El—that was the boy's name.
For someone with only a given name and no surname, there were usually only two possibilities:
Either his parents had no surname…or he was an orphan with no parents.
Sadly, El was both.
In this Great Age of Pirates, where pirates ruled the seas, anyone not under a World Government–affiliated kingdom received no protection from the Navy. In such a world, orphans without surnames—children like El—were countless.
Those who were "lucky" might avoid starving to death, being dragged onto battlefields as cannon fodder, or being sold off by slave traders.
Compared to those ordinary orphans, El wasn't just lucky. It was as if the world itself had taken a liking to him, gifting him with a terrifying talent that was truly one in a million.
And his mind was nothing like that of a normal child.
Because his soul came from another world.
Due to an accidental death in his previous life, El had transmigrated into the world of One Piece.
However, his transmigration was not the usual "soul reborn into a stranger's body." Instead, he had truly been born into this world from a mother's womb.
Unfortunately, the parents who gave him life were fleeing from war. As refugees, neither husband nor wife could afford to raise a baby.
So, they placed El at the door of an orphanage… and continued their escape.
The name "El" was not something the orphanage dean gave him. It was the name he himself chose, to honor the couple who had given him life.
Before abandoning him, the husband and wife had prepared many possible names for their child. But they never got as far as deciding on his true name.
However, thanks to his innate ability, El was able to see the name they cherished most in their hearts.
He chose that name for himself.
What the couple didn't know…was that the orphanage they chose was anything but normal.
The dean was not a good person.
On the surface it was an ordinary orphanage, but in truth it was a dark den that cooperated with a slave-trading group in the black market.
When the children reached the age of seven, the dean would "sell" them to slave traders under the guise of adoption.The price varied depending on their looks and physical condition. The slave traders would then evaluate their talents and sell them again—to nobles, wealthy collectors who liked their appearance, or organizations that sought promising talent.
This cruel truth was something El understood the very moment the dean picked him up with a "kind" smile.
El was born with innate Observation Haki—something even rarer than Conqueror's Haki, which itself only appears in one in a million people.
Innate Observation Haki, as the name suggests, meant he was a child favored by heaven, born with a naturally powerful level of Observation Haki.
Across the entire world of One Piece, there were only a handful of such "children of heaven," each one truly one in a million.
El's innate Observation Haki had a special attribute from birth—the same kind possessed by Redfield. He could see into people's hearts.
It was this ability that allowed El, the moment he was born, to glimpse the name the couple loved most in their hearts… and at the same time, see the unbelievably ugly heart of the orphanage dean.
Therefore…
Knowing that he would be kept alive at least until the age of seven, El made a decision: he would stay in the orphanage until the age of five—then escape.
Why leave at five?
The reason was simple.
El realized his talent was anything but ordinary.
At first, he thought his heart-reading Observation Haki was already his greatest cheat in this new life.
But then—
He could crawl at three months.Walk at five months.Run and jump at eight months.
At one year old, his appetite soared.At two years old, he was caught stealing food because the orphanage rations weren't enough for him. After being beaten by a supervisor and feeling no pain at all… El realized that he also possessed an exceptionally strong body.
At three years old, the dean, trying to nurture potentially profitable "talent," allowed each child to choose one area of interest. Based on that choice, the dean would hire a teacher to give them a few days of instruction.
El chose a bamboo sword.
The dean brought in a swordsman from some obscure dojo to teach him for a short while—and once again, El discovered a frightening talent.
After seeing the basic sword techniques just once, he could already perform them.
Of course, El never revealed the full extent of his ability. In front of others, he deliberately acted clumsy with the sword.
At night, he used his Observation Haki to avoid everyone and secretly practiced swordsmanship alone.
By the time he was five years old, he had achieved something that countless swordsmen dreamed of yet could never reach in their entire lives—
He had awakened the "Breath of All Things."
The Breath of All Things, also known as "listening to the breath of things," was an ability that a swordsman must master to become a true master swordsman.
No matter how refined their technique, a swordsman who had not grasped the Breath of All Things was still just… a swordsman.
Only those who could hear the voices of objects, feel the "breath" of steel, and cut it—those who stepped into that realm were the true master swordsmen.
"Cutting steel" was simply the standard used to measure a swordsman who had cultivated the Breath of All Things to a certain level.
Even so, the Breath of All Things—like Haki—was a towering wall that blocked countless people from stepping through the door of true strength.
For El to comprehend the Breath of All Things at the age of five, and to cross from weakness into power so early…
It was proof of just how monstrous his talent truly was.