At Roger's Execution, I Became a Pirate

Shuzo looked around at the interest stirring on everyone's faces and continued, "Of course, don't think you can come here just to pad your record. There's an assessment at the end of every year. Anyone who fails will have their graduation delayed by a year, and you only get one extension. There's a graduation assessment too. I hope I'll still see all of you here when that time comes."

"Good. Since no one objects, let's begin today's first training session: physical conditioning. Everyone, loosen up where you stand. You have ten minutes to warm up."

After his speech, Shuzo went off to the side and whispered with Zephyr about something. Atlas was curious, but she didn't dare use Observation Haki to eavesdrop. She stayed put and began warming up.

Truthfully, Atlas wasn't looking forward to the physical conditioning. She normally trained with weights, but she hadn't brought them today because of the address to the recruits. She figured she could just run a few laps and call it done.

"All right, everyone! Fifty laps around the Training Ground today. You can eat when you're finished!"

No one complained. The recruits quietly headed for the track, Atlas and the others among them. Every recruit was eager to stand out. If Instructor Zephyr took an interest and gave them special training, wouldn't that send them straight to the top?

Atlas had no intention of holding back, either. She had nothing to hide. The sooner she showed her talent and strength, the sooner she would be given opportunities.

Atlas's physique was unmatched in the entire camp. The others felt a gust of wind sweep past them, and within minutes, she had left them far behind in lap count.

"Holy crap! Where did that monster come from?"

"Atlas really is amazing. Looks like I need to work even harder."

That was Smoker.

"That's our boss for you. I, Grus, sure picked the right person to follow."

That was the shameless Grus. Ever since Atlas had taught him a lesson, he had latched on to her and refused to go away.

"Atlas? Don't worry, Little Rice Cake. She's definitely not from Cipher Pol. That kid has the potential to become an Admiral..."

In the darkness, a Den Den Mushi with frog glasses and a braided beard on its chin spoke in an easy tone.

"Atlas really is incredible."

Recalling Sengoku's assessment of Atlas the night before, Rosinante couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

The Test

At the Recruit Training Camp in Marineford.

A few stars dotted the deep night sky. A cool breeze brushed across Atlas's lean, powerful frame as she did extra training on the Training Ground after dinner. Thinking back on that morning's group training, though, made her head ache...

She had gone all out to finish the conditioning early, pushing her speed to its limit. She had completed the task in a third of the time it took everyone else.

Instructor Zephyr, however, apparently had no intention of letting her off so easily. He made her repeat the training with added weights, leaving her utterly exhausted.

Zephyr had adjusted the weight with almost perfect precision to match the limit of Atlas's current endurance. It gave her a headache, but it also excited her. She was certain her strength would soar by the time she left the training camp.

"Phew..."

After finishing her last exercise, Atlas turned toward the dormitory. A shower would wash away the day's fatigue.

What she didn't know was that Zephyr stood at the window of a brightly lit building in the distance, silently watching her leave. He had been there for hours, and she hadn't noticed him at all.

"What a hardworking kid..."

Atlas dragged her weary body into the dormitory and found the other three already settled inside.

"Boss, you're finally back! I got hot water ready for you. Go on, have a good hot shower."

Grus wore the proud look of someone delighted to wait on her.

"You already got hot water for me? Just what I needed. Thanks, Grus." Atlas had grown used to his behavior and accepted the kindness without hesitation.

"It's nothing. If you want, boss, I can get water for you every day."

Grus sounded so pleased by Atlas's approval that he could barely contain himself. Smoker and Rosinante both shuddered.

This guy...

He doesn't have some strange fetish, does he?

"Well, sorry to put you to the trouble from now on, Grus."

Atlas smiled, unbothered.

"Then I'll be counting on you to look out for me, boss. I asked around, and there are about a hundred and sixty recruits in our class.

"Another thirty or so were held back from last year. And from what I've heard, our class has three monster recruits..." Grus glanced meaningfully at the others, then spoke with growing excitement.

"But I'll tell you after you've had your shower, boss."

Grus just had to leave them hanging at the crucial moment. Smoker and Rosinante were nearly beside themselves with impatience.

"Enough nonsense. Spit it out!" Atlas gave his big head a casual thump.

"Heh. Two of those three monsters live right here in our dorm, and you're at the top of the list, boss." Grus glanced at Smoker.

"Huh? Me? Are you sure they didn't get it wrong?" Atlas had beaten Smoker so often that his confidence had nearly vanished. He hadn't expected to be named alongside her.

"So who's the third?" Smoker asked, curious.

"You don't know? The third is a woman. Apparently, she's a Devil Fruit User too, though I couldn't find out what her power is. I did learn her name." A lecherous grin spread across Grus's face.

"Hina, right?" For some reason, the name suddenly came to Smoker.

"Huh? How did you know?" Grus was plainly surprised. He had spent ages digging up that information, yet Smoker had known it first.

"Didn't I tell you I fought a user of the Paramecia Cage-Cage Fruit? Her name was Hina." Smoker was surprised too. What a coincidence.

