The days atop Mt. Colubo passed slowly but steadily. The thick forest air carried the scent of trees, earth, and woodsmoke. The ramshackle house of the Dadan Family echoed daily with loud voices, curses, and the occasional crash of falling furniture.

  Inside that chaotic home, two tiny lives were beginning to take shape.

  Portgas D. Ace, barely seven months old, was already a whirlwind. The infant had taken to crawling at lightning speed, and whenever Dogra or Magra weren’t watching, he’d snatch whatever he could get his tiny hands on — a spoon, a rag, or even one of Dadan’s empty sake bottles — just to chew or toss across the room.

  “Oi! Stop gnawin’ on my boot, Ace!” Magra snapped, scooping the little boy up by his armpits.

  Ace responded with a shriek of protest, wriggling in Magra’s grip.

  Meanwhile, in a small wooden box lined with rough blankets, another baby quietly watched the commotion.

  Yasuragi, only one month old, was eerily silent for a child his age. His body was small and fragile, but his mind remained sharp and clear. The memories of his past life — an ordinary college student who’d died in a random accident thanks to a god’s blunder — were still intact.

  And just today, something new appeared before his eyes.

  A soft chime echoed inside his head, and a translucent blue screen materialized before him, visible only to him.

  [SYSTEM ONLINE] Welcome, Yasuragi. User Profile Loaded.

  His heart skipped a beat. Finally…

  The screen shifted at his mental command, and text scrolled down before his eyes.

  [System Status: Stable]

  Name: Yasuragi

  Age: 1 month

  Devil Fruit: Reverse-Reverse Fruit (unawakened)

  Stats:

  Strength: 1

  Endurance: 1

  Perception: 1

  Willpower: 5

  Abilities: None

  Good… it’s here, he thought with relief. His body might be helpless for now, but this was the start of his real journey in the world of One Piece.

  “Alright, ya damn brats, food time!” Dadan’s gruff voice barked from the doorway. She stormed in, holding two small bottles of milk. “Dogra! Magra! Where the hell are you two loafers!?”

  “Right here, Boss!” Dogra called from outside.

  Magra trudged in behind her, grumbling under his breath. “Why don’t we just leave ‘em in the woods and—”

  THWACK!

  Dadan smacked him on the head with a scowl.

  “Idiot! You wanna get murdered by Garp!?”

  Despite her rough words and tone, Dadan’s hands were surprisingly gentle as she lifted Yasuragi and fed him.

  “You’re a quiet one,” she muttered, watching him closely. “Don’t cry, don’t whine… just stare at people like a creepy little old man.”

  Magra snorted. “He’s smarter than you already, Boss.”

  “Say that again and you’re dead.”

  Across the room, Ace burbled happily as Dogra tried to clean his face with a rag.

  “Hey Magra,” Dogra grinned, “Think those two’ll grow up to be terrors like Garp?”

  Magra rubbed the spot where Dadan had hit him. “If they do, I’m movin’ to another island.”

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  **

  Later that night, with the house quiet and the fire dying down, Yasuragi stared up at the ceiling through a crack in the roof. The stars shimmered overhead, and the cool night air rustled the leaves outside.

  He opened his system panel again with a thought.

  Skill Log: Empty Devil Fruit: Sealed until age 7 Notes: This world’s natural laws will gradually adapt to host the Reverse-Reverse Fruit’s abilities.

  Seven years… huh. He could wait. Time was something he had plenty of now.

  He turned his gaze to the sleeping Ace, curled up under a ratty old blanket, softly snoring.

  Portgas D. Ace… Guess we’ll be brothers now.

  In this wild, dangerous world of pirates and legends, Yasuragi would grow — and one day stand among the great names. But for now… he let his eyes close.

  Dogra and Magra finished their chores, stacking old crates near the door, while Dadan lounged on a battered couch with a bottle of cheap liquor in hand.

  “I’m tellin’ ya,” Dogra grumbled, wiping sweat from his brow, “it’s weird. That little one don’t cry or fuss. He just stares.”

  “He’s a good baby, what’re you complaining about?” Dadan snorted, taking a swig. “Better than that Ace kid. That one’s got a pair of lungs on him.”

  Magra laughed as he walked by, Ace currently gnawing on one of his sleeves. “Yeah, I swear he’s got the attitude of a bandit already.”

  Yasuragi lay quietly in his wooden crib — an old apple crate stuffed with scraps of soft cloth. His dark, wide eyes followed the flickering firelight dancing across the ceiling. Inside, his mind focused on the translucent system screen only he could see, getting a little more comfortable with its functions.

