Snow fell silently over Hoshigaki, a small town hidden among mountains in the Japanese countryside. To anyone from outside, it was just another quiet village, too far from the cities to matter.
But at the heart of that little town, there was something no other place had:
An entire district formed by the D. Clan, an ancient and secretive group whose members wielded a legendary force—Haki.
There, Haki was not just a power.
It was tradition, heritage, passed down through generations.
But a few were born with something even rarer—
the ability to manipulate cursed energy.
And among those special children was the boy whose world was about to be turned upside down.
---
Jaguar D. Akira, 12 years old, was training alone behind his house. The cold air turned his breath into mist as he focused on his right arm, inhaling deeply.
"Again… I can do it," he murmured.
The energy around him trembled.
The ground vibrated.
And then, with a sharp crack, the stone in front of him shattered like crushed glass.
Crash.
A power resembling that of the legendary King of Curses… but awakened in a boy.
His father, Jaguar D. Ryuunosuke, watched from the trees.
"He already mastered the basics at twelve…" he whispered, equally proud and worried.
Akira, as far as anyone knew, possessed two types of Haki—Observation and Armament.
But his expression was still innocent, far too young to understand the darkness that lurked beneath the world's light.
"Dad, the stone broke even easier today!"
Akira was paying more attention to his Observation Haki. It was a training method his father had taught him: keeping it activated 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Why?
Because once, a simple clan member awakened the advanced form of this technique by obsessively keeping it active to protect his brothers.
"Yes. But remember, Akira…" Ryuunosuke said, placing a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "Crash is too powerful. Use it to protect, never to destroy without reason."
Akira smiled.
"I'll be strong enough to protect everyone!"
His father hesitated for a moment, as if sensing something.
Then smiled back.
"I hope so, my son."
That same night, the elders gathered to discuss a topic none of them wanted, but all needed to face—
a stain on the clan that refused to disappear.
"All right, since everyone is here, let's begin," said the eldest in the room.
"HA! HA! HA! Very well, Sengoku, let's finish this quickly. I still need to train my grandkids."
A vein popped on Sengoku's forehead. His face twisted with anger and frustration, but before he could speak, another voice interrupted.
"Garp, unfortunately you'll have to skip your grandkids' training tonight. This matter is too important for all of us—and for the clan's future."
"Interesting. What's the topic, Saul?"
"We received information about Teach."
At that single name, the room's temperature seemed to drop below zero.
Garp's grin vanished, Sengoku's irritation turned into cold fury, and Saul remained calm, though inside he held anger capable of freezing hell itself.
"What information, Saul? Spit it out!"
Garp slammed the table, his Conqueror's Haki bursting out.
"Calm down, old man. The information is a bit late, but according to one of my informants, he was seen around Tokyo two weeks ago. Then near Kyoto about a week ago. After that… we lost track."
"Damn it! When I find that bastard, I'll end him!"
"You're not the only one, old man. I still haven't forgotten what that son of a bitch did."
"Very well. Based on this information, we must decide what to do. Should we send agents to hunt him or—"
Before the elder could finish, they all felt it—
multiple presences carrying the weight of the world's malice.
Darkness so thick it felt like it was corrupting the air.
They rushed toward the door, and when they opened it, they froze.
Smoke rising from countless points across the city.
Fire spreading.
Chaos erupting before their eyes.
---
Screams echoed through the streets.
The smell of smoke and blood swallowed the village.
Akira woke to his father shaking him urgently beside his bed.
"Dad, what's happening?!"
He stood up as his father handed him a backpack, and they ran to the front door.
But when Akira opened it, he froze.
Deformed creatures, black as pitch, devouring the villagers—
Curses.
And behind them, standing tall like a proud general, was a man with a filthy grin and eyes full of infinite cruelty.
His uncle.
Marshell D. Teach.
"Well, if it isn't the clan prodigy…" Teach said, voice dripping with disdain. "You're supposed to be asleep, Akira."
The boy trembled.
"Why… why are you doing this?!"
Teach raised his arms.
"Because the clan has weakened, Akira. In our golden age we could've ruled the world, but now? We bow to sorcerers."
His eyes glowed unnaturally.
"That's why—now that I'm mastering my new power—I'll wipe them out, build a new organization, stronger than ever, and claim the top of the world."
When he finished speaking, darkness surrounded him in a radius of seven kilometers.
Akira felt his cursed energy twist violently, as if someone were crushing his organs from the inside.
He collapsed to his knees.
"Agh…!"
"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"
Ryuunosuke unleashed Observation and Armament Haki at once. His presence burst like thunder—but Teach only smiled.
He walked closer, unhurried.
"Tch… Ha! Ha! Ha! Poor Ryuunosuke. You're so weak I didn't even notice you."
Akira's fear shook his entire body.
His father dashed forward, crossing a hundred meters instantly, and punched Teach in the face—
But the attack did nothing.
Teach's macabre smile only widened.
"I already told you, Ryuunosuke.
You're weak! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Ryuunosuke's Haki was drained rapidly, as if Teach was absorbing it. Within seconds, the bones of his arm were exposed.
"Dad!!!" Akira screamed.
Blood spilled from his father's mouth as he coughed.
"Akira, RUN! Don't worry about me—just go! As fast as you can!"
And Akira obeyed.
He ran.
He didn't look at anyone.
He didn't look back.
Behind him, his village—his world—burned beneath the moon.
Teach looked at the curses.
"We're done here. Finish the rest."
The monsters advanced.
Chaos devoured the village.
Hours later, Akira collapsed on a distant road.
Everything he knew was dead.
He looked at the starry sky, stained with ashes, his eyes burning with pain and fury.
"I'll hunt you down, Teach," he whispered hoarsely. "Even if I have to cross all of Japan. Even if I face every curse. Even
if I die trying."
At that moment, his Conqueror's Haki awakened, exploding in an invisible wave that cracked the trees around him.
Alone, wounded, but alive…
His journey began.