3. 6 Years Old

By the time he turned one year old, he had already grasped parts of his family's situation and the town they lived in. 

His family belonged to the samurai class. 

His father, Matsuda Tatsuke, was a low-ranked samurai, while his mother, Matsuda Manari, managed their household. 

The moment he showed interest in becoming a samurai, his father was overjoyed. For the past four months, Tatsuke had taken him to watch dozens of apprentice samurai fights, eager to nurture his son's enthusiasm. 

His mother, however, was far from pleased. 

By the time he turned two years old, he had begun to reflect on the past year—and he finally understood why his mother was unhappy. 

It wasn't just concern for his safety. It was because his father wanted him to become a samurai, while his mother wanted him to take over the family sweet shop—a shop she had inherited after her parents' passing. 

His father's parents were also gone, a harsh reminder of how difficult survival was in this ancient world. 

Despite being a low-ranked samurai, his father had kept their family well-off—but it was clear now that much of their stability came from his mother's earnings. Over the past year, he had overheard countless conversations where his father asked his mother for money. 

— 

Meanwhile, he had started training with a wooden sword—or, at least, playing with one. 

Through observation, he learned an important fact: he wouldn't be allowed to begin proper samurai training until he turned six.

By the time he turned three years old, he had become an older brother to a six-month-old baby girl named Matsuda Meriko. 

After realizing he was determined to become a samurai, his mother had decided to have another child, hoping to pass the family sweet shop to them instead. When he was two and a half, she gave birth to a daughter. 

That same year, he was introduced to the neighboring children, but he never played with them. Though he appeared to be a toddler, his consciousness was that of a 20-year-old, with two additional years spent in this world. 

He also learned the name of their town—Entori- which was ruled by a lord from the Mori family. 

Aside from these changes, his daily life remained the same as the year before.

When he turned four years old, a month later, he was sent to study at an old man's house. 

There, he found three boys and two girls, all his age. 

He began learning how to write and gained a deeper understanding of the world around him. 

He discovered that he lived in a land called Athia, a region not unified, where various lords controlled different territories. 

The lord of Entori, the town he lived in, was Mori Tsuki—and he ruled only this town. 

He also learned that to become a lord, one had to first become a high-ranking samurai. Only then could they establish a town and claim lordship. 

Beneath the lord were his retainers, made up of middle- and lower-ranked samurai. 

When he turned five years old, alongside his studies with the old man, his father sent him to the lord's house to learn the way of the sword and what it meant to become a samurai. 

He discovered that becoming a samurai required one to awaken chakra within their body. There were two ways to achieve this: 

1. Training the body until the chakra awakened naturally. 

2. Receiving assistance from a samurai to awaken it. 

However, there was no difference in the results between the two methods. 

Samurai were divided into five ranks: 

- Apprentice Samurai 

- Lower-Ranked Samurai 

- Middle-Ranked Samurai 

- Higher-Ranked Samurai 

- Divine Samurai 

To his surprise, he found that the cultivation method of the samurai was similar to the Eight Gates technique from the Naruto world. This realization led him to excitedly ask his parents and teachers if ninjas existed in this world, but the answer was a disappointing no. 

To become an Apprentice Samurai, one had to open the Gate of Opening, located in the brain. 

However, unlike in Naruto, here, a person could not progress unless they fully controlled the energy released upon opening each gate. It was possible to forcefully open the next gate, but doing so was considered the wrong path. 

The ranking system was as follows: 

- Lower-Ranked Samurai – Open the Second Gate 

- Middle-Ranked Samurai – Open the Fourth Gate 

- Higher-Ranked Samurai – Open the Sixth Gate 

- Divine Samurai: Open the Eighth Gate 

Opening the Eighth Gate caused one's lifespan to wither away. However, before that happened, one had to form a chakra channel connecting all eight gates. If successful, they would transcend their mortal limits and become a Divine Samurai, adding a lifespan of over a decade.

He also learned that a day's walk north of the town led to the ocean, and both the west and east were also bordered by the sea. To the south, however, lay the territory of Lord Niwai Hideaki, an enemy of their own Lord Mori Tsuki, who frequently blocked the flow of goods into their town. 

