Aslan the Marine.
It was a short dream, full of life.
A boy growing in the middle of dunes, as sturdy as the date trees, but in a country on the brink of civil war. We shared the same name, Aslan.
“Never thought I would get to relive childhood, someone else’s too to booth... At least I can isolate my awareness when they breastfeed him, or it would be pretty awkward.”
The most shocking memory he saw, was his mother hefting a cleaver almost as tall as her and using it to butcher a gigantic sea king just a couple of days after delivering the boy.
“I just hope he is a well mannered child, for the sake of both of us. That woman’s beatings would be capital punishment for a small child and taking over a crippled body is no fun at all...”
No, I was him, I fell in love with the neighbour's daughter, Janna, and also felt my bones crack under the beatings of her mother. Luckily enough his body was more resilient than ordinary people thanks to his strict training in his mother’s butchery.
“He got to thank his mother for that body of his, he didn’t have an average childhood, that’s for sure, but training his butchering skills everyday with those monstrous cleavers... Besides his family has been eating sea king’s meat almost everyday too, even major clans would have trouble finding better training and nutrition for their young.”
Pursuing love was no easy feat especially when your crush’s mother was a retired Vice-Admiral, the blows were no joke, even on Earth the old hag would have been able to found her own sect with such power, yet he was also lucky, thanks to his father’s excellent medical ability he made a swift recovery and proposed back again.
“I like the spirit, back in the days when the elders had us roam the world, no disciple of Soul Rune sect dared be a coward in love especially with our master trying to steal all the women...”
Yet this time what welcomed him wasn't violence but the reality of his weakness.
Her mother only had a requirement of any suitors, he should enter the marine and become a Commodore, only then could he marry Janna, her daughter, she preferred to have no son in law at all if he was but a weakling unable to fight pirates and protect his family.
“Strength is power, especially in a chaotic world like the Pirate Era. Reading it through the manga was one thing but to see this up close hits different, well it’s not like we didn’t have demons to fight on Earth. Still, without a sect or a clan to rely on, it’s going to be a difficult journey.”
Aslan's parents didn't stop him, but on the night he set off, they gave him a rusty marine badge and his mother’s cleaver. As the first rays of dusk broke the desert’s desolation, they assured him if it came a time the blade wasn’t enough he only had to show the badge at the Marine HQ, still, he didn't give it any thought.
Whatever he achieved would be the result of his own sweat and blood, he didn't want any shortcuts!!
...
Aslan had already trained his swordsmanship as a member of Alabasta's rebel army, beside spending so many hours butchering sea kings, he had developed a strong familiarity with blades. However it didn’t make much of a difference for the registration officer.
Many times, while beating rats with his broomstick on cleaning duty, he regretted going straight for registration.
If only he had taken the time to catch a few criminals...
Still, he didn't waver in his resolution and slowly but steadily rose to the rank of captain in just 2 years!
One conversation stuck with Aslan though, it was something his incarnation overheard while bringing the Commodore his share of Sea King ambergris, while obviously keeping some for his fiancee. It was the privity he had reached with the Commodore to keep training freely!
“Commodore, captain Aslan has caught us dinner again!!”
“Guess we won’t have to eat those stinky provisions for a while then! Tell the boys in the kitchen to work twice as hard, by how much our prow has dipped that monster should weigh at least a ton... Did he heft it back on his own?”
A trace of barely concealed envy laced the Commodore’s words, the ocean’s depth had become his forbidden ground from the day he became a Devil Fruit user. People who could hunt sea kings, never had to worry about hunger in this vast sea world.
“Yes! This is the third time already, our captain really lives up to his title!!”
After sailing for three weeks, Aslan had been the only one who didn’t share the fishy saltwater scent of the ocean, the Commodore couldn’t be fooled for long so his secret hunting trips became public training. Any marine who could catch his own meals, would get a raise while training their body and swimming skills.
In a short while it had become the ship’s rule, besides if the Commodore could save on military rations, they could fetch a high price on the black market!
“Guess I should refer him for another promotion soon, besides he has plenty of experience under his belt already. Bring me the records of our last battle with the On Air pirates. I’ll submit it along my recommendation letter once we anchor at HQ.”
“Right, thanks to Captain Aslan’s underwater ambush we managed to inflict them heavy cannon fire before they even got close! Never thought he was strong enough to wield that cleaver underwater, not to mention damaging the hull so extensively... He might be even stronger than those Cipher Pol bastards!!”
“Hold your tongue, officer Lang. We don’t need to make unnecessary enemies, the Admirals are already at each other’s throats. The only thing keeping them from fighting openly is that special guest at Impel Down.”
“So, it’s true... But we thought the Grand Admiral would...”
“Not another word, Lang. Try to keep your eyes out on any snail you see, these days you have to be as wary of uniforms as pirates.”
