I broke my first toy when I was two.
Not on purpose. I'd been holding this wooden fish carving, just zoning out while thinking about protein sequences, when suddenly the thing just... crumbled. Turned to splinters in my hand.
Mira freaked out. "Prince Arquen! Are you hurt?"
I stared at my hand. No cuts, no blood. The wood had just disintegrated like it was rotting for years.
"M'fine," I said, still confused.
She took the pieces from me carefully. "How did you... never mind. Let me get you a different toy."
But I couldn't stop thinking about it. How had that happened? I hadn't done anything weird, hadn't used my water powers or—
[New Ability Manifestation Detected]
[Analyzing...]
Oh great. What now?
[Ability Unlocked: Cellular Breakdown]
[Description: Can destabilize molecular bonds in organic matter through touch. Current control: Minimal. Warning: Ability activates based on emotional or mental state.]
So I'd accidentally dissolved the toy because I was too focused? That was... problematic.
I tested it later, when no one was watching. Touched a leaf from one of the sea plants in my room. Focused on that feeling I'd had before.
The leaf withered instantly, turning brown and falling apart.
Okay. So I could break down organic matter. That seemed like it could be useful for the evolution research - breaking down genetic samples to study them. But the "minimal control" part was worrying.
Last thing I needed was to accidentally dissolve someone's hand during a handshake.
I spent the next week practicing in secret. Touching things, trying to control when the ability activated and when it didn't. It was harder than the water manipulation. This one felt more instinctive, more tied to my intent.
"Why does Arquen keep touching plants?" I heard Ryuboshi ask Fukaboshi.
"Maybe he likes them?"
"They keep dying though."
"Don't be mean. Maybe he's just unlucky."
I shot them a look. They were old enough to swim around on their own now, always getting into stuff. Fukaboshi was the responsible one, always keeping the other two out of trouble. Ryuboshi was curious about everything. Manboshi mostly just went along with whatever his brothers did.
"I'm not unlucky," I said. "Just learning."
"Learning what?" Ryuboshi swam closer. "Can you teach me?"
"When you're older."
"That's what everyone says!" He pouted. "I'm not a baby anymore."
You're literally less than a year old, I thought, but kept it to myself.
Shirahoshi appeared from around a corner, nearly crashing into Ryuboshi. "Big brother! Come play with me!"
"Shira, I'm busy—"
"You're always busy!" She grabbed my arm. "Please? Just for a little bit?"
The others joined in. "Yeah, play with us!"
I was outnumbered. Four against one.
"Fine. What do you want to play?"
Their faces lit up. Shirahoshi clapped her hands. "Let's play kingdom! You can be the king!"
"I don't want to be king."
"But you're the oldest!"
We ended up playing anyway. They made me sit on this coral formation that was supposed to be a throne while they pretended to be my subjects coming to me with problems.
"Your Majesty," Fukaboshi said, trying to sound serious. "The sea monsters are attacking!"
"Send the guards," I replied, going along with it.
"The guards are scared!"
"Then train better guards."
Ryuboshi jumped in. "Your Majesty, we're out of food!"
"Plant more kelp."
"It's not growing fast enough!"
This continued for a while. Every problem they threw at me, I gave a practical solution. Which apparently wasn't fun enough.
"You're supposed to be more exciting!" Shirahoshi complained. "Like, 'I'll fight the sea monsters myself!' or something."
"That's inefficient. A king shouldn't risk himself for things guards can handle."
Manboshi, who'd been quiet until now, spoke up. "But what if the guards can't handle it?"
That made me pause. "Then... I'd step in. But only as a last resort."
"Why?" Shirahoshi asked.
"Because a king dying means the whole kingdom falls apart. You have to think bigger picture."
They all stared at me.
"You think about weird stuff," Ryuboshi said finally.
Fair enough.
Later that evening, Neptune came to visit. He'd been busy lately with some trade dispute, but he always made time when he could.
"Arquen, my boy. Walk with me."
We went to one of the palace balconies. Well, he walked and I toddled alongside, still not totally graceful at two years old.
"You're growing up fast," he said, looking out at the kingdom. "Too fast, maybe. I see how you watch everything, analyze things. You're like your mother that way."
I didn't know what to say to that.
"But you're also like me, I think. You understand that strength matters." He looked down at me. "Do you know why I accepted Whitebeard's protection?"
I shook my head.
"Because I'm not strong enough to protect this island alone. Oh, I'm strong, don't get me wrong. But there are things out there..." He trailed off. "The world isn't kind to fishmen. We need allies."
"What if we didn't need them?" The words came out before I could stop them.
Neptune raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"What if fishmen were strong enough by ourselves?"
He was quiet for a moment. "That's a nice dream. But strength like that... it doesn't just appear. It takes generations to build."
"Or the right tools," I muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."
He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "You think too much for a two-year-old. Try to enjoy being young while you can."
But I couldn't. Every day that passed was a day closer to Otohime's death. A day closer to all the tragedies I knew were coming.
That night, back in the mental simulation, I had a breakthrough. The binding agent formula finally stabilized. It wasn't perfect, but it would work as a foundation.
[Milestone Progress: 28%]
[Estimated time to completion: 2.5 years]
I was ahead of schedule. Good.
But as I lay in bed afterward, staring at the ceiling, Neptune's words kept echoing.
Generations to build.
I didn't have generations. I had maybe ten years before Luffy showed up and the main story kicked into gear. Ten years to transform an entire civilization.
It wasn't enough time.
Unless I could accelerate things somehow. Push harder, work faster.
But that risked mistakes. Rushed science was dangerous science.
I closed my eyes, frustrated. This was the problem with having adult memories in a kid's body. I wanted to move at adult speed but was stuck with physical limitations.
The system pinged softly.
[Reminder: Patience is part of the process. Foundations built too quickly crumble under pressure.]
Was the system giving me life advice now? Great.
But it wasn't wrong.
I took a breath and let the frustration go. Slow and steady. Build it right, not fast.
Even if every instinct screamed at me to hurry.