2 Years Later.
The island of Rusukaina was supposed to be terrifying.
At least, that was how most people would describe it.
An island of savage beasts. Wild climates. Forty-eight different seasons. A place where nature itself seemed to wake up every morning and ask, How can I kill something today?
To Giovanni, however—
It had slowly become something else.
A playground.
"Oi! No stealing!"
Giovanni lunged forward with both arms outstretched as a small, long-tailed beast with yellow fur and a round face darted away with a chunk of dried fruit in its mouth. It leapt from one rock to another, chittering victoriously.
Giovanni pointed at it accusingly.
"Pico! I told you already, that one was mine!"
The little creature. Pico, as Giovanni had named it sat on top of a rock and stuffed the fruit into its mouth with absolutely no shame.
Giovanni clicked his tongue.
"You have no honor."
Behind him, something large snorted.
Giovanni turned just in time to see a horned lizard the size of a horse nudge his shoulder with its head, clearly demanding attention. Its scales were dark blue with orange stripes running down its sides, and one of its horns had a slight curve at the end.
Giovanni sighed.
"Yes, yes, I see you, Bruno."
He scratched the beast under its chin.
Bruno gave an approving grunt and lowered himself slightly like an oversized dog who knew he deserved more.
A few meters away, a giant bird with too many feathers and too much attitude strutted in circles, pecking at the dirt and occasionally side-eyeing Giovanni like it was judging his entire bloodline.
Giovanni pointed at it too.
"And you stop acting like you're better than everyone, Lady Feather. I'm not in the mood."
Lady Feather let out an indignant cry and turned her head away with exaggerated offense.
Giovanni folded his arms.
"That's right. Reflect."
Above them, hanging upside down from a thick jungle branch, was a long-limbed, bat-like thing with six glowing eyes and a fur pattern that looked like someone had tried to paint lightning onto it.
That one was named Zippy.
No one knew why Giovanni had decided on that name.
Least of all Rayleigh.
But somehow it fit.
The beast blinked all six eyes at him and clicked softly.
Giovanni pointed upward.
"And no, Zippy, I still haven't forgiven you for biting me three days ago."
Zippy clicked again.
"That was not affection."
A deep laugh came from behind him.
Giovanni turned.
Rayleigh stood at the edge of the clearing, hands behind his back, smiling at the ridiculous scene in front of him. A future pirate monster of the seas stood in the middle of one of the deadliest islands in the world…
…and had apparently befriended half the local wildlife.
Or at least reached an understanding with them.
Giovanni straightened a little.
"Oh. Master."
Rayleigh looked around.
"Looks like you've made more friends."
Giovanni shrugged. "I got bored."
Pico chirped from his rock.
Bruno grunted.
Lady Feather still refused to look at anyone.
Rayleigh smiled.
"You even gave them names."
Giovanni pointed at each one as if presenting honored guests at a royal banquet.
"That's Pico. That's Bruno. That dramatic one is Lady Feather. And the bat thing up there is Zippy."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow.
"Bat thing?"
Zippy clicked angrily.
Giovanni looked up at it. "You know what you are."
Rayleigh laughed and then let the moment sit for a second before his expression softened into something more practical.
"Giovanni."
Giovanni turned back toward him.
"Our food supply has run out."
Giovanni blinked once.
Then twice.
Then slowly looked back at the animals around him.
Then back at Rayleigh.
"…And?"
Rayleigh's smile widened ever so slightly.
"And you should go out to sea and hunt a Sea Beast."
Giovanni's face fell immediately.
"What?"
Rayleigh clasped his hands behind his back.
"You heard me."
Giovanni stared at him in disbelief.
"You're telling me to go into the sea…"
"Yes."
"…and hunt one of those giant monsters…"
"Yes."
"…because we ran out of food."
Rayleigh nodded.
"That is usually why people hunt."
Giovanni pointed at the old man with rising frustration.
"Why am I the only one who seems to hunt since a year ago?!"
Rayleigh laughed.
Giovanni clicked his tongue and looked away.
"I miss being around my crew. At least when Shanks gives terrible ideas, he says them with more enthusiasm."
Rayleigh shrugged.
"Would you rather starve?"
Giovanni glared at him.
Then sighed.
Then rolled his shoulders.
"…Fine."
He pointed at Bruno.
"You three stay here and don't touch anything."
Pico immediately touched something.
Giovanni narrowed his eyes.
"…I have made a mistake raising you."
Rayleigh chuckled as Giovanni began walking toward the coast.
The shoreline of Rusukaina was rough and jagged, with tall black rocks and sudden deep waters just beyond the surface. The sea was strangely calm that day, but Giovanni knew better than to trust calm water anywhere near the Calm Belt.
He stood at the edge of the water and inhaled once.
Behind him, Rayleigh stood watching from farther up the rocks.
Giovanni looked back once.
Rayleigh simply smiled.
Giovanni sighed.
Then he jumped in.
Water exploded upward around him as he cut beneath the surface, and a second later he emerged, already swimming with long, efficient strokes. His body had grown used to this kind of strain over the past 2 years, even if his mind still complained about it every time.
