In One Piece, Watching Roger's Execution at the Start

Yermak cursed inwardly. Big Mom paid no attention to how her own side was faring. She just kept unleashing lightning and fire, costing the Pirate Alliance countless fighters and catching plenty of her own troops in the blast.

Big Mom did not care. To her, those soldiers were merely Homies she could make whenever she pleased. Besides, she had never cared about human lives.

"Well, well. Looks like my timing's bad!"

Just as the two sides were fighting at their fiercest, Kuzan's warship sailed straight into the battlefield.

"Uh, carry on. I won't get in your way!"

Kuzan stood on deck with his arms folded and gave the stunned crowd an awkward smile.

"Mamamama! The Marines are here too? How interesting! You little bugs had better take my fists! Thunderfire Blitz!"

Big Mom was too caught up in the slaughter to stop. Without sparing the grim-faced Kuzan a glance, she wrapped both fists in lightning and fire, then moved with startling speed for someone so large, appearing right in front of Yermak and Francis!

Boom!

Terrifying lightning and fire poured over them. Yermak barely had time to turn his body into cloud—not that it would have helped. Big Mom's attack covered too wide an area to escape.

That single blow nearly cost them both their lives. Francis, however, escaped serious injury thanks to the tough hide and monstrous recovery of his Ancient Zoan form.

"Ice Age!"

Kuzan quickly assessed the situation and activated his fruit power. As he slowly breathed out a cloud of frost, a vast stretch of sea and the pirates on it froze into solid ice sculptures. Of course he had never intended to stand by and watch. Both pirate forces had worn themselves down. The hunt could begin!

"Hey, Marine! This is our war. Are you looking to die?"

Big Mom, who had been enjoying the fight, bristled at Kuzan's move. Her predatory eyes locked on his calm face, and an eerie laugh kept spilling from her mouth.

"Sorry about this, ma'am. This is... my justice! Ice Blade!"

A long, slender blade of ice appeared in Kuzan's hand. He hurled it viciously at Big Mom's face!

Now!

Yermak and Francis exchanged a glance and broke away from the battlefield together. Most of the pirates they had brought were already lost. They had badly underestimated Big Mom. Katakuri had Blood Scythe on the defensive, and he would probably fall before long.

As for Klaus, several of Big Mom's children had surrounded him. He had the upper hand, but there was clearly no way for him to break free.

They had already been thinking of retreating. With Kuzan taking on Big Mom himself, they had to leave now or remain in the Totto Land Waters forever.

"Well, well. Looks like the Marines will be taking over this battlefield!"

Kuzan glanced at the fleeing Yermak and Francis but made no move to stop them.

"Ice Ball!"

"Sorry. No pirates past this point!"

Atlas led a mid-sized Marine warship to intercept them near the edge of the Totto Land Waters. Her far-reaching Observation Haki had made the two escapees easy to find.

"A Marine? A commodore?"

Yermak looked at Atlas with open contempt. They might have fled the battle in disgrace, but that did not mean some mere Marine commodore could push them around.

Francis frowned as well, annoyed by the Marines' deployment. Sending a commodore into a battle of this scale? He had hoped to find a chance to ambush Yermak, and this Marine's arrival was getting in the way.

But Francis was hardly softhearted. This Marine would have to fend for herself.

"Flying Finger Pistol: Explosion!"

Atlas did not care what the two pirates were thinking. She fired an explosive blast straight at Yermak!

Boom!

The blast passed through Yermak's body and struck the sea in the distance, throwing up a huge spray.

Yermak dropped his elemental form, his face darkening. The ease in his expression vanished. He had evaded the blast, but he had felt its power all too clearly. This Marine was no ordinary opponent.

"How interesting, Francis. Looks like we'll have to work together again! What are you—?!"

A sickly smile spread across Yermak's face as he prepared to call Francis over to kill the Marine together. Instead, Francis walked toward the Marines without the slightest attempt to defend himself, leaving Yermak's jaw hanging open.

Even more shocking, the Marine made no effort to stop Francis. She simply ignored him.

Hey! Didn't you just say no pirates could pass? Are you blind? You can't see the man walking right in front of you?

"Damn it. Francis is a mole!"

Faced with Francis's bizarre behavior, Yermak thought back to the part he had played in setting up this war. As his temper cooled, the truth finally hit him.

"Brat! So this was a Marine scheme all along? Heh... hahaha! Sengoku really does deserve his reputation as a master strategist!"

Yermak looked furious, but there was nothing he could do. A low laugh kept escaping him. He felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, and an ugly smile twisted his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Yermak. A piece of sea trash with a bounty of 700 million Beli... You know too much, so I'm afraid you'll have to die!"

Atlas regarded the pirate in his affected gentleman's attire without a trace of emotion. Bounties at the time were not as inflated as they would be a dozen years later, after Luffy set out to sea. That later surge would be the result of Beli losing value to inflation.

Yermak's 700-million-Beli bounty carried real weight. His strength was not to be underestimated.

"Heh... hahaha! You've got quite a mouth on you, brat!"

Yermak had seen a glimpse of Atlas's strength, but his pride as a great pirate would never let him surrender without a fight!

"Thundercloud: Descent!"

Yermak grinned viciously. Dark clouds massed overhead, and lightning flickered within them as power gathered.

Then a pillar of lightning dropped from the sky, striking straight at Atlas's head!

Boom!

A flood of lightning swallowed Atlas whole!

But Yermak showed no delight. He knew the Marine before him would not die from an attack like that.

"Mm. That felt good. Haven't enjoyed myself like that in a long time!"