Traveling by sea was also extremely difficult. For nine months of the year, violent storms made sailing nearly impossible, leaving only three months in spring as a safe window for travel. However, even during that time, pirates posed a significant threat. 

He was born in the summer, and as the years passed, it was now three months before his sixth birthday. That year, his father left home, having been assigned as one of the guards on a ship.

His father returned a week before his sixth birthday. When he saw him, an overwhelming happiness filled his heart. It was then that he became truly aware—he had come to see his father and mother as his real parents, despite knowing this world could be nothing more than a dream, a reality shaped by someone's imagination and the power of dreams. Perhaps it was because, in his past life, he had been an orphan, and for the first time, he was experiencing the unconditional love of parents. 

That day, he asked his father about his dreams and learned that he hoped for someone in their family to become a lord one day. He already knew his mother's wish, so in his free time, he began learning the art of making sweets from her.

----

In a Japanese-style house, a man with short hair and a cut on his cheek walked down the corridor. Stopping in front of a door, he knocked. 

"Kanoru, wake up." 

Hearing no answer, he opened the door, only to find the room empty. 

"He's not here," he muttered to himself. 

Thinking someone might know where his son was, he turned toward the kitchen but was stopped by a little girl standing in his path. 

Meriko's face turned sour. "Papa, you're awake?" 

From the way she spoke, he could tell she thought he had done something wrong. 

Bending down, he picked her up. "Yes, Meriko, Papa is awake." 

Still pouting, Meriko said, "Brother told me to wake Papa up." 

He smiled, understanding why she was upset. She always listened to everything her brother said. 

"How about this, Meriko? I'll tell Kanoru that you woke me up." 

Her face lit up for a moment but then quickly fell again, scrunching up in conflict. 

"Brother said lying is bad. If you lie, your nose grows longer." 

He chuckled. "Yes, yes, lying is bad." 

Then, he continued, "Meriko, can you tell me where your brother is?" 

"Brother is in the garden, dancing with his sword." 

He smiled wryly. "Brother isn't dancing; he's practicing his sword moves." 

Meriko's tiny face twisted in defiance. "No! Brother is dancing." 

He sighed. A few days ago, at a trade celebration party, she had seen a dance performance, and ever since, she had insisted that her brother's sword practice was also a dance. 

With her still in his arms, he walked toward the garden, where he saw Kanoru practicing with his sword. 

Meriko shouted excitedly, "Brother, Papa is here!"

Kanoru turned around to see Father carrying Meriko. He set down his wooden sword and walked toward them, smiling at his little sister. 

"Thank you, Meriko, for waking up Papa." 

Meriko's face fell. "Papa was already awake." 

Father spoke gently, "But Meriko helped Father find Brother." 

Her frown vanished for a moment, replaced by a fleeting smile. Just then, they heard Mother's voice. 

"Meriko, where are you?" 

Father set Meriko down. "Go, your Mama is calling." 

Kanoru nodded as he watched her walk away, then turned to his father. 

"Father, let's start." 

His father looked at him with concern. "You remember the location of the Gate of Opening?" 

"Yes." 

"Don't try to open it on the first attempt. Wear down the barrier first. I have plenty of chakra, so you can try as many times as you can handle." 

Kanoru nodded, sat down on the wooden floor, and closed his eyes. His father stepped behind him, placing a hand on his back. 

A wisp of chakra entered Kanoru's body. He focused his willpower, trying to gain control over it. 

On the third attempt, he succeeded. 

Guiding the chakra wisp through his channels, he directed it toward the first gate in his brain, rubbing against the barrier—slowly at first, then steadily picking up speed. 

His father had only infused a small amount of chakra, so after some time, it was fully consumed. 

"Again." 

He followed the same process, repeating the cycle until, on the seventh attempt, the Gate of Opening unlocked. 

A surge of chakra formed within him. After a while, he closed the gate, but the chakra remained. 

Now, his body could generate chakra naturally—he no longer needed to force the gate open. 

He thought to himself, "I am now an Apprentice Samurai."