The Sea King's body crashed into the shallow water with a thunderous splash, sending waves rolling all the way back to the shore.
Ryu D. Kaizen exhaled slowly, flexing his bruised knuckles.
His pulse was still racing, and the faint hum of Haki crackled under his skin like electricity.
"I actually… did it," he whispered.
This was his first real fight in this new world.
His first test.
His first victory.
But as the cheers from the village died down behind him, Ryu felt something strange.
Something off.
A presence.
Faint… no—hidden.
Ryu turned sharply.
Someone was watching him.
"Good punch," a voice said casually.
Ryu spun around.
An old fisherman sat atop a rock just a few meters away, calmly mending a torn fishing net. He hadn't been there a moment ago—Ryu would've sensed him.
But his Observation Haki felt nothing.
No heartbeat.
No killing intent.
No aura.
How is that possible?
The man didn't even look up from his net as he continued:
"You shifted your weight too early," he said. "Should've twisted your hips more. You wasted energy."
Ryu frowned.
Most people in the East Blue couldn't even spell "Haki."
This old man spoke like he'd trained monsters.
"You watched the fight?" Ryu asked.
"I watched you survive it," the man corrected.
His voice was calm… too calm.
Ryu stepped closer, studying him.
White hair. Scar over his left eye. Worn-out fisherman clothes.
But his posture…
Perfect.
Balanced.
Ready.
Like someone who had fought battles far beyond the East Blue.
"Who are you?" Ryu asked.
The man tied one final knot in his net and finally met Ryu's eyes.
His gaze was sharp.
Sharper than the spear he had leaning beside him.
A gaze belonging to someone who had seen death countless times…
And survived it.
"Name's Karnak," he said simply. "Karnak Reiss."
Ryu tensed.
That name…
He had heard it in passing while listening to Marines gossip in town.
Reiss the Silent Reef.
A Marine Vice Admiral who vanished twenty years ago.
Declared dead.
But he didn't look dead.
Karnak's gaze drifted to the fallen Sea King.
"Not bad for a kid."
Ryu stepped forward, narrowing his eyes.
"You're not a fisherman."
Karnak raised a brow.
"And you're not just a boy from this island."
The air between them shifted.
Silent.
Tense.
Ryu's instincts screamed a warning—
not fear, not danger…
but respect.
This man was strong.
Very strong.
Karnak stuck the spear into the sand and stood up, brushing dust from his hands.
"You've got talent," Karnak said. "More than anyone I've seen in a long time."
Ryu swallowed.
"You sensed my Haki?"
"Boy, I felt your Conqueror's Haki from half a mile away." Karnak's voice grew colder. "And I haven't felt something like that since… well. Since the great ones."
Ryu blinked.
"You know about the 'D'?"
Karnak's eyes narrowed slightly—just enough to reveal a hint of something… curiosity? fear? recognition?
"I know enough to stay away from those with the initial."
He stepped past Ryu, toward the Sea King's corpse.
"But you…" he said slowly, "you're too dangerous to leave alone."
Ryu frowned.
"Dangerous?"
Karnak tapped the Sea King's skull with his spear.
"You beat this thing with your fist.
You used Haki that should take years to learn.
You reacted like a Marine captain, not a kid."
He glanced back.
"Someone like you either becomes a hero… or a disaster."
Ryu didn't flinch.
"So which one do you think I'll be?"
Karnak smirked.
"That depends on who teaches you."
He started to walk away, hands behind his back.
Ryu's eyes widened.
"Wait—are you offering to train me?"
Karnak didn't turn.
"If you want strength, find me at sunrise," he said.
"If you survive the first lesson…I might consider it."
Ryu clenched his fists, heart pounding with excitement and fear.
"Sunrise," he whispered.
"Fine. I'll be there."
Karnak paused only once, just at the edge of the trees.
"Oh, and boy?"
Ryu straightened.
"Yes?"
Karnak's voice dropped into a low growl.
"Don't think defeating a Sea King makes you strong.
Real monsters exist on these seas… and you're about to meet one."
Then he vanished into the forest.
Ryu stood alone on the shore, the wind rustling his hair.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
This world has legends…
But I'll become something greater.