Three masked men vaulted over the manor wall, landing silently on the grass as their eyes fixed on the dense forest ahead.
"Hmph. Think you can escape through the forest?"
"Captain, we can't let him get away alive."
"Dead or alive, we bring him back. Move!"
They were CP4 agents—lethal, methodical, and trained for covert operations. Their strength wasn't just in weapons or planning, but in their deadly precision and physical prowess.
Tracking blood, scent, and footprints, they moved like predators, rustling through the undergrowth as they plunged deeper into the forest.
Back at the edge of the woods, a young woman's body—Yuni—lay cold and lifeless, not even granted the dignity of burial. Around her, the silence was suffocating. Not even the wind dared disturb her rest.
The forest brimmed with crawling beasts and hidden dangers, but if the Celestial Dragons ever saw the corpse, they wouldn't even recognize her.
"I must survive."
That desperate thought echoed in Iggy's mind as he ran, branches slashing his arms and tall grass carving lines into his legs. But he didn't slow. He couldn't.
His mother had died to give him a chance to live. That sacrifice couldn't be in vain.
Blood streaked his skin, but he ignored the pain. His mind burned with grief and fury, and he kept running.
Suddenly, the forest began to blur. His vision twisted. The trees faded away. Though his legs still moved, he had entered a different space—a world washed in red.
There was no sound, no end in sight. Just Iggy running on a path that stretched into infinity.
Behind him, he could feel it—dark shapes in pursuit. He focused, his breath steadying, his senses sharpening.
Three black silhouettes flickered into view. CP4 agents. Ten meters apart, closing in.
Even if he could see them coming, what could he do? He was just a child. They were trained killers.
Think, Iggy. Survive.
Pivoting at a 45-degree angle, he tried to slip past the edge of their formation.
Meanwhile, the CP4 captain sniffed the air, detecting blood.
He turned—and there she was.
Yuni.
Lying in a crimson pool, lifeless.
He knelt to inspect the body. No breath. Recently dead.
"That damned woman. A teenager actually managed to slip away? He won't live to regret it."
But before he could rise, a gunshot cracked through the forest, startling birds into the air.
Without hesitation, the captain charged toward the sound.
Elsewhere, the first agent had caught up.
A bullet struck the ground in front of Iggy, sending dirt flying. Startled, the boy tripped and fell, twisting around to see the black muzzle of the gun aimed at his chest.
"You monsters…" Iggy's voice trembled. His limbs shook. He tried to crawl backward, but his body wouldn't obey.
"Game's over, brat."
The agent stepped closer, pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Time slowed.
Iggy's heart surged—and suddenly, he was back in the red world. His instincts screamed. The bullet's path lit up in his vision.
He twisted his body.
The bullet missed.
The agent's eyes widened in shock. "Observation Haki…?!"
He stared in disbelief. "That's impossible… he's just a kid."
He had joined the Navy at twelve and trained for fifteen years. Even among elite soldiers, those who awakened Haki were rare.
But this boy—barely ten, scrawny and bleeding—had just dodged a bullet using pure instinct.
Before the agent could react, another CP4 operative arrived. "Doug, forget the gun—use close combat!"
They circled Iggy.
One lunged forward. "Rankyaku!"
The other followed. "Shigan!"
A blade of compressed air shot forward. A sharpened finger thrust for the kill. The attacks lit up Iggy's pale face.
He froze.
"No!!!"
His mind went blank—except for the image of his mother's last smile.
Then it happened.
A wave of invisible force exploded outward, flattening trees in every direction. Grass was stripped from the ground. Animals fled in terror.
The two agents collapsed, unconscious—eyes rolled back, foam at their mouths.
The captain, still en route, felt the sudden pressure and vaulted forward.
When he arrived, he saw them both—unmoving.
Between them, the earth had been scoured clean in a perfect circle.
Iggy was gone.
The captain clenched his fists, trembling.
"...This… this is Conqueror's Haki. Haoshoku..."
His voice cracked.
"He must die. That child… he'll burn the world to ash."
---
Later…
Iggy stood atop the Red Line, staring out at the endless ocean beyond Mary Geoise.
He had made it out.
Barely.
The wind howled. His face was numb. His legs shook from exhaustion. But he had survived.
As a transmigrator, he knew where he was. There was no way off the Red Line. Not without wings or miracles.
He gave a bitter smile.
There was no escape now.
But better to die free than live as prey.
He stepped forward—and jumped.
The wind tore at his body like blades. The sea rushed up to meet him.
His vision faded.
"Mother… watch over me."
"I will have my revenge."
---
@Dude_Boring thanks for the powerstones
Here's an Extra Chapter.
Though I said 10 powerstones for 2 bonus Chapters, Anyhows...