Chapter 1 — The Boy Beneath the Crimson Snow
Year 1506.
The final rays of the setting sun stretched across the frozen horizon of Swallow Island.
Cold winds swept through the snow-covered land while the sharp whistle of wood cutting through air echoed endlessly across the clearing.
"…Ninety-nine… One hundred… One hundred one…"
A young boy swung his wooden sword again and again with relentless intensity.
Sweat rolled down his bare chest despite the freezing weather. His muscles trembled beneath the strain of hidden weights strapped beneath the crimson jittoku haori wrapped around his shoulders. A loose white yukata hung around his waist, damp from hours of training.
Still—
He refused to stop.
"Strong will… Slash with the intent to kill… Strong will… Slash to kill…"
"Ikari! Breakfast is ready!"
A woman's sharp voice pierced through the evening wind.
"Come eat before it gets cold!"
"Yes, Mom!"
Ikari answered loudly without stopping his swings.
His arms burned.
His lungs screamed.
But the boy continued moving until he completed his final strike.
Only then did he exhale deeply and lower the wooden sword.
He stepped into the dojo and carefully returned the bokken to a barrel filled with worn wooden swords. Wiping sweat from his brow using the edge of his yukata, he glanced toward the bath.
"I'm taking a bath first!" he shouted. "You're not using it, right?"
"Just get in already, you brat!" his mother yelled back. "And scrub yourself properly. You stink."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Muttering under his breath, Ikari untied the weighted haori and let it crash heavily onto the wooden floor.
Minutes later, he sank into the steaming bath with a relieved sigh.
Warm water wrapped around his exhausted body while silence filled the small room. After resting briefly, he washed himself thoroughly before tossing his clothes into the laundry basket.
Wrapped in a towel and wearing wooden sandals, Ikari returned to his room.
Rows of neatly folded yukatas lined his wardrobe. Every haori hanging beside them shared the same deep crimson color.
After a moment of thought, he chose a black yukata and paired it with a moon-patterned red haori.
By the time he arrived at the dining table, his mother was already waiting.
"You're finally here," the woman said. "Not sitting beside your poor mother today?"
Ikari sat opposite her instead.
"I'm old enough to wield a real sword now."
Uzuki Sakura narrowed her eyes.
"Oh?"
"Give me Father's katana," Ikari declared stubbornly, "and maybe I'll sit next to you."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
"Don't mention that man."
Her voice turned cold enough to freeze the room.
"That bastard is dead."
Ikari clenched his fists.
"But Mom—"
"And we are not discussing this again."
The glare she gave him immediately killed the rest of his sentence.
Still, Ikari lowered his head only slightly.
"The sword will obey me someday," he muttered. "I've trained for five years already."
"You're ten."
Sakura scoffed as she poured tea.
"Train for another eight before you even think about touching that cursed blade."
To her surprise, Ikari grinned.
"Fine! Then I'll train harder than anyone!"
His eyes burned with ambition.
"I'll become the greatest swordsman in the world! Even Wano will bow before me someday!"
At the mention of Wano, Sakura's expression darkened.
"You don't need their respect," she muttered quietly. "That country cast us aside long ago."
Veins rose across Ikari's forehead.
"Then I'll make them regret it."
His voice trembled with anger.
"I'll restore your honor… and Father's too."
His fists tightened.
"And Orochi…" he growled, "…I'll bury my sword in his throat."
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Sakura simply stared at him.
Then she sighed quietly and looked away.
"You talk too much for a child."
---
Snow crunched beneath Ikari's sandals as he sprinted through the frozen terrain of Swallow Island.
The island, isolated deep within the North Blue, knew only winter.
"I'll sail the seas… Cut down my enemies… I'll sail the seas… Cut down my enemies…"
He repeated the words between breaths like a mantra.
Heavy bands wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and waist, yet he continued running across the island without slowing.
Hours later, exhausted and drenched in sweat, Ikari stopped beside a well and pulled up a bucket of freezing water.
He emptied it in seconds.
Before he could continue training, someone grabbed his wrist.
Sakura stood beside him.
"I'll begin teaching you what it truly means to be a swordsman."
Ikari's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?!"
"Expect to be beaten every day."
His excitement disappeared immediately.
"…What?"
"I thought you were finally going to teach me something useful—"
THWACK.
"Agh!"
Sakura's fist slammed directly onto his skull.
"Lesson one," she said calmly, "never talk back to your teacher."
Ikari held his head with watery eyes.
"You hit too hard…"
"And the world hits harder."
She pointed toward a blindfold lying nearby.
"Put it on and sit in the middle of the field."
Though confused, Ikari obeyed.
The cold wind brushed against his face as darkness swallowed his vision.
"What now?" he asked. "We spar while I'm blindfolded?"
"No."
Sakura picked up a wooden sword.
"I'm going to teach you Observation Haki."
Ikari straightened immediately.
"Haki is not magic," Sakura said. "It is willpower made manifest."
She slowly circled around him.
"Every living thing carries intent. Fear. Rage. Bloodlust."
Her footsteps crunched softly through the snow.
"Observation Haki allows you to sense those things before they happen."
Ikari frowned beneath the blindfold.
"So if I learn this… I can finally use Father's sword?"
CRACK.
The wooden sword struck the top of his head.
"Ow!"
"Did you hear anything I just said?"
Ikari gritted his teeth.
"How am I supposed to dodge attacks if I can't even see?!"
Sakura raised the sword once more.
"Listen."
The winter wind howled gently through the trees.
"Feel the movement around you."
The sword shifted.
"Sense intent."
WHOOOSH.
