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

Atlas felt a surge of excitement.

Suddenly, a red gleam flashed through her eyes...

Then his world of perception cracked open like an egg, darkness giving way to dawn. Every detail of Philoc's attacks appeared in Atlas's mind as though he were moving in slow motion.

Observation Haki! It had awakened!

Atlas grinned. "Hahahaha! I'm done playing with you!"

"Hmph! Arrogant brat."

Philoc paid her no mind. He figured he had beaten her half out of her senses, though he couldn't explain why he had just felt as if she had seen right through him...

Philoc was answered by a massive fist that slammed into his face.

How?!

Philoc's heart lurched. How had Atlas suddenly become so fast?

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Nothing beats the feel of a fist landing!"

Atlas had no intention of explaining. She tossed her standard-issue Marine sword aside and flexed her callused fists, each as big as a cooking pot. A scarlet gleam flashed in her eyes as she unleashed her Observation Haki at full strength!

She easily dodged Philoc's claws, then hammered him with both fists until his head burst. Red and white matter sprayed everywhere, but Atlas used her Observation Haki to avoid every drop. Not a speck touched her.

Philoc died without ever understanding how Atlas, who had been evenly matched with him a moment ago, had suddenly overwhelmed him so completely...

The answer was simple. Atlas had been stronger than Philoc all along, if a little slower. She had held back to push herself toward awakening Observation Haki.

With Philoc dealt with, Atlas decided to see whether any lucky souls had survived.

Then something unexpected happened.

A hulking shadow shot out of the cabin and leaped high into the air. It landed squarely in the little boat Atlas had rowed over, then worked the oars so fast his arms might as well have had engines attached...

Atlas's jaw nearly dropped. That shadow was Jim, vice-captain of the Philoc Pirates!

The bastard had been playing dead from the start. The moment he saw Philoc go down, he made his escape.

He usually looked simpleminded, but he was no fool. Philoc had probably never imagined that Jim, whom he had always looked down on, could be so cunning.

Atlas had no intention of letting Jim escape. If the memories she had inherited were right, he was the one who had murdered the Kanos couple!

Atlas hurried into the wheelhouse to chase Jim, who had already gotten some distance away, only to run into one awkward problem... She didn't know how to sail.

With no time to waste, Atlas dove straight into the sea. She would swim after him and kill him. She still had plenty of stamina to spare...

Damn that brat!

Jim watched Atlas bear down on him and cursed her yet again. Heaven knew how she still had so much energy! All he wanted now was for a Sea King to swallow her and shit her back out!

At last, half a day later, Atlas was closing the distance. Jim broke under the relentless pursuit and began begging for mercy, hoping to save his skin.

Atlas didn't believe a word. She burst from the water, aiming to finish him with one punch!

Jim refused to give up. He raised an oar to block her Iron Fist.

It was useless!

Her massive fist smashed through the oar, reducing it to a cloud of splinters.

Jim hit the deck with a thud and never rose again. Atlas landed steadily on the bow, then kicked his corpse overboard for the fish.

"Grrr..."

The setting sun spread brilliant red light across the still sea. A little boat drifted without direction.

Atlas lay aboard it in a slightly torn Marine uniform. Her powerful muscles were on full display, and her handsome yet delicate face was filled with helpless frustration. She was the same young Marine who had just chased down the pirates.

Atlas hadn't expected such bad luck. She had smashed the oars to pieces during the fight.

Now she could only drift with the current. She had no spare supplies aboard, either, so hunger soon set in.

But the worst part was this.

She was lost!

She hadn't thought about it while giving chase. Before she knew it, she had swum into unfamiliar waters.

At sea, with no landmarks, even the best sense of direction was useless!

Atlas Adrift

In the end, Atlas couldn't bear the hunger. She caught a small Sea King, but there was nothing aboard to make a fire with, so she ate it raw.

Surprisingly, a Sea King from this world had a flavor all its own, even raw.

Whether because of the geography or the climate, the meat barely tasted fishy. It practically melted in her mouth.

As for parasites, who knew whether small Sea Kings even had any? And if they did, Atlas's body was strong enough to handle them. Besides...

After killing Jim, Atlas had discovered that the Horse Talisman had vanished from her mind. That meant she had fully absorbed its power as an innate ability!

It hadn't done much for her fighting strength yet, but it had raised the limits of her potential.

Put simply, with Atlas's former talent, she might have exhausted all her potential and reached only the level of an ordinary Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters.

With the Horse Talisman's help, though, her physical talent had become monstrous even among monsters!

Monsters were people who grew rapidly through ever harsher training. The Navy's three monstrous Vice Admirals were examples of that.

The clearest change was that Atlas had learned Life Return automatically. It had become instinctive, allowing her to draw energy from food at all times and use every bit of it!

Her body still couldn't compare to Big Mom's Iron Balloon in sheer toughness, but it gave Atlas the potential to stand among the strongest!

Frequent use had already brought the Horse Talisman close to being fully absorbed. For some reason, though, she had never managed to finish the process.

Atlas suspected that, as a visitor from another world, she had never been entirely in sync with this body. But after avenging its former owner...

