Fifty Skillful Grade Swords! Yubashiri / Cursed Sword! Sandai Kitetsu

"Even the Tremor-Tremor Fruit of the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, is called the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit because its user is Whitebeard, not some random nobody! Whitebeard made the Tremor-Tremor Fruit what it is, not the other way around."

Atlas swept a haughty gaze over the crowd and continued.

"And look at our Marines. Vice Admiral Garp the Hero drove Pirate King Roger into a corner time and again with hand-to-hand combat alone. Former Marine Admiral Zephyr was the youngest admiral in Marine history. They call him 'Black Arm,' and he, too, made his name across the seas through hand-to-hand combat!"

"As for the Marines' current three monster vice admirals, they're Logia Devil Fruit users like you, Smoker—and top-tier Logias at that. But even Vice Admiral Kizaru, who doesn't pay much attention to hand-to-hand combat, is a master swordsman! His physique is just as monstrous!"

Atlas cast a discreet glance at Smoker. A dozen or so years from now, he would be a leading figure among his peers. His Logia powers had also long made him a prospective admiral in the Marines' eyes, but Atlas thought he was still far short of that level.

"And even setting those powerhouses aside, using a Devil Fruit consumes stamina. If your body is weak, and you end up panting after using your powers for a little while like Smoker, how are you supposed to uphold your justice?"

"That's right. The kid has a point. Your physique is the foundation of everything, whether you're a Devil Fruit user, a hand-to-hand fighter, or a swordsman."

Colonel Randall, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally spoke. He certainly had a keen eye. In fact, he had realized long ago that Smoker had gone astray and had wanted to warn him. The awkward part was... he couldn't use Armament Haki! He couldn't beat Smoker at all, so how could he teach him a lesson? In the end, the matter had simply been dropped.

Until Atlas came back...

"All right, stop standing around gawking. Smoker, go back and give this some serious thought!"

Randall shooed away the spectators, and Atlas left the training ground for the mess hall. Smoker remained alone, his expression shifting. Randall wasn't concerned. Smoker was a very talented Marine, even if he fell a little short of Atlas, and he wasn't the sort to get stuck in a rut. He could work it out himself...

Thinking of Atlas, Randall instinctively glanced at the crater in the ground, his heart swelling with emotion.

What a terrifying kid!

Meanwhile, Atlas had reached the base mess hall. It had been a long time since she'd tasted Auntie Carl's cooking.

"Auntie Carl, give me five portions to whet my appetite!"

After taking a seat, Atlas called loudly to Carl, who was busy in the kitchen.

"So it's you, brat! Haven't seen you in ages. I thought you'd died out there."

Seeing Atlas, Carl couldn't help laughing as she scolded her.

But Atlas could clearly see the relief on Carl's face, as though a weight on her heart had vanished in an instant...

One of the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords! Yubashiri

—Three months later—

The Marine colonel's office in Loguetown, East Blue.

Bang!

The violent crash of the door startled Colonel Randall, who had been writing furiously at his desk. He looked up to find Atlas, and his temper flared.

"You little brat! That's the third door you've broken this month!"

"Relax, relax. Just get logistics to reimburse you later."

Atlas spoke casually, still grinning.

Helpless against her antics, Randall grabbed several wanted posters from his desk and flung them at her.

"All right, all right. Be gentler with the door next time, and remember to knock! Here's your assignment: the Horton Pirates, with a combined bounty of thirty million Beli, and the Blood Hand Pirates, with thirty-five million. At least leave a few alive."

Atlas had been hunting pirates ever since her return. With her current strength, the pirates of the East Blue were hardly worth mentioning. She accepted every assignment Randall offered. She was saving up for a famous sword anyway, so she might as well earn some bonuses.

"The next intake at the Recruit Training Camp begins in a few months. You'll head to Marine Headquarters with Smoker then. Train hard until that time, and don't embarrass our Loguetown Base."

Randall spoke earnestly as Atlas idly flipped through the wanted posters.

