To speak of the New World is to speak of the most treacherous sea iire Grand Line... No, it's more accurate to say it's the most dangerous sea area iire world.

  The o here is turbulent and votile, with bizarre phenomena on a daily basis. Sailing through this region is an unparalleled experience.

  In the New World, no matter how experienced a veteran might be, death e at any moment.

  After all, everything in this pce shatters the uanding of even the most seasoned navigators.

  Whether it's an isnd suspended in the sky, or a sea suddenly splitting open, or a sudden hailster than ships under a clear blue sky.

  In short, no matter what unimaginable event you think of, the New World make it happen.

  Even if the o surface abruptly transforms into boiling magma that es everything, it's nothing out of the ordinary here.

  And the sea is fair in its ruthlessness. It does not discriminate, regardless of who you are pirate, Marine, adventurer, noble, or mert it doesn't matter. To the sea, every identity is equal, for you are all its children.

  Currently, iers he entrance of the New World, on an unnamed isnd, there exists a man who has lived even after he should have died.

  To speak of "living" here is not quite accurate it would be more appropriate to say that this man had already died once, only for his body to be taken over by a soul from another world, beginning a new journey.

  At this moment, on the shore of this desote isnd, a youth eared to be in his teens stood. His body lump, dressed in tattered clothing that still retained an air of former elegance. His pale blonde hair was long, his face imposie his swolleures, his skin morbidly fair.

  At a gnce, anyone could tell that this young man was no ordinary person. He seemed like one of those idle, i nobles one who knew nothing of hardship or bor. A person whose life sisted of nothing but eating, drinking, and waiting for death.

  Ihis young man possessed araordinary background. If oo ask whether there existed anyone in the world who, from the moment of birth to their iable demise, enjoyed absolute privilege and authority whose power ah were unmatched.

  The answer would be yes. Such beings did exist. They are known as Celestial Dragons, referred to as the "Nobles of the World."

  To discuss the Nobles of the World, we must delve into ahat occurred 800 years ago.

  It is said that 800 years ago, the royal families of twenty kingdoms baogether to form a new regime with the goal of establishing a new world order the Wover. Sihen, this Wover has ruled the entire globe for 800 years.

  During this period, the desdants of those twenty kings were given illustrious titles like the "Desdants of the Creator" or the "Desdants of the Gods."

  These desdants are collectively known as the Celestial Dragons, the true Nobles of the World. The Celestial Dragons are the living embodiment of the Wover, as it was their aors who established it.

  Moreover, the highest levels of authority in the Wover have always been held by the most powerful Celestial Dragons.

  Thus, over the past 800 years, the status of the Celestial Dragons has been stantly "elevated."

  Now, they enjoy privileges and powers that ordinary people ever dream of reag.

  To illustrate this, let's use the simplest example: a Marine Admiral the highest rank in the Marines, sed only to the Fleet Admiral.

  Such a person would be regarded as a figure of great stature, influence, and power across the world.

  This person could authorize a Buster Call to n aire isnd as "criminal" and erase its existence from the map.

  Their strength is among the top-tier in this world. While they may not necessarily be the absolute stro, they undoubtedly rank among the elite.

  A, such a figure, a Marine Admiral, in the presence of a Celestial Dragon, is merely a "bodyguard."

  Yes, the Celestial Dragons are so exalted that whether it's the Marines, who rule the seas, or the enigmatic CP (Cipher Pol) anizations, they are merely the Celestial Dragon's servants.

  Offending a Celestial Dragon is an offehat demands retribution at the highest level. The Marine Headquarters and CP anizations must do everything in their power to maintain the dignity of the Celestial Dragons.

  That is to say, should something happen to a Celestial Dragon, a Marine Admiral-level figure must personally interveo up the mess.

  This world is so unreasonably structured. It is because of this absurdity that the Celestial Dragons have tio elevate themselves over the past 800 years, viewing everythih them as mere dust.

  To them, only their own kind the Celestial Dragons are sidered people. The rest are merely "sves."

  Their arrogand disdain for others have reached su extreme that they wear bubble hoods out of sheer self-importance, simply because they do not want to breathe the same air as the on "untouchables." Though it may seem ludicrous, this illustrates the pride and arrogance of the Celestial Dragons in the most btant manner.

  At this moment, the chubby youth sitting on a rock by the shore of this unnamed isnd was her than a Celestial Dragon of the most distinguished rank.

  "Donquixote Cudius... What a domineering name, but the person himself is a bit of an idiot, no?" the plump youth muttered as he sat on a rock, tinually critig his predecessor.

  Yes, he was a member of the Donquixote family, an authentic Celestial Dragon.

  Eight hundred years ago, the Donquixote family was the royal family of Dressrosa. After f the Wover, the family moved from Dressrosa to the holy nd of Mariejois, being one of the 19 remainiial Dragon families.

  Yes, een.

  Among the twenty kings' desdants, the royal family of Abasta the ari family chose not to relocate to Mariejois, thus refraining from beiial Dragons.