...
When Aslan returned home for the first time he couldn't believe how much his country had changed after Crocodile's defeat, also how much Janna had grown in only two years!
His mother in law also had to pinch herself a couple of times, unable to connect the sturdy marine kissing her daughter with the inexperienced youth she had beaten so fiercely only a few years ago.
Under Janna’s pleading eyes she could only leave them some space, luckily the old Vice-Admiral was saved by her soon to be in-laws who welcomed her to Aslan’s comeback party. However, she couldn’t help but sigh, the boy had changed so much but he still got the same daring as the first time he proposed. Few people had the guts to try approaching her daughter, kissing Janna in front of her set a new record!
“Nice payback, that’s what you get for almost crippling my incarnation.”
His family leave was short-lived though, Aslan’s cleaver dyed Alabasta’s dunes red as the young captain’s blade suppressed any Baroque Works' remnants, while his platoon moved faithfully and efficiently under his orders. The loot from their raids was more than enough for the dowry.
“He’s lucky to find wealth so easily, I would have never expected the boy to be this dumb... Spending two years’ salary just on the wedding rings, maybe he thought they would live forever after on a ship or something.”
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
It wasn’t long before they clashed with Crocodile’s lackeys, unexpectedly they managed to track them back to a dilapidated bar close to Juba. It was on this occasion that Aslan finally witnessed the true power of a Vice Admiral!
“Just treat it as field trip, this is the power you need to hold your ground against Logia users or you will face the same fate as those crocobananas in the slaughterhouse. I may not be proficient with blades as much but you should still be able to glean something from my technique.”
For the first time, Aslan saw the old hag take her encased wooden staff off the wall, plenty of thieves had tried their luck trying to steal it. The rumours said that it was made out of an Adam Tree branch, it carried unparalleled flexibility and resilience that few alloys could match.
“Nice weapon, it might rival our Soul Rune sect’s top products in terms of materials alone but the craftsmanship is really coarse... It seems like this world has no rune craftsmen just like in the manga.”
Aslan had readied his soldiers for a war of attrition but they really just needed to run after the enemy, it seemed it wasn't the first time his mother-in-law went on such field trips, since their targets immediately scattered away upon seeing her, but from the start escape wasn't an option.
Honestly it was more of a performance rather than a full fledged fight, the old Vice-Admiral seemed to get younger with each blow landing on the pirates and the steady dark sheen looming over her staff showed proficiency with haki few could equal to date.
"Amazing, it's truly like the mangaka showed! The effect is similar to our cultivation system's battle qi, but it's actually the result of catalyzing their spiritual energy and willpower... Their souls are also much more powerful than ordinary humans.”
Aslan sword grew steadier as the fight reached its inevitable end, for a moment he almost felt his blood soaked cleaver had turned a few shades darker. Maybe it was time to do some maintenance...
Their contributions were great enough for princess Bibi to commend them with honours and for his mother in law to finally accept him! Unfortunately, their joy was short-lived as the Marine Headquarters ordered the general mobilisation of their armed forces shortly before their marriage.
Aslan was going to fight at Marineford.
Janna pleaded her mother, but there was nothing she could do. Facing the Whitebeard pirates, no amount of connections or bribes could move a soldier from his post.
However that wasn’t all, Aslan's mother-in-law had recognised the unswerving determination to never leave his comrades behind something only she could understand for leadership had put her in the same position many times. For once she truly began to recognise her daughter's foresight.
Yet that wasn't what sealed the young captain's fate, what killed him was his honesty.
"HOW CAN YOU LET FRESH RECRUITS BE YOUR MEAT-SHIELDS?!"
If Aslan had said these words on another occasion, he would have been demoted while his platoon would have been disbanded but no war meeting is average, especially when you slap an Admiral with your words.
There were factions in the Marine, and until that day Aslan had been neutral neither on Aokiji nor Akainu's hardliners side, but even he couldn't imagine the impact of his outburst.
For a week or so, everyone avoided him and his soldiers as if they had Amber Lead Syndrome, only his best friend still kept in touch with him.
“It seems the Commodore’s warnings didn’t raise your alertness... Righteous heroes are great, yet foolishness spells your doom. Especially if someone is out for your blood trying to please the higher ups.”
It was only on the battlefield that Aslan realised he had already been dead in the eyes of everyone. Even his best friend.
When the young captain lost his mobility on the battlefield, shortly before Whitebeard's warships emerged, he understood why the other captains insisted so much on a last drink before the battle.
Apparently, even the neutral faction had been infiltrated. Aslan realised his foolishness too late, not taking a stand was understandable, but sometimes having no one to rely on just made you an easy target. His neutrality was but a joke!
Still, he fought to the end, even if he couldn't move a step forward, he swore to never fall back as long as anyone in his platoon was alive. However he couldn't help but waver in his resolution when he saw the gargantuan titan lifting a pirate warship. What was the meaning of their struggle?
