The cool, polished floor pressed against Carl's tiny, chubby fingers as he pushed himself upright, a slow, deliberate act that still felt frustratingly alien. Two years. Two years had passed in this bizarre, vibrant world since his consciousness had snapped back into existence within the fragile confines of a newborn's body. The initial haze of infancy had long since receded, replaced by the sharp, analytical clarity of a mind forged by countless battles and an unyielding pursuit of martial perfection. He was still small, a mere two-year-old, yet his internal landscape was that of Carl Grenett, the Heavenly Demon, the scientist of combat. He swayed slightly, his legs, disproportionately short and weak, struggling for purchase. It was a constant battle against the limitations of this infant physiology, a maddening restriction for a man who once commanded every sinew and muscle with surgical precision. Yet, even this served as data. The slow development of motor skills, the rapid neural growth, the innate curiosity driving his observations—it was all part of the grand experiment that was his second life. The room around him hummed with a subtle, electric current. Not a sound, exactly, but a resonant vibration that seemed to emanate from the very walls. Glimmering panels, embedded with intricate, flowing circuits of light, adorned the surfaces. Ornate, yet undeniably functional, they served as ambient illumination, casting a soft, blue-white glow that danced across the room's meticulously organized contents. Hovering shelves, defying gravity with an unseen force, displayed an array of peculiar devices and ancient scrolls side-by-side. This was his home, or rather, the residence of the family into which Carl Grenett had been reborn. He was the son of a scholar, a man whose quiet intensity was mirrored in the stacks of data crystals and holographic projections that filled his study. The kingdom, known simply as 'Xebec's Forge' by its inhabitants – a name that sent a flicker of grim recognition through Carl's mind – was a marvel of anachronism. Ancient texts shared space with advanced scientific instruments. The air, usually crisp and clean, occasionally carried the scent of ozone from some distant, industrial process, blending strangely with the earthy aroma of old parchment. Carl had quickly deduced that this was a realm rich in what others might call ‘future technology.’ While the outside world still grappled with steamships and basic firearms, Xebec’s Forge boasted levitation technology, energy-based tools, and communication devices that transcended mere telegraphs. He often watched, fascinated, as his father, Elara, meticulously analyzed glowing diagrams projected into thin air, his brow furrowed in concentration. Elara wasn't a warrior, but his mind was a weapon of unparalleled precision, dissecting theories of energy transference and material manipulation. This intellectual environment was a perfect, albeit unexpected, breeding ground for Carl's own unique scientific pursuits. His tiny hands reached out, brushing against a hovering toy, a miniature mechanical bird that chirped with synthetic joy. He didn't play with it, not truly. Instead, he felt for the minute vibrations in the air, the subtle energy pulses that kept it aloft. His senses, honed to an almost supernatural degree in his past life, were slowly re-emerging, adapting to this new body, this new reality. He didn't just see; he perceived. He didn't just hear; he discerned. It was through this heightened perception that Carl began to unravel the world's true nature. He observed the guards who patrolled the scholarly compounds, their postures rigid, their eyes sharp, even when seemingly relaxed. He noticed the deferential way merchants from other, less advanced lands spoke to the citizens of Xebec’s Forge, a subtle bowing of heads, a slight tremor in their voices. He overheard fragments of conversations from the adults, hushed tones discussing He heard the discussion among the guard where they are discussing the power system of the world which is known as the tricolor haki. Carl felt intrigue and he tried to learn more about said power system. Sometimes, he walks into his father's study room just to look for information regarding those tricolor haki. Sometimes, he will go to the general library to look for books regarding it and based on his reading and search, he gets a general idea of what the tricolor haki. Haki in general can be divided into 3 . The first type of haki is called observational haki. It is kind of similar to six senses but it is more refined and can be improved with training. The more refined one's observational haki, the farther one can detect the presence of his or her surroundings. It is said that some of the advanced observational haki users can detect things far away such as meteor in the sky . Aside from that, one's observational haki can be evolved. There are few special evolutions of observation haki that are known. Among them are the ability to hear the voice of all things. It is said that all things around us such as trees, ships , swords and other objects are actually alive and only those with the ability to hear the voice of all things can hear them. Aside from that, another evolution of observation haki is that it allows future predictions where one can predict seconds or minutes to the future before things happen. This ability is very helpful especially in a combat oriented world like this world. In addition, some evolution of observation haki enables its user to read other people's minds and some can block or limit the capability of other people's observational haki. The second type of haki is the armament haki. This haki acts as a coating layer and enhances the attack power and defence of its user. For example, armaments haki users coat his or her hand with haki which turns his or her hand color black. In exchange to that, the hand was capable of defending against the blade and deflecting the bullet . It also increases the attack power from that said hand but the enhancement of the defence and attack power depends on how advanced the level of armament haki users are. It is said that armament haki also enables its users to deal with devil fruit users from paramecia type or also known as natural or element type devil fruit users. This is because without armament haki, one cannot cause any damage or even touch paramecia type devils fruits users. The last type of haki is called Conqueror's Haki. Primary conqueror haki users can project spiritual attack causing surrounding people to feel pressure and can cause weak minded people to faint. Conqueror's Haki is said to be innate and cannot be trained and it will grow with its user, there is not much information regarding Conqueror's Haki that Carl can find in the library and in his parents'work room as its user itself is quite rare. Despite that, Carl was very fascinated with his finding and started to compare it with his power system in his previous life to infer the best way to train all tricolor haki.

Chapter 2: The Cradle of Intellect and Haki's Whisper