In One Piece, Starting by Watching Roger's Execution

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

Atlas swept his disdainful gaze across the crowd and continued.

"Take our Marines, for example. Marine Hero Vice Admiral Garp repeatedly forced Pirate King Roger into desperate situations through nothing but physical techniques. And former Marine Admiral Zephyr was the youngest admiral in Marine history. He was known as 'Black Arm,' and he, too, made his name across the seas through physical techniques!"

"As for the three monstrous vice admirals of the Marines today, you and Smoker are both Logia Devil Fruit Users, and yours are among the strongest Logia types. But even Vice Admiral Kizaru, who doesn't place much importance on physical techniques, is a great swordsman! His physique is at the level of a monster as well!"

Atlas cast an inconspicuous glance at Smoker. After all, more than a decade later, Smoker would be considered the leader of his generation. Because he was a Logia user, the Marines had always regarded him as a successor to the rank of admiral. But in Atlas's eyes, Smoker was still far from reaching that level.

"Besides, setting those experts aside, using a Devil Fruit consumes stamina. If your physique is weak, you'll end up like Smoker, panting heavily after using your powers for only a short while. How will you be able to carry out your justice?"

"That's right. The little brat Atlas is correct. Your physique is the foundation of everything, whether you're a Devil Fruit User, a martial artist, or a swordsman."

Colonel Randall, who had been watching the show from the side, finally spoke. Randall's judgment was undoubtedly sharp. He had actually realized long ago that Smoker was on the wrong path and had wanted to warn him. Unfortunately, he didn't know Armament Haki. He couldn't beat Smoker, so how could he teach him? In the end, the matter had simply been abandoned.

Until Atlas returned...

"All right, stop standing around here watching. Smoker, go back and reflect on this properly!"

Randall spoke up and drove away the onlookers. Atlas also left the training grounds and headed to the cafeteria, leaving Smoker alone where he stood, his expression constantly changing. Randall didn't care much, though. Smoker was a talented Marine. Although he was a little inferior to Atlas, he wasn't the sort of person who would obsess over a dead end, so Randall let him be...

Thinking of Atlas, Randall subconsciously glanced at the crater on the ground and couldn't help sighing with emotion.

What a terrifying brat!

Atlas had already arrived at the base cafeteria. He hadn't eaten food cooked by Uncle Carl in a long time.

"Uncle Carl, bring me a five-person serving to whet my appetite!"

After taking his seat, Atlas shouted loudly toward Carl, who was busy in the kitchen.

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

When Carl saw Atlas, he couldn't help scolding him with a laugh.

But Atlas clearly sensed that Carl looked much more relaxed, as if something that had been weighing on his heart had vanished in an instant...

Chapter 23: Fifty Skillful Grade Swords! Yubashiri

--Three months later--

East Blue, Loguetown Marine Colonel's Office.

"Bang!"

The violent sound of the door opening startled Colonel Randall, who had been writing at his desk. He looked up to see Atlas, and immediately became furious.

"Brat, this is the third door you've broken this month!"

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

Atlas still wore his usual grinning expression as he spoke casually.

Randall could do nothing about the brat. He took several wanted posters from his desk and flung them hard at Atlas.

"All right, all right. Next time, open the door more gently, and knock first! This is your mission: the Horton Pirates, whose entire crew has a total bounty of thirty million Beli, and the Blood Hand Pirates, whose bounty is thirty-five million Beli. Leave a few of them alive if you can."

After returning, Atlas had been constantly hunting pirates. With his current strength, the pirates of the East Blue were truly no match for him. Atlas never refused Randall's missions, either. He was saving money to buy a Famous Sword anyway, so he might as well earn some bonuses.

"The next round of recruit training begins in a few months. When the time comes, go to Headquarters with Smoker. Train hard during this period, and don't disgrace our Loguetown base."

Randall looked at Atlas, who was casually flipping through the wanted posters, and spoke earnestly.

"Sure, I know. But could you give me missions with a little more difficulty? Aside from the captains having some strength, the rest of these two pirate crews are all complete weaklings."

Atlas put down the wanted posters and spoke with slight dissatisfaction.

"You should be satisfied. I gave you the toughest bones to chew. There's nothing I can do—the pirates of the East Blue are simply at this level."