The lightning faded. Atlas stood unharmed, her body wrapped in dense Armament Haki. The terrible heat had reduced her upper garments to ash, exposing muscles like plates of armor.

Atlas rolled her neck, and her sturdy bones cracked. To her delight, the lightning had even strengthened her body a tiny bit, though the improvement was almost too small to matter.

"My turn!"

Atlas tensed every muscle and triggered an explosion beneath her feet. The sea surface buckled under the impact, and she reached Yermak in the blink of an eye.

"Iron Body: Armament: Shatter!"

Her arm suddenly swelled, carrying a terrifying force. Sparks flared across her skin where it cut through the air!

"Cloud Shield: Armament!"

At nearly the same instant, a massive wall of cloud coated in Armament Haki rose before Yermak!

Clang!

The contact felt strange: hard, yet slightly soft. It lacked the sharp ring of Haki striking Haki. The wall's resilience seemed to absorb nearly a third of Atlas's force, while its Armament Haki took the rest head-on.

"Heh! I ate the Logia Cloud-Cloud Fruit. I'm a Cloud-Mist Man! My cloud shield has both the softness of mist and the hardness of Armament Haki. You'll never break it!"

Yermak laughed smugly. To him, this Marine was troublesome, but only troublesome, not unbeatable. So he followed the fine pirate tradition of eagerly explaining his powers to his enemy.

"Is that so?"

Atlas gave nothing away. She drove more force through her arm and unleashed the Dragon Talisman's explosive power at the same time. Fierce flames burst from her fist!

Boom!

"Whew. That's better!"

Atlas watched Yermak fly backward and let out a long breath.

In the distance, Yermak forced himself steady. One look at his ruined gentleman's outfit sent an inexplicable anger surging through him.

"Hey! You've really pissed me off, Marine!"

As soon as he spoke, thick clouds and mist surged over the sea. A dense cloud layer spread like a white continent, lifting Yermak high into the air. At the same time, masses of mist began to wrap around Atlas.

Atlas felt as though two enormous hands had seized her body, their grip tightening with every passing moment!

Bang!

Explosive flames erupted, blasting a huge hole in the mist binding Atlas. Under Yermak's control, however, it visibly closed again within moments.

Atlas stepped through the air with Geppo, then used Razor to break free of the mist.

"Flying Finger Pistol: Explosion: Gatling!"

A fierce glint flashed in Atlas's eyes. A barrage of blasts poured from her index finger, sending Armament Haki-coated explosive rounds at Yermak!

Yermak responded without hesitation. Clouds and mist coiled around both arms, hardened with Armament Haki, and his two massive black fists smashed into the explosive flames.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out one after another. A white shock wave burst outward from Yermak.

Atlas rushed into the cloud of smoke. Her body changed as she went, shrinking rapidly to a height of two meters. Her Armament Haki deepened; intricate patterns spread across her chest and back, while two streaks like tears ran from the corners of her eyes down to her neck.

Life Return: Armament: Kami-e: Martial Body!

Unlike War God Body, Kami-e: Martial Body sharpened Atlas's reactions and agility. War God Body gave her the strength of a giant, perfectly complementing the Divine Strength granted by the Ox Talisman!

"Wild Dance: Snake!"

Yermak's Observation Haki had caught Atlas the moment she charged in, so he struck first.

A mass of giant serpents formed from cloud and mist surged toward her. A faint layer of Armament Haki covered their bodies, as though Yermak hoped to catch Atlas off guard.

You think my Observation Haki is just for show?

Atlas narrowed her eyes. A rich red glow spilled from them as she pushed her Observation Haki to its limit!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With Kami-e: Martial Body enhancing her movements, Atlas dodged every cloud serpent almost perfectly. Since her last battle with Katakuri, her Observation Haki had gained no range, but its precision had improved considerably.

"Explosion: Battle Axe!"

In an instant, Atlas cleared the mist and hovered above Yermak. She raised her right leg high, drawing her body taut like a bow, then brought her heel down with explosive flames!

Bang!

Yermak managed to raise a cloud wall at the last second, but the terrifying force still knocked him out of the sky!

Thud!

A dull impact rang out. Yermak had not fallen into the sea, thanks to the cloud layer he had created earlier to restrain Atlas.

"No more chances for you! Starfall!"

Atlas gave Yermak no time to recover. Her body rapidly expanded, and the markings on her face curled upward to meet on her forehead. The sharply defined muscles of her back formed a ghostly face, while waves of heat rose from her body.

Yermak struggled to his feet on the dense cloud layer. Suddenly, a black object falling at tremendous speed entered the range of his Observation Haki. Before he could make out what it was—

Bang!

The force of its descent smashed a hole through the cloud layer. A wave dozens of meters high rose up and crashed into Yermak.

He dodged it!

But Yermak felt no relief. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Atlas had not hit him squarely, but his left arm was ruined. He could clearly feel the bones had been shattered, leaving the arm useless in a fight.

"Isn't she a Devil Fruit User?"

Yermak was startled. Atlas's explosive power had led him to assume she was a Devil Fruit User, but he had clearly been wrong.

Beneath the sea, Atlas was equally certain that her attack had hurt Yermak.

Splash!

Water burst upward. Atlas shot from the depths like a charging tiger shark, her Armament Haki-hardened head aimed straight at where Yermak stood!

"Cloud Shield: Armament!"

Yermak had not expected her attacks to come so fast, one after another, leaving him no chance to breathe. A fierce sense of danger made him raise his Armament Haki-coated cloud shield in an instant!