Modification / Battle Against Zephyr

Atlas left his men behind and stepped forward, not because he disliked the guy and wanted to teach him a lesson, but mainly because he remembered something.

This guy... his name seems to be Foz Fur?

So his purpose in coming to Marine Headquarters now should be to transport some Devil Fruit captured by the Navy to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, and the Gum-Gum Fruit should be on it.

However, Atlas wasn't sure either, because Sengoku Atlas the Gum-Gum Fruit, but hadn't seen it in the warehouse. Moreover, the World Government often sends CP Agent to Marine Headquarters to clear out some strategic stockpiles, which naturally include Devil Fruit.

However, it was indeed the first time Atlas had met Foz-Foe.

"CP Agent?"

Atlas scrutinized the man who had defected from the World Government. Unlike Lucci, he wore a flamboyant red Suit, had long pink hair, earrings, black gloves, and a lit cigarette between his teeth.

"CP9 Agent, Foz-Foe, CP9's strongest genius!"

Feeling the immense pressure from Atlas, Foz-Foe readily gave his name and couldn't help but emphasize his genius.

"The strongest genius? Pshaw! I just beat one up not long ago..."

Atlas chuckled. The Cipher Pol and the Navy department secretly compared themselves to each other. Foz F. and Rob Lucci were naturally compared to him from the very beginning, but he grew too fast. Before the two could catch up, he had already left them far behind.

"..."

Foz-Foe's pupils contracted, clearly realizing who the other genius Atlas was referring to was. Although he had always claimed to be a CP9 genius on par with Lucci, only he knew in his heart that his talent was far inferior to Lucci's.

"The World Government wants something inside, you can't go in!"

Lost in thought, Atlas lifted his leg and stepped toward the cabin behind Foz Foz, who quickly called out to stop him.

But...

Atlas didn't bother with it, since Foz-Foe wouldn't dare to interfere anyway, otherwise Lucci's fate would have been his next.

Atlas walked straight into the cabin, where there were many things, including Devil Fruit and some Famous Sword, all neatly arranged and categorized. These were all rare strategic resources in the Pirates world.

Soon, a wooden box caught Atlas's attention.

Upon opening it, a Devil Fruit appeared before Atlas.

Unlike other fruits, it doesn't have a strange shape. It has the round shape of an ordinary fruit, mysterious spiral patterns, and purple skin. There's nothing particularly outstanding about it.

And this is the Gum-Gum Fruit that Atlas was looking for!!

Whether it's a so-called god-level fruit or not is unimportant; what matters is that it's absolutely the most suitable Devil Fruit for Luffy!!!

Chapter 186 Modification

"Hey! I want that Devil Fruit!"

Stepping out of the storage room, Atlas carried a small wooden box, the contents of which were self-evident.

"But this is what the adults of the Holy Land want..."

Foz-Fou hesitated, realizing he couldn't win a fight and could only hope that the Marine in front of him was wary of the Celestial Dragons.

"I'll discuss this with the Sengoku Admiral; you don't need to worry about it."

After saying that, Atlas shook off Foz-Foe and walked straight toward Baby-5 and the other two.

"..."

Watching Atlas's dashing departure, Forgotten Foz felt a surge of resentment, but he could only suppress his grievances. There was nothing he could do; being weaker than someone else was just so frustrating.

"Take the two of them to register for school first. I'm going to see the Sengoku Admiral."

Atlas gave instructions to the colonel on Colonel.

It has to be said that the education system in the Pirates world is a complete mess, or even non-existent. Most of it is aristocratic private education. Atlas has only seen such public educational schools in the Navy, but they are mostly geared towards the children of Marine Headquarters officers.

Therefore, the task of education is arduous and long-term, World Government simply do not understand its importance.

"Yes, Vice Admiral White Hou!"

The colonel Colonel duty saluted again, and then led Baby-5 and the other person away.

After watching the group leave, Atlas strode across Marine Headquarters main plaza and headed towards Sengoku's office.

"Teacher Zephyr is here too?"

Pushing open the office door, Zephyr's muscular physique came into view, which slightly surprised Atlas.

As Admiral, Zephyr is already in a semi-retired state, spending most of his time at the Recruit Training Camp and rarely coming to Sengoku.

"Hehe, the new Recruit Training Camp is about to begin, so I've come here to hand over some work to Sengoku."

