in the body of a child.
"What the hell? Reincarnation? Possession?" Akatsurugi exclaimed. As for whose body this was, he had no memory at all. The original owner's mind was a complete blank.
"Forget it, I should eat the fruit first!" Without another word, Akatsurugi took a bite of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Instantly, a taste worse than the foulest chemical sludge assaulted his senses, rushing to his head and nearly making him vomit the contents of a stomach that no longer existed. He'd heard Devil Fruits tasted bad, but this was a whole new level of disgusting.
Fighting down the intense nausea, he forced himself to eat the entire fruit. He'd heard one bite was enough, but he wasn't taking any chances; survival came first.
His face had turned a sickly shade of green. Anyone who'd just eaten a large helping of what tasted like toxic waste would feel the same.
After leaning against a tree for a while, the worst of the discomfort subsided. He clenched his fist, trying to summon the fruit's power. A tiny, pathetic flicker of flame sputtered from his knuckle before dying out.
Akatsurugi was dumbfounded. What kind of joke was this? Other Devil Fruit users could at least create a decent fireball or even turn into their element. He could barely manage a spark. What was this good for? Lighting a cigarette?
BOOM!
A deafening explosion sounded in the distance, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent Akatsurugi tumbling to the ground.
He scrambled up and looked toward the source. A massive plume of smoke and dust was rising in the near distance, the sheer force behind it terrifying to behold.
"What kind of hellish place is this?!" he cursed inwardly, turning to run. This place was far too dangerous. Even the aftermath of a distant battle was enough to knock him off his feet.
He had only taken two steps when a figure dropped from the trees above, scooping him up under one arm without a word. The person then began moving at an incredible speed, leaping through the treetops as if flying.
Akatsurugi was stunned. This method of travel… it looked awfully familiar.
He looked up, and his surprise deepened. The man carrying him looked even more familiar. Long, spiky white hair, red markings on his face and chin, and a forehead protector with a spiral symbol. This was the emblem of Konohagakure.
The man's identity was self-evident: Konoha's Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Suddenly, Akatsurugi felt something warm and wet on his face. He looked again, and his eyes widened in horror. There was a gruesome, bloody hole torn right through Tobirama's chest, and the blood was now dripping onto Akatsurugi's cheek.
The Second Hokage's expression remained utterly unchanged, as if the grievous injury was on someone else's body.
Just as Akatsurugi was trying to process this, the Second Hokage came to a sudden stop. He leaned against a thick tree trunk, sliding down to sit on the ground as he let out a slightly labored breath. It was clear the frantic escape had taken a significant toll on his remaining strength.
"Little brother, are you from a village nearby?" Senju Tobirama asked, his tone detached yet not unkind.
Miraculously, Akatsurugi found he could understand the language. He nodded, a nervous knot tightening in his stomach. There was no helping it; this Second Hokage was notoriously difficult to read, a man known for his decisive and ruthless strategies. To be honest, Konoha's very foundation and prosperity were inextricably linked to this man's cunning mind.
"Heh, don't be nervous. I apologize for dragging you into this mess. If it weren't for the Hidden Cloud's ambush, this war would never have reached peaceful villages like yours." Senju Tobirama offered a strained, weary smile.
Akatsurugi quickly pieced together the timeline. This must be when the Second Hokage went to sign a peace treaty with the Raikage, only to be betrayed and fatally wounded by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers. This event should mark the end of what would be called the First Great Ninja War.
Damn, I traveled back to such an early, dangerous era? Akatsurugi cursed inwardly. This was a time of constant, brutal conflict where death could come at any moment.
"You must be the Second Hokage, right?" Akatsurugi said, putting on a sad expression. "Our... our village is gone."
Senju Tobirama wasn't surprised he was recognized; his appearance was distinct. He didn't doubt Akatsurugi's story either, as the war had indeed obliterated countless small settlements. As a sensor ninja, he detected not a trace of chakra within the boy. It was obvious Akatsurugi was a complete civilian. As for the sealed sword in his grip? Well, in times like these, anyone could be carrying a blade for protection.
"Then, are you willing to join our Konohagakure?" Senju Tobirama asked.
Akatsurugi's heart leaped with joy. Joining Konoha finally offered a sliver of security. Staying out here alone meant certain death. While he knew Konoha had its dark secrets, the village hadn't descended to that point just yet.
