Heat-Heat Fruit / Kyros ...

Atlas knew a little about Oven. He was among 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 any 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.

"Since when did the Marines have another user of Conqueror's Haki?"

Oven was surprised. As far as he knew, Sengoku was the only Marine with Conqueror's Haki. Judging by its intensity just now, this Marine's Haki was formidable, nothing like that of some nobody who had only just awakened it.

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

Atlas answered calmly, waiting for the Marines and Kingdom Guard to leave the battlefield. Otherwise, he would have to hold back once the fighting started.

Heat-Heat Fruit

"Blast: Sweep!"

Atlas opened with the Dragon Talisman. A thick pillar of Explosive Flame swept toward Oven at the bow, its devastating force instantly reducing the pirate ship to a storm of splinters.

Oven leaped down from the bow, his face dark. An attack like that wasn't going to catch him so easily.

"You've made me angry, Marine!"

"Remote Heating!"

Oven activated his Devil Fruit power at once. To him, the Marine was openly provoking the Big Mom Pirates. A pirate flag was a symbol of their pride, and Atlas had just slapped them in the face.

In the distance, Atlas felt a wave of dry heat surge through his body. With his physique, though, it barely mattered. It felt like countless tiny ants were biting him.

"Pathetic! Are you trying to tickle me?"

"Blast: Divine Speed: Shave!"

Atlas grinned fiercely. A huge crater appeared beneath his feet, and he moved so fast it seemed he had broken through space itself. In an instant, he was behind Oven!

Danger!

Danger!

Oven pushed his Observation Haki to its limit, and warnings screamed through his mind. But his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts. He stood frozen, waiting for Atlas's fist to fall!

Bang! No Armament Haki, no fancy tricks. Raw power crashed into Oven and sent him flying like a torn sack.

Oven felt as though his mother had punched him during a bout of Hunger Pangs. The terrifying force nearly broke his body apart.

"Huh. Not bad!"

Atlas shook out his arm, impressed. The more Talismans he activated, the stronger their powers seemed to become, as though they amplified one another. Absorbing them had given him extraordinary physical potential while reducing the stamina their powers consumed.

In sheer explosive strength, he could now hold his own against one of the three monster Vice Admirals. His strength and physique were growing at a terrifying pace every moment. He was practically an enhanced Charlotte Linlin!

"What kind of monster are you?!"

Oven slowly climbed to his feet in the distance and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with a dust-covered arm. Shock and disbelief filled his eyes. That blow had brought him within a hair's breadth of death. No human should possess such speed and strength.

"Hot Wind Fist!"

Oven regretted coming now. He should have turned back when Katakuri warned him. But regret would do him no good. 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 forward. Explosive power from the Dragon Talisman surged around his enormous fist, and the two attacks collided head-on!

Bang!

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

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

"Well, pirate? Feel the difference yet?"

Atlas looked calmly at Oven, whose right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle.

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

Oven's threat came out through gritted teeth.

"Enough about your mom! Are you some kind of mama's boy?"

Atlas lunged forward without another word. His open palm cracked across Oven's face, scattering his carefully styled hair. Oven's head was nearly driven into the ground. His right cheek swelled high, and blood and several teeth spilled from his mouth onto the ground.

"You..."

Oven struggled to rise. He had no idea what had set this man off. The Marine had said something he couldn't understand, then suddenly hit him with a slap.

Oven had been unlucky. He relied heavily on his Devil Fruit power. Though his physical gifts surpassed those of Big Mom's other children, even his hand-to-hand fighting centered on using that power.

The Dragon Talisman's main strength was its explosive force, but its flames were still fire. That rendered nearly half of Oven's fruit power useless, while Atlas crushed him in both physique and strength.

"Now tell me. What was your main reason for coming to Dressrosa?"

Once Oven had been sufficiently "educated," Atlas asked the question casually. Interrogating a prisoner for information was only natural.

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

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

"Oh. All right, then!"

Atlas drew Sandai Kitetsu from his waist. Steel flashed across Oven's neck with precision, and blood spurted out!

Oven instinctively clamped his uninjured left hand over the wound. His eyes bulged, his face full of unwillingness, while countless thoughts raced through his mind.

Damn it, I was just talking tough! Why did you take me seriously, you bastard? And don't Marines usually throw captured Devil Fruit Users into Impel Down? Why aren't you following the usual routine?

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 dirty deal with the World Government to get Oven out.