The lingering obsession within it had disappeared, allowing Atlas to take complete control.

Once she had taken the edge off her hunger, Atlas activated her Observation Haki.

Not bad. Even though it had only just awakened, it reached about five kilometers. Looks like I've got some talent after all.

With that pleasant thought, Atlas drifted off to sleep. The day's fighting had worn her out.

"Mmm..."

Atlas rose early the next morning and took a look around.

Well. Still no island in sight.

She jumped overboard for a swim, dragging the boat along behind her.

For days, Atlas did little but stare into space and occasionally use her Observation Haki to check for ships nearby.

When she got hungry, she dove in for fish. After several days without any change, she was close to losing her mind.

Sea Circle Calendar, July 1, 1500. Weather: Sunny

Another boring day. After my usual swimming and physical training, I sent out my Observation Haki to look for ships. Maybe it's because I've been using it so often, but its range seems to have grown a little.

Oh well. I'm hungry. Time to catch some fish.

Sea Circle Calendar, July 2, 1500. Weather: Cloudy

Ugh... Still no ships today. Just looking at fish makes me want to throw up now, especially raw fish. I don't think I ever want to eat fish again.

Sea Circle Calendar, July 3, 1500. Weather: Sunny

The weather's as lovely as ever, but my mood sure isn't. Damn you, Heaven, I'd settle for a pirate ship!

Driven mad by boredom, Atlas had begun keeping a diary on the sixth day of her drift. She wrote each entry in her head before going to sleep.

Finally, on the tenth day of eating raw fish, a ship came into view!

A Marine warship! With a dog's head on the bow!

Atlas froze when she recognized it, then grew excited. Wasn't that the ship of Vice Admiral Garp, the Marine hero? But Luffy hadn't even been born yet. Why would she run into Garp in the East Blue now?

"Hey! Is anyone there? Help—help me!"

Atlas cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the warship.

The crew seemed to hear her. Slowly, the warship turned toward her.

—A few minutes later—

On the broad deck of the Dog-Head Warship...

A black-haired, middle-aged man stood in a Marine uniform beneath a justice coat, his bulging muscles threatening to burst the fabric. Wearing a roguish grin, he shouted triumphantly into the Den Den Mushi beside him.

"Hahahahaha! Sengoku, I've got all your Senbei!"

"Ah! Damn you, Garp!... Never mind. Get back as soon as your leave is over. We still need you in the New World."

The Den Den Mushi, which wore round glasses, mimicked Sengoku's tone from the other end.

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Garp picked his nose without a care, then hung up with a click before Sengoku could say another word.

Atlas had boarded the warship some time ago, but she had stayed to one side, unwilling to interrupt the two big shots.

"Hey, brat over there! Hahahaha! Your name's Atlas, right?"

With his call to Sengoku over, Garp finally turned his attention to Atlas.

She had no idea how he knew her name, but she answered him promptly.

"When I passed through Loguetown, that brat Randall asked me to look for a missing Marine. Didn't expect to find you out here."

"You're a sorry sight, Atlas! Hahahahaha..."

Garp seemed to notice her confusion and offered the explanation offhandedly.

Atlas felt a little embarrassed. She had expected an easy fight, only for one mishap after another to follow. By now, everyone at the base probably thought she was dead.

"Bogard, take the brat below..."

Garp gave his adjutant Bogard the order. Then his head tipped to one side, and he fell asleep...

Asleep...

Atlas had known Garp was unreliable, but seeing it firsthand still left her speechless.

Bogard, on the other hand, was used to it. He headed for the cabins and signaled with his eyes for Atlas to follow.

Only after a long soak in hot water and a meal big enough for fifteen people did Atlas feel alive again...

Chapter 11: Garp and the Iron Fist of Love

"Huff, huff, huff..."

It was Atlas's third day aboard Garp's ship. She had resumed her usual routine the day after boarding: four hours of physical training without fail, followed by sword practice. Once she had finished everything else, she added half an hour of meditation to train her Observation Haki.

"Hey, Atlas! Come here and let me give you a few pointers! Hahahahaha!"

Garp seemed to be getting bored. He beckoned Atlas over while picking his nose.

Atlas was thrilled. Garp was a Marine hero, a man who had driven Pirate King Roger into a corner time and again. He stood at Heaven—the pinnacle of strength in this world! His guidance could do her a world of good.

But as she approached, Atlas felt an indescribable pressure from him. It came not just from his physical might, but from his sheer presence. She wouldn't be beaten so easily, though. She was going to become the World's Strongest Man!

A flicker of approval passed through Garp's eyes when Atlas withstood his imposing presence so readily. Then his usual carefree grin returned, and he thumped her on the shoulder several times, nearly knocking her flat.

"Hahaha! Not bad, brat. I watched you train. You focus mainly on building your body, and you've got the right idea. Your body is the foundation of your strength."

Atlas glanced at Garp's thick arms and couldn't have agreed more.

"Come on, let me be your opponent. Time for you to feel my Fist of Love!"

Garp had little more to say. He wasn't as good a teacher as Zephyr; he preferred to teach through combat. Before Atlas could object, his Iron Fists were already coming for her face.