Cale's vision was greeted by a pinch of bright red strands belonging to a man he assumed to be his new father in this world. Cale blinked and then yawned softly, the giggling of the man with a wide smile was clearly heard by him. A babble of words that Cale did not understand what they meant continued to be uttered by the man endlessly.

"Hey hey look! My son Cale is so cute! I love you Cale, how cute~" Yep, Cale had no idea what the man was saying.

One month had passed since Cale was reincarnated in this world. So far, as a baby who was unable to do anything, Cale had lived a comfortable, full and happy life. His father had never let him out of his arms except at certain times when the friendly man had to leave to do something unknown to him.

Cale admits that his Father's cuddling sesion make him feel safe and cozy, a feeling that makes him sleepy all the time. The sweet baby is also very fond of his new soft and spacious bed, Cale knows he always sleeps with his Father who will keep him warm and cozy throughout the night. 

One new thing Cale learned was that the place where he lived was always moving, he could feel the waves at times. Cale guessed that he was on a large ship with a large crew, Cale always heard laughter coming from all directions, smelled alcohol that he was very familiar with, the smell of roasting meat and the rhythm of what he thought was a song spread throughout the ship.

Am I the son of a bunch of fishermen? Then why did the God of Death say I would be born to strong parents? What exactly does this world look like? Why do we always return to the sea after stopping for a while? Is the land we live in really that far away? These were just a few of the many questions he had while living here.

But Cale had to be patient, he was a useless baby now, his life depended on this bunch of drunken hobby men until he grew up. At least his father seemed to love him a lot judging by his ferocious behavior when someone tried to carry Cale without his father's permission.

Cale rolled his vision which were slightly clearer than the previous three weeks, interested in the black cloth hanging above the main mast of the ship in front of them, he had always been curious about it but could not open his mouth to ask.

'Damn baby body' he cursed silently, Shanks would faint if he heard his son's inner voice all this time

"Captain! Hongo is calling you!" Cale turned his attention to his father, slightly surprised as the man stood up suddenly.

"Ouh" Shanks' gaze dropped to his son, damn his movements must have been too fast for his baby.

"Ouch, sorry son, does it hurt?" Shanks stroked his son's cheek even though Cale showed no reaction of pain or anything like that.

"Let's go to Hongo's room" Cale was led to the front of a room that he recognized as the first place he entered on this ship.

Ten minutes later Cale decided to go back to sleep. He had no idea what a bunch of grown men were going to do waiting nervously in front of a silent room. His father was the most nervous of all, for some reason Cale could feel his nervousness, he didn't like it.

'The solution to all the problems in a baby's life is sleep' he thought happily and fell asleep quickly.

Creak... Finally the door to the infirmary opened.

"Come in captain" Shanks and his son walked in. Shanks' other friends also wanted to enter, but Hongo blocked them all.

"Sorry guys but only the captain this time."

Brak!

The door closed again, Yassop let out a grunt while Monster screeched above his head.

Inside...

Shanks sat in the chair Hongo had provided for him, the new father nervously looking at his ship's doctor who was busy going through sheet after sheet of reports from the assignment given by his captain one month ago.

"Captain" Hongo called out to his captain after being busy for a full two minutes.

"Tell Hongo, I'm ready" Shanks was nervous, really.

"Don't act like a girl who's about to be jilted!"

"Come on Hongo-kun, can't we do this shit any faster? Cale-chan's even back in dreamland now" Hongo rolled his eyes.

"I swear that damn baby sleeps too much" He grumbled as he passed the paper into his captain's hands.

"Then check on him until I finish reading" Shanks handed the sleeping prince Cale to Hongo who immediately accepted it gently.

Without being told twice Hongo immediately began several examinations on Cale even though the baby was fast asleep.

"You made it too long Hongo, can't I see the result right away?" Shanks babbled with a thick stack of papers towering over his hair.

"No you can't, I wrote everything about your son's physique there, I'm not just testing your DNA matches okay? I'm also testing the physical condition of your baby" Shanks closed his mouth, apparently the damn paper was important.

"..."

Ten minutes passed, Hongo had finished examining Cale, relieved that for now nothing truly fatal had happened to his captain's son. Suddenly, all of Hongo's hairs stood up, his heart was racing, his neck was stiff and his legs were trembling.

