The East Blue was way too calm that night.
A blond-haired man with streaks of gray mixed in stood still on a small boat for a few seconds longer than necessary. In front of him, the coast of Dawn Island was nothing more than a dark line cutting across the horizon.
The island wasn't anything special to people who didn't know its secrets. The only thing that really stood out was the fact that Monkey D. Garp was born there, and that alone was enough to keep both pirates and Marines away.
Nobody wanted to mess with that monster.
In the man's arms was a simple basket lined with soft blankets. Inside it, a baby slept peacefully, completely unaware of the insane weight he carried without even knowing it.
The man let out a long, silent sigh.
"The world out there would never forgive our blood," he muttered, more to himself than to the sea.
He knelt down and placed the basket near the door of a simple wooden house. The place was well kept, and other children were growing up there. Garp sent money to support his hometown, and part of it was used to care for orphans.
"Garp, my old friend," the man murmured with a playful smile. He almost laughed as he said it, imagining how the Marine hero would react if he ever heard those words.
The man adjusted the blankets with excessive care, as if that could somehow make up for what he was doing. Attached to the basket was a small folded note, written in firm letters: Ryan.
There were no clues linking the baby to anyone in the world. Just a name.
"Your mother and I are truly sorry we can't raise you," the man whispered. "You're the greatest miracle of our lives. Your mother… she can't have male children. We don't know how you came into this world, but we love you."
He took a deep breath and wiped the corner of his eyes.
"Maybe one day you'll understand. Or maybe you won't," he said with a sad smile. "Honestly… maybe that's for the best."
He turned away and vanished into the darkness before the sun could witness the most necessary abandonment of his life.
—
Ryan woke up to the sound of kids arguing way too close to his head.
"Hey, that bread's mine!"
"Shut up! You ate two yesterday! One of those was mine!"
The wooden ceiling above him creaked with the wind, and the smell of simple food filled his nose. He blinked a few times, confused by how strange his body felt. It felt… too small.
That's when the headache hit, and images that didn't belong to that world flooded his mind like a runaway wave. Tall buildings and metal vehicles moving at insane speeds. A tired middle-aged man watching anime alone in his apartment.
Arthur.
The name came first like a whisper, then echoed for what felt like forever, even though it lasted only a second.
Ryan grabbed his head and sat up abruptly on the makeshift bed, his breathing speeding up. His heart was pounding way too fast for someone who was only ten years old.
"What the hell happened? I can't remember," he muttered, his childish voice coming out rough.
Before he could organize the chaos, something strange happened. The world froze.
The wind stopped, and even the kids' voices vanished.
In front of him, glowing letters appeared.
[ESSENCE ACQUIRED: ESSENCE OF THE BLANK
EFFECT: Unlimited potential unlocked.
NOTE: Optimized learning. Adaptive growth activated.]
Ryan blinked twice and rubbed his eyes hard. When he looked again, the message was still there.
"This is one of those isekais, isn't it?" Ryan said, staring at the text. "This is definitely isekai bullshit."
The letters vanished without any ceremony, and the world snapped back into motion, making Ryan flinch as the nearby kids' voices suddenly returned.
Ryan lay back down as the message dissolved into golden dust, something only he could see.
"Damn it, I just wanted to watch my anime and chill over the weekend," Ryan muttered. "At least I don't have to work anymore."
With that last thought, Ryan fell asleep once more and dreamed.
In the dream, he was being carried by a tall man wearing a cloak that hid his appearance. Ryan couldn't see the man's face, nor could he understand his words, but his chest tightened when the man finished speaking.
When he woke up again, the dream was already slipping through the cracks of his memory, leaving only the feeling behind.
Ryan didn't know who had left him there, and overthinking it wouldn't help. What mattered was that he was alive and that now he had something he'd always wanted in his previous life: a second chance.
"Dawn Island and Foosha Village… why do those names sound so familiar?" Ryan muttered, yawning as he lay in bed. Then he got up and left the room.
What greeted him was a table with simple food and a bunch of kids talking loudly. In the kitchen stood an elderly woman wearing a gray dress and a time-worn apron.
Yui, the orphanage caretaker and a mother figure to most of the children.
"Good morning, Mrs. Aoi," Ryan said automatically, as if he'd greeted the old woman like this thousands of times before.
Aoi looked in the direction of the voice, and there he was. Black hair, brown eyes, and worn clothes, the strangest thing is that even so young and with such simple clothes, the little boy had a unique charm.
His face seemed to belong to nobility, and judging by his more masculine features, Aoi is already sure that the boy is going to be a heartbreaker.
"Morning, sleepyhead. Looks like you overslept today," Aoi said with a tired smile. "Now that you finished school early, what are you planning to do?"
"Huh? Ah! I… I'm not really sure yet," Ryan replied, caught off guard. He had finished school early after completing the education program imposed by the World Government across all the Blues.
Most of it was pure brainwashing about how the Marines fight for justice and blah blah blah. The rest, according to Ryan's memories, wasn't exactly wrong.
That's when everything clicked into place.
Marines. World Government. Dawn Island. Foosha Village.
He was in the world of One Piece.
'Oh fuck,' Ryan thought, going pale.
"Ryan? Are you okay?" Aoi asked, stepping closer. "You look pale."
"It's nothing. Just thinking about what to do from here on out," Ryan replied with a forced smile.
"No need to stress so much," Aoi laughed. "There's plenty of work on this island. I'm sure someone needs an apprentice. You could even join the Marines."
Ryan nodded and sat down at the table with the other kids to eat. Thinking on an empty stomach wouldn't help anyone.