White clouds drifted across the azure sky. Under the increasingly bright sunlight, the sea glittered, ripples spreading across its surface.
Occasionally, a few fish leaped out of the water, curiously eyeing the enormous, entirely golden ship.
Two men sat quietly at the edge of the Ark Maxim, gazing down at the sea ahead.
One held a fishing rod and lightly flicked bait into the water with his right hand. The other, wrapped in bandages, sat beside him and watched in silence.
"What exactly happened to you twenty years ago?"
"What could have sent the man hailed as the most monstrous genius in Marine history into Impel Down, and kept him there for so long?"
The sea breeze swept past as Rob Lucci asked in a low voice, his expression solemn.
The intelligence he had received from the World Government offered only a broad outline, not a detailed account of the man before him.
He knew nothing of the man's story, background, or actual strength.
Now that they had a chance to sit face-to-face, Lucci was naturally deeply curious.
After all, their relationship, positions, and allegiances had changed, giving him the opportunity to learn about it.
"Heh heh heh."
River laughed at the question.
"What happened to me?"
A trace of melancholy crossed his face, along with a hint of recollection.
"That story began a very long time ago."
With that, River fell silent, seemingly lost in memories of the past.
Curiosity filled Rob Lucci's eyes as he waited patiently.
Only after a long while did a deep, resonant male voice slowly break the silence.
"Twenty years ago, an accident brought me to this world."
"I still remember. It was an island whose inhabitants had been slaughtered by pirates. Civilian corpses lay everywhere around me."
"Old people, women, and children."
"Blood