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Only a few people roam the slopes of Mt. Colubo. Aside from the bandits who made their homes there, almost no one would willingly set foot in this treacherous place.
At that moment, on a flat clearing deep in the mountain, what should have been a dense forest looked as if it had been violently torn apart.
Giant trees lay uprooted, and freshly overturned soil stretched across the ground. In the center of it all stood four figures—one towering adult and three exhausted children.
"What's wrong? Is this all you've got? Is this what you call preparing to set out to sea as pirates?"
"You should know, in the Marines, I'm nothing more than a Vice Admiral, and there are countless others like me."
Atlas sneered at the three kids sprawled across the dirt, gasping for air. "Little pirates like you? We could crush you one by one without breaking a sweat."
"I… I don't want to be a pirate! I'm going to be Fleet Admiral!"
Luffy shouted angrily. How could this annoying uncle lump him in with pirates? He was the one who would become Fleet Admiral!
"Damn it!" Ace, hearing that, forced himself to rise again. He had always been quick-tempered, and Atlas's taunts made his blood boil.
POW!
It had to be said, though Luffy was destined to be the chosen one of the world, Ace—three years older—was no less gifted. Since Luffy hadn't eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit yet, his combat ability lagged far behind Ace and Sabo's. He was often left choking on their dust.
Still, none of the three had ever received proper training. They relied solely on their natural talent, growing wild and untamed—classic self-taught fighters.
Clap, clap, clap!
"Alright," Atlas said with a grin, brushing his hands together. "I've got a general idea of your strength now. Next, I'll make a training plan tailored to your bodies."
"But you'd better be ready to endure it," he added with a devilish smile. "In a moment, I'll show you brats exactly what hell looks like."
"Hmph!" Ace snorted through clenched teeth. He and Sabo had already made names for themselves in the Gray Terminal, and even some adults couldn't handle them. If it weren't for Luffy holding them back, they wouldn't have struggled this much against Atlas.
The thought made Ace glare at Luffy, this noisy brat who kept insisting on becoming a Marine.
"Ace, is there something wrong with your eyes? Want me to ask Uncle to take you to a doctor?" Luffy asked innocently, completely oblivious to the blame.
"…Idiot," Ace muttered, turning his head away. Talking to this fool was clearly a waste of time.
"Alright, listen up," Atlas interrupted. "See that mountain? Your first task is to cross the forest and reach the summit."
"I've set traps and placed beasts along the way. Whether you avoid them or charge straight through, that's up to you."
"But remember this—every one of you must reach the top, and you have to do it together."
He pointed to a steep slope that rose at a dizzying sixty-degree angle. The terrain was harsh, the beasts dangerous, and the path filled with hidden snares—all carefully prepared by Atlas.
Of course, he wasn't sending them to their deaths. The traps were mostly harmless, causing at worst a broken bone or lost limb. The beasts were weak, barely dangerous, and could even serve as food. Even if they did suffer serious injuries, Atlas had ways to patch them up.
The older two, unlike Luffy, had a sharp sense of danger. With pressure like this, there was a good chance they might awaken Observation Haki. Not that Atlas expected results right away—the real goal here was to force the three to rely on each other. Only by facing life and death together could they truly bond.
"What? We have to bring this dead weight with us?" Ace scowled, glaring at Luffy, who was absentmindedly picking his nose.
"I'm not a dead weight!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"You are!"
"I'm n—"
POW! POW!
"Enough, you two!" Sabo sighed, stepping in to calm them down as fresh lumps swelled on their heads.
"I expect you at the top before lunch. I'll be waiting there," Atlas said. "Oh, and take these!"
With a lazy kick, he sent several pre-cut stone slabs toward them. They weren't too large, just heavy enough to cover their backs, each shaped to fit their bodies.
The boys didn't complain. They strapped the stones to their backs without a word. Ace and Sabo had always dreamed of going to sea, but they knew they needed strength to achieve it. Atlas's training was an opportunity they couldn't waste.
Atlas, of course, never stopped preaching about the Marines, but unlike Luffy, the older two weren't gullible. Still, they knew one thing for certain—a Vice Admiral as powerful as Atlas was no ordinary officer.
"Go all out," Atlas said calmly. "As long as you're still breathing, I can save you."
His Observation Haki was already locked onto the three boys. The instant their lives were in danger, he would know. And as he glanced at the faint green glow in his hand, confidence flickered across his face.
Darkness. A vast void stretched endlessly, swallowing everything. In the emptiness floated six talismans, identical in shape but carved with different patterns.
Opposite them coiled a massive beast—a dragon. No, not a whole dragon. Half a dragon. Its single eye glowed crimson, yet lifeless. Its head burned like a flame, jagged spikes jutted from its sides, and a crocodilian jaw framed eight ox-like horns. Its serpentine body coiled like an Eastern dragon.
