<h4>Chapter 2: My Predecessor Was Mentally Deficient?</h4>


    As the saying goes, "Where there are people, there are conflicts." The same principle applies to the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land of Mariejois.


    Celestial Dragons don''t botherpeting with ordinary "untouchables" because they have no need to contend with such lowly beings.


    Anything they desire, they can simply take.


    To the Celestial Dragons, they are inherently "superior." There is no need to fight because the untouchables wouldn''t dare to oppose them. Could any lowbornmoner truly dare to rob a Celestial Dragon?


    Therefore, conflicts among Celestial Dragons are usually restricted to their own ss. Only those with equal nobility are considered their "rivals."


    If you were to recount Donquixote udius''s experiences, it would sound like a bad soap opera filled with absurdity and irony.


    Don''t let his status as a low-level Celestial Dragon fool you his parents were once quite influential.


    They were the original heads of the Donquixote family, making udius, by birthright, a true "Second Generation" Celestial Dragon.


    But as fate would have it, life is unpredictable, and disasters strike even those who consider themselves gods.


    In the end, the Celestial Dragons are merely human, subject to the same cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.


    udius''s parents died three years ago from an incurable illness. At that time, udius was just seven years old far too young to assume his father''s position as the head of the Donquixote family.


    With no one to take up the mantle, control of the family fell to Domingo''s father, Donquixote Homing.


    Homing was an anomaly among the Celestial Dragons.


    He was kind-hearted andcked the malicious intentions typical of his kind. He treated the young udius with genuine care, raising him like his own son over the past three years.


    If nothing unusual had urred, udius would have continued to grow up under Homing''s care, living a life of luxury and indulgence until adulthood, where he could simplyze about like the rest of the useless Celestial Dragons, enjoying all that the world had to offer.


    What more could a wasteful Celestial Dragon want? However, ording to udius''s memories, Homing had even nned to return the position of family patriarch to udius once he reached adulthood.


    "If I think about it, living such an unproductive life while still enjoying everything the world has to offer... It doesn''t sound half bad, does it?" udius murmured with a wry smile.


    It has to be said, living such a life would indeed be quite pleasant no need to struggle, no need to face unpleasant matters...


    But therein lies the problem...


    For some reason, there seems to be an inexplicable "idealistic trait" buried deep within the Donquixote lineage, causing one or two problematic individuals to appear every so often.


    In udius''s view, these people are "mentally deficient" those who cannotprehend reality. And, to make matters worse, Donquixote Homing, the current head of the Donquixote family, is exactly one of these individuals.


    Over the past year or so, perhaps due to a trip he took with his wife and children to the North Blue where he witnessed the world''s true state, Homing''s idealistic trait had been fully triggered.


    A prominent patriarch of the Holy Land Mariejois, a great man among Celestial Dragons, was now experiencing a sort of mentalpse. Every so often, he entertained the bizarre idea that he didn''t want to be a Celestial Dragon anymore he wanted to be an ordinary man living in the "lower realms" with themon folk.


    Within the Celestial Dragon ss, such thoughts are considered outright lunacy the very epitome of mental sickness.


    Worse yet, after contemting this fantasy for a year, Homing hadn''t discarded the notion. Instead, he was more convinced that this was the path he should follow.


    As the saying goes, "Longing is the furthest distance from understanding." Homing, fixated on the simple life of ordinary people, believed it to be carefree and fulfilling.


    He dreamt of living a life of farming and simplicity, never once considering the harsh realities of such a lifestyle. It was truly a ssic example of the naive perspective of those who live above the world''s struggles.


    After all, how could a Celestial Dragon, born at the pinnacle of the world, possibly understand the hardships of themon people? It was the same as if a king told a starving peasant, "Why don''t you eat meat instead?"


    Due to this delusional fantasy, over the past year, Homing had begun making arrangements to create a "fallback n" for the Donquixote family.


    As the current head of the Donquixote family, Homing did have some sense of responsibility. He wasn''t nning to simply disappear and leave everything behind. Instead, he began organizing the handover of the family''s power and wealth.


    During this process, the previously inconspicuous udius suddenly found himself in a very unfortunate position.


    Despite his status as a useless waste, udius was still the legitimate heir of the Donquixote family ording to bothw and bloodline.


    And among the Celestial Dragons, lineage is everything. It''s the fundamental basis upon which their entire power structure and ss system are built.


    Thus, when Homing prepared to relinquish his position as head of the family, udius was naturally pushed into the spotlight.


    Homing sincerely intended to return the leadership of the Donquixote family to udius. udius, in his former state of blissful ignorance, had no sense of the danger and eagerly epted the arrangement,pletely oblivious to the storm brewing around him.


