Did Kuzan Defect Today?

It took me a long time to realize that I had entered the world of One Piece.

However, all I knew about the manga was that the protagonist was called Luffy and that he had a talking raccoon dog.

I looked up at the man beside me.

"Kuzan..."

There might still be time to turn back. Being a Marine in the One Piece manga was a dead end.

The man responded with a quiet "Mm" from the back of his throat.

"Um... I want to become a pirate."

The current Marine Admiral, Aokiji Kuzan, looked at me without expression.

After a long while, he lifted his slender arm, drew me against his broad chest, and held me there. His sleepy voice came from above my head.

"Ah, well... How about you change your mind?"

That was the first request I'd made after being unconscious for more than a decade, but just as expected, he turned me down. Yet I couldn't bring myself to resist him.

He had changed so much.

*

I was always complaining to the colleague next door that Kuzan was too strict with me, but he often fobbed me off with a few words. I bitterly concluded that no one in the Marines truly cared enough to help me with my troubles.

The day Kuzan decided to desert the Marines, I was packing in my room. A colleague came over to congratulate me, saying this was the perfect chance to escape Kuzan's control.

With my back to him, I said softly, "I'm sorry."

"...Yeah, I know."

I was afraid of Kuzan. I loved Kuzan. I couldn't leave Kuzan.

Ever since I met him at the age of seven, whether we were wandering for decades or he spent nearly thirty years serving in the Marines, true to his convictions, I had naturally stayed by his side... This time would be no different.

My colleague called me a heartless person, then turned and walked away without a care. I watched his back and gave a small wave.

I hope you stay safe and happy. Goodbye.

● A cute, sweet story about everyday life in the Marines, with little in the way of a plot.

Theme: Break through your limits and keep growing.