Zephyr explained to Atlas with a smile.

"Are there any new recruits this year who have satisfied Teacher Zephyr?"

As Atlas spoke, he pulled out a chair next to him and plopped down in it.

"There are two promising recruits, but they are still far inferior to Enel."

"Oh? Enel?"

Speaking of Enel, he's been in Zephyr's hands for several months now, and I've gotten a general idea of what he's like from Zephyr's snippets of conversation.

This guy was quite arrogant at first, but after being beaten up by Zephyr and Shuzo countless times, he became much more humble. His strength increased by leaps and bounds, especially in terms of physique. Following Atlas's suggestion for the development of his Devil Fruit, he used lightning to temper his body quite well.

"You little rascal, you've caused such a commotion as soon as you got back!"

After listening quietly to Zephyr and Atlas's rambling conversation, Sengoku could no longer hold back and said with a slightly dissatisfied tone.

"I didn't want to either, but I just happened to run into Moria on the way and took his head without thinking."

Atlas shrugged, indicating his helplessness.

"Moria..."

Sengoku pondered for a moment, "This guy seems to have been invited by the World Government to become one of the Shichibukai, and you..."

"Indeed, I encountered CP9 members on Thriller Bark, but I killed Moria beforehand. The Shichibukai shouldn't exist in the first place, and even if they do, they should be under the control of our Navy!"

As he spoke, a murderous glint appeared on Atlas's face.

Sengoku and Zephyr nodded in strong agreement. For the Navy to allow a group of Pirates to legally plunder was undoubtedly a disgrace to Justice.

"The Navy can't interfere with the Shichibukai. Recently, the World Government has started looking for other Warlord candidates, and the Navy simply can't get involved."

Sengoku was also deeply troubled. The Navy's current strength was already enough to deter the disunited Pirates. All three present knew what the other purpose of the Shichibukai was, but they were helpless to change it.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this."

Sengoku, not wanting to continue this pointless topic, went on to say, "When do you plan to go and garrison the base in the New World? It can't function without you there."

"Let's wait a few days. I don't have my own flagship yet, so I'll have the Science Unit at Marine Headquarters modify the Thriller Bark and use it as my flagship."

This request wasn't unreasonable. Atlas was entitled to have his own flagship. Sengoku had mentioned it several times before, but had always refused, citing dissatisfaction. Now that Atlas had brought it up himself, Sengoku was overjoyed.

"Also, I brought back two children from outside. They both have pretty good Devil Fruit Ability; they're both Paramecia. One has the Arms-Arms Fruit, and the other has the Hollow-Hollow Fruit."

"Are you treating the Marine Headquarters like a kindergarten? You bring a whole bunch of kids with you every time you go out."

Sengoku rolled his eyes, but there was absolutely no blame in his tone. Although Atlas and Sakazuki were similar in their methods of dealing with Pirates, Atlas Akainu; Sakazuki was too cold-blooded.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just doing this for the future of the Navy. Speaking of which, isn't that how you picked up Rosinante?"

"Alright, since you're staying at Marine Headquarters these few days, feel free to come visit me when you have time. You can also give the new recruits some pointers. There's a female swordsman among the new recruits this time."

Zephyr seized the opportunity to invite Atlas to the Recruit Camp.

As Zephyr's former student, Atlas certainly wouldn't refuse, just like Gion back then, who was tricked into becoming a Swordsmanship instructor at the Recruit Camp for a few months.

Of course, Atlas doesn't have several months to train the Recruit Camp. The G-5 base in the New World is still unguarded. If he stayed at Marine Headquarters for a few months, Sengoku would probably transform into his Buddha Form and want to send him to the New World with an Impact.

"No problem. The Science Unit will need a few days to repair my flagship, so I'll come and ask you for help, teacher."

In just a few words, the two finalized the agreement.

"Oh, by the way, old man Sengoku, I just asked for a Devil Fruit on World Government transport ship. If the World Government gets involved, you'll have to take responsibility for it."

Atlas casually placed the Gum-Gum Fruit in front of Sengoku and said...

"It's Devil Fruit, you think you can become a Devil Fruit user?"

Sengoku was astonished. Although Atlas had displayed several abilities beyond his comprehension, Sengoku had personally witnessed Atlas swimming in the sea and already knew that Atlas was not a Devil Fruit user.

