A long time ago, in the feudal era of Japan, an elderly couple struggled to give birth on their own and prayed to the gods that one day they would be blessed with a child. Their wish soon came true - though the baby boy that appeared in a brilliant beam of light was merely an inch in size. But the elders didn’t mind. Naming their child Blake, the couple raised him with love and care for several years, teaching him kindness and, when he reached adulthood, fencing.

True, swordplay wasn’t Blake’s favorite activity, but unfortunately, his caretakers were no longer in any physical condition to actively serve their country. And so it fell to him to preserve peace in their place.

"Oh, Blake..." the young-adult samurai's surrogate mother spoke. "You've grown into such a fine young man!" The elders would never say it to the child they'd raised, but 'grown' was a relative term, given his still-small stature. At least he was gifted with a big heart.

"We'll miss you dearly, son..." the elderly woman's husband added.

Blake smiled softly, wiping away a tear that he couldn't help shedding. "I'll make you both proud!"

The puny samurai trainee gave parting hugs to his adoptive parents before sailing toward the capital of Japan to offer the Emperor his service - using a bowl as his raft and a spoon as his oar. Since Blake was far too small to wield a normal-sized weapon, he armed himself with a sewing needle, which proved handy for slaying any fish that tried to make a meal of him. And hey, free seafood was a nice little bonus!

After countless hours of journeying across dangerous waters, Blake and his makeshift raft washed ashore. The tiny samurai sheathed his needle and began his trek to the Emperor's palace...