Rising to Fame / Slash

Watching the pirate ship crumble into splinters and the bodies bob in the water, Ekrum could not help cursing aloud. Of course, he was not mourning his men.

He could always recruit more men, but their remaining treasure had sunk to the bottom of the sea under Atlas's slash, shattering his dream of retiring rich.

"Ekrum! Calm down!"

Wells, who had also survived, tried to restrain the furious Ekrum. They were the only two left of their once-mighty pirate crew, and now they did not even have anywhere to stand. Most of their bodies were submerged in the water. Fortunately, neither of them was a Devil Fruit User.

Soon, they found a fairly large piece of wreckage and managed to haul themselves out of the seawater.

Atlas hovered in the air, quietly watching them struggle. Maintaining her position with Geppo consumed a tremendous amount of stamina, but that was nothing to her seemingly bottomless reserves.

"Please, Marine, sir, could you let us go? All I want now is to retire and live comfortably."

Once Ekrum calmed down, having witnessed Atlas's terrifying strength, he immediately began groveling for mercy. Yet her keen Observation Haki still caught the murderous intent radiating from him.

"Hah! The whimpering of a beaten dog!"

Atlas scoffed, raising Sandai Kitetsu once again...

"Hey, hey! I'll go to Impel Down! I surrender!"

"Spare me! Please, arrest me and send me to Impel Down!"

"You bastard Marine! I won't let you off even if I die!"

"You goddamn Marine..."

Atlas turned a deaf ear to Ekrum's pleas and curses. After all, why argue with a dead man?

One Sword Style: Crescent Moon!

Dense Armament Haki coated Sandai Kitetsu, and a crescent-shaped slash flew from the blade.

Whoosh!

A thin line of blood slowly appeared across Ekrum's and Wells's bodies. The enormous slash continued beyond them without losing any force, cleaving the scarlet seawater in two.

A sea breeze stirred.

Their bodies suddenly split along the bloody lines at their waists. Their upper halves fell face-first onto the sea, while their lower halves remained seated on the wreckage.

From a distance, they looked like...

...beaten dogs.

Rising to Fame

Scattered wreckage floated on the sea, its blue waters tinged scarlet with blood. Mangled corpses lay everywhere, while a vulture or two occasionally circled overhead, waiting for their lunch...

Atlas surveyed the carnage around her, sweeping the battlefield with her Observation Haki again and again. She would not leave a single survivor. Evil had to be rooted out completely!

The return journey was uneventful.

After roughly a day at sea, Atlas returned to the harbor of the G-8 fortress on a crisp morning, with a gentle sea breeze against her face.

She would first visit Lieutenant Commander Drake in the Staff Office to report the details of the battle, then head to the mess hall for a hearty meal. After two days of nothing but dry rations, she felt as if she had forgotten what flavor tasted like.

"What? You wiped out the entire Ekrum Pirates by yourself?!"

Drake's roar rang out from his office in the Staff Office. He had been bracing himself for news of Atlas's death. Just yesterday, he had been complaining about how everyone was so headstrong—even Vice Admiral Jonathan had raised no objection to her mission. Instead, Atlas had returned today with a surprise.

"Oh, come on. Don't make such a fuss."

Atlas picked at her ear and spoke nonchalantly. He had only been a loser, after all, and that bounty had vastly overstated his strength. Ekrum must have committed plenty of arson, murder, and plunder.

"Come on, walk me through exactly how the battle went." Drake calmed down a little and sat back in his office chair. Suppressing his excitement, he questioned Atlas in a gentle tone.

By now, Drake fully believed Zephyr's assessment of Atlas. This was no joke—that had been a major pirate with a bounty of two hundred million, accompanied by others with bounties of their own. The young woman before him had wiped them out single-handedly. Even if she had worn them down in a prolonged battle, it was still an incredible feat.

As for suspecting Atlas of falsifying her achievements—what a joke. Did anyone think Marine intelligence sat around doing nothing? A pirate crew that large could not simply vanish into thin air. As the saying went, wherever you went, you left a trace!

"Well, about that. I went over, slashed once, then slashed again. Yep, that's it!" Atlas raised an arm and solemnly demonstrated for Drake.

"Huh?! That's all?" Drake, who had been preparing to listen to a lengthy account, was speechless. I got all worked up, and this is all you give me?

