The laboratory was silent except for the faint hum of machinery, a mechanical heartbeat in a room that reeked of antiseptic and cold metal. Tubes snaked from the ceiling to tanks filled with murky liquid, their contents motionless, except for one—the small form of a boy, no more than seven years old, suspended yet awakening. Alpha's eyes flickered open, his gaze immediately absorbing everything. Memory crashed back upon him—not of this world, but of another life: battles fought, strategies perfected, victories lost, and pain endured.
"Test subject Alpha-7… defective," a voice said, distant, cold, devoid of compassion. "Discard."
The boy did not flinch. In his chest, the hum of iron reinforcement stirred to life, flowing through every vein, muscle, and tendon. His Haki flickered, untrained but potent, responding instinctively to the presence of humans nearby. The system interface—a ghostly overlay of data in his mind—flashed: physical stats, environmental data, analysis of potential escape paths.
Experience is everything, Alpha thought. Age is irrelevant.
He flexed, testing iron-reinforced limbs, feeling the subtle strengthening of each muscle as it responded seamlessly to thought. Sensors in his mind processed the room: door positions, camera angles, guard schedules, timing of mechanical arms. Each piece of information was a tool, each observation a potential advantage.
The voice barked again, and a mechanical arm descended toward the tank. Alpha's body shifted instantly, iron reinforcing every joint, Haki flaring faintly. The system predicted outcome probabilities: evade—92%, injury—3%, total neutralization—5%. The boy acted, fluid as water, twisting in the liquid, moving faster than any child his age could. The arm missed by inches. He slid from the tank, landing silently, reinforced feet absorbing the impact. No sound, no warning—he was already gone.
Outside, the night embraced him. Forest and shadows awaited, and for the first time, Alpha took a breath without the sterile scent of the lab choking him. He was small, human in appearance, but within him lay precision, calculation, and the latent power of a mind tempered beyond years. The world had discarded him; he would see how it paid the price.