On a stretch of sea in the Grand Line, a massive warship plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ocean with a deafening roar and sending towering waves surging in all directions.
The hull shattered on impact, scattering debris across the water. The surviving marines and nobles fled in a panic.
The thunderous crash startled nearby seagulls, which took to the sky and circled overhead, seeing nothing but the wreckage drifting below.
Soon after, a flash of light streaked across the sky.
"Too late! How terrible! To wipe out a naval escort fleet this quickly, leaving no trace or survivors… this will be troublesome!"
The day after the storm, a child dressed in something resembling a spacesuit floated on the sea, drifting slowly toward a passing vessel. Nagley—the elderly yet still sharp former pirate—had returned to the Grand Line with ambition still in his heart, though age was catching up with him. Smoking quietly as he gazed across the waves, he spotted a small figure on the surface.
He hauled the child aboard. "Well now… interesting. A Celestial Dragon? That old friend's handiwork, no doubt. Doesn't he find this kind of trouble annoying?"
Nagley despised Celestial Dragons, but a child was still a child. He removed the boy's helmet and saw that he still clung to life—barely. A moment later and it would have been too late. Staring at the unconscious Celestial Dragon child, Nagley felt a strange idea forming… perhaps something to change the course of his retirement.
And so, he brought Cage back to the East Blue.
Ten years later, on a small island in the East Blue, Nagley studied the now-grown Cage.
"You're heading out to sea?"
"Yeah. Old man, I can't stay here with you forever."
Nagley flicked away his cigarette butt. "Brat, you think I need your company? Get lost."
"How could I ever leave you behind? You're my most respected mentor," Cage joked.
"Enough nonsense. Take these with you. Picked this up in the Grand Line, but I never felt like eating it. And these are some of your old things."
Nagley handed him two boxes.
One held a deep blue Devil Fruit—one Cage couldn't recall ever seeing in the encyclopedia.
The other contained his childhood Celestial Dragon garments… and a manual on the Six Powers.
"Judging from your face, you remember what you are, right? Don't forget it, little Celestial Dragon."
"I don't want to stay a Celestial Dragon! I want to be a pirate—adventure across the sea—and become a legendary pirate!"
"Oh? A Celestial Dragon who wants to be a pirate? Good! Hahahaha!"
Whether or not to eat a Devil Fruit had been a real dilemma for Cage, a transmigrator. Eating one would greatly boost his abilities early on, but the obvious downside was losing the ability to swim. In the end, Cage still chose to eat the deep blue Devil Fruit that radiated an eerie chill. Since he'd come to the world of One Piece, it would be a waste not to try a Devil Fruit.
"Ugh—ah—this tastes terrible." Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the fruit's flavor was indescribably foul—horrifying down to his very soul.
(Mythical Zoan-type: Frost Dragon Form)
"Since you've already eaten it, then once you master its powers, start training in the Six Powers as well," Nagley advised, giving Cage his final words of guidance as he watched him set sail.
Nagley stood on the shore, watching the departing ship and the waving Cage, sincerely wishing well for the crafty young man. "Go on, pursue your ambitions! Let the sea witness your resolve—go and shake this world, you pirate with the blood of a Celestial Dragon!"
…
Three days later, a whirlpool suddenly formed in the East Blue, pulling a ship into its swirling depths. Aboard the vessel were Cage and his companion, Sat.
After a fierce struggle, they finally escaped the whirlpool. Cage and Sat collapsed onto the deck, exhausted. Panting heavily, Cage said, "We need to find a navigator immediately. This is too dangerous. Even the normal seas are like this—what'll happen once we reach the Grand Line?"
"I actually know a navigator… he's my childhood friend. But…" Sat had kept this secret for a long time. With this unexpected brush with death, he finally revealed his friend's existence to Cage, leaving the decision in his hands.
"Alright, let's go meet this navigator." Cage didn't push Sat about the concealment. Instead, he simply ordered him to set course toward the navigator's home—the town of Shimotsuki.