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In the year 1507 of the Sea Circle Calendar, at the Marine G-8 Fortress, inside the Vice Admiral's office—
Atlas had already left. Vice Admiral Jonathan, with his deep wine-red hair and signature black handlebar moustache, reclined comfortably in his chair, holding a freshly delivered report in his hand.
It was none other than the full record of Kanos Atlas's takedown of the Eckrem Pirates.
"No survivors, huh… that's just like him…" Jonathan murmured as he stared at the closed door of his office, lost in thought.
He didn't even notice when the file slipped quietly from his fingers onto the floor.
After saying goodbye to Jonathan, Atlas went straight to the base's training room, where he rigorously trained for hours before enjoying a well-earned sleep.
After all, he'd be heading to Alabasta first thing in the morning. This time, though, he wasn't going alone.
Vice Admiral Jonathan had already arranged for a Marine warship to accompany him, responsible for post-battle logistics.
Although Atlas was still just a Captain, he had been granted temporary command authority over the vessel.
—The Next Day—
The warship departed the fortress port on schedule, following a plotted course toward Alabasta. Navigational duties were entrusted to a professional Marine navigator.
While navigators were a scarce resource on the seas—mostly due to widespread illiteracy and lack of education among the general population—the Marines maintained full educational systems, directing those without combat aptitude into support or technical positions.
This was part of why the Marines were the most powerful force on the seas.
"Ah~ It's so much nicer having someone else sail the ship!" Atlas stretched lazily, recalling the lonely, drifting days he'd spent alone at sea.
Not only had the food been terrible, but there hadn't even been anyone to talk to.
"Lieutenant, how long until we reach Alabasta?"
This lieutenant, Ruslan, had been specifically assigned to him by Jonathan. The structure of the G-8 Fortress still baffled Atlas a bit.
The commanding officer was Vice Admiral Jonathan, yet the second-in-command was just a Lieutenant—yes, Drake, that guy.
Atlas even suspected that Jonathan had intentionally promoted Drake just to dump paperwork on him while he relaxed and fished all day.
"Reporting, Captain! We're about three days away from Alabasta!"
Captain—yes, that was Atlas's temporary rank for this mission.
"Got it. I'll be in the training room for a while. Keep everything steady. If something happens, let me know immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
That night, right as Atlas emerged from training for dinner, the entire ship suddenly lurched violently. The shaking was intense, and startled shouts rang out from the Marines all around.
"What's going on?" Forgetting all about his meal, Atlas rushed to the deck to investigate.
"Captain! We've spotted a Sea King!" the lieutenant reported urgently.
Upon hearing that, Atlas's eyes flashed red—Observation Haki: Activated!
Through his Haki, he sensed an enormous creature moving beneath the dark waves. Powerful swells rolled across the surface, and the warship rocked heavily with each one.
Fwooshhhh!
Suddenly, the Sea King surged upward like a shark catching scent of blood, launching an attack on the warship. Under the harsh glare of the ship's searchlights, Atlas finally saw the attacker.
It looked like a monstrous tiger-headed fish. Its massive body was covered in striped patterns like tiger markings, with long, feral eyes that glinted with madness. Razor-sharp teeth lined its wide, open maw, and the stench from its breath hit them like a wave of rot.
"Damn it!" Ruslan said grimly. "That thing must be at least 900 meters long! Almost the size of a medium Sea King from the Calm Belt. Our ship's not equipped to handle something like that—we'll have to fight to the death…"
He turned to Atlas, eyes resolute. "Sir! We need to order an evacuation immediately. We still have some lifeboats. We'll try to buy time for the others to escape—"
But before he could finish rambling, Atlas had already used Moonwalk (Geppo) to launch himself into the air. Floating midair, he stared straight into the eyes of the enormous Sea King and grinned.
"Man, unlucky day for you, big guy."