Rayleigh watched him go.
The old man's expression softened.
How different the boy looked now compared to when he had first arrived.
Still loud.
Still dramatic.
Still troublesome.
But stronger.
Sharper.
Less reckless in the wrong moments. More reckless in the right ones.
Rayleigh smiled to himself.
"He's grown."
Then he turned and began walking back inland, trusting the sea to do what it always did.
---
Far out at sea, Giovanni swam through long, smooth strokes, cutting through the water like he belonged there now.
The vastness of the ocean spread out around him in all directions. No land in sight from where he was. Only the horizon, endless and blue.
Then something huge appeared ahead.
Giovanni's eyes narrowed.
At first, he thought it was a whale.
The shape was massive enough.
Then he squinted harder.
Wood.
Masts.
Hull.
A ship.
No, not just a ship.
A huge ship.
And shaped like one of the grandest vessels to ever sail the sea.
Giovanni's eyes widened slightly.
"…No way."
As he pushed through the water, it became clearer.
The shape of the vessel.
The sheer size.
The familiar white whale motif.
His expression sharpened completely.
"That's the Moby Dick."
The flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Giovanni's pulse picked up, not from fear, but excitement.
He reached out with his senses.
And felt it.
A monstrous presence.
The kind of presence that didn't feel like a man standing on a deck. It felt like a mountain had decided to become alive and drink sake.
Giovanni grinned.
'No mistake.'
His eyes gleamed.
'That's definitely Whitebeard.'
His grin widened further.
'Perfect timing.'
He rolled his shoulders even while swimming.
'I was looking for a challenge anyway.'
On the deck of the Moby Dick, several members of the Whitebeard Pirates had already noticed him.
Marco stood near the rail, pineapple hair unmistakable even from behind, his sharp eyes focused on the lone figure cutting through the sea toward them.
Around him stood several other members of the crew, some confused, some curious.
Marco frowned.
"…What is that guy doing?"
Diamond Jozu moved up beside him and squinted down at the water.
"Swimming."
Marco looked at him flatly.
"Thank you, Jozu. I had no idea."
Jozu folded his arms.
"I help where I can."
Vista chuckled from farther back.
Marco turned toward Whitebeard, who sat comfortably with sake in hand, looking down at the approaching figure with calm interest.
"Pops," Marco said, "should we save him?"
He looked genuinely confused.
"Though I still don't understand what he's doing out here in the first place."
Whitebeard didn't answer immediately.
His massive frame remained relaxed, but his eyes stayed on Giovanni.
Then—
The sea exploded.
A gigantic Sea Beast burst upward from below the surface, jaws wide enough to swallow a ship's boat whole, water cascading off its scales as it lunged for the lone swimmer.
Jozu's eyes widened.
"He's a goner—!"
But Giovanni didn't panic.
He just looked at the Sea Beast with visible irritation.
Then his eyes sharpened.
And his will exploded outward.
A wave of Conqueror's Haki crashed over the water.
The sea itself seemed to shiver under it.
Giovanni's voice rang out, hard and annoyed.
"Get lost. I'm in a good mood right now."
The Sea Beast froze.
Actually froze.
Its giant body locked mid-lunge, sweat bursting out across its face in impossible fashion as every survival instinct in its monstrous brain screamed at it to leave.
Then, without argument—
It dove back under the sea.
Fast.
Very fast.
So fast that it almost looked like it had teleported from embarrassment.
Silence fell over the Moby Dick.
Marco's eyes widened.
"…Supreme King Haki."
He looked at Giovanni again, but this time the confusion was gone.
"It seems we underestimated this person."
Whitebeard's smile deepened.
Jozu scratched his head.
"…So he told a Sea Beast to leave and it listened."
Vista's hand rested on one of his twin swords.
"Well. That is one way to announce yourself."
Then Marco's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He's coming this way."
And he was.
Giovanni kept swimming until he reached the Moby Dick itself. Then, with one smooth motion, he grabbed hold of the side ropes and pulled himself upward.
Marco immediately stepped forward and called toward the newer recruits near the center of the ship.
"You lot, go to the back. Now."
The recruits blinked.
"What? Why?"
Marco frowned.
"Just move."
They still didn't fully understand.
Until Giovanni stepped onto the deck.
The second his feet touched wood, his Conqueror's Haki flared again, more subtly this time, but still enough to roll across the ship like invisible pressure.
Several of the weaker recruits froze.
Then dropped.
One by one.
Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Marco looked at the fallen bodies and sighed.
"Well," he muttered, "too late."
Giovanni straightened fully now on the deck of the Moby Dick, water dripping from his clothes, hair wet, eyes bright with excitement.
Around him stood monsters.
Marco.
Jozu.
Vista.
And at the center—
The strongest man in the world.
Giovanni walked forward.
Until he stood in front of Whitebeard himself.
Then, with a smile, he said:
"Nice to meet you, Whitebeard."
His grin widened.
"My name is Giovanni."
---
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