Randall was helpless as well. Atlas's strength had grown too quickly, and the pirates of the East Blue could no longer temper him.

"All right, then I'll go deal with them first!" Atlas had always been decisive and never dragged his feet.

"Get lost, brat!"

Atlas had just returned from completing his mission and was standing at the harbor with a bloodstained sack in his hand. Faintly, the outline of a human face could be seen within...

"Yo! Atlas, back from another mission?"

"How did it go, Atlas? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"What are you talking about? Lieutenant Atlas is the strongest person at the base. How could mere pirates possibly hurt him?"

People who knew Atlas greeted him one after another along the way. Atlas smiled, nodded, and responded to each of them. It couldn't be helped. Being too popular was such a nuisance.

After reporting to Randall and handing over the bounties, Atlas looked at the thick stack of bills in his hand and grinned from ear to ear...

On Loguetown's commercial street, a tall young Marine officer entered a weapons shop. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. The moment he saw Atlas enter, he hurried over enthusiastically.

"Welcome to our shop. How may I help you?"

Atlas looked around the shop. In the end, his gaze settled on the shopkeeper, and he paused before saying, "I want to buy a better sword. Preferably a Fifty Skillful Grade Sword."

The middle-aged shopkeeper gave an awkward laugh. "You must be joking, sir. We run a small business. How could we possibly have a sword of Skillful Grade?"

Atlas immediately looked disappointed. Ordinary swords simply couldn't withstand the abuse he put them through.

He clearly remembered that Zoro had obtained two Famous Swords in Loguetown in the anime!

Unfortunately, Atlas had forgotten the name of the shop. He only remembered that the owner claimed it was a two-hundred-year-old store. Thus, Atlas could only search from shop to shop. Perhaps he would get lucky and stumble upon it.

--Several hours later--

Atlas looked at the weapons shop before him. It had no name, only two crossed swords serving as its signboard.

But he no longer held out much hope. This was already the tenth old shop he had searched. He had found nothing before this, and weapons of Skillful Grade were simply too rare. Zoro had only kept encountering Famous Swords because he had the protagonist's aura.

Atlas walked straight into the weapons shop. Facing him was a man with a nearly bald head, only a few strands of hair clinging stubbornly to life. His sideburns resembled Zhong Kui's, and he had a bulbous, wine-red nose. He was a... young man. Probably a young man, anyway. Atlas wasn't entirely sure.

The shopkeeper looked at Atlas and revealed a flattering smile. "Welcome! Take your time looking around and choosing something. We're a two-hundred-year-old shop!"

Atlas was stunned. He had found it. So this shopkeeper told everyone it was a two-hundred-year-old store.

"Boss, do you have any swords of Skillful Grade? Money isn't a problem."

Atlas recited the line he had said countless times.

"Ah!? Are you Lieutenant Kanos?"

The shopkeeper seemed to know Atlas and even looked like one of his admirers.

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

Atlas was somewhat dumbfounded, but he also felt reassured. He had originally been worried that the shopkeeper wouldn't sell him the store's treasure.

"Then, does your shop have any swords of Skillful Grade?"

Atlas was afraid the shopkeeper had been too excited to hear him, so he asked again.

"Yes, yes, we do!"

The shopkeeper nodded like a woodpecker, afraid that if he responded even a moment too late, Atlas would disappear before his eyes. He then turned and ran upstairs, returning breathlessly with a long case, which he presented to Atlas like a treasured prize.

"This is our store's prized treasure, the Skillful Grade Sword Yubashiri. The blade is a black-lacquered tachi, and its edge is a wavy small choji. It's the finest sword in our shop."

The shopkeeper introduced it with a serious expression.

"How much?"

Atlas asked.

"Nothing. You, Lieutenant Kanos, are the person I admire most. When a man entrusts his dream to another man, how could I ask for money?"

The shopkeeper spoke like an obsessed fan.

"No. As a Marine, I must pay. That's my principle."

Atlas refused firmly, looking as though he would not accept the sword if the shopkeeper would not take his money.

"Then... how about giving me an autograph as payment, Lieutenant Kanos?"

The shopkeeper was troubled, but eventually came up with this compromise.

