Year 39 of Konoha.
In a small courtyard on the western outskirts of Konohagakure, near the village's outer perimeter,
Shiro Akira, who was lying on the living room floor, slowly opened his eyes. A glimmer of clarity flashed within them as he muttered, "So that's how it is… I've transmigrated?"
In his previous life, he had been an ordinary person living on Earth. Due to an accident, he had transmigrated and been reborn into the world of Naruto.
At the age of six, he had just awakened the memories of his past life.
At the same time, he discovered that he had awakened a special talent called Exchange.
[Exchange LV1 (0/10)]: Every seven days, you may use any item to randomly exchange all possessions with a random target from across the myriad worlds.
The more valuable and higher-grade the item used for the exchange, the greater the probability of obtaining something good.
(Note 1: The value of an item is relative. In different worlds, the worth of an item may vary significantly.)
(Note 2: The exchange may yield bloodlines, talents, cultivation methods, abilities, treasures, cheat systems, beauties… etc.)
(Note 3: The higher the level of the Exchange System, the shorter the cooldown and the higher the chance of obtaining valuable items.)
…
"Using any item to randomly exchange all possessions with a random target from across the myriad worlds?"
"Isn't this just forced trading?"
"Heh heh! That's pretty ruthless… but I like it! Hahaha~"
Shiro Akira was inwardly delighted.
At last, he had obtained a cheat—something that could accelerate his growth.
After all, his ninja talent had been quite average before, ranking only in the middle to lower tier of his class.
As everyone knew, the Naruto world was one where origin and bloodline mattered immensely.
To a large extent, your background and bloodline determined your upper limit, and it was extremely difficult to change that.
If you were born into a major clan like the Uchiha or Hyuga, your worst-case future would still be that of a Chunin. With a bit of effort, becoming a Jonin would not be a problem.
If you awakened your eyes, then as long as you weren't too lazy, becoming a Jonin was practically guaranteed.
But for those born into ordinary families, simply becoming a ninja was already something to be grateful for. As for their upper limit?
Heh—completely dependent on luck.
Not every civilian was named Minato Namikaze.
In fact, Shiro Akira even suspected that Minato might have been a descendant of the Senju clan after they had integrated into the civilian population.
That was getting off track.
Now that his cheat had finally appeared, Shiro Akira felt like he was about to soar.
"Let me see what I can obtain from my very first exchange!"
Without hesitation, Shiro Akira prepared to use his talent.
This world was far too dangerous. It was currently the eve of the Third Great Ninja War, and he was eager to grow stronger as soon as possible.
"But what should I use for the exchange?"
That gave him pause.
As an orphan whose parents had both passed away, although he still had some savings left behind by them along with the village's compensation, allowing him to avoid being sent to an orphanage, his home didn't contain anything particularly valuable.
He immediately went to his room and took out a box that held the most precious items left to him by his parents.
Opening it, he found five scrolls inside:
Chakra Refinement Technique
C-Rank Lightning Release: Thunder Sphere Jutsu
B-Rank Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu
B-Rank Earth Release: Earth Spear Jutsu
Senju Swordsmanship Notes
…
"Hm? Senju Swordsmanship Notes? Why do I have this?"
Before awakening his memories, Shiro Akira wouldn't have understood the significance of this. He wouldn't have even known what "Senju" referred to, as the Third Hokage's ideological influence had done a rather thorough job.
Among the younger generation, very few people still knew about the Senju clan.
But Shiro Akira, who had regained the memories of a transmigrator, was different.
"Could it be that someone in my lineage was part of the Senju clan? Does that mean the speculation from anime fans in my previous life—that the Second Hokage dissolved the Senju clan and integrated them into the village—is actually true?"
A thought immediately formed in his mind.
"But if I'm really a descendant of the Senju clan, even if it's been a generation or two, why is my talent so ordinary?"
Shiro Akira felt a bit frustrated.
Forget about having overwhelming chakra—his chakra reserves were even inferior to some of the more talented ninjas from ordinary families.
"Forget it. There's no point thinking about that now. I'm different now. Not only have I awakened my past-life memories, I've also gained this talent. As long as I'm careful, I'll definitely be able to reach the peak of the ninja world… and even surpass it."
Moreover, Shiro Akira faintly sensed that ever since awakening his memories, his mental strength had increased significantly—at least more than double what it used to be.
With such mental strength, his chakra reserves, chakra control, and learning ability should all improve noticeably.
Looking at the five scrolls before him, Shiro Akira stroked his chin and pondered, "The talent description says the more valuable the item used for exchange, the greater the chance of obtaining something good."
"But the value of an item differs from world to world."
"What is nectar to one may be poison to another. In that case… I'll use the Chakra Refinement Technique this time. I can also add some chakra to it—maybe I'll get an unexpected result."
The Chakra Refinement Technique was the fundamental method of the chakra system.
And chakra itself was the prerequisite for cultivating and extracting chakra.
Shiro Akira felt that combining these two might yield a pleasant surprise.
No more hesitation.
He immediately copied the Chakra Refinement Technique onto another scroll, held the copy in one hand, and condensed a mass of chakra in the other. In his mind, he activated his talent, using these two items for the exchange.
In the next instant, both items in his hands vanished.
Immediately afterward, his vision blurred, and an image appeared in his mind:
…
High above Upper Yard in Skypiea, aboard the Ark Maxim—
"Gomu Gomu no… Golden Rifle!!!"
Monkey D. Luffy swung his arms backward, the massive golden sphere fused to his hands spinning rapidly as his arms stretched and rotated.
Then, with a roar, he hurled both arms forward, smashing the enormous golden sphere toward Enel, who floated in midair.
"Tch! I told you—this is useless!"
Enel sneered disdainfully, not even bothering to move as he prepared to turn into lightning and evade.
But at that very moment, his expression suddenly froze.
He could no longer feel his Devil Fruit ability.
"Wha—how…?!"
His face changed drastically as he tried to speak.
But before he could finish—
The Golden Rifle slammed directly into his abdomen.
"Puah!"
Enel's body bent into a bow shape as the overwhelming impact and searing pain nearly made his eyes pop out. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
He was sent flying at incredible speed, crashing through layers of white clouds—
"BOOM!"
—before slamming heavily into the great golden bell at the highest point of the sky island.