As he fought the relentless pirate wave, Aslan remembered the dunes of his homeland and understood how each wave of his blade was like the wind on the desert.
Strong enough to move the sand, yet not enough to change the dune.
Under the overwhelming attacks, Aslan thought he would have died of exhaustion before the poison did his work but as the pile of corpses grew around him, his blade started glowing with a dark shimmer. His mother in law’s thunderous swings seemed to flash in front of him.
Suddenly, the blades which had been so fiercely attacking Aslan broke down like tofu while a new surging strength began to course from his body into his sword.
But that wasn't the end, freed from its constraints, his swordsmanship reached a new peak! Drawing a half moon on the ground, it wasn't until he heard hundreds of dull thuds that Aslan knew no pirate was alive within the moon's boundaries!
"ARMAMENT HAKI!! GET AWAY FROM HIM, HE IS A VICE-ADMIRAL!"
By then he had already lost his sight due to the poison's toxicity, but he could still realise that any threats must have been at least 100 meters away from him.
With his new power, Aslan felt a bit more confident in surviving himself and relieving some pressure for his platoon however he had underestimated the wisdom of the Whitebeard pirates.
Just like water keeps flowing in the river, regardless of any rocks on the bed, so did the pirates’ strategy change when faced with a stronger foe. Besides they had come to Marineford to save rather than kill. Aslan knew his place, he could delay them but the fate of the battlefield relied on those who poisoned him rather than a common captain.
"Seems like you gotta find yourself another Commodore for your daughter old hag... Fortunately we didn't marry yet since I don't want to make Janna a widow so soon..."
His platoon burst out laughing hearing their captain’s banter, even facing the Whitebeard pirates he could still think about his marriage!
“Don’t worry cap! I’m sure you will get promoted in no time after the war!! Then we will see who dares plot against us!!!”
“I’m sorry guys, hope in my next life I can be a better captain. If it wasn’t for my brashness, you wouldn’t be cannon fodders!”
“Hey captain, even if you have haki now, we all feel like you were the strongest when you spoke up back then!! Even Aokiji who pretends to be oh so merciful didn’t say shit!”
“Yeah he’s right! All the higher ups only care about who’s gonna be the next Grand Admiral!! They don’t care about us...”
“It’s nice to know you got my back even now guys, I’ll be sure to serve you the best sea king meat I can butcher with this cleaver of mine!!”
Raising his cleaver high up another twelve marines who had been trying to ambush them, suddenly found their horizon overturned as all they could see was the sky.
Sheathing his blade, Aslan sat down with his back to the pirates while facing the rolling heads, unexpectedly they all settled in a semi-circle.
No one noticed the young captain taking off the rusty badge from his necklace into his hand, clenching it hard enough blood started dripping.
“I don’t care whether you wear a uniform or not. Anyone who dares cross beyond those heads, will face the same fate.”
The captain’s murderous intent was enough to chill any thought of further retaliation. At least until the war’s end, they wouldn’t have to worry about any more backstabbing. If Akainu’s faction wanted to deal with them, they had to send at least a few commodores or one vice-admiral, but they had their hands full dealing with Whitebeard’s fleet Captains.
“Also, for every ten pirates you kill guys, I’ll have my mother-in-law play matchmaker for you!!”
His soldiers cheers made a sharp difference with the ugly looks of the surrounding troops. Leaving them alone to handle the pressure was one thing, but now they couldn’t hide their underhanded means anymore. If Aslan managed to survive, this matter would ruin their standing in the Marine’s hierarchy.
“Heard that guys?! Let’s see who dares miss our captain’s wedding!”
Aslan kept still, even when Blackbeard shocked the seas by stealing the Gura Gura no Mi, he didn’t budge. By that point he had already lost his touch, all he could rely on was his hearing and the bloody smell of death pervading the battlefield.
Mysteriously, while Aslan found himself more and more isolated from his five senses, he became more perceptive of the desperation looming over Marineford like a dark cloud. It was like the convergence of everyone’s emotions, without distinction between marines or pirates, and it was growing darker and darker. If they were really fighting for justice, then why were they all suffering? Was there justice at all there?
It wasn't until Aslan felt Shanks the Red's Conqueror's Haki that he felt the black cloud clearing up, putting an end to this madness. He didn't even have the strength to fall, his body had already become a sieve under the Whitebeard pirates relentless surge.
He had made his stand with his comrades.
“”Impressive, but getting this body back in shape will be a true hassle.”
...
The next memory Aslan saw seemed to come through a kaleidoscope of sorts, it was then he realised this was the present. It wasn’t memory anymore, but the feeding of his senses or at least what his broken down body could manage to feel.
“Is he stable? Doctrine?”