"Yeah, I get it. But could you give me something a little harder? Other than their captains, who have a bit of strength, these two crews are nothing but a bunch of misfits."

Atlas put down the wanted posters, sounding somewhat dissatisfied.

"Count your blessings, brat. I've already given you the toughest nuts to crack. There's nothing I can do. That's just the level of pirates in the East Blue."

Randall sounded helpless too. Atlas was growing stronger so quickly that the pirates of the East Blue no longer offered her any meaningful training.

"Fine, I'll go take care of them!" Atlas had always been decisive, never dragging her feet.

"Get lost, you little brat!"

Atlas stood at the harbor, having just returned from her assignment. A blood-soaked burlap sack hung from her hand, with the faint outlines of faces visible through it...

"Hey, Atlas! Back from your assignment?"

"How'd it go, Atlas? You're not hurt, are you?"

"What are you talking about? Lieutenant Atlas is the strongest person on base. How could a bunch of pirates hurt her?"

People who knew Atlas greeted her along the way, and she smiled and nodded to each of them. There was no helping it—being this popular was such a nuisance.

After reporting to Randall and handling the bounty handover, Atlas gazed at the thick wad of cash in her hand and broke into a broad, satisfied grin...

On Loguetown's shopping street, a tall young female Marine officer entered a weapons shop. The owner was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. Seeing Atlas enter, he immediately came forward with a warm welcome.

"Welcome! How may I help you?"

Atlas looked around before settling her gaze on the owner. After a pause, she said, "I'd like a decent sword, preferably one of the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords."

The middle-aged owner gave an awkward smile. "You must be joking, miss. This is a small business. How could we have skillful grade swords?"

Atlas was instantly disappointed. Ordinary swords simply couldn't withstand the punishment she put them through.

She distinctly remembered Zoro obtaining two famous swords in Loguetown in the anime!

But Atlas had forgotten the shop's name. All she remembered was the owner claiming it had been in business for two hundred years. She could only search one shop at a time. Perhaps she'd get lucky and stumble upon it.

—Several hours later—

Atlas looked at the weapons shop before her. It had no name, only a pair of crossed swords for a sign.

By now, however, she'd given up hope. This was the tenth old shop she'd visited, and she had found nothing in the others. Skillful grade weapons were simply too rare. Only someone with Zoro's protagonist halo could keep running into famous swords.

She walked straight inside and came face-to-face with a... young man whose head was already half bald, with a few lonely hairs stubbornly hanging on, sideburns vaguely reminiscent of Zhong Kui, and a bulbous red nose. He was probably young. Atlas wasn't entirely sure.

The owner looked at Atlas with an ingratiating smile. "Welcome! Take your time and browse. We've been in business for two hundred years."

Atlas froze for a moment. Found it. So he tells everyone about those two hundred years.

"Do you have any skillful grade swords? Money isn't an issue."

Atlas repeated the line she'd delivered countless times.

"Huh?! Are you Lieutenant Kanos?"

The owner seemed to recognize Atlas. He even appeared to be an admirer of hers.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'm Atlas."

Atlas didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she felt reassured. She had been worried the owner might refuse to sell her his shop's prized treasure.

"So, do you have any skillful grade swords?"

Worried he had been too excited to hear her, Atlas asked again.

"Yes! Yes, I do!"

The owner nodded furiously, as though afraid Atlas might vanish if he answered a moment too late. Then he ran upstairs and returned breathless with a long case, presenting it to her like a precious treasure.

"This is our shop's prized treasure, the skillful grade sword Yubashiri. It has black-lacquered tachi fittings and an irregular small-clove temper pattern. It's the finest sword in the shop."

The owner made his introduction solemnly.

"How much?"

Atlas asked.

"Nothing! Lieutenant Kanos, you're the person I admire most. What kind of woman would I be charging when I'm entrusting my dreams to her?"

The owner spoke with the adoration of a devoted fan.

"No. As a Marine, I insist on paying. It's a matter of principle."

Atlas was firm, making it clear she wouldn't accept the sword unless he accepted payment.

"Then... could you give me your autograph as payment, Lieutenant Kanos?"

