The sea around Impel Down was quiet.
Too quiet.
From above, the massive prison looked like a black spike piercing the ocean. Storm clouds circled its peak, and thick iron gates sealed away the worst criminals in the world. Down below the waves, countless floors of hell stretched into darkness.
Most people believed only monsters lived there.
They were wrong.
There was also a child.
Chains clinked softly in the dim hallway of Level 1.
Torches burned along stone walls slick with moisture and salt. The air smelled like rust, sweat, and something far worse.
A group of guards walked down the corridor.
One of them carried a small metal tray.
Inside the tray sat a bowl of watered-down soup.
The youngest guard glanced at it with a frown.
"Why are we feeding that thing again?" he muttered.
The older guard walking beside him snorted.
"Orders from above."
"Above where?"
The older guard lifted a finger and pointed upward.
Higher than the prison.
Higher than the sea.
Higher than the clouds.
"Mary Geoise."
The younger guard stiffened immediately.
"…A Celestial Dragon order?"
"Something like that."
They stopped at a small iron cell that looked different from the others.
There were no torture devices.
No chains.
Just a small cot and a bucket.
And sitting on the floor…
Was a boy.
He looked about four years old.
Messy black hair fell over his eyes, and behind his back were small white wings—short and soft, like those of the people from Skypiea.
The child looked up.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm.
The older guard slid the tray through the bars.
"Food."
The boy didn't move for a moment.
Then he stood slowly and picked up the bowl.
"…Thank you."
His voice was quiet.
Polite.
The younger guard shifted uncomfortably.
"Why is he so normal…?" he whispered.
The older guard shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. He's a stain."
"A stain?"
"Half Celestial Dragon."
The younger guard blinked in shock.
"…What?"
"Mother was a noble."
The guard spat on the floor.
"Father was a Skypiean slave."
The younger guard stared at the child through the bars.
The boy drank his soup slowly.
Like he hadn't heard a thing.
"…So why not just kill him?"
The older guard leaned against the wall.
"Because killing the child of a Celestial Dragon creates problems."
He smirked.
"So they threw him somewhere no one would ever see him again."
The younger guard looked around the prison.
The screams.
The darkness.
The endless stone corridors.
"…Impel Down."
"Exactly."
Inside the cell, the boy finished the soup and placed the bowl down.
His name was Raigo D. Skye.
He sat quietly for a while after the guards left.
The corridor slowly returned to its usual sounds.
Chains dragging across stone.
A distant scream.
Laughter from somewhere deeper in the prison.
Raigo walked to the bars of his cell and looked out.
He had learned something important about this place.
Time moved differently here.
Days were marked by meals.
Nights were marked by silence.
Everything else blended together.
The guards believed he didn't understand much.
They were wrong.
Raigo rested his forehead against the cold iron bars.
"…Impel Down," he murmured softly.
Even in his previous life, he had known the name.
This world wasn't unfamiliar to him.
It was the world of One Piece.
A world of pirates, monsters, and impossible dreams.
A world where the strong ruled everything.
Raigo looked down at his small hands.
They were weak.
Soft.
Useless.
If he stayed like this…
He wouldn't survive long.
Not here.
A scream suddenly echoed through the corridor.
A guard shouted.
Metal clanged.
Raigo didn't flinch.
He had heard worse.
Instead, he quietly sat back down on the floor of his cell.
His wings shifted slightly behind him as he leaned against the wall.
They were small.
Decorative.
Nothing like the powerful wings people imagined when they heard about the sky people of Skypiea.
Raigo folded them carefully behind his back.
For now…
They were just another weakness.
He closed his eyes.
His mind was already moving.
Watching.
Listening.
Learning.
This prison was full of monsters.
But monsters had habits.
They had fears.
They had weaknesses.
And if Raigo wanted to survive…
He would learn them all.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Outside the cell, footsteps echoed again as guards continued their patrol.
None of them noticed the faint smile forming on the boy's face.
It wasn't the smile of a child.
It was the smile of someone thinking far ahead.
Very far ahead.
Raigo opened his eyes and looked up at the iron ceiling.
"…I'll survive."
The words were quiet.
Barely louder than a whisper.
But in the silent darkness of the prison…
They sounded like a promise.