The Marine

There were two types of tourists in this world. The first were those who felt inspired by the beauty of nature, and the other were indulged by the excesses of the human experience.

The South Blue was such a place that appealed to both.

Whether it was Gran Tesoro, The City of Sin, where any feeling or sensation could be bought and had for a price.

Whether it was Karate Island, The Island of Champions, where men and women alike vied for martial glory in the Grand Coliseum.

Whether it was Crystal Island, The Ever-Changing Island, that was said to hold the Eternity Stair which local legends claim led to the treasures on the Frozen Moon.

No matter which place in this sea, it was well known that the South Blue had all kinds of unique environments for life.

Even the most desolate land was one of abundant greenery and variety.

On one such wayward, a beautiful lily stood near the center of the place, roots slowly spreading in all directions.

It was like a beautiful idea out there in the distance; only up close would the frightful nature of the thing be evident.

This was because, the closer one got the more its nature couldn’t be hidden.

First was the smell, for kilometers in all directions the smell of rotting flesh and vegetation pervaded through the air.

Second was the duality of the plant that seemed to be both growing and dying simultaneously.

Lastly was the fact that the more brilliant the lily grew, the dimmer the island around it turned.

And the island did die, step by step, as the roots spread out the earth itself began to crack and wither away.

Finally, in the center of the lily which rested on the center of a ruined land, a stamen slowly rose from the lily and slowly took the form of a man.

Time went by, and the rate that the man appeared coincided with the rate of the island being washed away.

By the time the water was on the lily, he was fully formed.

Dark haired, lean, and tall.

The man was unassuming in a world of giants, demi-giants, and other devils.

But in his hand, as the earth crumbled away, he held an item that would make the World Government go mad.

He knew it, but he knew he had no other way.

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Aramaki had always been proud of his family.

He was proud of his wife, who had held on for their child after being attacked by one of the most heinous, disgusting, and dangerous beings in the world.

He was proud of his son. Who in Aramaki’s eyes had never done anything wrong, who had always been respectful to his father and loving to his mother, who had always stood up straight, and who had always known how to work hard.

Aramaki had experienced a hard life and knew that nothing was perfect.

Yes, he could wish that his wife hadn’t been forced to trade her own spirit to save their son. He could have wished that his son was less active and was contemptuous on life on the sea.

But these difficulties were fine, as long as he remained strong his family would never be forgotten by the World Government.

And they were not forgotten. Pulling every lever that he could, Aramaki had gotten the world’s foremost genius to personally visit and care for his family.

His trip to the South Blue was arduous, and the Doctor had made it there before him. It was only then he had learned in plain words what had happened.

That was, his wife had performed a miracle and his son was in better than perfect health.

This world had many examples of mothers performing miracles in care of their children, but never had the child seemed to benefit so much.

This was evident the moment Doctor Vegapunk saw his son, who he pronounced immediately to have the Will of D.

That mystical tribe, all but lost to history, had many descendants. What marked them now was not so much blood ties, but instead their extraordinary spirit.

The Doctor was one of the few people in this world who could proclaim such a thing and it be taken seriously.

William was the name of Aramaki’s own father, and Aramaki had always planned to have his first son named after him. Yet, after the Doctors pronouncement, Aramaki William Ox was changed to William D. Ox.

This was initially concerting, few of those bearing the name of D. ever lived simple lives; but over the years his wife slowly healed, and Aramaki working hard but happily put it in the back of his mind.

Until one night, sleeping beside his wife, Aramaki was awoken by beatings on his front door.

This never, ever, happened.

Aramaki, who was perhaps the greatest swordsmen in the Marines, had made the schedule around his family time crystal clear.

He was not a harsh man, but he would be brutal if this rule was broken.

Walking to the door he sensed that whoever was behind it was small, and sure enough, as he swung it inward, there stood little Riccio Occhiali who looked positively out of his mind in fear of the large man.  

Seeing the child calmed Aramaki down, but not for long.

As he coaxed the story from the curly-haired boy, his blood pressure rose.

His perfect son had… lied to him…?

From the boys broken story, Aramaki had quickly gotten the essence of it.