Troubled, the owner finally came up with a compromise.

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to Atlas. She rose and walked toward some barrels stuffed with swords in a corner. She vaguely remembered Zoro finding Sandai Kitetsu in a pile of junk.

"Huh? Lady Kanos, those barrels only contain swords worth fifty thousand Beli."

The owner looked nervous, wondering whether he'd said something wrong.

Atlas waved a hand to reassure him. A red gleam flashed in her eyes as she activated Observation Haki!

An eerie presence entered her awareness. She reached out, and a long sword with a red scabbard appeared in her hand...

But the owner's expression had turned decidedly ugly...

A Cursed Sword! Sandai Kitetsu

Atlas examined the sword in her hand. It looked no different from an ordinary blade, but to her Observation Haki, the entire weapon radiated an eerie presence...

"No! Lieutenant Kanos, you can't have that sword!"

Seeing Atlas's satisfied expression, the shopkeeper, whose face had grown frighteningly grim, couldn't help shouting to stop her.

"That sword is called Sandai Kitetsu. Its predecessor, Nidai Kitetsu, is a great grade sword, and the original, Shodai Kitetsu, is a Supreme Grade Sword. But..."

"But it's a cursed sword, right?"

Atlas calmly finished his sentence before he could continue.

"Hm? You knew?" The shopkeeper was clearly surprised.

"Yes. I could feel it," Atlas said, looking at Sandai Kitetsu in her hand.

"Starting with Shodai Kitetsu, the swords of the Kitetsu School have all been exceptional. But every last one is cursed. Many swordsmen have met untimely deaths after carrying a Kitetsu. These days, not a single swordsman in the world uses one. Even those who wield one without knowing its nature vanish from this world."

"If I sell you this sword, I'll be sending you to your death."

The owner was frantic, sweat beading across his forehead. He was terrified Atlas would do something reckless and take the cursed sword.

Atlas merely smiled confidently. "Every sword has its own personality. Weak swordsmen who lack strength and spirit grow afraid of blades they cannot master. They make excuses about fearing curses, and those blades end up being called 'cursed swords.'"

Koshiro had told Atlas this. Apparently, he'd heard it from his own father.

"Hahahaha! I'm going to become the strongest woman in the world. I'll use this cursed sword to test what I'm made of!"

Atlas laughed, and an imposing aura erupted from her!

The shopkeeper was utterly awestruck. So this is the spirit of the truly strong!

In the end, Atlas left the weapons shop thoroughly satisfied, a long sword with a red scabbard hanging at her hip—Sandai Kitetsu!

After the owner's repeated pleas, Atlas ultimately left Yubashiri behind, though she secretly left all her money as well. Before departing, she gave him a meaningful remark. "Yubashiri will find its true master."

Atlas wasn't a Two-Sword Style swordswoman anyway. One famous sword was enough, and she liked Sandai Kitetsu's domineering nature. It suited her perfectly.

The sea embraced everything, silently swallowing beauty and ugliness alike. Yet she was equally merciless...

Under the brilliant sunlight, the water shimmered gold, its waves leaping restlessly like a mischievous child.

A Marine warship sailed steadily across the sea. Atlas sat cross-legged on its deck, carefully cleaning Sandai Kitetsu with a cotton ball.

Maintaining a sword was extremely important, especially a famous sword. Sandai Kitetsu was Atlas's first true blade, so she treated it with great care.

But weapons needed to taste blood too, especially cursed swords. And today, Atlas had brought Sandai Kitetsu out to draw blood!

"Reporting, Lieutenant Commander Atlas! We're nearing the waters where the Garfield Pirates operate. We'll encounter them shortly!"

One of Atlas's subordinates delivered the report. Headquarters' appointment had reached Loguetown, and Atlas had now been promoted to lieutenant commander at the base.

"Good. Keep moving!"

Atlas answered, then returned to tending her beloved sword.

After another ten or so minutes of sailing, the warship gradually slowed.

"Reporting, Lieutenant Commander! Garfield Pirates sighted ahead!"