The land of Wano was beautiful from afar.
Towering mountains pierced the clouds. Cherry blossoms drifted across ancient castles. Rivers wound through valleys like silver dragons.
Yet beneath that beauty lay suffering.
Factories belched black smoke into the sky day and night. Villages starved. Children grew up knowing hunger better than happiness.
And no one cared.
Or at least, that was what most people believed.
Deep within a secluded valley hidden by dense forests and steep cliffs stood a place few knew existed.
An orphanage.
The building itself was simple. Wooden walls. Straw roofs. A vegetable garden stretching across the nearby fields.
Nothing luxurious.
But to the children living there, it was home.
Laughter echoed through the yard as dozens of children chased one another between rows of vegetables.
A little girl with purple hair ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.
"Big Brother Kousei!"
Her cheerful voice rang across the valley.
A young man looked up from repairing a wooden fence.
He had black hair, calm eyes, and a gentle smile that rarely left his face when children were nearby.
This was Hattori Kousei.
The caretaker of the hidden orphanage.
And the only adult many of these children trusted.
Tama launched herself at him without hesitation.
Kousei caught her effortlessly.
"Careful," he said with a laugh. "You're going to knock yourself over one day."
"But I wanted to show you!"
She proudly held up a small basket.
Inside were several vegetables.
Not many.
But enough to make a child smile.
Kousei widened his eyes dramatically.
"Impossible."
Tama blinked.
"What?"
"This harvest..." he whispered.
The nearby children immediately gathered around.
"What happened?"
"Is it bad?"
"Did Tama do something wrong?"
Kousei slowly shook his head.
Then he declared,
"This is the greatest harvest in Wano history."
The children erupted into laughter.
Tama puffed out her chest proudly.
"I told you I could do it!"
"You absolutely did."
Kousei gently patted her head.
The smile on her face made every hardship worthwhile.
For a few moments, he allowed himself to enjoy the peaceful scene.
Children laughing.
Children smiling.
Children acting like children.
Something many of them had been denied for far too long.
Then his gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.
Dark smoke stained the sky.
The factories.
Kaido's factories.
His expression hardened.
Many of the children here had escaped those places.
Some had lost parents.
Some had been abandoned.
Some had been sold.
Every child carried scars.
Not always visible.
But scars nonetheless.
Kousei clenched his fists.
He wasn't strong enough.
Not yet.
He could protect this valley.
He could feed these children.
But beyond that?
There was little he could do against monsters like Kaido.
A feeling of helplessness settled in his chest.
The same feeling he experienced every time he rescued one child while knowing a hundred more still suffered.
As if responding to those thoughts, a strange sound suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Conditions fulfilled.]
Kousei froze.
The children continued playing.
No one else reacted.
His eyes narrowed.
What was that?
The voice returned.
[Suitable Host Confirmed.]
[Analyzing Host Personality.]
[Analysis Complete.]
[Compassion: SSS]
[Protective Instinct: SSS]
[Self-Sacrifice Tendency: SSS]
[Combat Capability: Insufficient.]
"...What?"
Tama tilted her head.
"Big Brother?"
Kousei blinked.
"Ah. Nothing."
But internally, alarm bells were ringing.
The mechanical voice continued.
[Universal Child Protection System activated.]
For a moment, the world seemed to stop.
The wind disappeared.
The sounds of the children faded.
Everything became silent.
Then a glowing blue screen appeared before his eyes.
UNIVERSAL CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM
Host: Hattori Kousei
Current World: One Piece
Primary Mission:
Protect children whose destinies contain suffering, abuse, neglect, slavery, experimentation, or death.
Reward: -----------
Power. -------------
Failure: -------------
Witness tragedy. --------------
Kousei stared at the screen.
Then at the laughing children around him.
Then back at the screen.
His heartbeat quickened.
The system issued another notification.
FIRST MAIN MISSION DETECTED
Target Child:
Tama
Threat Level: High
Future Survival Probability: 27%
Recommended Action:
Change Fate.
The smile slowly disappeared from Kousei's face.
He looked down at Tama.
The little girl was happily showing vegetables to the younger children.
Completely unaware that fate itself had apparently marked her for suffering.
A dangerous calm entered Kousei's eyes.
"System."
[Yes, Host?]
"If changing fate is the mission..."
He looked toward the distant smoke of Kaido's factories.
"...then we're going to save every child we can."
For the first time since activating, the system responded almost immediately.
[Acknowledged.]
[Beginning First Reward Distribution.]
A pillar of light erupted within Kousei's consciousness.
Heat flooded his body.
Power surged through every muscle.
And somewhere far away, beyond worlds and dimensions, the gears of destiny began to turn.