"All right, that's everything, then. I'll report to Vice Admiral Jonathan. You can go." Looking at Atlas's placid face, Drake had so many complaints that he did not know where to begin.

After leaving Drake's office, Atlas went back to her quarters for a shower before hurrying to the mess hall. Perhaps because she had arrived right at mealtime, it was bustling with people, and she had to queue for a while. Once she finally got her food and started looking for a seat...

"Holy shit, is that the kid?"

"She's so young!"

"Just what you'd expect from someone out of Marine Headquarters' Elite Training Camp!"

"She's ridiculously terrifying!"

The noisy chatter kept drifting into Atlas's ears. With her current physical abilities, she could hear even the slightest movement around her clearly without using Observation Haki, much less soldiers who were making no effort to keep their voices down.

After "eavesdropping" for a while, Atlas understood why they were talking about her. Vice Admiral Jonathan had announced her achievements throughout the fortress. She had only missed it because she paid little attention to such things. By now, she was famous across G-8.

After eating her fill, Atlas slipped out through a side door of the mess hall. She had no desire to stay there being gawked at like a monkey!

"Hey! Atlas, I was just looking for you. Vice Admiral Jonathan wants you in his office."

Not long after leaving the mess hall, Atlas ran straight into Drake. He had been wondering where to find the kid, so he quickly called out to her at this fortunate encounter.

"Yes, sir!"

Knock, knock, knock...

"Come in!"

Atlas pushed the door open at his invitation. Vice Admiral Jonathan, the base's commanding officer, was fiddling with his beloved fishing rod. Seeing her enter, he gently set it aside and rested his hands on the desk, fingers interlaced.

"Well, you certainly live up to being the monster Teacher Zephyr described! You dealt with a pirate worth two hundred million Beli with ease."

Jonathan spoke in a measured tone. He was a laid-back sort of officer, though not in Borsalino's work-shirking way. Rather, his calm came from wisdom and having everything under control. Strangely enough, a man like him was close friends with a hardliner like Sakazuki. That alone suggested this unremarkable-looking vice admiral had far more to him than met the eye.

"Just luck. Besides, that guy wasn't all he was cracked up to be," Atlas said modestly.

"Oh, don't be modest. I have a mission for you." Jonathan waved a hand. It was no laughing matter. However inflated a bounty of two hundred million Beli might be, its owner could not be underestimated. Besides, the man had come from the New World, even if he was only a pathetic failure.

"What mission?"

Hearing that there was another mission available, Atlas immediately grew serious.

"A few pirate crews have been lingering around Alabasta lately. I'd like you to go and investigate."

"Alabasta? Isn't that outside our fortress's jurisdiction?" Atlas raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it is. But the branch responsible for those waters sent us a request for assistance. I can't just sit back and ignore it."

"And..."

"This may involve the Shichibukai!" A meaningful glint crossed Jonathan's eyes, though his face remained inscrutable.

"The Shichibukai? Crocodile?" Atlas was somewhat surprised. When it came to a member of the Shichibukai connected to Alabasta, Crocodile was the first person who came to mind. She simply had not expected him to set his sights on Pluton so soon.

"Oh, how did you know? He disappeared after Whitebeard taught him a lesson. I never expected the next intelligence we received about him to place him in Alabasta."

"We don't know what he's after. Go deal with those pirate crews, and see what Crocodile is planning while you're there."

"Yes, sir. I'll get it done!"

Slash

Sea Circle Calendar, year 1505. The vice admiral's office at the Marine G-8 fortress.

Atlas had already left. Jonathan, with his wine-red hair and black, parted mustache, shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned back in his chair. In his hand was a freshly delivered report detailing Atlas's entire operation against the Ekrum Pirates!

"Not a single survivor... Just like his style..."

Jonathan stared at the closed office door, lost in thought. He did not even notice the document slipping quietly from his fingers.

After saying goodbye to Jonathan, Atlas spent several hours training hard in the base's training room, then enjoyed a good night's sleep. After all, she had to set off for Alabasta the next morning to investigate.

Of course, she would not be alone on this mission. Vice Admiral Jonathan had assigned her a warship to handle the cleanup. Although she was currently only a lieutenant, she would have temporary command of the vessel.

—The next day—

The warship departed the fortress harbor on schedule, following its course toward Alabasta. A dedicated Marine navigator naturally handled navigation. Navigators were scarce at sea because people in this pirate world generally received little education; few could even read.