Ruslan froze, blinking in confusion. Did he hear that right? Wasn't their situation the unlucky one? Why did it sound like Atlas felt sorry for the Sea King?
Before he could recover from the shock, Atlas had already drawn the Sandai Kitetsu. Black and crimson Armament Haki surged across his arms and blade, hardening and coating both in an ominous sheen.
Atlas had long since mastered Haki Infusion—a step above basic Armament, where the Haki didn't just harden the surface but flowed into the weapon like blood into muscle.
"Ittō-Ryū: Dragon's Tail!"
A powerful horizontal slash sliced through the air like a blood-red arc, passing directly over the Sea King's open jaws—
Shhhhkkk!
The sheer sharpness nearly severed its lower jaw. A torrent of blood sprayed into the sea, dyeing the waves a sickly crimson.
ROOAAARR!!
In agonized rage, the Sea King flailed violently, generating monstrous waves that threatened to flip the entire warship. Seeing this, Atlas knew he had to end it now.
He gripped his sword with both hands, muscles swelling, arms bulging like sculpted steel. Dense Armament Haki wrapped tightly around his blade.
"Ittō-Ryū: War God Arm — Falling Star!"
A barrage of slashes rained down like a meteor shower, crashing upon the beast's striped body with immense force. With one final howl of pain and a surge of blood, the Sea King went still—its titanic form floating lifelessly atop the waves.
On the deck, over a hundred stunned Marines collectively let out a sigh of relief. The crisis was over.
Clink!
Atlas sheathed Sandai Kitetsu with a crisp metallic sound that echoed in the tense night air.
"Hah..."
Disabling his Haki and using Life Return, Atlas gently landed back on the deck with Moonwalk. Marines quickly surrounded him, cheering with admiration and awe.
"No wonder Vice Admiral Jonathan made him captain…"
"He's insanely strong! Captain!"
"I can't believe I ever doubted him… I feel ashamed."
Several minutes passed before the crew's excitement cooled. Under Ruslan's command, they began processing the corpse.
Sea King meat was not only delicious but highly nutritious. Even Ruslan, a Captain himself, rarely had the chance to eat it.
Night deepened, and the stars above gleamed ever brighter. The sea breeze danced lightly across the waters, teasing the waves into gentle play.
Atlas leaned against the railing, picking Sea King meat from his teeth with a toothpick and gazing into the dark horizon with a satisfied belch.
"Hic~"
"Gotta hand it to the chefs on this ship. Not bad at all. Chef Jessica's training paid off. Gotta bring a few cooks next time I go on a mission…"
Watching the Marines work diligently, Atlas suddenly thought of Smoker and the others.
It hadn't even been long since their last encounter… he remembered that Captain Randall had asked him to look after Smoker. "Guess I haven't done a great job at that…"
"I wonder what they're up to now…"
"Rosinante…" Atlas suddenly remembered—this was around the time Rosinante went undercover with Doflamingo.
Maybe that guy even applied for early graduation to follow Doffy around. Who knew what went on in that crazy head of his?
Despite his clumsy, chaotic nature, Rosinante had always been gentle and kind at heart.
Atlas made a mental note—when he had time, he'd head to the North Blue. Rosinante couldn't be allowed to die like that. Otherwise, Smoker would be crushed.
Yes—Smoker would be crushed. It had nothing to do with him, of course.
—A Few Days Later—
A massive sea beast appeared in the crew's line of sight—its upper half resembling a cat, and its lower half a fish. This odd creature signaled one thing:
They had arrived at Alabasta.
Atlas and his group had successfully made landfall at Saint Ting Island, the island on which Alabasta was located.
The warship docked at Nanohana Port, where a portion of the crew remained behind to guard the ship.
Atlas and Lieutenant Ruslan then set out to request an audience with King Cobra of Alabasta.
To be honest, Alabasta's climate was brutal. The winds and sandstorms were constant—an absolute paradise for someone like Crocodile.