"No, it's for Luffy. He's very suitable for this fruit."

"Garp's grandson? Watch out, he might come back to settle the score with you..."

It was Devil Fruit; Sengoku didn't care. Even if it were transported to the Holy Land, it would only be for those Celestial Dragons to play with. It was better to use it to strengthen the Navy's fighting force.

Chapter 187 Battle against Zephyr

Marineford, Recruit Training Camp Training Ground.

The Training Ground now teeming with people. The new recruits, who should have been sweating it out on the Training Ground, were now surrounding the entire Training Ground in three concentric circles.

In the center, Atlas and Zephyr stand facing each other.

Looking at the student he had the highest hopes for in his teaching career, Zephyr felt a mix of emotions.

Although it was initially thought that Atlas had even greater talent than Akainu and the Akainu, no one expected him to grow so quickly, reaching the level of the three great monster Vice Admiral at the tender age of twenty-three.

It's worth noting that even though Akainu and his two Akainu were considered monsters in their youth, they were still far inferior to Atlas, who was the same age. This fact, however, made Zephyr quite gratified.

However, what troubled him was...

This former Admiral, who upheld the belief of "not killing," produced students who were increasingly bloodthirsty. Although he did not interfere with his students' choices, he inevitably felt somewhat lonely and wavered in his resolve.

Perhaps, sometimes all it takes is a trigger for Zephyr to completely change his beliefs...

"Teacher Zephyr, today is the first day the new recruits have arrived at camp. Are you sure you want to spar with me?"

Atlas looked at Zephyr, whose face had begun to show some wrinkles, and couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. Time is indeed the most lethal weapon.

Atlas had come to the Recruit Training Camp today at Zephyr's invitation to give some pointers to the new recruits and watch the opening ceremony. Unexpectedly, Zephyr suddenly felt itchy and wanted to spar with him.

"Stop talking nonsense, you brat."

Zephyr snorted coldly, "It'll be a good opportunity to see the results of your cultivation over the years, and also to let the new recruits see the gap between themselves and top experts, and to dampen their arrogance!"

"... Okay then."

Atlas had no choice; the show of force had already been set up, and even if he didn't want to, he couldn't agree.

Who do you think will win this match?

"I don't know. One of them is an active-duty Candidate Admiral, and the other is a former Admiral. Both possess top-tier combat capabilities within the navy."

"I think it might be Vice Admiral White Hou. After all, Teacher Zephyr is getting old, and his strength is definitely not what it used to be."

"But even though Chief Instructor Zephyr is a bit older, the only difference is in physical fitness. In terms of explosive power in a short period of time, he's definitely no weaker than Vice Admiral White Hou, right?"

The onlookers were abuzz with discussion, but they couldn't agree on the relative strengths of the two. While most of them admired the younger Atlas more, Zephyr, a powerful figure who had conquered the seas since the previous era, had left behind countless legendary achievements, which made them somewhat skeptical.

"Hey! Spread out a bit, you rookies! If you get caught in the crossfire, you'll either be dead or seriously injured."

Seeing the new recruits getting increasingly close together, the other instructors had no choice but to speak up and disperse the crowd.

Just kidding, even if Zephyr and Atlas weren't fighting at full strength, the aftershocks from such top-tier combat power would be enough to seriously injure any of the new recruits here.

"Teacher Zephyr, let's begin right away!"

Seeing the crowd gradually disperse, Atlas couldn't wait any longer. Since returning from the New World, his greatest progress had come from his battle with Golden Lion, which had deepened his mastery of Haki.

Swish!

Atlas's calf muscles twitched, the ground slightly caved in, and Atlas figure vanished instantly without causing any ripples. He appeared out of thin air above Zephyr, his fist shaped like Warhammer, and slammed down hard on Zephyr.

This is not a pure 'shave', but a lateral movement developed by Atlas by combining the Speed Force of the Rabbit Talisman. Atlas is now a double A in both strength and speed, with almost no weaknesses, and his control over his power is also at its peak.

"This..."

Zephyr's mind was on high alert, not from his Observation Haki, but from the combat instincts he had developed over many years of battles.

He lowered his body, crossed his arms, and covered himself in Armament Haki!

Bang!

Fists collided, producing a dull thud, and waves of air rippled outwards from the center of the impact!