Watching Roger's Execution at the Start of My Pirate Life

Atlas knew a little about Oven. He was one of the strongest members of the Charlotte Family, a Paramecia Devil Fruit User with the Heat-Heat Fruit, and the only one of Big Mom's children to inherit part of her terrifying physical gifts.

His bounty when he first appeared was 300 million Beli, but his strength far exceeded that figure. Atlas hadn't checked his current bounty, though he doubted it was low.

"When did the Marines get another user of Conqueror's Haki?"

Oven was surprised. As far as he knew, Sengoku was the only Marine who had Conqueror's Haki. And judging by its intensity just now, this Marine's Haki was formidable—not the feeble power of someone who had only just awakened it.

"Conqueror's Haki doesn't belong to pirates alone. I believe in the strongest kind of 'justice'!"

Atlas answered calmly and waited for the Marines and royal guards to clear the battlefield. Otherwise, he'd have to hold back once the fighting started.

Heat-Heat Fruit

"Blast: Sweep!"

Atlas greeted Oven with the Dragon Talisman. A thick column of explosive flame swept toward him at the bow, its violent force instantly reducing the pirate ship to flying splinters.

Oven leaped from the bow, his face dark. With his speed, he wasn't about to be hit that easily.

"You've made me angry, Marine!"

"Remote Heating!"

Oven activated his Devil Fruit ability at once. To him, the Marine had challenged the Big Mom Pirates. Among pirates, a flag represented their honor. What Atlas had done was a slap in their faces.

In the distance, Atlas felt heat surge through his body. With his physique, though, it amounted to little more than a swarm of ants biting at his skin.

"Pathetic! Are you trying to tickle me?"

"Blast: Divine Speed: Shave!"

Atlas grinned savagely. A huge crater opened beneath his feet, and he moved as though he had broken through space itself, appearing behind Oven in an instant!

Danger!

Danger!

Oven's Observation Haki screamed a warning, but his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts. He stood frozen, able only to wait for Atlas's fist to fall!

Bang! No Armament Haki, no fancy tricks—just immense force crashing into Oven. He flew away like a rag doll.

Oven felt as if his mother had punched him during an attack of Hunger Pangs. The terrifying blow nearly tore his body apart.

"Not bad!"

Atlas shook out his arm, impressed. The more Talismans he awakened, the stronger their powers seemed to become, as though they amplified one another. Absorbing them didn't merely give him extraordinary physical gifts and reduce the strain on his stamina.

In raw explosive strength alone, he could now hold his own against the three monstrous Vice Admirals. His strength and physique grew at a frightening pace with every passing moment. He was like an enhanced Charlotte Linlin!

"What kind of monster are you?!"

Oven slowly pushed himself up in the distance. He wiped the blood from his mouth with a dust-covered arm, his eyes full of shock and disbelief. That last blow had brought him close to death. No human should have possessed such speed and strength.

"Hot Wind Fist!"

Oven regretted coming. He should have turned back when Katakuri warned him. But regret wouldn't save him now. He could only steel himself and fight the monster before him. Perhaps he still had a chance to survive.

"A firefly thinks it can rival the moon? Blast Fist!"

Atlas drove off the ground, explosive power from the Dragon Talisman surging over his massive fist. Their attacks collided head-on!

Bang!

Charlotte Oven had developed his Devil Fruit ability remarkably well. He had also inherited some of Big Mom's Iron Balloon physique, and his fruit power was on the verge of Awakening.

But the Heat-Heat Fruit focused on temperature, while Atlas's Dragon Talisman excelled at explosions. In instantaneous striking power, Oven's ability was far inferior.

"Well, pirate? Do you feel the difference now?"

Atlas looked calmly at Oven, whose right arm was twisted at a grotesque angle.

"Marine! Are you sure you want to make an enemy of the Big Mom Pirates? Mama won't let you get away with this!"

Oven spat the threat.

"To hell with your mama! Do you always hide behind her?"