Those politicians even made deals behind closed doors 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 was reborn, either. Devil Fruits weren't the cause of the world's corruption, and new ones surfaced on the seas all the time. The Heat-Heat Fruit would make little difference.

"No survivors?"

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

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

Atlas waved a hand, his expression calm.

"You're starting to sound like Akainu, Kanos," Gion said, half joking.

"I'm nothing like Vice Admiral Akainu! Rear Admiral Gion, you should handle the cleanup. I'm going back to enjoy Dressrosa's dancing."

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

Damn him!

Kyros

In the New World stood the Dressrosa Kingdom.

The once-bustling harbor now looked desolate. Bodies lay across a battlefield still hazy with gunpowder smoke, most of them pirates by their clothing. Thanks to Atlas's timely arrival, the Marines had suffered relatively few casualties.

Marines moved back and forth, handling the aftermath in orderly fashion. Gion issued commands with a cool head, and they carried them out with the precision and efficiency of clockwork.

Atlas, forced to stay by Gion's fierce objections, watched the busy Marines and Kingdom Guard with nothing to do, occasionally lending a hand.

Suddenly, a curly-haired man in a Kingdom Guard uniform and red cape came running toward them. His hurried expression and increasingly ragged breathing showed his urgency.

"Army Commander Kyros!"

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

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

Kyros was confused. After King Riku's call, he had grabbed his weapon and rushed from the cottage in 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, obviously!"

Atlas, bored out of his mind, brightened at the sight of Kyros. It wasn't often he met someone who interested him, so he hurried over to answer.

"Hm?"

Kyros turned toward the voice. Before him stood a young-looking Marine Commodore in an immaculate white suit. 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. Thanks to him, the battle ended so quickly. Commodore Atlas also defeated the Big Mom Pirates officer!"

A guard stepped in with the introduction, admiration shining in his eyes. They had seen the battle clearly. This Marine had utterly overwhelmed the supposed Big Mom Pirates officer.

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

Kyros tensed with emotion and bowed to Atlas at a perfect right angle. Dressrosa was a place he would give his life to protect. His wife lived here, their child would soon be born here, and its king was worthy of his loyalty.

He was deeply grateful to the Marine who had saved Dressrosa from the crisis.

"Kyros, was it?"

Atlas studied him with interest. From the statue he had seen at the colosseum and his memories of his previous life, he knew Kyros was no ordinary swordsman.

Years later, when Doflamingo tried to seize Dressrosa, Kyros would defeat a Donquixote Family officer with swordsmanship alone.

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

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

"I..."

Kyros paused, stunned that this Marine would so directly try to recruit the Kingdom Guard's Army Commander.

But the offer tempted him. Dressrosa was too small, and his swordsmanship had reached a plateau. This crisis had made him understand the importance of strength more keenly than ever.

He had a wife and child to protect, as well as the country he loved. He didn't want to face another crisis helplessly, left to hope for an enemy's mercy or Marine aid.

The Marines had arrived in time today. What if they failed to come 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 yet to give birth, and he could hardly bear to leave this land he loved so deeply.

Thoughts churned through Kyros's mind, indecision plain in his eyes.

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

Atlas saw his 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.

On the warship's deck, Dressrosa's former Army Commander Kyros stood beside Atlas. When King Riku learned that Atlas meant to take his Army Commander away, he had lectured him at length. But he understood Kyros's feelings and hadn't stood in his way.

Kyros watched Dressrosa recede, his heart full of longing. In his mind, he heard the words Scarlet had spoken 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 troubled. Only after questioning him again and again had she 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 because he came from the violent world of the colosseum. 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 did. She didn't want love to confine him within the borders of the Dressrosa Kingdom.

Interception

Boom!

A Sea King more than a thousand meters tall crashed into the ocean, sending enormous waves rolling outward. Wails poured from its savage jaws as scarlet blood mingled with the blue water, filling the air with a sharp stench.

In an instant, countless dark shapes darted beneath the surface and began devouring the Sea King's corpse.

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

He had brought down a Sea King over a thousand meters tall in mere moments.

On the warship's deck, Gion stood with her arms folded, watching Atlas's towering, almost godlike figure with a sigh. When she had first met him, he had only been a Recruit Camp trainee. She had never imagined he would come so far. Teacher Zephyr's eye for talent was as sharp as ever.

"Well, Rear Admiral Gion, the obstacle's gone. We can get moving..."

Atlas descended onto the deck with Geppo and spoke to Gion.

"Kanos, that was incredible. I couldn't manage an attack like that. You're getting more frighteningly strong by the day!"