Year 1505 of the Sea circle Calendar
East Blue — Greenfall Island — Lowbank Village
The island held very little value to the government because of lack of resources and Predatory beasts roaming freely, making it nearly impossible for any village to take root.
Even then, those who remained here came to call it Greenfall Island, for half its forests lay fallen, while the other half flourished with greenery and danger.
The habitable side of the island was backed by rolling dead hills. Only a narrow strip along the shore remained habitable, separated from the rest of the island by a river that kept the land fertile.
There, a small village of barely thirty families had taken root, who called it-Lowbank Village.
It was a place built by refugees from distant seas, survivors of shipwrecks, runaways and wandering souls with nowhere left to go—a mixture of cultures and pasts.
They traded beast meat with the nearby Mirror Ball Island, avoided unnecessary travel, and paid heavy bribes to corrupt Marine officers to remain off the World Government's records.
Hunting and fishing sustained them, though few dared to venture deep into the forest.
On one such day, in a house that had only recently been occupied, the silence of the village was broken by the cries of a woman in labor.
Hours passed, pained cries echoed through the walls until, at last, it stopped.
A boy was born.
Unlike his mother, who had screamed through the ordeal, the child was… silent.
From the moment he opened his eyes, he simply stared at the world, a faint smile resting on his lips.
He appeared perfectly healthy. His Snow white hair, unlike his blonde mother's, hinting that he had taken after his father, while his bright blue crystalized eyes matched hers perfectly.
The woman—Grace held him close, exhaustion finally overtaking her. She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead before drifting into sleep while the child only giggled softly.
Outside, the small village celebrated the arrival of new member, their laughter carrying into the night and just like that, life in Lowbank Village continued.
Days turned into months, and months slipped into years.
New faces came and went, as they always did in a place like this. But the small house at the edge of the village remained occupied by the same mother and son duo.
Grace worked quietly, earning her bread through sewing and teaching what little knowledge she carried from her homeland.
The boy, however… was different.
"Where is Leo…?"
A small boy, no older than five, sat on the floor holding a book upside down, his brows furrowed in confusion as he looked toward Grace, their teacher.
"He's probably with the village head, reading today's newspaper," Grace replied calmly.
A girl sitting beside him spoke instead.
"He's weird," Marry said bluntly. "What kind of two-year-old reads newspapers? And he's strong too… he beat Rian last week, and Rian's seven." She huffed slightly, clearly unsettled.
Grace listened in silence, a faint smile forming on her lips, pride mixed with little worry.
In this world, children with abnormal strength weren't unheard of. She had seen far worse in the New World she had come from.
But Leo was different.
Not just because of his looks, strength and intelligence… but because of the lineage he belonged to.
His full name was Portgas D. Leo taking after her mother Portgas D. Grace.
She stood by the doorway, looking out at the empty street, lost in thought until her gaze shifted to the light of her life.
A two-year-old boy walked toward the house, a paper cutting clutched in his hand, carrying himself with a confidence and composure far beyond his age.
The moment he stepped inside, he dropped that calm entirely and ran straight into her arms like the loving child he was. Excited, he held up the paper cutting, showing her the news—a notorious pirate of the East Blue had been captured and executed.
With no other reliable source of information in this world, Leo depended entirely on newspapers delivered by News Coos. Only the village head Dalton could afford them, so Leo had befriended the old man and made it a habit to visit him every day.
As per the village head, their primary source of income was selling the meat of island beasts and fish, but nearly sixty percent of their earnings went straight into the Marine captain's pocket. The little that remained was theirs to survive yet, in these chaotic seas, it was a price they considered worth paying for peace.
Contrary to his expectations, he still hadn't received his devil fruit. And even if he did, he wasn't sure he could venture out to sea. The world he had come to understand through newspapers and his mother's stories was far too dangerous.
By asking questions again and again, he had pieced together a rough understanding of the world—its history, and the monsters who had existed long before him, beings capable of destroying an entire island with a single punch.
"Look, Mother," Leo said, lowering his voice as he pointed at the paper. "Another pirate execution… this one had a 'D.' in his name."
He whispered it so softly it should have been inaudible but the moment Grace heard it, her expression darkened. Her eyes flicked toward the other children seated inside the house.
"Today's lesson ends here," she said abruptly. "You may all leave early."
The four students didn't question it. They cheered and rushed out, eager for the unexpected freedom.
The moment the door shut, Grace grabbed Leo by the ear and pinched hard, making him yelp.
She lowered her voice, but her tone was sharp.
"What did I tell you about mentioning the 'D.' especially in front of others? What if someone heard you?"
"But I said it quietly…" Leo protested, equally hushed.
"That doesn't matter. You are not to speak of it. Ever again."
Her words only made him frown.
"But you never tell me the full story. How am I supposed to stop being curious? I even tried looking for clues outside… but there was nothing just this in the newspaper."
That only made her expression tighten further.
"You reckless child… What were you thinking? If anyone finds out about us, we'll have to leave or worse, they might kill us." She pointed at the image on the paper.
"Look at this man. Does he look like a pirate? We live in the East Blue, have you ever heard of someone like him?"
Leo stayed silent.
"It's government propaganda," she continued, her voice quieter now. "The World Government spreads it to keep people like us those who bear the 'D.'—fearful and suppressed. To stop us from ever rising."
"Then why won't you tell me what the 'D.' in our names actually means?"
He asked it deliberately, steering the conversation exactly where he wanted it, though in truth, he had never once spoken of the 'D.' outside after her warning.
Grace hesitated.
"Do you remember my real name?" she asked instead.
Leo didn't need time to think.
"Portgas D. Grace."
His memory was clear—the day he had found the old locket in her belongings, her picture inside, her full name etched on one side… while any trace of his father had been deliberately erased from the other.
And how she had burned it the moment he showed it to her, along with a warning he hadn't forgotten since.
"We are people who belong to the 'D.' clan." Grace said quietly. "A name feared and hunted by the World Government. If we learn too much about the world's history, about our origins… or if we grow too strong, they will come for us." She tightened her grip slightly.
"To keep us from going extinct, our ancestors chose to hide the truth from us. Over time… it's meaning and purpose was forgotten."
Her words made sense to Leo. But before he could question her further, she spoke again, her voice turning firm.
"The last man to know that truth was the strongest man in the world—the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. And even he wasn't spared." Her expression softened, almost pleading now.
"So I'm begging you… don't make our lives any harder than they already are."
Leo immediately stepped forward and hugged her, guilt settling quietly in his chest.
"I understand, Mom. I won't speak about it again. I promise." And just like that, three more years passed in Leo's quiet, ordinary life.
He had been training since he was two years old. His body was different—stronger than anyone his age. His mother always attributed it to his lineage, but whenever he asked about his father, she refused to answer.
Later that afternoon, Leo went to fishing in the river behind the village.
"I guess I'll have to find the Devil Fruit on my own…" Leo murmured, standing along the distant shoreline with a makeshift fishing rod in hand.
"But this peaceful life… isn't bad either," he added forgetting tomorrows worry enjoying the moment.