Atlas stepped forward without another word. His open hand crashed across Oven's face. Oven's distinctive hairstyle fell apart, his head was nearly driven into the ground, and his right cheek swelled. Blood and several teeth spilled from his mouth.

"You..."

Oven struggled to rise. He had no idea what had gotten into this man. The Marine had said something Oven couldn't understand, then suddenly slapped him.

Oven had been particularly unlucky this time. He relied heavily on his Devil Fruit. Even though his physical gifts surpassed those of Big Mom's other children, his fighting style still centered on using his ability.

Atlas's Dragon Talisman mainly produced explosions, but its power was still flame at its core. That rendered nearly half of Oven's ability useless. Atlas also overwhelmed him in strength and physique, grinding him into the ground.

"Tell me. What was your real reason for coming to Dressrosa?"

Once Oven had been thoroughly "taught a lesson," Atlas asked casually. Interrogating a captive for information was only natural.

"Marine, if you've got the guts, kill me!"

Oven spoke defiantly. His loyalty to his family meant he would never reveal anything about Big Mom.

"Oh. All right, then."

Atlas drew Sandai Kitetsu from his waist. A flash of steel swept cleanly across Oven's neck, and blood gushed out!

Oven clamped his uninjured left hand over the wound. His eyes widened, unwillingness filling them as countless thoughts raced through his mind.

Damn it, I was only talking tough! Why did this bastard take me seriously? Aren't Marines supposed to lock up captured Devil Fruit Users in Impel Down? Why isn't he doing that?

Oven would never get the chance to say any of it. Atlas had no intention of sending him to Impel Down. He knew the Big Mom Pirates would eventually strike some underhanded deal with the World Government to get Oven out.

Those politicians even made secret deals with Kaido, who occupied Wano Country. To the Five Elders, naked self-interest was all that mattered.

Atlas didn't care if the Devil Fruit reappeared, either. Devil Fruits weren't what made the world rotten, and there was no shortage of them on the seas. The Heat-Heat Fruit was just one more.

"No survivors?"

Gion, who had rushed over from King's Plateau, arrived beside Atlas and looked at Oven's battered corpse.

"No survivors. Scum like him can repent in hell."

Atlas waved a hand, his expression calm.

"That sounds like Akainu, Kanos," Gion said, half joking.

"I'm nothing like Vice Admiral Akainu. Rear Admiral Gion, you should handle the aftermath. I'm going to enjoy more of Dressrosa's dancing."

Gion froze. He'd saddled her with the work again. She hadn't had a proper break since arriving in Dressrosa.

Damn him!

Kyros

New World, Dressrosa Kingdom.

The once-bustling harbor looked desolate. Bodies lay across the smoke-stained battlefield, most of them pirates, judging by their clothes. Thanks to Atlas's timely arrival, the Marines had suffered relatively few casualties.

Marines moved back and forth, dealing with the aftermath in orderly fashion. Gion calmly issued commands, and they carried them out like a well-oiled machine.

Gion's firm objections had forced Atlas to stay. He watched the busy Marines and royal guards with nothing to do, occasionally lending a hand.

Suddenly, a curly-haired man in a Kingdom Guard uniform and red cape came racing toward them. He looked harried, and his quickening breaths betrayed his urgency.

"Army Commander Kyros!"

A guard recognized him, set down what he was carrying, and greeted him respectfully.

"What happened? Where's the officer from the Big Mom Pirates?"

Kyros was puzzled. King Riku had called him, and he had hurried to the harbor with his weapon from the cottage in the Flower Field, where he had been keeping his wife company. He had expected shouts of battle and cannon fire. Instead, the fighting appeared to be over.

"It's over, of course!"

Atlas, bored until now, brightened at the sight of Kyros. It was rare to meet someone who interested him, so he hurried over and joined the conversation.

"Hm?"

Kyros turned toward the voice. He saw a Marine Commodore who looked remarkably young. His pure-white suit was spotless, and his sharply defined face held a composure beyond his years. He wasn't exceptionally handsome, but in a pirate world full of peculiar-looking people, he was easy on the eyes.

"And you are?"