The wooden blade descended suddenly.
Ikari's breathing slowed instinctively.
He heard the faint whistle of air—
Then moved.
WHOOSH.
The strike missed him by inches.
Ikari's eyes widened beneath the blindfold.
"I dodged it!"
Excitement exploded across his face.
"I actually dodged—"
SMACK.
The second strike slammed directly into his jaw.
Pain burst through his face as he tumbled across the snow.
"Idiot."
Sakura planted the wooden sword beside him.
"You let your guard down after one lucky dodge."
Ikari slowly pushed himself upright while rubbing his swollen cheek.
"…Then I won't make that mistake again."
"A swordsman dies the instant he lowers his guard," Sakura replied coldly. "Remember that well."
For the next two hours, the field echoed with the sound of wooden strikes and Ikari's pained shouting.
---
Later that afternoon, after washing his bruises, Ikari quietly slipped into the forest alone.
Deep beneath the roots of a hidden tree lay a buried barrel known only to him.
Inside rested a sheathed cutlass.
He fastened the weapon around his waist before wandering deeper into the snowy woods.
Eventually, movement caught his attention.
A small white bear cub was gathering fruits near a bush.
Ikari froze.
The bear stood upright.
And wore clothes.
Cautiously, he gripped the handle of his cutlass and approached.
"Hey."
The cub jumped violently.
"Ahhh!"
The fruits scattered across the snow.
Ikari blinked.
"…You can talk?"
"O-Of course I can talk!" the cub answered nervously. "My name is Bepo! What's yours?"
Ikari remained cautious.
"Uzuki Ikari."
He glanced around the forest carefully.
"You're alone?"
The cub lowered his head sadly.
"My brother and I were sailing when a storm destroyed our ship…"
His small paws trembled slightly.
"I woke up here by myself."
Only then did Ikari properly look at him.
The cub was tiny.
Much smaller than Ikari expected.
His fur was dirty from the snow, and despite trying to act brave, his voice shook constantly. The fruits he gathered were barely enough to fill both paws.
He looked—
Lost.
Scared.
Like a child pretending not to cry.
Ikari slowly loosened his grip on the cutlass.
"…You're just a kid."
Bepo sniffled and rubbed his eyes quickly.
"I-I'm not crying…"
"You literally are."
"I'm not!"
Ikari stared at him for a moment longer before sighing heavily.
His mother would definitely yell at him for this.
Probably punch him too.
Still—
He couldn't just leave a little bear cub alone in the forest.
Especially one younger than him.
"What exactly are you?" Ikari finally asked.
"You really don't know?"
Bepo scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"We're called Minks."
Ikari paused thoughtfully.
"Mom told me stories before…"
He pointed toward the direction of the dojo.
"She mentioned a talking cat and dog once."
Bepo's eyes widened slightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Ikari scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"She knows more about weird stuff than I do."
"Weird stuff?!"
"I mean… talking bears aren't exactly normal!"
"I'm not a bear! I'm a mink!"
"You still look like a bear."
Bepo puffed his cheeks angrily.
"I do not!"
Ikari laughed lightly before pointing toward the dojo again.
"Go find my mom."
Bepo blinked.
"Huh?"
"Her name's Sakura."
Ikari looked toward the darkening sky.
"She's scary and hits hard… but she feeds people."
Bepo stared blankly.
"That doesn't sound comforting…"
"It's better than freezing to death out here."
The mink cub immediately paled.
"…Good point."
Ikari crouched slightly until he was eye-level with him.
"You're younger than me."
His voice softened slightly.
"So stop trying to act tough."
For a moment, Bepo simply stared at him.
Then tears suddenly streamed down his face.
"T-Thank you…"
"Whoa— hey! Don't cry!"
"I-I can't help it!"
"You cry too much!"
Bepo wiped his face repeatedly while bowing over and over.
"Thank you, Ikari!"
Embarrassed, Ikari waved him away quickly.
"Just go already before it gets dark!"
Bepo nodded repeatedly before hurrying through the snow toward the dojo.
Ikari watched him disappear between the trees.
Then he sighed.
"…Mom's definitely going to hit me for this."
Still—
A small smile appeared on his face.
---
As Ikari continued wandering deeper into the forest, something strange caught his attention.
Hanging from the branch of a dead tree was a bizarre fruit unlike anything he had ever seen.
Its surface twisted with unnatural spiral patterns. Red and blue split the fruit down the middle like opposing tides.
Even the air around it felt strangely still.
"…What the hell is this?"
Curious, Ikari approached cautiously.
The moment his fingers touched the fruit, a chill crawled up his arm.
The forest had gone silent.
No wind.
No birds.
Nothing.
Ikari swallowed nervously.
Then shrugged.
"It's probably edible."
He bit into the fruit.
The moment the flesh touched his tongue—
"BLEGH?!"
His entire face twisted in horror.
"This is the worst thing I've ever tasted!"
He nearly vomited into the snow.
"It tastes like rotten garbage soaked in sewage!"
Disgusted, Ikari hurled the fruit deep into the forest.
"Dammit…"
Still cursing, he stormed back toward the dojo.
He never noticed the faint ripple spreading beneath the snow where he walked.
---
As Ikari approached the dojo, he froze.
Bepo was kneeling before Sakura with tears streaming down his face.
"Please accept me as your disciple!"
Sakura's eye twitched violently.
Then she slowly turned toward Ikari.
The veins bulging from her forehead made him instinctively step backward.
"You."
Her voice carried terrifying calmness.
"You brought another problem into this house."
She pointed furiously at the crying mink.
"Now I have TWO idiots to take care of."