In the year 1510 of the Haiyuan Calendar, Jinjin City Prison, Red Lotus Hell.
"Hey, wake up! Get up and eat quickly—don't pretend to be dead!" A voice slowly pierced Shin Kawa's groggy mind.
Before he could even process it, a heavy blow struck his hip, jolting him upright.
"Hurry up and eat this meal before you die! It's your turn to play afterward!" A man in a military cap, white coat, and green trousers glared at Shin Kawa with a vicious smile.
"This… where am I?" Shin Kawa asked, his voice tinged with confusion as he looked around the dim, oppressive cell.
"Haha, boy, seems like I scared you half to death. Let me explain properly: this is the first floor of the City University Prison, Red Lotus Hell," the man said, chuckling. "Enjoy this meal—it's probably your last!" With that, he turned and left, his grin lingering in the gloom.
Boom!
The muffled sound echoed, leaving Shin Kawa alone in the cell.
Just as he was about to rise and assess his surroundings, a flood of fragmented memories crashed into his mind.
"Ah!" A sharp pain stabbed his skull, forcing a soft hum from him.
Gradually, the pain ebbed, replaced by flashes of images and sensations. After what felt like an eternity, Shin Kawa collapsed back onto the cold floor with a thud.
"How… how is this even possible? I… I traveled to the world of pirates?" he muttered, disbelief lacing his voice.
Indeed, he had crossed over—straight into the world of pirates from Japanese manga. Unlike typical stories, he hadn't landed as some mighty figure. Instead, he was an ordinary pirate… one who had been caught by the navy days ago and locked in the deep-sea prison of Advance City.
The prison was filled with hardened criminals, eerie and terrifying, patrolled by monstrous jailers and monitored by videophone bugs. Beyond the walls, massive Neptunes patrolled the seabed, earning the city its nickname: "the bronze and iron fortress."
Escape was the only way out, and in all of history, only the legendary Golden Lion Shiki had ever succeeded.
"Damn it… crossing over to a lowly street pirate is bad enough… and now I get a system too?" Shin Kawa muttered under his breath.
Then, just as he spoke, a familiar voice echoed in his mind:
"Ding! The Naruto Character Possession System interface has been successfully constructed. Congratulations on activation! A junior novice gift pack has been rewarded—please open your backpack to check it."
"It's real… it's actually here!" Shin Kawa's eyes lit up as he activated the system.
A character panel appeared in his mind:
Host: Shin KawaPossessable Characters: NonePossession Uses: 0Reputation Points: 0
What the hell… a Naruto system?
Remembering the novice gift pack, Shin Kawa quickly opened it through the system interface.
"Ding! The novice gift pack has been opened successfully. You have obtained a Naruto 'Mitekai' character card, and 10 uses have been granted to the host."
"Mitekai… that's Might Guy! The strongest fighter, even Madara called him unbeatable!" Shin Kawa whispered in awe.
The system panel refreshed:
Host: Shin KawaPossessable Characters: MitekaiPossession Uses: 10Reputation Points: 0
Now it all made sense. The system allowed Naruto characters to possess him. Whenever a character was possessed, he gained all their ninjutsu, taijutsu, and physical abilities. But to use a character, he needed both the character card and possession uses.
Shin Kawa didn't yet know how to acquire more cards or uses, but he remembered the system had a store. Opening it in his mind, he saw rows of Naruto character cards:
Sage of Six Paths — 10 million reputation points
Immortal Mode Uzumaki Naruto — 1 million points
Uchiha Madara — 800,000 points
Thousand-Handed Column Room — 500,000 points
Uchiha Itachi — 100,000 points
Possession Usage Time (1 hour) — 1,000 points
The requirements varied widely: the legendary Sage of Six Paths needed ten million reputation points, while even a single possession use cost a thousand.
A note in the interface explained:
"Host earns reputation points by defeating opponents. The stronger the opponent, the more reputation is earned."
Everything clicked. To gain reputation, Shin Kawa had to fight and win. Initially, he only had ten uses of Mitekai, each lasting one hour. After that, he would revert to being an ordinary pirate.
Fortunately, Mitekai's strength was extraordinary, especially his Eight Gates mastery, so as long as he avoided the Four Emperors or Marine Admirals, Shin Kawa was confident he could defeat any opponent within the time limit.