  Instead, over the course of 800 years, they have e to be seen as mere "provincial lords" in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons.

  heless, the ari family still holds a measure of respe Mariejois and within the Wover.

  In short, this chubby youth is a member of the Donquixote family. From a familial standpoint, one could say he is the big cousin of the future pirate overlord, Heavenly Demon Donquixote Dofmingo, older by a few years.

  As for the name "Cudius," it might not mean mu this world, but Cudius knows very well that this name carries the legacy of a certain Roman emperor a name signifying power and might.

  Holding a wooden sti his hand, Donquixote Cudius scratched out a few lines on the sand, muttering to himself: "First things first, let's get a clear picture of my current situation..."

  "To start, the first point is that this idiot of a predecessor somehow ended up eating a Devil Fruit. I 't ge that, but at least it's a Logia-type. With my excellent brain... I shouldn't be as hopeless as that idiht?" Cudius murmured softly.

  Yes, his foolish predecessor despite being a noble Celestial Dragon had somehow been tricked iing a Devil Fruit. While it was indeed a Logia-type fruit, it still highlighted his predecessor's sheer stupidity.

  Naturally, if the present Cudius possessed the same inexplicable sense of nobility as the curreial Dragons, he would rather throowerful Devil Fruit to the sves as a toy tha to enhance his own strength.

  But that's not who he is.

  Yes, Cudius is a far more pragmatic person.

  He does not subscribe to these so-called "feudal" beliefs.

  Moreover, having arrived in the world of One Piece, how could he not relish the opportunity to experiehe sensation of wielding Devil Fruit powers and the extraordinary mysteries they entail?

  Thus, if his predecessor hadn't foolishly ed a Devil Fruit, Cudius would still have dreamed of developing something like the Thunder Fruit to py with. But now it seemed that dream could no longer be realized. What a pity...

  "The sed point is that Cudius... or rather, I... am a Celestial Dragon."

  No wohis body is so fat, bloated, and utterly wasted.

  It really puts a damper on my own handsome soul...

  Cudius shook his head helplessly and looked at his refle in the fluctuating tide, sighing at the state of his own body.

  Uanding the situation of being a Celestial Dragon, especially a lower-tier one like Cudius, is straightforward.

  The Wover is a massive anization that has maintained world order for 800 years. It's not possible for all Celestial Dragons to be mindless idiots like Cudius.

  While all Celestial Dragons share the same noble bloodlihey are divided into upper and lower csses.

  To use the simplest analogy, sider the Five Elders, the highest power holders in the Wover.

  The Five Elders are also Celestial Dragons, but they are of the highest order.

  Individuals like them are vastly different from the trash like Cudius.

  They possess sharp minds, abundant experience, and serve as the steering wheel of the Wover's ship.

  In addition to the highest-rankiial Dragons, there are also the middle and upper Celestial Dragons those who hold leadership positions within the Celestial Dragon families or possess some capability of their own.

  These individuals be regarded as power holders within the Celestial Dragons' social hierarchy, wielding some measure of authority and a more "normal" state of mind.

  Finally, there are those like Cudius, the lowest-tier Celestial Dragons who are mere parasites, tent to eat, drink, and waste away.

  After examining his appearance reflected in the ebb and flow of the tide, Cudius touched his for a moment, finally nodding with a hint of self-satisfa and vanity.

  "From a foundational perspective, there's potential. If I ge this temperament and transform this body, I should be able to match this skin with my truly handsome soul."

  The inal Cudius was a textbook example of a lower-tier Celestial Dragoing only to eat, drink, and wait for death. He cked any awareness or motivation to take care of his physical appearance. Over-indulgend ziness had turned him into a repulsive "dead fat" slob.

  But if oo look past these acquired factors and sider the underlying natural foundation, Cudius could indeed bee quite good-looking. After all, the Celestial Dragons, despite their fws, have a det standard of aesthetics. Whehey saw someoiful, they would often marry them, adding these individuals to their colle of wives. This proves, at the very least, that their aesthetise is not skewed.

  Moreover, these Nobles of the World have been ing the fi foods and enjoying the best of life for 800 years, which means their genes remain quite strong. As such, very few among them grow up to be hideously ugly. Most of their unpleasant appearances are the result of excessive indulgend the absence of restraint.

  In clusion, Cudius felt that if he could put in the effort to trol this body's excessive desires, lose weight, and shake off the i greasiness, he should be able to transform into a handsome man.

  After all, his cousin, Donquixote Dofmingo, would bee quite a dashing figure iure at least much more attractive than most Celestial Dragons in Mariejois.

  In Cudius's opinion, this was rgely due to Dofmingo's unique growth enviro. If Dofmingo had stayed in Mariejois, merely existing as a Celestial Dragon, he probably would have ended up the same as the others physically aally decayed.

  "Lastly, the reason why Cudius my predecessor ended up shipwrecked and stranded on this isnd is clearly due to some spiracy. After all, by all rights, I should have already been dead," Cudius murmured softly, a plicated light fshing in his eyes.