    Thinking back on it now, udius felt utterly speechless. His predecessor was truly a na?ve and ipetent fool. He didn''t even stop to consider that, beyond having a more legitimate bloodline, he had absolutely no qualifications to be the head of the Donquixote family.


    First of all, there was his age. Was everyone else in the Donquixote family dead? Why else would they need a ten-year-old child to be their leader?


    Secondly, due to his youth and the early death of his parents, Homing being the kind-hearted simpleton that he was—had not left udius with any capable supporters or advisors.


    Thus, in terms of power and influence, udius had absolutely no foundation. He was just a worthless, powerless child.


    If udius had been a genius, someone who showed promise and potential, perhaps the other Celestial Dragons might have tolerated his leadership, albeit reluctantly, in the hopes that he could elevate the Donquixote family to new heights in the future.


    But the former udius was a true idiot, someone who could aplish nothing except eat, sleep, and waste away.


    So, what did the rest of the Donquixote family think? With a mediocre brat like udius leading them, it wouldn''t be long before the once-prestigious Donquixote family fell to the bottom of the 19 Celestial Dragon families.


    Thus, for the sake of both the family''s honor and their own power, everyone with a shred of intelligence within the Donquixote family secretly opposed the idea of udius bing the family''s head.


    udius understood this sentiment perfectly now. If it had been up to him, he wouldn''t have chosen such a waste to be the head of the family either!


    But that idealist Homing couldn''t see the truth. He believed that returning the family''s authority to udius was the rightful choice, that it was a moral duty to restore udius''s position.


    And so, events unfolded one after another. First, udius was tricked into eating a Devil Fruit prepared as a mere fruit sd, no less bing theughingstock of the Celestial Dragons.


    This alone should have been enough, but Homing''s stubbornness remained unmoved, even after udius became a joke among his peers. This only made things harder for those rational-minded Celestial Dragons who didn''t want to see udius leading the family.


    Forced into a corner by Homing''s stubbornness and udius''s sheer ineptitude, they had no choice but to resort to drastic measures.


    Thus, the incident leading to udius''s shipwreck urred. After being poisoned with a Devil Fruit, he was cast out to sea. Given the way things yed out, udius, a useless waste with no special abilities, should have died.


    In fact, he did die in that shipwreck. The original udius''s soul perished, making way for the rebirth of a new one.


    Sitting on the rocky shore of this deste ind, udius felt exasperated as he recalled the absurd events that had transpired in his predecessor''s life. If that fool had possessed just a bit of self-awareness and didn''t arrogantly believe he deserved to be the head of the Donquixote family, he wouldn''t have ended up dead at sea. He wouldn''t have eaten a Devil Fruit, let alone be aughingstock.


    But what''s done is done. There was no turning back now, and udius could only focus on the future.


    Currently, he was stranded on a deserted ind. Building a ship by himself was not entirely impossible, but the problem was that he had no experience with sailing, let alone navigating through the dangerous New World. Attempting to go out to sea would only lead to a quicker death.


    Thus, from the very beginning, udius had no intention of building a ship to sail away. He was left with only two choices.


    The first option was to do nothing, ept this damn fate, and wait here until he really died. The previous owner of this body had already chosen this path, resulting in the current situation of having a new soul upy his lifeless shell.


    The second option was to find a way to survive on this ind and wait for rescue.


    Yes, even if this was a conspiracy, udius was still a Celestial Dragon. Even if it was for appearances'' sake, the Donquixote family would definitely send people to search for and rescue him.


    It''s just that the process might be dyed. They would likely wait until everyone was certain udius was dead and lost forever before making a move.


    But that was enough for udius. He believed he could survive long enough for the rescue team to arrive and bring him back to Mariejois.


    "Damn it, when I get back to Mariejois, the first thing I''m going to do is announce that I''m quitting this nonsense of being the Donquixote family''s patriarch. Whoever wants the position can take it!" udius cursed angrily.


    With his current abilities, even if he now had a different soul, it was impossible for him to immediately gain support and be the head of the Donquixote family.


    Rather than struggle for a position he wasn''t suited for, it was better to just give it up, change his mindset, and alter his approach.


    As for whether he harbored any resentment towards those who orchestrated the downfall of his predecessor... well, not really. After all, he couldn''t stand his predecessor''s ipetence either.


    udius was a practical person. He wouldn''t take on the burdens of his predecessor''s "debts" just because he now inhabited his body. Swearing to avenge the former owner? That''s simply not going to happen...


    Of course, if someone tried to kill him again in the future... well, udius wouldn''t mind dealing with those who thought they could take him lightly.


    "Well, it''s useless to think about it too much now. Let''s focus on how to survive until rescuees... Damn it, a Celestial Dragon stranded on a deserted ind? This is just ridiculous..." udiusughed at himself bitterly.