Hiro Watanabe was born in a samurai clan that had turned to a life of crime after falling on hard times. By the time he was born, Watanabe's father was a well established criminal in the underworld. Growing up, his grandfather always reminded him that their family wasn’t always about this criminal enterprise and learned his family used to have a very high standing within the community and had a noble name.

Instead of becoming a criminal, Watanabe ran away from his family and joined the military