… 42 years before Luffy set sail.
Year 1478 of the Sea Calendar.
Hachinosu (Beehive) Island.
Sails crowded the horizon. The pier south of the town was a forest of masts; countless pirate crews, drawn like moths to a flame by the name of Rocks, had docked here.
A small three-masted schooner squeezed through the narrow gaps between the massive galleons and found a berth. From the deck stepped a handsome young man with a sunny disposition, flowing black hair, and a dashing look.
He took a deep breath of the chaotic air.
"Is this Hachinosu? It's certainly lively."
A pirate in charge of managing the pier, a short man resembling a mole, immediately stomped over.
"Oi! Kid! You here alone?"
"Yes."
"What a reckless brat. Name?"
"Atlas D. York."
"Never heard of it!" The mole-man scoffed.
"I'm here to join the Rocks Pirates."
"Gyahahaha! Daydreaming is truly a disease for brats!"
The mole-like pirate jabbed his thumb toward the island's interior.
"See that rock mountain? The one that looks like a giant skull? That's where the monsters live!"
"If you want to die, go ahead and try!"
"But I don't think you'll even make it to the front door! Wahahahahaha!"
York looked in the direction the pirate was pointing.
A colossal rock formation stood tall in the center of the island. In his future memories, it would be the iconic skull with two hollow eyes, but right now, it was rougher—a natural formation that barely resembled a face.
He walked past the mole pirate and gently patted his arm.
"Thank you for the directions, friend. Have a sweet dream."
The pirate, who had been laughing wildly, suddenly froze. His short, stout body went limp and hit the ground with a thud.
Almost instantly, loud snoring began. A lewd, foolish grin spread across the pirate's face as his hands twitched in his sleep.
The pirates on the busy streets burst into raucous laughter.
"Knocked out by a kid? What a waste! Hahaha!"
"You've got some strange tricks, kid! Maybe you will get a chance to see the Boss! Wahaha…"
York wasn't angry at the jeering. He simply returned a radiant smile.
"Thank you for your kind words."
In the next second, a soft, Holy White Light suddenly erupted from his body.
It washed over the street like a tide. Every pirate bathed in the light—regardless of gender—shuddered violently. Their knees buckled, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed in heaps.
The female pirates flushed red, unable to stand.
The male pirates rolled on the ground, clutching themselves and making strange, giggling sounds.
"I'm giving you all a Happy Time!"
York smiled as he walked casually through the field of writhing bodies, heading straight for the skull mountain in the center of the island.
Anyone illuminated by his Holy Light fell instantly. None could withstand even a single second.
As he approached the center of the island, the commotion finally drew the attention of the main crew. A figure was sent to investigate.
The newcomer was tall—already an imposing figure despite his youth—with thick, muscular limbs, a pair of large bull horns, and long black hair cascading down his back. It was Kaido in his teenage years.
"You did all this?"
Kaido's sharp gaze swept over the street, observing the hundreds of pirates rolling on the ground in varying states of ecstasy. He looked at York.
"Besides you and me, is there a third person standing?"
York smiled and asked a question of his own.
"Are you unaffected?"
Inwardly, York was slightly surprised. Under the Holy Light Radiance mode of his Devil Fruit, only the "uninitiated"—those who had never tasted the pleasures of the flesh—were immune.
He hadn't expected that Kaido, a member of the wildest pirate crew on the seas, was still pure.
"What a perverted ability," Kaido snorted.
Although he hadn't experienced it himself, he wasn't stupid. He could guess exactly what was happening to the trash rolling on the ground.
He lowered the spiked iron club (Kanabō) from his shoulder, letting it smash into the ground to create a crater.
"Though your ability is sick, you've made it this far. You have the qualifications, kid! State your name!"
"Atlas D. York!"
"York, huh? I'm Kaido! Remember that name—it belongs to the man who will kill you today!!"
BOOM!
With a roar, Kaido lifted the club and swung it down with the force of a collapsing building.
York didn't dodge. He calmly raised his left arm. A pitch-black sheen of Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) coated his skin.
CLANG!
Flesh met iron with the sound of a bell tolling. York blocked Kaido's smash with a single arm. The ground beneath his feet cracked into a spiderweb, but York remained unharmed.
"Is this how you welcome guests? Or is this a test?" York asked smoothly.
"It's a test!" Kaido retracted his club, grinning ferociously. "If you can't even take one hit, no matter how strange your fruit is, you're trash to the Rocks Pirates!"
Kaido glanced back at the pirates still rolling on the ground.
"You passed. Put away your ability!"
"I can't retract it," York lied with a smile. "Actually, there's no need to."
"I haven't harmed them. I'm just giving them a harmless, happy dream!"
"If you don't believe me, ask them later if they'd prefer the dream or reality."
Kaido frowned but didn't press the issue. He turned his back. "Follow me."
Before long, the two arrived at the main hall inside the hollow mountain.
The hall was cavernous, filled with the overwhelming presence of monsters.
York didn't waste time with introductions. He stepped into the center of the room, his voice echoing.
"Earlier, the apprentice tested my strength. Now, I want to test yours! The esteemed Rocks Pirates shouldn't lack the courage for a little game, right?"
"Wahahaha!"
A boisterous laugh rang out from the throne at the far end. A tall, burly man with wild gravity-defying hair—black mixed with white—leaned forward.
Rocks D. Xebec.
"Interesting! Come on then! Show me what you've got, brat!"
York maintained his serene smile. He slowly brought his palms together in a prayer motion. The Holy Light bloomed fully from his body, making him look like a descending Buddha.
"Hmph~"
A muffled grunt echoed in the hall.
A man with a wild golden mane reaching down to his feet (Shiki) was the first to bend at the waist, his face flushing.
Next was a man with a large chin and a cigar (Captain John).
Then the man with sunglasses and a hat (Silver Axe).
The man resembling the monk Urouge.
The large, catfish-like Fishman.
The short noble (Wang Zhi).
And finally, the 8.8-meter-tall, alluring pink-haired woman—Charlotte Linlin—let out a surprised gasp as her knees knocked together.
Under the Holy Light, the future legends of the sea showed varying degrees of reaction.
York ignored them all. His gaze locked onto the few targets completely unaffected by his light.
Rocks D. Xebec.
Edward Newgate (Whitebeard).
Miss Buckingham Stussy.
And Kaido.
"I didn't expect the terrifying Rocks Pirates to have so many... innocent members who haven't tasted the forbidden fruit!"
York inwardly sighed, shaking his head.
This truly is an era of repression!
The world desperately needs my ability! To release the suppression! To bring true happiness!
The Age of Bliss... begins here on Hachinosu!
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