But only half of it was solid, a deep, dark green. The other half flickered faintly, translucent, like a ghost fading in and out of existence. And this place… was Atlas's mental world.
He stared, stunned. This bizarre transformation had begun only yesterday, the moment he had awakened the power of the Tiger Talisman.
This dragon was no stranger to Atlas! It was none other than the Fire Demon, Shendu—the main antagonist from Jackie Chan Adventures and the very source of the Twelve Talismans' power!
Yet this change did not unsettle Atlas. After careful observation, he realized the creature had no consciousness at all. It felt less like a living being and more like an empty vessel, a container for the Twelve Talismans.
Atlas also noticed that the Tiger Talisman was partially activated, though not fully. The most direct effect he could sense was that the Horse Talisman now healed more than just his own body, though it consumed far more stamina when applied externally.
This was the reason Atlas dared to tell Ace and the others to "go wild."
Even so, Atlas knew the Horse Talisman's true potential was far from unlocked. Its ability should extend to removing all negative effects, granting not only healing but full restoration—including the power to return objects to their original state.
For instance, if an island were shattered, the Horse Talisman should, in theory, be able to restore it entirely. But Atlas felt none of this capability. Instead, it seemed as if he were fighting to redefine the talisman's power, forcing its "definition" of healing to match his own.
The Tiger Talisman's role in the original show was described as "balancing yin and yang," and indeed, that was its essence.
First, the body represented yang while the soul represented yin. Before, Atlas had felt a slight imbalance between his physique and spirit, but the Tiger Talisman forcibly corrected this—strengthening the weaker half rather than diminishing the stronger one.
Although it did not greatly increase his overall power, the balance made him feel far more comfortable in his own skin.
Second, he realized the Tiger Talisman had somehow integrated the powers of all the talismans he had already activated. This likely explained the sudden manifestation of Shendu's phantom.
Previously, using the talismans had felt clunky, as though he were borrowing power from something external. Now, the abilities flowed as naturally as breathing.
Moreover, the Tiger Talisman did not increase the strain on his body. Instead, it expanded his capacity, like a 120ml vessel being enlarged to 150ml.
This meant Atlas could now activate the next talisman.
But he wasn't in a rush. The talismans weren't going anywhere, and he had yet to fully understand the Tiger Talisman's functions.
Even so, Atlas felt dissatisfied. Its most iconic ability—the power to split into good and evil halves—was nowhere to be found. He could not break the talisman in two.
Not that he wanted to duplicate himself. The thought alone raised troubling questions. Would the two Atlases also possess the powers of the other talismans? Would either side recognize him as the original? Would he even be able to control them?
Technically speaking, those halves would not be entirely him, which meant there would be no "true" Atlas at all. Yet the ability had simply vanished.
Then, as he probed deeper, he uncovered a startling truth: he had only activated half of the Tiger Talisman.
This revelation made him reconsider its status among the twelve. If his theory was correct, the next six talismans would require the other half of the Tiger Talisman to properly integrate. When that time came, the split into good and evil halves would inevitably manifest—though in what form, he could not predict.
For now, he advanced with bold theories and careful restraint. After all, no one could foresee the outcome of colliding the rules of the One Piece world with the Zodiac Talismans.
"Looks like Ace and the others have their hands full… But I'll head to the summit first and wait for them."
Trusting his Observation Haki, Atlas rose to his feet and prepared to sprint toward the mountaintop. "My speed's gotten faster…"
At this point, they were still less than a third of the way from the peak.
"Hey, Sabo! Did this thing always hang around here?" Ace rasped, his grip tightening on his pipe as he faced the massive beast before them.
The King of Mt. Colubo! An enormous adult tiger with a gleaming striped coat, its powerful limbs rooted it firmly to the ground. To it, Ace and his brothers looked no larger than playthings.
"I don't think so. Last time we saw it, it was near the main peak." Sabo frowned. He and Ace knew this tiger all too well.
They had encountered it many times before, though always while fleeing for their lives. This beast was the undisputed King of Mt. Colubo. Neither of them had expected to cross paths with it again now, of all times.
The tiger itself felt equally wronged. One moment it had been enjoying a deep sleep, and the next it was dragged into a dizzying blur, awakening to the scent of someone vaguely familiar.
Then it found itself dumped here.
"That bastard! Damn it, I'll make him pay for this one day!" Ace growled, grinding his teeth as he guessed exactly who was behind this.
"Achoo!"
On the mountaintop, the very person Ace cursed sneezed suddenly. Atlas raised a hand to rub his nose and muttered, "Huh? Is the wind too strong up here? Whatever. Those brats should've run into it by now… Heheheh."
He let out a wicked laugh, casually rotating the meat skewered over his fire. Beside him lay a pile of animal pelts and discarded entrails.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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