The cries of a newborn filled the quiet room. Aiko felt her body go weak as the midwives hurried to wrap the tiny baby. She leaned back on the futon, sweat dripping from her forehead, her breathing heavy.
She had been waiting for this moment for so long. After months of carrying him, the pain of labor, and all the silent worries that haunted her at night, her child was finally here.
A young maid carefully approached her, holding the small bundle. Aiko struggled to lift her head, her heart beating fast with a strange mixture of fear and relief. When the maid placed the baby next to her, she hesitated for a moment before pulling him closer.
He was small, fragile, and a bit cold. His crying was weak at first but slowly grew louder. His skin was slightly red, and he squirmed in her arms. Aiko's fingers gently brushed his tiny cheeks.
"So... you're finally here," she whispered softly, her voice trembling.
Around her, the attendants bowed respectfully, a few elderly women watching closely to check for any signs of defects or weakness in the heir. In this strict household, even a baby's first cries could become a topic of judgment.
Aiko felt a tightness in her chest. She looked down at her son, trying to memorize every detail of his face. His small fingers moved weakly, grasping nothing. His eyes, though barely open, seemed to search around the room as if trying to understand this new world.
She pulled him closer to her chest, feeling his small warmth spread against her skin.
"You will have a difficult path," she thought, her gaze softening. "But at least, for now... you are safe here."
As the smell of incense drifted across the room, Aiko glanced at the sliding doors, imagining the heavy footsteps of her husband echoing outside.
But right now, she wanted to hold her baby a little longer.
She didn't know what kind of man he would become. She didn't know if he would be strong, wise, or cruel. She only knew that from this moment, he was just her son.
And that was enough.
--
As she held him, the sliding doors opened with a heavy thud. In came the current patriarch of the Kurozumi clan, Kurozumi Senzai, followed by a few retainers and the clan elders. His presence felt like a heavy fog settling in the room.
He walked straight to the child's bed, his eyes sharp as a blade but glimmering with expectations. Without saying much, he looked down at the boy, then at Aiko.
"This boy shall be named Kurozumi Tahomaru," he declared firmly, his voice echoing across the room.
The elders around him nodded deeply. They all understood what it meant. The child would become the heir of the Kurozumi clan. And this wasn't a choice, it was an order.
Aiko could only bow her head, her hands trembling slightly as she held Tahomaru tighter against her chest.
After that day, the official documents were made. The clan started to spread the news: a new heir had been born in the Kurozumi clan.
--
Three years later,
From the time Tahomaru opened his eyes for the first time as a newborn till now, three years had passed.
At first, he thought he had somehow traveled back to the old Japanese era. The architecture, the clothing of the people, their way of talking, it all gave him that impression. But as he grew, he slowly realized this place wasn't the Japan he knew from history books.
Next, he guessed maybe it was some kind of parallel world, but after listening carefully and catching words here and there, he figured it out. This was Wano. Yes, that Wano from One Piece.
It was a huge surprise. He was reborn into a place he'd only seen in manga panels. His family name confirmed it: Kurozumi clan. A daimyo clan that hadn't yet fallen from grace. From what he could remember, this must be before Sukiyaki's birth.
His sixth sense, which he first thought was some special ability or instinct, turned out to be Observation Haki. It was weird at first. But as he focused, he could "see" people as if they were painted with different colors. Bright, dark, warm, cold — each person had a different aura, but he had no idea what they meant at the time. He could sense movements, emotions, and general intent. But he didn't understand all the details yet.
When he turned two months old, something else happened. An RPG-like screen popped up in his mind. He called it the PRS, or passive review system. It wasn't some cheat-like game system that gave quests or skills out of nowhere. It simply showed him his current health and mental state and levels of his traits.
[Health: Below Average
Mental state: Good
Traits:
Physique: Novice Level 0: 30/100
Observation Haki: Novice Level 3: 140/400
Note:
Traits/Skills grades: Novice (Lvl 1-20), Adept (Lvl 21-40), Skilled (Lvl 41-60), Master (Lvl 61-100)
Condition grades:
Below average, Average, Good, Excellent, Superhuman/Genius]
'Still no progress in physique. Looks like I'm stuck like a mage now. High stats in magic and below average stats in physique.' Shaking his head, he sighed internally.
At first, he was happy knowing that he was kind of a genius as he was born with Observation Haki. But life is not fair; if something good is given to you for free, then expect to lose something else instead. As time passed since his birth, he noticed that he was sick. His physique was very weak. Even simple movements such as standing exhausted him.
Without the internet, games, or manga, life felt very boring. He even started thinking whether rebirth was a good decision. With a weak body, he could only stay inside his room with his caretaker, a woman named Omi. As an adult, he couldn't be expected to play with toys.
So, he started spending most of his time meditating. At first, it was very boring; sometimes he even slept unknowingly while meditating. But slowly, he could meditate without sleeping, then he could keep it up for longer periods. Surprisingly, it helped him stay calm and slowly increase his level of Observation Haki. Now it became his favorite way to pass the time, to increase his Observation Haki level.
As days passed by, with his passively active Observation Haki, he heard rumors from the whispers of maids — rumors about him, the heir, being sick. The people who used to visit regularly at first started to visit less. They only continued sending him gifts out of courtesy, as he was the clan heir. This also relieved him. He never wanted to gain this much attention anyway; he just wanted to grind his Observation Haki level. While he knew that he wouldn't be able to reach Master grade, which might be the advanced form of Observation Haki, he still hoped to reach at least Adept level before starting his physical training.
About his poor physique, although he was disappointed, he wasn't depressed or hopeless. Instead, it helped him get a better understanding of people and their expectations, something he had already experienced in his past life.
Still, physical strength is a must in the One Piece world, so he had decided to wait until he turned four or five years old before starting his physical training. He'd try and see the progress; if there was not much progress, then he could only work it out by eating a devil fruit.
Although devil fruits are rare out in the sea, it's not impossible to find one in Wano, since he had both status and money behind him. At most, he would have to wait a few years for a devil fruit. And he had more than enough time to wait.