Suddenly, Atlas seemed to think of something. He stood and walked toward several barrels in the corner that were stuffed full of swords. Atlas vaguely remembered that Zoro had found Sandai Kitetsu in a pile of junk.

"Huh? Lord Kanos, those barrels are filled with fifty-thousand-Beli swords."

The shopkeeper looked nervous, thinking he had said something wrong.

Atlas waved his hand, indicating that the shopkeeper shouldn't be nervous. Then a red gleam flashed in his eyes as he activated Observation Haki!

An eerie aura appeared within his perception. Atlas casually reached out and grabbed, and a long sword with a red scabbard appeared in his hand...

But the shopkeeper's expression suddenly became extremely ugly...

Chapter 24: Cursed Sword! Sandai Kitetsu

Atlas examined the sword in his hand from top to bottom. In appearance, it looked no different from an ordinary sword. But through Atlas's Observation Haki, the entire sword emanated an eerie aura...

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

The shopkeeper, whose face had already darkened frighteningly, saw the satisfied look on Atlas's face and hurriedly shouted to stop him.

"This sword is called Sandai Kitetsu. Its predecessor, Nidai Kitetsu, was a Great Grade Sword, while the original Shodai Kitetsu was a Supreme Grade Sword. But..."

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

Atlas picked up the thread before the shopkeeper could finish, his expression calm.

"Hmm? You know?" The shopkeeper was clearly surprised.

"Yes. I felt it." Atlas looked at the Sandai Kitetsu in his hand.

"Starting with Shodai Kitetsu, every sword of the Kitetsu School has been exceptionally fine. But every one of them is a cursed sword. Many great swordsmen died unnatural deaths after wearing those Kitetsu. By now, there isn't a single swordsman in the world who uses a Kitetsu, because even if someone uses one without knowing its nature, they disappear from this world."

"If I sold this sword to you, I would be harming you."

The shopkeeper was anxious, sweat even covering his forehead. He was afraid Atlas would lose his senses and insist on taking the cursed sword.

Atlas merely smiled confidently. "Every sword has its own personality. Weak swordsmen who lack the strength and spirit to wield certain swords become afraid of them and make excuses by claiming they're afraid of being cursed. Those swords are then called 'cursed swords.'"

Koshiro had told Atlas this. Apparently, Koshiro's father had told him the same thing.

"Hahahahaha! I intend to become the strongest man in the world. I'll use this cursed sword to test my own measure."

Atlas threw his head back and laughed. A fearsome aura suddenly erupted from him!

The shopkeeper was utterly shaken. So this was the spirit of a true strongman!

In the end, Atlas left the weapons shop completely satisfied, a long sword with a red scabbard hanging at his waist. It was Sandai Kitetsu!

After the shopkeeper repeatedly pleaded with him, Atlas ultimately did not take Yubashiri. He also quietly left all the money he had on him behind. Before leaving, he said meaningfully to the shopkeeper, "Yubashiri will wait for its true owner."

Besides, Atlas wasn't a Two-Sword Style swordsman. Taking one Famous Sword was enough. Moreover, he liked the domineering nature of Sandai Kitetsu. It suited his tastes perfectly.

The sea was all-encompassing. It always swallowed everything beautiful and ugly in silence, but it was equally cruel...

Under the bright sunlight, the seawater reflected a field of golden light. The waves leaped unpredictably like a mischievous child.

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

Maintaining a sword was extremely important, especially a Famous Sword. Sandai Kitetsu was Atlas's first sword in the true sense, so he cherished it greatly.

But weapons also had to drink blood, especially cursed swords. Today, Atlas had brought Sandai Kitetsu to taste blood!

"Reporting, Lieutenant Colonel Atlas! We've arrived near the waters where the Garfield Pirates operate. We'll encounter them soon!"

One of Atlas's subordinates reported. As it happened, Headquarters' appointment had arrived in Loguetown. Atlas had already been appointed a lieutenant colonel of the base.

"Very good. Keep moving forward!"

Atlas replied, then continued maintaining his beloved sword.

Soon, the warship sailed for another ten minutes, and its speed gradually slowed.

"Reporting, Lieutenant Colonel! We've spotted the Garfield Pirates ahead!"