"P-please calm down Captain" Hongo almost knelt down because his Haki was far inferior to his Captain's Haki.

"Hongo... What the hell is all this?" Shanks said seriously, he didn't even try to lighten his Haoshoku's Haki, all his much weaker subordinates had probably fainted by now.

'What the hell is this horrible aura?!' On the other hand Cale was also struggling to control his breathing even though his efforts were failing miserably, his survival instinct kept screaming threatening signs and telling him to run as far as possible or he would die. Cale ended up crying as hard as he could.

"Huaaaaa uaaaa" Shanks blinked, all the Haki he had released suddenly disappeared allowing Hongo to finally breathe properly.

"You scared Cale-kun, Captain" Hongo said while struggling to stabilize himself.

"..."

Shanks got up and took his son, quietly whispering words of apology that seemed to work, Cale calmed down again but heartbreaking sobs were still heard from his little mouth.

After feeling better, Hongo sat in front of his captain. Nervous as Shanks looked straight into his soul, his gaze was enough of a signal for Hongo to speak, to explain.

"As you saw in the report, Captain, being tossed around at sea for long periods of time can affect anyone, even if that person is an adult" Hongo began his explanation calmly as if he hadn't been fighting for his life just seconds ago.

"I don't know exactly how long Cale-kun stayed in that cradle, but the natural conditions around him affected his physique permanently, after all he is a two-month-old baby who is still very vulnerable, something like this is not surprising"

"..." Shanks was silent, not once interrupting their doctor's explanation.

"I did some physical and blood tests on Cale-kun's body and found that the cold of the ocean affected the performance of his lungs, it saddens me to tell you that Cale-kun will experience symptoms of breathing difficulties for the rest of his life at certain times and when he does excessive activities that burden his body" Shanks bit his lip until the taint of blood greeted his tongue.

"..." Silence for a full three minutes, none of them had expected something like this to happen.

"Can... Can you cure it?" Shanks finally opened his mouth again after three minutes of silence.

"The medicine I gave might reduce the symptoms but I can't destroy the cause yet, please forgive my incompetence, Captain" Hongo bowed his head deeply in front of his captain, feeling useless.

"How long will this child last?"

"If he keeps taking the medicine I made and takes care of himself then he can outlive people with similar diseases, probably around 25-35 years"

"Huft..." Shanks rubbed his face roughly, if only... If only he had found Cale sooner, maybe his son wouldn't have suffered like this.

The atmosphere returned to silence, Hongo kept his head down while Shanks tried to digest the sad information he received.

"Hongo, raise your head, it's not your fault, it's my fault for not knowing my son's whereabouts sooner, Bonk Punch is right, I am an asshole"

"Captain-"

"At least I know what to do in the future, thank you, Hongo" Shanks was about to leave the medical room but Hongo prevented him from leaving.

"You can't leave before finishing the report captain"

"Oh come on that's enough! My eyes are burning reading those damn papers, just tell me the truth now"

Hongo rolled his eyes, look at his lazy captain. Luckily he was used to it, if it was anyone else then Hongo would make sure he wouldn't go home without a bruise on his body.

"He has your stupid DNA Captain, congratulations, Cale-kun is your biological son" Shanks' smile widened, as did Hongo's.

"Great, thanks Hongo, come out, we're having a party!" Shanks cheered.

"I don't think so, I want to sleep" Hongo yawned, noisy party? No, Hongo would rather curl up in his cozy bed, thank you.

"Well whatever you say"

Brak!

The Shanks executives gathered around their captain, curious about the outcome.

"Captain, how-"

"The results are positive! Cale is my son!" Shanks said happily.

"Woahhh!!!"

"Throw a party! Let's celebrate the birth of my son!!!" Shanks' declaration got everyone excited.

"Aye aye Captain!"

"Seriously, we're going to be completely broke someday" Benn shook his head but a smile was drawn on his face, this happiness was indeed worth celebrating.

Shanks looked at his son who was not disturbed even though all of his ship's crew were rioting. Regret was embedded in his heart, the words if only kept playing in his head. Shanks smiled, kissing his son's soft forehead.