Aramaki was upset, but that quickly turned to anger when the boy brought up pirates.

Behind them, Angie the Amazonian was also listening intently with a mix of concern for her godchild and hate if anything should happen to him.

It had barely been three minutes since the boy had come to their home, and the entire base lit up like a Christmas tree and swarmed like a beehive.

Grabbing his sword, Aramaki of course ran ahead towards the lumber yard.

He slipped in a roof window and followed through a winding tunnel while staying out of sight.

It didn’t take the big man but a minute to find the smugglers port, and to find the three kids.

Surprisingly, he also noticed the little cannon girl hidden on the rock wall.

Just then, Aramaki stopped. He wanted to have killed these pirates ten times over but decided to watch the kids’ actions.

They tried to run, all three kids fought gloriously, but to him it made him sick.

They were cornered, but they tried to run again.

There was no more running, his son was bleeding from a wound on his head, but Aramaki knew he would live. So, he watched on.

One of the pirates fighting the kids was a Fishmen.

It taken Humanity all of history to subdue that species, and now that the danger had largely subsided, people forgot just how dangerous they were.

Aramaki did not dislike Fishmen, what he disliked was how the ‘savage fishman’ turned into the ‘noble fishman’ in the eyes of the human population.

The little cowboy was doing well, something seemed wrong with the fishman he was fighting.

He also felt the presence of the Amazonian.

Still, Aramaki watched and watched ready to jump in at any moment.

By now, nearly thirty minutes had passed. Sounds of his men were getting nearer and nearer, no doubt by now Riccio had told his story to one of his officers.

When it seemed that they wouldn’t get there fast enough, the little cannon girl shot the monkey man.

It was then he saw one of the island residents, an older teenager who had been born and raised on Vallipo, frantically talk to the pirate.

The rest was history, Aramaki saw his sons state and after talking realized that a peaceful life for him was impossible.

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Life has a way of throwing unsuspecting events at you.

For Aramaki this was when his son found one of the most desired class of Devil Fruits in history.

It was a biological devil fruit, and a very strong one at that.

In this world the limitations of devil fruits were well known. The reason why the world was an archipelago was due to the fact that devil fruit creations disappeared over time.

Biological Devil Fruits were different though, the reason for this was simple.

Life always finds a way.

Devil Fruit effects that changed a person’s biology often never wore off, even in the presence of sea water.

The Operation Fruit, the Hormone Fruit, etc. were all incredibly valuable because of this.

When Aramaki had learned of the type of fruit his son had found, he was naturally interested.

But no matter how interested, he would have never stolen it from the boy, and it wasn’t until he had eaten it did he realize what it was.

The ‘Wood-Wood Fruit’ was a misnomer. While it did make him a plant-man, what this fruit really was, was life.

 This was just perfect, Aramaki smiled to whatever gods were watching him.

This fruit would solve nearly all of his problems and allow him to get revenge, but there would have to be a cost.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this island would have to pay that price.

Aramaki stood in the middle of a remote island which brimmed with life, and instantly merged with the ground, leaving behind a single small noxious white lily.

Attracted to the smell was first the flies and the things that crawled on the ground, they were absorbed.

Small roots spread in all directions and began latching on to the trees and grasses, they started to wilt.

Medium sized roots then spread at great speed, impaling every beast that walked on the island, they were absorbed.

Finally, large roots took hold and dug deep into the island, drawing energies from the ground itself.

At the end of the process, Aramaki emerged, holding in his hand a small gourd that held the life essence of the entire island.

The World Government would go mad for this, he would get what he needed.

In that instant, Aramaki didn’t look at the wasteland he created or think about the island he disappeared.

This was for his family, and he would never think twice about the costs.

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*Beboop Beboop Beboop*

Sitting behind a desk at Vallipo Headquarters, Aramaki Ox was somewhat surprised to see the Marineford Communication Snail ring.

There had been some press lately about the Kid Pirates, and Aramaki knew he would deal with them, but still, unsuspecting he answered the call.

“Base SB-T, Commander Ox speaking, over.”

When he said this, the snails face turned heavy, and it spoke slowly.

“Commodore, there’s been an accident.

It involves your son.”