The Marines, however, had schools with a complete education system. Soldiers who lacked physical aptitude were trained for administrative roles instead. That was why the Marines were unquestionably the strongest force on the seas.

"Ah, it's so much nicer having someone else sail the ship!" Atlas stretched, recalling her days drifting across the sea alone. Never mind the poor food—she had not even had anyone to talk to and relieve the boredom.

"Aide-de-camp, how much longer until we reach Alabasta?" Jonathan had personally assigned this aide to her. Like Atlas, he was a lieutenant. She found G-8's hierarchy rather baffling: its commander was Vice Admiral Jonathan, yet its second-in-command was merely a lieutenant commander—Drake, of course.

Atlas even suspected Jonathan had deliberately promoted Drake to second-in-command so he could slack off. That way, Drake could handle the mountain of official business while Jonathan enjoyed fishing at his leisure.

"Captain! We're approximately three days from Alabasta!" The aide estimated the journey time and gave Atlas a middle-of-the-road figure.

Captain—yes, that was Atlas's temporary position.

"All right, I'll be in the training room for a while. Keep an eye on things aboard the ship, and call me if anything happens!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

That evening, Atlas timed her exit from the training room perfectly for dinner.

Suddenly, the ship beneath her feet began rocking violently. The severe pitching shook everyone aboard, drawing startled cries from many of the Marines.

"What's going on?" Forgetting dinner, Atlas immediately jogged onto the deck to investigate.

"Captain! We're under attack by a Sea King!" Seeing that Atlas had finished training, the aide hurried to report.

A red gleam flashed through Atlas's eyes. She activated her Observation Haki!

In her perception, an enormous shape swam back and forth beneath the dark sea. Surging waves churned, rocking the warship endlessly with their motion!

Splash!

Suddenly, like a shark scenting blood, the Sea King lurking beneath the surface lunged at Atlas's ship!

Under the warship's powerful searchlights, Atlas finally got a clear look at their attacker.

The Sea King looked somewhat like a tiger-headed fish, its body covered in tiger stripes. Savage frenzy gleamed in its narrow eyes. Sharp teeth lined its gaping, blood-red maw, and an overwhelming rotten stench washed over them.

"Damn it!" Despair crept into the aide's eyes. "It's at least nine hundred meters long—almost as big as some of the medium-sized Sea Kings in the Calm Belt. With this ship's equipment, we can't possibly stand against it. All we can do..."

"All we can do is fight to the death." The aide turned to Atlas beside him. "Ma'am! Please order an immediate evacuation. We have a few lifeboats aboard. We'll do our best to hold this monster off and buy the others time to escape..."

Before he could finish rambling, Atlas had already used Geppo to soar into the air. Meeting the giant Sea King at eye level, she grinned.

"Just your bad luck, big guy!"

The aide's eyes widened. He dug at his ears, wondering whether he had misunderstood Atlas. Weren't they the unlucky ones? Why did the captain make it sound as if the Sea King was the unfortunate one?

Before the aide could recover, Atlas had drawn Sandai Kitetsu. Black-and-red Armament Haki rapidly spread over her arm and blade. Armament Haki Infusion!

Atlas had mastered infusion long ago. Unlike emission, infusion was something just about anyone could master once they awakened their Armament Haki and learned to use it proficiently.

One Sword Style: Dragon Tail!

She swept her blade horizontally, sending a blood-red slash tearing through the night and across the Sea King's gaping maw.

Sshhk!

An indescribably keen edge nearly severed the Sea King's lower jaw! Blood rained down, staining the deep seawater with an eerie red sheen...

Roar!

Maddened by pain, the enormous creature thrashed even more violently. Huge waves surged, threatening to overturn the entire warship.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Atlas held nothing back. She gripped her sword with both hands, her muscles swelling. Her biceps and triceps rapidly expanded, and her thick forearm muscles looked as though they had been cast from steel, every muscle fiber sharply defined. Dense Armament Haki wound around them.

One Sword Style: Martial God Arm: Starfall!

Scattered slashes fell like meteors, crashing into the Tiger-Striped Sea King with tremendous force. In moments, his enormous body was covered in wounds and torn flesh. He let out a desperate roar, but the massive blood loss finally claimed his life, leaving him floating slowly on the surface...

Aboard the warship, over a hundred soldiers gradually let out sighs of relief at the sight. The crisis was over!

Clang!