"I'll always love you Cale, I'll always be there for you when you need me, I'll be your go-to place, so please grow up well and happy my son" That day the promise and hope that bound Shanks' heart to his son, Cale was made and will forever remain valid.

Shanks promised he would make his son happy, he promised he would let his son do whatever he liked, he promised he would fill Cale's life with all the love and affection he deserved. Shanks promised he would be a Father who could be a 'home' for his beloved Cale to return to when he lost in his way. Shanks promised.
........................................................................

Two months later...

It's been two months since Cale lived here, he's five months old now. Gradually Cale learned the language used by the people around him, now Cale can recognize a person through the names he hears from others.

For example, Shanks was his father's name, Benn was the man who smoked, Yassop who always carried a gun, Lime Juice the sunglasses man, Bonk Punch with a prominent wound on his face, Building Snake the man who often held binoculars, Lucky the fat one, Howling Gab the big man and lastly Monster, the monkey who often accompanied him to play.

Cale was happy that his eyesight could distinguish colors and shapes although it was still a little unclear. Cale could see his father's appearance a little more clearly now, he honestly said that his father was a handsome man. His father or commonly called Shanks was a man in his early thirties with bright red hair, sharp gray eyes, a symmetrical face, a sweet smile and a well-built body.

Seeing his father's muscular stature made Cale wonder if he could be like his father when he grew up.

Cale was also learning a new word every day, for example right now, he was on his father's lap listen his babbling many things that Cale didn't know what they meant. Cale was only able to catch a few words like 'Grand Line', 'New World', 'Haki' and 'Yonkou' because they had clear articulation and the people around him also used those words frequently.

'I'm also not sure why that damn god made me the son of a pirate captain' Cale realized this recently, he did not expect that the piece of black cloth above was the jolly roger of a pirate group.

It was a bit shocking but Cale didn't care, his gang used to be a bunch of lunatics who cleared out a mad god, being a pirate was not a thrilling thing for him anymore.

'The important thing is that my father doesn't throw me overboard, I have to be a good boy to avoid being kicked off this ship' Cale silently nodded his head.

"Hmm? Are you sleepy? Want to sleep?" Shanks thought his son was already sleepy, after all it was the usual time for him to sleep.

Cale looked up at his father, somehow his eyes became heavy at the gentle words of the bright red-haired man.

'I've heard that babies get sleepy when they feel comfortable and safe, hmm' Cale unconsciously yawned in front of his father's face as he was picked up, it made Shanks giggle. After making sure Cale was safe in his arms Shanks started walking towards his room.

"Oi lower your voice, my son is going to bed!" Shanks shouted at a group of grown men who were busy chugging sake.

"Oh goodnight Cale-chan" Lime Juice was the first to respond.

"Sweet dreams dear~" Followed by Yassop who seemed to be heavily drunk.

"You're already too drunk, put that damn bottle down now!" Hongo grumbled, the drunk Yassop was so noisy, he wouldn't stop telling them how beautiful his wife was.

"Eh~ don't want to"

"As a doctor I said put it down-"

"Oh you're picking a fight huh?! I said no-"

"Let's go to bed" Shanks lifted his son's light body and carried him to their room, leaving Yassop and Hongo arguing behind.

Once in the room Shanks laid Cale gently on their bed then Shanks climbed in and lay next to him, With that their nightly routine began.

At bedtime Shanks would lie next to Cale and gently stroke his head, patting his tummy or buttocks until his son fell asleep, he had to check Cale's breathing sounds every time the baby fell asleep to control his condition.

Hongo said Cale was too young for adequate doses of medication, so as his father, Shanks had to make sure his baby's breathing was smooth and not labored.

Fortunately, Cale had never show any symptoms of his illness as Shanks took great care of his son's health. Cale would be checked daily by Hongo, the beautiful baby wasn't allowed to get too tired either, he seemed to be with his father most of the time. They are lucky that Cale is not a difficult baby to work with, he is very calm. 

Twenty minutes later Cale finally fell asleep.

"Sleep well my Cale, sweet dreams son"

Shanks smiled and kissed the forehead of his son who was already fast asleep. The new father finally fell asleep with his son, this happened almost every day now that's why the Akagami crew did not ask about their captain's presence again at night. The night of that day passed with a warm atmosphere wrapped around each owner of the heart.