"This is Marine Commodore Kanos Atlas. The battle ended so quickly thanks to him. Commodore Atlas defeated the officer from the Big Mom Pirates, too!"

A nearby guard supplied the introduction at just the right moment, admiration shining in his eyes. The guards had seen the fight clearly. Atlas had utterly overwhelmed the so-called officer of the Big Mom Pirates.

"Thank you so much for helping the Dressrosa Kingdom!"

Kyros stiffened with emotion and bowed to Atlas at a full ninety degrees. Dressrosa was a place he would give his life to protect. His wife lived here, as would their soon-to-be-born child, and so did the king he was proud to serve.

He was deeply grateful to the Marine who had saved it.

"Kyros?"

Atlas studied him with interest. Between the statue he had seen in the arena and his memories from his previous life, he knew Kyros was a capable fighter.

After all, when Doflamingo tried to seize Dressrosa a few years later, Kyros would defeat an officer of the Donquixote Family with swordsmanship alone.

"I've heard of you. Would you join the Marines?"

Atlas came straight to the point. Kyros had great potential as a subordinate, and his character and loyalty had already won Atlas's respect.

"Well..."

Kyros was taken aback. He hadn't expected this Marine to try to recruit him, the captain of the Kingdom Guard, on the spot.

Yet part of him was tempted. Dressrosa was too small, and his swordsmanship had reached a bottleneck. This crisis had driven home just how important strength was.

He had a wife and child to protect, and a country he loved. He didn't want to face another crisis only to depend on an enemy's mercy or the Marines' help.

The Marines had arrived in time today. What if they didn't next time? What if they abandoned Dressrosa? Kyros didn't know exactly what would happen, but he knew it would be terrible.

Still, he hesitated. His pregnant wife had not yet given birth, and he couldn't bear to leave this land he loved so dearly.

Kyros weighed it all, indecision flickering in his eyes.

"All right. Take three days to think about it. I'll be here when you've decided."

Atlas saw Kyros's hesitation and understood his concerns. But gaining strength demanded sacrifice. A comfortable home had always been a graveyard for ambition.

Three days later, Atlas and Gion had enjoyed a pleasant holiday as King Riku's guests. Now it was time to sail.

Kyros, Dressrosa's former Army Commander, stood beside Atlas on the warship's deck. King Riku had spent much of the past three days complaining when he learned Atlas was trying to steal his commander. But he understood Kyros's feelings and hadn't stood in his way.

Kyros watched Dressrosa recede, longing in his eyes. He thought back to his conversation with Scarlet three days earlier.

"Kyros, you're a hero. I don't want you to stop moving forward because of me."

"Trust me. Our child will be proud of you!"

Three days earlier, Scarlet had seen Kyros return home with a troubled face. After pressing him, she had finally learned what was weighing on him.

Their love had begun as a romantic encounter between a beauty and a hero. Scarlet had once looked down on Kyros for coming from the arena and its violence. But after he saved her from a band of pirates, they had fallen in love.

That was why Scarlet wholeheartedly supported his decision to join the Marines. To her, that was what a hero should do—not let love confine him to the Dressrosa Kingdom.

Interception

Boom!

A Sea King over a thousand meters tall crashed into the ocean, sending waves surging in every direction. Wails escaped its monstrous jaws as crimson blood spread through the blue water, carrying a powerful stench.

In an instant, masses of dark shapes swept beneath the surface and began devouring its corpse.

What a terrifying man. It's only been a few days, and he feels even stronger...

He had dealt with a Sea King over a thousand meters tall in mere moments.

On the warship's deck, Gion stood with her arms crossed, gazing at Atlas's towering figure. When she first met him, he had only been a Recruit Camp trainee. She hadn't expected him to come so far. Teacher Zephyr's eye for talent was as sharp as ever.

"Well, Rear Admiral Gion, the obstacle's gone. We can move on..."

Atlas descended with Geppo and landed on the deck.

"Kanos, you're amazing! I could hardly pull off an attack like that. You just keep getting stronger!"