East Blue, near Haven Island
A gentle breeze blew across the shimmering blue sea, carrying with it the sound of dancing waves that softly struck the small wooden sailboat. On the edge of the boat, a teenage boy stared at the water with a scowl, his eyes fixed on its surface in a clear daze.
He sighed before turning around.
"Dad! Let's head back… I have that bad feeling again."
The older man, with a rough black beard, was busy arranging the basket full of fish. He lifted his head, laughing softly:
"Heh! Really, I'm jealous , I wish I had the same sixth sense you and your mother possess…" he said bitterly, with feigned jealousy, before finishing closing the basket and standing upright.
He sighed in fatigue, then continued seriously, "Alright, Seth, that's enough for today... Let's leave before we attract a Sea King or your bad feelings come true…"
Father and son adjusted the sails and started rowing toward the village.
"Hmm! What a huge ship…" Seth said excitedly, his gaze fixed on the luxurious vessel that had appeared on the horizon.
"Really?…" Riko stopped rowing, looked back, and stared long at the ship. But as soon as he recognized the flag fluttering above it, his face turned pale, and sweat began to trickle down his forehead.
"Seth! Quickly, help me row! We must get away from this ship at once…"
"What? Why?…" Seth asked in surprise, unaware of the change in his father's expression.
"Shut up and row! Quickly!" Riko said in a sharp, serious tone.
Seth grabbed the oar immediately, sensing the danger in his father's voice, and began helping.
"Damn it, why of all days does a Celestial Dragon pass here…" Riko muttered, rowing hard. He had once lived briefly on the Grand Line and had seen things East Blue residents couldn't even dream of.
He'd witnessed how Celestial Dragons treated people like animals selling, whipping, or crushing them just for amusement. He knew falling into their hands was worse than death, and worse still, his son was with him, and all of this was close to their village.
"Please don't see us… Please don't see us…" he kept repeating silently, like a hymn of survival.
"A Celestial Dragon?…" Seth muttered with a frown, recalling his mother's old warnings as she read the newspaper with a trembling voice.
On board the luxurious ship…
Saint Marselos sat on an ornate golden chair, wearing the famous Celestial Dragon suit that resembled an astronaut's outfit. His face, behind a half-transparent glass mask, showed grotesque features; his skin was unnaturally pale, and his upper lip quivered slightly whenever he felt bored, as if existence itself annoyed him.
Before him knelt a thin man, shackled, his battered body covered in blood.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop screaming? Did you lose your spirit?"
Marselos said coldly, stomping his fancy boot on the slave's wounds, forcing out a faint groan.
"Tch! Boring…" he kicked the slave, whose eyes were lifeless.
He was about to order another slave from the hold when a man in a black suit approached, whispering into an aide's ear, who then turned to the saint.
"Hmm? What is it?" Marselos asked coolly, tired of torturing.
"Sir, we spotted a small sailboat nearby," the man replied crisply.
Marselos's smile widened, a demonic glint appearing in his eyes.
"…Sink it."
He gave the order without hesitation, then climbed onto the slave's back, having him crawl to the ship's edge to watch the bombardment.
A soldier in a black suit aimed the cannon at Seth and Riko's boat and fired without hesitation—he was used to such tasks.
For Marselos, it wasn't real hostility, just fleeting amusement. Sinking a boat in the open sea would never make it into reports, no one would ask. Just another game on a dull day.
Seth suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. He turned his head and looked back.
"Dad…!"
he cried out fearfully, pointing at the approaching cannonball.
Riko turned; the black dot was growing fast. He grit his teeth and kicked Seth out of the boat with all his strength.
Boom!!
Before he could jump, the cannonball exploded, shattering the boat and scattering debris over the water. Nothing remained of the father except his last wish to save his son.
Seth plunged into the water; everything around him sank into silence and darkness. Before losing consciousness, he glimpsed his father sinking far away.
…
When he opened his eyes, there was no blue sky, no light. Only a cracked wooden ceiling and a chain dangling from the iron roof.
His body was exhausted, wet; his eyelids heavy, yet he was alive.
He lay on a cold metal floor, water echoes surrounding him. Slowly he raised his head, discovering metal bars enclosing him on all sides. A cage.
In the other corner, a small boy slept, his face bruised; behind him rows of other cages filled with silent people, watching with hollow eyes.
He tried to stand but staggered and hit the wall.
"Rest… you've just arrived to hell," a hoarse voice drifted from the next cage , an old man.
Seth looked over slowly, frowning, dazed. "Where… am I?"
"You're a slave now, boy, aboard the Celestial Dragon's ship known as Saint Marselos…"
Seth fell silent, frozen, muttering under his breath
"A Celestial Dragon… Saint Marselos…"
"You survived the shelling by God's will, but now you're in hell…"
The man sighed, leaning against the cold bars.
"Take a tip from me, lad… don't anger him, that could hurt your relatives , if you have any , they will suffer… don't resist or scream, he enjoys resistance…" The grown man shuddered at the last part.
Seth ignored the chatterbox, scanning the place , blood stains on the floor, rotten food scraps, the stench of mold everywhere. The cage was narrow, the iron edges rust-eaten.
He bowed his head in despair, swallowed hard, then whispered with sorrow and bitterness,
"Dad…" The last scene before he blacked out flashed ,his father surely dead.
He'd hoped faintly his father was among the slaves, but he hadn't seen him.
"Hey, you…" Seth croaked, his throat dry.
"What do you want, boy… Call me Luke… after all, we're on the same boat…"
Seth asked once he had Luke's attention:
"Mr. Luke! Are there other places…"
"Other places like this… more slave cages?"
"Mr. Luke! Hmm, I like the sound of that … Fortunately, there's no other place like this on board. All the miserable, unlucky wretches are here. Some unluckier ones were taken by the Celestial Dragon's dogs just before you woke up…"
"Even someone with a stone heart like me would pity that boy's tears ... " Luke murmured sadly.
Seth, who'd wanted to ask about that slave, heard Luke's mumble; words stuck in his throat. His last hope vanished, clearly, the slave currently serving wasn't his father.
"Dad… are you really dead!" Seth thought, hugging his knees to hide his tears.
No sound answered him except the sea's creak beyond the walls.
Three days passed. Old wounds still hurt, his head spun whenever he tried to stand.
Even Luke, who talked a lot, had been taken by the Celestial Dragon's servants yesterday, leaving deadly silence.
No one spoke to him, and he couldn't think. His body was exhausted, his soul even more.
He rested his head on his palm and slept to ease hunger and fatigue. While everyone slept, the ship shook violently.
A massive explosion boomed, followed by screams and running overhead; the whole ship shuddered.
A wooden beam fell; the iron lock on his cage shattered partly.
Seth awoke in fright to screams and creaking wood, instantly stunned as he looked up.