"Still, I say the boss is the strongest recruit. She's the real monster." Grus had heard from Smoker that Atlas could overpower a Logia user like him through physical strength alone.

"Mm-hmm!"

Smoker and Rosinante nodded in wholehearted agreement.

"All right, you brats. Get some sleep. The entrance test is tomorrow."

Atlas cut off their gossip at just the right moment. If they kept talking, who knew when they would finally get to sleep?

The others in the dormitory had grown used to Atlas sounding like an old veteran. In the world of the Pirate King, the strong tended to have their quirks.

The night passed quietly...

The Training Ground at the Recruit Training Camp.

Before dawn, recruits had already formed long lines on the Training Ground. It wasn't that they were particularly diligent; yesterday's explanation of how they could be eliminated had scared them into arriving early.

Atlas had just finished her morning training. She came over and quietly took her place from the day before.

Her arrival caused a stir in the crowd.

After all, the figure who had left everyone in the dust during yesterday's conditioning had made quite an impression.

Word had also spread through the Recruit Camp that Atlas ranked first among its three monster recruits.

When it was time for the test, Zephyr and Shuzo arrived on schedule. A machine roughly four meters tall and three meters wide was brought in and set down securely beside them.

"Good. Looks like no one is late today. For this test, we'll use a machine the World Government's Science Division has introduced on a trial basis. The number it measures is called your Doriki Value!"

"Of course, Doriki Value is only a snapshot of your physical capabilities. It doesn't determine your fighting strength. Many things affect combat, including your state of mind and willpower on the battlefield."

Shuzo explained as the recruits looked on curiously.

Then he picked up the list in his hand and began calling them to the machine one by one.

"Grus!"

Grus was surprised to be called first, but he quickly stepped out of line and went forward.

"Hit the machine with your strongest attack. Martial arts or swordsmanship, either is fine."

After explaining, Shuzo moved aside.

Bang! Grus drove his fist into the testing machine with all his might.

Doriki Value: 550!

A cold synthesized voice came from the machine.

"Next! Kirkland!"

Shuzo continued reading names. His expression gave nothing away about whether Grus's result was good or bad.

Bugra! Doriki Value: 230!

Berenguer! Doriki Value: 180!

"Smoker!"

Doriki Value: 800!

The recruits drew sharp breaths. After several rounds of testing, they had a rough sense of what the numbers meant.

A Doriki Value above 520 marked someone who had truly surpassed the limits of an ordinary human. Smoker's 800 stunned them, especially since he was also a Logia Devil Fruit User.

Doriki Value

"Hina!"

Doriki Value: 750!

Another powerhouse! The recruits were almost numb to it. Most of them scored around 300, and only a handful of exceptional recruits had exceeded 500. Seeing Hina score so much higher left them a little dispirited.

"Hina isn't happy!" Hina muttered when she saw that her score fell short of Smoker's. She shot him a glance in the line, then returned to her place.

Why's she looking at me? Is she trying to pick a fight? Smoker wondered gloomily when he caught her displeased glance.

"Next! Kanos Atlas!"

At the name, the recruits, who had begun to grow bored, perked up. Even Zephyr turned his attention toward her.

Atlas walked forward calmly and took a deep breath. Her toes gripped the ground, her body sank, and she unleashed a sudden burst of strength!

"Iron Body: Shatter—Bird Thorn!"

With a shout, Atlas combined a move derived from Iron Body with a vicious thrusting punch that slammed into the machine!

Doriki Value: 5000!!!

Boom!!!

The moment the cold synthesized voice announced Atlas's result, the crowd erupted. Even Zephyr was stunned for an instant. The recruits might have expected her score to be a little higher than the other two so-called monsters', but not by this much!

Five thousand Doriki. Atlas's actual fighting strength might be even greater than that number suggested!

Atlas herself remained calm. The result was what she had expected. After all, she was also a Steel-Cutting Swordsman!

"All right! Quiet down! Next!" Shuzo was shocked too, but he stepped in to stop the discussion and carried on with the test.

Marine Headquarters, the Admiral's office.

Beneath a plaque proclaiming justice's dominion over all, Sengoku sat buried in paperwork behind his frog glasses, occasionally tossing discarded documents to Goat to deal with.

He suddenly paused and examined the document in his hand. Then he passed it to Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him.

"Tsuru, take a look at this."

Vice Admiral Tsuru accepted the document with a puzzled look, then laughed in surprise. "We were right about this kid. A Doriki Value of 5,000. What a terrifying youngster."

After the recruit testing ended, Shuzo announced that those with Doriki Values below 500 would first undergo basic physical conditioning. Those above 500 would begin specialized martial arts training with him the next day. Fortunately, everyone in Atlas's dormitory had passed. Even Rosinante, who looked rather thin, had scored 520—just enough to qualify.

"You're Atlas, right? Hina wants to meet you."

After dismissal, Atlas was about to head to the cafeteria with Smoker and the others when a young woman blocked their path. She had long, pale-pink hair parted down the middle and wore purple-lensed sunglasses.

"Oh. Hello, I'm Atlas."

Atlas paused in surprise, then answered.

"Hina wants to spar with you. Smoker's been telling me how strong you are."