Ryan POV
When I opened my eyes again, I never expected to be staring at a wooden ceiling, nor to hear the muffled sounds of waves crashing in the distance. For a moment, I thought it was a dream, until I caught sight of a reflection in a basin of water beside the bed.
Platinum blond hair. Blue eyes so sharp they seemed unnatural. A baby's body that wasn't mine.
I had been… reborn.
The realization hit harder than the truck that should have ended me. My last memory was of a hospital bed, the oxygen mask slipping off my face, the world fading into silence. I thought that was the end. But instead, I found myself in the arms of a crying woman and a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark features who looked down at me with pride.
"His name will be Ryan," the man said. His voice was deep, steady, and full of certainty.
The woman nodded tearfully. My new parents
.
But the moment their warmth touched me, I felt something strange. Like threads of light spreading through the air. I could sense their presence—my mother's fragile vitality, my father's sturdy energy, the faint flicker of another woman in the corner of the room.
It was overwhelming.
"Observation Haki…" I realized.
Even though I had just been born, my perception stretched unnaturally wide. Every heartbeat in the room was visible to me, like glowing lanterns in the dark. And this was only the beginning.
Days passed, and I learned something new about myself almost every sunrise. By focusing inward, I could see faint numbers appear in my mind's eye—like a status screen, though not as flashy as the systems I used to read about in novels.
• Strength: 0.5
• Speed: 0.1
• Endurance: 0.2
• Devil Fruit: None
• Haki: Observation 155
It wasn't much. In fact, it was pathetic compared to the monsters that roamed this world. But it was proof. Proof that I had a way to grow.
By the time I turned two months old, I discovered another gift—the ability to discern the strength of others. My father's aura was dense and heavy, proof of a strong hunter. My sister, barely ten years old, already carried a flame of potential far brighter than most adults in the village.
But my greatest discovery came later.
At the age of two, I realized that all hostile intent directed at me triggered something in my body. My instincts sharpened, my body reacted before my mind could process danger. It was foresight, an advanced form of Observation Haki.
At just two years old, I had already achieved what most pirates only dreamed of.
"This world really did give me a cheat," I thought more than once, staring at the horizon.
The world of One Piece. A world filled with endless seas, Devil Fruits, Marines, Yonko… and chaos.
And I was right in the middle of it.
The years in Reya village were calm. Fishermen cast their nets at dawn, hunters like my father disappeared into the forest, and I trained in secret whenever I could. My Observation Haki grew sharper each day, mapping the island in my mind like an invisible radar.
By the time I turned seven, I could sense every villager without even opening my eyes. I could predict their movements, feel their emotions, and read their intent. But for all my quiet growth, I never forgot that sooner or later, the outside world would come crashing down on this small island.
And then… it happened.
It started like any other day. The sun was high, the fishermen were unloading their catch, and I was sitting in the village square when I felt it—an ominous presence far out at sea.
At first, I thought it was just another ship passing by. But the moment I extended my Haki, I knew something was wrong. The aura was heavy, violent, hungry.
Then the sails came into view. A massive black-flagged ship with a crudely painted fish skull swayed against the waves, heading straight for us.
"Pirates…" someone whispered.
The word spread like fire through dry grass. Mothers clutched their children. Men reached for weapons that looked pitiful compared to the cutlasses and rifles I could already sense on that ship.
The vessel stopped just off the shore, and a man stepped onto the deck. He was tall, his voice booming like a cannon as he shouted across the water
"We are the Black Fish Pirates, from the Grand Line! Bring out your food, your valuables, and your women—or we'll burn this village to the ground!"
My stomach twisted. The killing intent rolling off him was suffocating.
Some villagers collapsed to their knees. Others panicked. But then a firm voice rose above the chaos.
"Do not panic!" shouted Ronan, my cousin. He was one of the strongest men in the village, broad-shouldered and unyielding. "Today, Ron returns. Until then, we must hold them back!"
His words sparked hope, but it was fragile.
My grandfather stepped forward, his cane tapping against the earth. "Evacuate the women and children!" he ordered. "The rest of us will fight!"
The pirates docked. Dozens of them stormed the beach, laughing cruelly as they clashed with the villagers. Screams filled the air. Wooden spears snapped against iron blades. One by one, our defenders fell.
I clenched my fists, every instinct screaming at me to intervene. But I was too weak. Too small.
And then the world seemed to shift.
The sea rumbled again. Another ship cut through the mist, dwarfing the Black Fish vessel three times over. Its flag snapped in the wind—a skull marked by crossed sabers, painted with a splash of red.
The moment I sensed the aura on that ship, my knees buckled.
It was suffocating. Vast. Wild.
At the bow stood a man with messy red hair, his shirt open at the chest, a black cloak draped over his shoulders. His expression was calm, almost carefree, but the pressure radiating from him was like a storm.
Red-Haired Shanks.
The captain of the newly-formed Red-Hair Pirates. A man who would one day become a Yonko.
As he stepped forward, a wave of power rolled across the beach. Conqueror's Haki. Dozens of the Black Fish pirates collapsed instantly, their eyes rolling back as unconscious bodies hit the sand.
My breath caught. So this is the difference between men like him… and everyone else.
The Black Fish captain, a towering fishman named Gatei, roared furiously.
"Shanks!" he shouted, leaping onto the deck of the Red-Hair ship. His teeth were bared, but I could sense the flicker of fear in his aura.
Shanks didn't even draw his sword. He simply stared at Gatei, his expression unreadable.
A moment later, Ben Beckman, Shanks' right-hand man, pulled a paper from his coat and tossed it onto the deck.
A bounty poster.
Gatei's hands shook as he snatched it up. His eyes widened.
470,000,000 Berries.
The village fell silent. Even the pirates who remained conscious froze in place.
I felt my own heart pound in my chest. For the first time, I had seen it. True power.
And as Shanks smiled faintly, tilting his head, his voice cut through the air like a blade.
"So… what will it be? Hand over your pride and crawl away… or let me end this here?"
In that moment, watching from the safety of the village square, I swore to myself:
One day, I would stand on that level.