And with clues to Pluton buried in this country's Poneglyphs, it was no surprise that the "Desert Crocodile" had targeted it.
Canola Port was quite a distance from the capital, Alubarna.
If it weren't for the Nefertari royal family being one of the original Twenty Kings and holding special status within the World Government's member nations, Atlas wouldn't have bothered making the trek.
Even if he could extract intel from Cobra, Atlas—being a transmigrator—had already concluded that Crocodile was behind all of this, even if he had no proof (yet).
Soon, Atlas and Ruslan arrived at Alubarna and were granted an audience with King Cobra in the royal palace's council hall.
At this time, Cobra wasn't yet the aged, weary man shown in the manga.
His black hair was tied neatly back, his face smooth with only faint stubble, and his expression was relaxed and warm, more like a friendly uncle than a ruling monarch.
It was unclear whether it was because of the blue-haired infant in his arms, or simply because Alabasta wasn't yet plagued by the civil unrest that would erupt over a decade later, but King Cobra appeared far more at ease in these days.
"Hehe, my apologies, gentlemen," Cobra said with a soft chuckle, "my daughter Vivi is a bit clingy lately. She refuses to leave my side. I hope you don't mind."
True to his reputation as a king who cared deeply for his people, Cobra was respectful even toward two Marine Captains, showing no trace of arrogance.
"Not at all, Your Majesty. Apologies for the intrusion. We're Marines from the G-8 Fortress. We came here in response to a request for aid from a nearby Marine base," Kanos Atlas replied directly.
He didn't bother with formalities, choosing instead to get straight to the point. He trusted King Cobra would understand what he meant—and hopefully offer some useful intelligence.
"You mean the pirate crews that have been causing trouble near Erumalu?" Cobra paused, seemingly recalling something. His tone was uncertain.
"Right. The distress call mentioned several pirate groups harassing your country. I'm not sure of the exact locations. But Your Majesty, haven't you dispatched forces to deal with them?" Atlas asked, a bit puzzled.
By all accounts, Alabasta was not a weak nation. It had a standing army of over 600,000 soldiers, and most common pirates wouldn't dare to invade such a place.
As for the more powerful ones, they'd have to contend with Alabasta's two guardian deities. So, how were a few pirate crews still getting away with this?
Of course, the term "guardian deities" was just a title. They weren't gods in the literal sense but rather two powerful Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
It remained a mystery how Alabasta had managed to retain possession of these rare Devil Fruits over the years.
After all, once a Devil Fruit user dies, their power randomly reincarnates somewhere in the world—until Vegapunk later discovered some of the rules behind this reincarnation.
"Ah, I've already sent my vice-captain of the royal guard, Pell, several times,"
Cobra explained with a frown, "But every time he reaches Erumalu, the pirates seem to have already received word and escaped."
"Keep in mind, Pell is the user of the Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Model, a Zoan with remarkable mobility, yet he's failed to catch them every time."
Cobra sighed in frustration, furrowing his brow.
Just then, a chubby little hand reached up from his arms, attempting to smooth out the tension on his forehead—but the tiny arm was too short and only managed to tug at his scruffy chin.
Looking down at his sweet and thoughtful daughter, Cobra's heart melted.
He couldn't help but gently kiss Vivi on her soft forehead, prompting the baby to giggle with joy. The sound lifted Cobra's mood significantly.
Suddenly, a lightly armored soldier jogged up beside him and bent down to whisper something in his ear—it was newly received intelligence.
"Well, it seems we'll have to end our meeting here," Cobra said, rising to his feet.
"I've just received word—the pirate crews have appeared again in the waters near Alabasta. If you need anything from us, Captain, I will fully cooperate with your operation."
With his sharp perception, Cobra had easily discerned that Kanos Atlas was the one truly in charge of this Marine response mission.
"Understood. Then, with your permission, Your Majesty—we'll take our leave," Atlas replied calmly, offering a respectful nod.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach top 100)
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