2 Chapter 2 - A New Life

A/N: Small note, obviously this is a fanfic and I will try my best to stick to the lore but I will be taking some liberties in order to write the story I want to tell. With that being said, enjoy.

===============

The year is 1495, 5 years before what will be the start of the Great Age of Pirates.

In a small unassuming village in east blue, today a young boy will be born.

"Hang in there honey, I'm here for you!"

A man with red hair grips his wife's hand as she goes into labor.

"Please, just shut up, I'm trying to concentrate! Aghh!"

The young blond wife struggles to keep her voice down as the pain grows more and more.

"Deep breathes Hana, Deep breathes."

A young black-haired lady comforts Hana as she continues to struggle.

"Ahhhh!"

Mere moments later, a boy with reddish-blond hair was born, and his first breath and cry in this world were heard.

"Wahh, wahh!"

The black-haired lady carefully wraps the boy and wipes him clean, before carrying him over to his mother.

"Look, Hana, it's a healthy boy!"

Hana smiled as she carefully received the child. Her husband let go of her hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You did great, honey. Thank you for giving birth to our wonderful son. Shimotsuki-san, thank you so much for your help! It was a great relief to have you here."

The lady smiled as she wiped her sweat from her forehead.

"It's no problem at all. Please make sure to take care of Hana for the next few days, Akira-san."

"Hmph, I don't need his help!"

Hana pouted while Akira had a crooked smile on his face. It was clear that this was a commonplace scene for this young couple. Their friend chuckled upon seeing this scene and started walking towards the door.

"Well, let me know if you guys need any help these next coming days, you know where to find me!"

Hana nodded cheerfully before shifting her attention back to her baby. Akira walked the helper out of the house, thanking her once more, before returning.

"Whew, I'm going to need a drink after this. How is he?"

"He seems to be healthy, he just stopped crying a few moments ago. Also, no alcohol around the house, keep it with your sailor friends! I won't let you keep that poison around my boy!"

Akira flashed another crooked smile. Although he was not a weak man, being a fisherman for the village, he always had a soft spot for his wife. Hana started poking her son's cheek trying to get his attention.

"Hello dear, it's me, your mommy!"

The baby looked up to his new mother, showing an inquisitive expression.

"Ooh look at you! Yes, it's me, your mommy! From today forth, your name will be...Terumi!"

The baby boy continued to inquisitively eye his new mother, before closing his eyes, seemingly falling asleep.

"Aww, you must be so tired. Dear, help me get him over to his baby carriage."

"Okay, I got it right over here."

Akira brought over a sturdy baby carriage made out of wood and straw, and Hana then gently laid her newborn son into it.

Little did the two of them know, the baby was not actually sleeping.

'...Well, I can't say I ever wondered what that was like. Wish I didn't know.'

Indeed, this young boy was our protagonist, a newly arrived soul in the world of One Piece.

'Terumi...that is my new name now, huh? Well, a new name for a new life. I like it.'

Terumi felt himself being lifted while in the carriage. His father Akira held his carriage in one hand while helping his mother Hana in the other. Together, his new family made their way to a different room, presumably the main bedroom, preparing to tuck in for the night.

'Now, let's see where that knowledge is...'

Terumi scanned his mind, and slowly but surely all of the information the guide bestowed unto him arranged itself for him like a library in his mind.

'This is...a lot to go over. I guess just because I know these things now doesn't mean I really know how to utilize or implement them. It feels more like I have the knowledge stored in my head rather than me actually knowing everything. It'll take quite some time before I can go over it all and fully make it my own.'

Terumi peaked through his eyelids to try to confirm his surroundings, seeing that his parents are in the bed next to him, getting ready to sleep and no longer paying too close attention, he tried to move his body.

Struggle as he might though, a newly born baby can't really muster any strength whatsoever, only basic movements as he flailed his arm around.

'Well, guess I'll have a lot of time. I heard my parents call the midwife Shimotsuki-san, as in Shimotsuki village? Am I in east blue? But when...'

Terumi tried to recollect things in his mind about the world of one piece. Although he was an avid fan, he's not exactly a walking encyclopedia on the history of everything. Moreover, the time he spent in the void fragmented his memory even further, what he has left is only knowledge on the main events of the story he read about in the manga.

