I could feel the ship starting to tilt. That was a good sign. The Marines had likely caused significant damage. Panic among Captain Goran's crew would only grow.
"You sure this will work?" Daro asked, his voice thick with doubt.
"Yes," I replied flatly. My hundreds of thousands of years of experience had taught me that the best opportunities often came in the midst of the worst chaos.
"We just need to be patient. Once they're busy securing the ship and hunting down Goran, we'll have a small window to escape."
I remembered telling Daro about an emergency hatch—most likely somewhere near the bottom of the hull, meant for last-resort evacuations. If this ship really started sinking, it would be the perfect escape route.
As we waited in the dark, my mind was already racing ahead. Once we were free, what then? The year was 1517 of the World Calendar… a time full of opportunity.
Roger might have just been executed, the great pirate era only beginning. There was so much information to gather, so much power to learn—and perhaps, a way to reclaim my stolen Dao. The "New God Valley" map was my first key.
The sounds of battle above deck were fading. The shouts of Marines—"Secure the ship!" and "Capture the captain!"—were becoming more frequent than the clash of steel.
The ship had stopped shaking, but the tilt had grown worse. We crouched between piles of old sacks, Daro's breathing heavy. Even without my Dao, I could sense a subtle shift in the flow of energy around us.
It was time.
"Now," I whispered to Daro, my voice low but firm. "Find the hatch. It should be near the floor."
Nervous moments ago, Daro now nodded and began feeling along the wooden boards. With only faint light filtering through cracks above, his hands finally found it—a small wooden handle hidden between planks. "Got it!"
We pulled together with all our strength. With a long, creaking groan, the hatch opened, revealing cold, black seawater below. The salty stench hit us instantly.
"You're insane?!" Daro gasped. "We're jumping into the sea?! What if there are Sea Kings? Or Marines?!"
"This is our best shot," I said, glancing upward. Heavy Marine boots thudded closer, searching every corner of the ship.
"They'll never expect us to escape this way. And I know how to find land."
His eyes flickered between fear and desperation. He knew this was our only option.
"Fine, kid. But after this, you owe me a lot of answers."
"That's a deal," I said.
Without waiting, I dropped into the freezing water. This mortal body felt fragile, but my mind was clear. Daro splashed down behind me.
The icy seawater bit into my bones as I fought to control my breathing. My small body struggled against the current beneath the ship. We had to get far away before anyone discovered the hatch.
"Where are we going, kid?!" Daro panted beside me.
"Follow me!" I shouted back.
We swam away from the listing hull, and once we were far enough, I looked up. The night sky of the Grand Line stretched above—countless stars glittering like jewels.
In my previous life as Eron Arasta, I was the embodiment of the cosmos itself. Reading the stars came as naturally as breathing. Even with my Dao stolen, the essential understanding of the universe still lingered in my soul.
This was the Universal Star Reading Technique—once used to navigate entire galaxies. Now, I adapted it to search for the faintest sign of land in the endless ocean of this world. I wasn't looking for constellations or the North Star, but for subtle distortions in the cosmic energy flowing through the sky—signs of a mass hidden in the waves.
I closed my eyes briefly, focusing my soul. Though my body was weak, my awareness reached beyond its limits. I felt the vibration of energy from the stars, forming an imagined map in my mind—not ink on paper, but the universe itself projected through cosmic flow.
"There!" I pointed northeast, where I sensed a tiny disruption in the stellar currents—a sure sign of land.
Daro frowned. "There? I don't see anything!"
"Trust me," I said sharply. "There's an island. We just have to keep swimming."
We swam for what felt like forever. This mortal body began to ache with a fatigue I had never known as the Dao Ancestor.
Daro started complaining, his strength faltering. But I pushed on, forcing every weak fiber of my muscles to move. I had crossed the void between realms for hundreds of thousands of years—swimming across a mortal sea was nothing but endurance.
Finally, a dark shape appeared on the horizon. An island.
"Look!" I rasped.
Daro's eyes widened. "An island! You were right, kid! How—"
I didn't answer. We kept swimming, each stroke like a final struggle. As we neared, steep cliffs and dense greenery came into view. The shoreline looked deserted—perfect.
We collapsed onto the sand, gasping for breath, shivering from the cold. The first rays of dawn painted the sky orange and pink.
Daro coughed up seawater. "We… we made it! You… you're incredible, kid! How did you—"
I just stared back silently. The "New God Valley" map was still safely tucked inside my soaked clothes.
We had escaped. We were on an unknown island in the Grand Line—five years before Luffy's journey would begin.
He didn't know. He didn't know who I was, what I had been through, or how his words back in that ship's hold had worn thin my patience as Eron Arasta, Dao Ancestor.
At the height of my power, I once destroyed three galaxies because a disciple of mine was insulted. Now? I had to pretend to fear a bottom-feeder pirate.
The humiliation, the knife threats, treating me as if I were just a powerless child—it burned. The rage long buried beneath countless layers of existence now roared to life.
Daro stood, smirking. "Alright, about our deal, kid. You're going to tell me everything about that map, right? And we can split the treas—"
His eyes widened as I moved. Even in this weak and tired body, anger lent me a strange strength. My small fist lashed out—not with raw muscle, but with the condensed concept of my wrath, the essence of Eron Arasta compressed into a blow.
It struck his jaw. The grin vanished, replaced by shock. He staggered back, eyes full of disbelief.
"W-what the hell, kid?!" he stammered, blood dripping from his lip.
I didn't answer. My body screamed with exhaustion, but the fire inside me refused to die. I let the anger guide me. I would not be threatened by a petty pirate—not even in my weakest state.
Daro's own anger flared. He grabbed the knife he'd brought from the ship, the same one that had fallen when we landed on the beach. "You wanna play rough?! I'll show you what happens to brats who—"
Before he could finish, I moved. This wasn't a battle of strength—it was a battle of concept. In my old life, I could manipulate fate itself. Here, I used the remnants of that instinct.
I kicked sand into his eyes. As he flinched, I lunged, snatching a jagged piece of coral from the ground.
With my last reserves of strength, I drove it forward—not with the power of a warrior, but with the precision born from hundreds of thousands of years of understanding matter and energy. The strike wasn't random—it was aimed at a vital point that would instantly disable a mortal body.
Daro jerked, eyes wide, breath hitching. He dropped the knife, clutching his chest. His body trembled briefly before falling still in the sand.
I stared down at him. My breathing was ragged, but a cold satisfaction spread within me.
Vengeance.
A raw, mortal emotion so powerful I hadn't expected to feel it again. This was the price of existing in a fragile body, in this strange dimension.
Daro lay lifeless. Now, it was just me and the sea. No witnesses. The "New God Valley" map remained safely in my hand. I had removed one threat, unleashed my pent-up fury, and ensured the map's secret stayed with me.
The sun was high now, warming the once-cold sand. I stayed on the beach, recovering from the extreme fatigue.
This fourteen-year-old mortal body felt painfully frail. Thin legs, small arms, breath still ragged—such a stark contrast to my former existence as the flawless embodiment of the Dao.
Pain radiated through me, my muscles stiff and protesting every move. This was new to me. In my old life, I had never known pain, fatigue, or hunger.
Now, my stomach twisted with emptiness. Mortal instincts, awakened with this body, screamed for food.