  [SYSTEM NOTICE] You have observed your environment for 100 hours. [Perception +1]

  A faint smile tugged at his lips. ‘Good. It works.’

  Even if his body was small and useless now, that wouldn’t last. He would grow stronger. Smarter. He’d survive this world — not as some helpless tagalong, but on his own terms.

  Ace suddenly let out a wail, making Magra jump and curse under his breath.

  “Damn it, not again! Dadan, it’s your turn!”

  “Why is it always my turn, you lazy bums!?” Dadan groaned, slamming her bottle down and stomping over to Ace’s cradle.

  Yasuragi watched as she clumsily rocked Ace, muttering curses and nonsense under her breath.

  “You better not turn out like your idiot grandpa.”

  Dogra chuckled from where he was slumped against the wall. “You mean the Marine Hero?”

  “Shaddup!”

  A while later, the room settled again. Dadan left both babies side by side in their makeshift beds. Dogra and Magra snored in a corner, while Dadan leaned against the wall and drifted off to sleep.

  The only sounds left were the crackling fire and the distant calls of night birds.

  Yasuragi tilted his head slightly to glance at Ace. The older boy’s face was peaceful now, a tiny smile tugging at his lips as he slept.

  Yasuragi thought about the god’s mistake — about dying young, and getting this second chance. ‘I’ll grow up strong too. I’ll carve my own name into this world… just you wait.’

  As if answering his vow, the system softly chimed in his mind.

  [Title Acquired: Quiet Observer] You gain +1 Willpower.

  His eyelids grew heavy. The warmth of the fire and the steady breathing around him lulled Yasuragi toward sleep.

  Before his eyes fully closed, one last thought drifted through his mind.

  ‘Mt. Colubo’s a rough place… but maybe it’s not so bad.’

  The night wrapped around the little hideout as two futures quietly rested side by side — one carrying the blood of a Pirate King, the other a reborn soul with a god’s gift.

  Morning arrived with a pale, golden light slipping through the cracked shutters of the bandit hideout. Birds chirped somewhere outside, and the thick scent of trees and earth mixed with the faint trace of smoke from last night’s fire.

  Dadan snored like a thundercloud on the battered couch, one arm hanging limply over the edge. Dogra and Magra were sprawled nearby in awkward positions, empty bottles scattered around them like fallen leaves after a storm.

  In a pair of makeshift cribs fashioned from old crates and worn blankets, two tiny infants lay side by side.

  Yasuragi, barely a few weeks old, slowly opened his dark eyes. His gaze drifted upward, watching a stray beam of sunlight dance through the dusty air. It was quiet. Peaceful.

  He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t crawl. But he could feel.

  Warmth.

  The soft, steady sound of breathing beside him.

  Ace was curled up nearby, one tiny fist clinging to the edge of his own blanket, his chest rising and falling in gentle rhythm. A little smudge of drool clung to his cheek.

  Yasuragi blinked, then turned his gaze inward.

  [System Status: Stable]

  Name: Yasuragi

  Age: 1 month

  Devil Fruit: Reverse-Reverse Fruit (unawakened)

  Stats:

  Strength: 1

  Endurance: 1

  Perception: 2

  Willpower: 6

  Abilities: None

  A simple profile — but it was his. Proof that this was real. This life, this world.

  From the corner of the room, Dogra stirred, yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes.

  “Ugh… damn… what time is it…?”

  Magra groaned from under a tattered blanket. “Too early…”

  Dogra staggered to his feet and shuffled over to the two babies. He peered down at them, scratching his scruffy chin.

  “Well, at least you two’re alive. No wolves dragged you off in the night, huh?”

  Yasuragi couldn’t help it — a tiny, gurgling laugh escaped him. It startled Dogra so much he took a step back.

  “Oi, Dadan! The quiet one made a noise!”

  Dadan snorted, jerking upright. “Huh? Whazzat?”

  “I swear, he laughed!”

  “Probably just gas, ya idiot,” Dadan grumbled, rubbing her face. She hauled herself up, trudged over, and scooped up Ace first, then Yasuragi with one thick, steady arm. Both babies nestled against her shoulders.

  “Tch. Two brats to deal with now. What kinda life is this?”

  Even as she grumbled, her hold was firm and careful.

  “Guess we’ll have to start stocking more milk. Dogra, Magra — move it!”

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  “Already on it, boss…”

  Yasuragi let himself rest against her rough shoulder. It was strange. Dadan smelled like old woodsmoke and booze, but there was a warmth to her too.

  A strange little family.

  He wasn’t sure what this life would become. But for now, in this tiny bandit hideout on Mt. Colubo — it was enough.

  A place to belong.

  And so, another day began.