Rocks D. Swain

That was how the world worked. Some rejoiced while others grieved.

"Damn it! Boss, what do we do now?" asked a man wearing a demon mask.

"What can we do? If we go back this time, we'll probably be thrown straight into prison—or even become slaves to the nobles," the man called Boss replied.

He wore a Blue Ogre mask as well. With that raspy voice of his, he truly looked like a vicious ghost.

Yet even a ghostlike man such as him was afraid now. Faced with the possibility of becoming a Celestial Dragon's slave, even his body trembled.

After all, he had truly come into contact with that darkness.

"Dewa! Does that ape look familiar to you?" he asked in a somewhat heavy voice.

"It seems to be from the Wise Ape Tribe, which was supposedly wiped out!" Dewa recalled after being reminded by his boss.

"Wasn't that race exterminated thirty-seven years ago?"

"Yes. They were far too intelligent. No matter what they learned, they surpassed us humans by far. But they should never have taken part in that battle!"

"Exactly. Otherwise, the knight order wouldn't have been sent to wipe them out."

"Looks like they weren't completely exterminated after all!"

"Boss... you mean... but that doesn't seem like it can make up for our mistake."

The CP0 agent named Dewa looked thoroughly confused, seemingly unable to understand why his boss had asked that.

"It doesn't need to make up for it. We just need to redirect the blame and put the focus on the Wise Ape Tribe."

"Once the masters hear about it, they'll naturally downplay our mistake. Instead, they'll become interested in this special race."

"This plan is brilliant!" Dewa said excitedly. The smile on his battered face looked terrifying.

"But Boss, this ape is too strong. Its strength is probably comparable to an Admiral."

"Yeah! I never expected this beast to possess Conqueror's Haki too, and its mastery isn't low. It has already become a powerhouse in its own right."

"There really are terrifyingly many powerful people on these seas!"

He spoke with half a sigh and half a gasp of amazement.

"Whooo! Whooo! Whooo!"

A series of whistles sounded ahead of them. It was a Marine warship!

After showing their identities, they temporarily boarded the ship and headed for Marineford.

Elsewhere.

The Wise Ape brought a baby to an unnamed island. Everything within hundreds of nautical miles was empty, without the slightest sign of life. Yet the island at the center was lush and vibrant, standing in stark contrast to its surroundings.

The Wise Ape held a blue Devil Fruit in its left hand. It looked crystal-clear, with several ripples circling its surface.

In its right hand, it carried a baby. The infant was still waving his arms and legs around, looking rather adorable.

"Damn it, why did I transmigrate into a little brat?!" But what came out was only, "Waaah! Waaaah!"

That was right. This baby was a transmigrator, and a devoted One Piece fan from another world.

The Ape-Man looked at him, assuming he was hungry. It took out a banana from its pocket and forcibly stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you know babies need milk?" Swain silently complained in his heart.

Seeing Swain eat so "enthusiastically" and stop making a fuss, the Ape-Man was quite satisfied. Its gaze toward him seemed to say, This child can be taught!

If Swain had not still been a baby, his face would definitely have been covered in black lines.

The Ape-Man let out a cry toward the surroundings. At once, the forest several meters ahead erupted with the fluttering of birds and beasts. Several seagulls were startled by the sound and hurriedly flapped into the sky, eventually becoming black dots that vanished beyond the distant mountains.

The island was surrounded by jagged rocks. Not far away, the beach was covered in shells, clearly left behind by the receding tide. A few scattered crabs remained, desperately digging holes as night fell.

"Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!" Swain gestured at the Ape-Man with his hands.

He had truly been choked by that banana. Do not underestimate such a small thing—it could easily be fatal for a child.

But how could the Ape-Man possibly understand common knowledge about caring for children, much less infants?

Swain cried anxiously, but perhaps heaven was watching over him. More than ten seconds later, the choking sensation finally disappeared.

"What was that feeling?" Swain silently asked himself.

It turned out that, just as he thought he was about to choke to death, a gentle current of air had flowed through his mouth and allowed him to catch his breath.

"Could it be because of my naturally strong physique?"

In the end, he did not think too much about it. After all, he was still a baby whose hair had not even grown in yet!

Thinking too much would only bring more trouble.

But he could not have imagined that the invisible, life-saving substance resembling a current of air was Conqueror's Haki!... Of course, that was a story for later.

The Ape-Man casually tossed him into a corner of its home, making him cry out in pain.

"Do you think I'm some rare race? Or do I have the Lunarian Tribe physique like Kaido's right-hand man?"

"I'm a human!!"

Naturally, it could not understand Swain's wailing complaints. It left on its own to prepare dinner for the night.

Swain lay helplessly on the ground, but a thought began to form in his mind.

"What time period is it now? I wonder whether Ace and Luffy have set sail yet."

"Since I came to this world by accident, I should explore it properly, live freely, and do my best to help those oppressed by the Celestial Dragons."

Swain quietly made up his mind. Having grown up under the red flag for more than twenty years, every time he saw families destroyed in the pirate world for the Celestial Dragons' enjoyment, or people unable to return home because of their selfish desires...

Didn't Kuma's past prove everything? Wasn't Gild Tesoro's first love, when he was young, taken by those Celestial Dragon scum and turned into a toy before ultimately committing suicide?

If... he were in that situation, he would probably kill himself out of shame and fury as well! If he could not even protect his lover and family, then living would make him nothing more than a corpse.

Yet he deeply respected the experiences of those powerful people.

To put it plainly, this world revered the strong! Swain had felt that deeply when he followed the manga back then.

Especially when Doflamingo was imprisoned in Impel Down, his conversation with Vice Admiral Tsuru had further strengthened that belief.

But at the same time, it reminded him that the pirate world he had seen was one of joy and freedom. That was only one side of it. The real pirate world still followed the most primitive law of the jungle, where the strong devoured the weak. Once someone reached the level of the Four Emperors, even the World Government could not casually seize their territory.

He stopped himself from crying and began pawing at the ground. Though he struggled to crawl, he was practically moving in place. He looked like he was wriggling across the floor, rather adorably.

"Argh, this is infuriating!"

"Why can't I even crawl?"

He looked up at a table several meters ahead. A blue Fruit sat prominently atop it, its rippling patterns seeming carved into its surface, making it look more like an exquisite work of art.

"Let me see what this Fruit tastes like."

He was extremely curious. What did a Devil Fruit taste like? Was it really as disgusting as the legends claimed?