'Okay well, no use trying to think about things I can't control. So, what's my plan? Will I become a pirate like Luffy or a Marine? To be honest, although I respect Luffy's way of life and enjoyed his adventure, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure if being a pirate really is the way to go.'

Terumi recalled scenes in his mind about the adventure of Luffy and his friends. Even the first half of the grand line, dubbed "Paradise" was a harsh environment. The constantly changing weather, ruthless pirates, underground organizations, and ever-present navy threat.

'Unless I get some kind of powerful fruit, it'll be hard for me to get strong enough to sail paradise, don't even mention the new world. Besides, I don't want to rely on something like that, for me personally, the drawbacks of having a devil fruit are too high. The guide gave me a second chance at life, I don't want to lose it by accidentally falling in seawater.'

Terumi grimaced, thinking about all the odds stacked against him in this dangerous world, before recalling the final words the guide gave him.

'Haaa. Stop, I already made up my mind beforehand so what's the use in worrying now? I will live this life to the fullest! I have two goals in mind, to show the world the power of my breathing style swordsmanship, and to explore the world, see everything, and find happiness. To that end, the answer is actually simple, what I need...is strength. Without it, I cannot hope to survive. Nevertheless, I will do that what it takes.'

'Guess that means, there's really only one reasonable choice. The Marines. Since I don't plan on eating any devil fruit, the fastest way to get stronger as a non-devil fruit user will be to learn the Rokushiki/Six Powers and Haki. However, I really don't want to be restricted as a dog of the world government. Just thinking about those filthy celestial dragons makes me sick. I don't think of myself as particularly righteous or anything like that, but even I have a line that I will draw.'

'Well, I guess it's not all bad. I know that the Marines aren't the ones at fault. I disagree with people like Akainu who preach "Absolute Justice" or whatever that means, but many of the Marines I remember were genuinely good people like Garp.'

Suddenly, Terumi's eyes flashed with inspiration.

'That's right! Garp! If I can get him to take me to Marineford, I can avoid corrupt Navy officers like Nezumi and get the training I need! I mean, just look at what happened to Koby, now that's a glow-up to end all glow-ups. The question is...how do I do that...'

'Okay first, let's try to figure out as much as I can about where I'm at first. If I remember correctly, Shimotsuki village is right next to dawn island, where eventually Luffy will be born. I don't know when the guide decided to plop me into the plot, but I hope I'm at least near it and not like 100 years away or something.'

Terumi furrowed his petite eyebrows while thinking about where in the timeline he could possibly be, trying to fold his arms but to no avail.

'Yeah no, I can't be that far away. I remember in the Wano backstory that Shimotsuki village was founded by Kozaburo after he left Wano. So I have to be actually near the canon story. It would be perfect if I was at least 20 years or more before the start of the story. I want to be in my prime when big events start happening. Though...I guess now that I'm here in this world, I can't expect things to go exactly like canon, I'll try not to mess things up too much, but whatever happens, happens.'

As Terumi kept planning his future trajectory, he starts to get more and more tired as his baby body runs out of energy.

'Ugh, guess this will be a heavy limitation for a while. I can't wait till I'm strong enough to start training. Five years old should be good enough, I mean that's basically when Luffy started. For now, I'll use the next five years to prepare myself and assimilate the knowledge that the guide has given me.'

'First I'll master water breathing and try to turn it into an actual swordsman style in this world. There was something I always wondered, I know that in Demon Slayer the elements displayed weren't actually real, it was a projection of the swordsman's mind. But here in the One Piece world, people can do crazy things like Vista generating flowers from his swordsmanship, and Luffy's red hawk creating real fire. So in theory, I should be able to bring out the true power of the breathing styles and summon the elements with my swordsmanship.'

Terumi smiled as he prepares to sleep, although his excitement can barely be contained, his body does not seem to want to help him.

'Oh, just you wait. I'll show the world what I'm capable of!'

With renewed confidence and an aspiring goal, Terumi closes his eyes and drifts to sleep.

===============

A/N: There will be a lot of time skipping soon before things really start happening plot-wise. I'll be focusing more on building the foundation of Terumi's swordsmanship during the childhood/teenage arc.