"Can I?" Akatsurugi asked, feigning surprise.
Senju Tobirama smiled faintly. He wiped a hand over his bloody chest and formed a one-handed seal. With a puff of smoke, a scroll materialized. Then, without any visible movement, intricate, tadpole-like patterns spread across its surface, crawling over the parchment like living ink. He tossed the scroll to Akatsurugi. "Give this to Sarutobi Hiruzen of Konoha. Do that, and you will have a place in our village."
Akatsurugi hurriedly caught the scroll. He looked at the dying Hokage, then carefully tucked the scroll inside his shirt. "But... how do I find Konoha?"
Senju Tobirama placed his fingers on the ground, closed his eyes to sense for a moment, and then pointed. "Head that way. If you are lucky, you will reach a Konoha outpost. Go now, little brother. I look forward to the day you join our village."
Akatsurugi looked in the indicated direction and nodded. When he looked back, Senju Tobirama was gone, vanished without a trace. A moment later, he heard shouts from behind, followed by a wave of ominous, terrifying chakra that made the air feel heavy. Akatsurugi didn't dare to linger. He turned and ran as fast as he could in the direction the Second Hokage had pointed.
He knew the scroll was likely vital intelligence, and also his ticket into Konoha. If he could deliver it, he would be safe. If he failed... well, he was just an expendable pawn in the Second Hokage's final, desperate play. Akatsurugi didn't resent it; this was still far better than trying to survive alone in the wilderness.
Besides, he thought, since I have no chakra, I should be practically invisible.
He was catastrophically wrong. On a battlefield, at a moment like this, the enemy would rather kill a harmless civilian by mistake than let a potential messenger escape.
"An ordinary civilian. Eliminate him," a Hidden Cloud ninja hidden in the shadows whispered.
A kunai shot out from the darkness, streaking straight for Akatsurugi's heart. Despite having eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, his ability to produce a single, sputtering flame was utterly useless against a thrown weapon.
Akatsurugi didn't even see it coming.
Just before the kunai could strike, a shuriken flew from another direction, deflecting the blade with a sharp clang. Only then did Akatsurugi startle and look behind him.
Damn it, they're really trying to kill me! he cursed internally. He was just a kid! What was the point?
But there was no time to think. Several more kunai whistled through the air toward him. The sound of them cutting through the wind terrified him, and he threw himself into a clumsy roll. The kunai thudded into the ground where he had been standing just a moment before.
"Konoha Ryu: Willow Dance!" A young man wielding a long sword suddenly appeared. The blade in his hand seemed to multiply, becoming a whirlwind of steel. In the blink of an eye, the young man vanished. Two short, choked cries came from the nearby bushes, and the young man walked back out, his sword clean.
He glanced coldly at Akatsurugi. "This is a battlefield. Civilians should not be here."
Although Akatsurugi didn't recognize this ninja, the Konoha forehead protector on his arm was a welcome sight. "Are you a Konoha ninja?" Akatsurugi asked quickly.
The young man frowned but nodded.
"I met the Second Hokage!" Akatsurugi explained in a rush. "He told me to deliver information to a man named Sarutobi Hiruzen! Since you're a Konoha ninja, can you take me to him?"
Being escorted by a real ninja was undoubtedly the safest option, far better than stumbling through the woods alone. To prove his story, Akatsurugi pulled out the sealed scroll and held it up.
In an instant, the young man was right in front of him, having moved with the silent speed that defined the Body Flicker Technique. It startled Akatsurugi; as a civilian, he couldn't even perceive the movement.
The young man examined the scroll but didn't take it. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'll carry you."
Akatsurugi didn't hesitate. He immediately jumped onto the young man's back. He didn't know who this ninja was, but after the recent attack, he knew it was a fantasy to think he could reach the Konoha camp on his own. The next kunai flying from the shadows might not be deflected.
He had thought the Flame-Flame Fruit would grant him some power to protect himself. Now, he didn't even have the energy to complain. No wonder some people say not even a dog would want this fruit, he thought bitterly.
The Konoha ninja was incredibly fast. Akatsurugi didn't know his rank, but judging by the genjutsu and swordsmanship he had just displayed, he was clearly no ordinary character.