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Another Negative Hollow shot out. It was fast, but with Atlas's reaction speed, he could have easily dodged it.
However, he made no move to do so, allowing the white ghost to pass right through him.
"Huh! I..."
Atlas's expression changed.
He felt as if something was about to burst out of his mouth, but the power of the Sheep Talisman flashed for an instant, forcibly suppressing the impulse, as if it were just an illusion.
As expected... The Hollow-Hollow Fruit and the Hobby-Hobby Fruit were both game-breaking existences among Paramecia types, essentially rule-based abilities, though the Hobby-Hobby Fruit was arguably more monstrous.
In truth, even without the Sheep Talisman's power, Atlas could have resisted for a while with his Conqueror's Haki, at least enough to avoid being embarrassed in front of others.
Perona, who had been silent not far away, had a flash of surprise in her eyes.
Since she had obtained this ability, no one had ever been immune to her ghost attacks, not even Moria, who had found her not long ago.
"Would you like to come with me to the Marines, little one?"
Atlas extended his invitation again. Perona hadn't been with Moria for long, and their bond was not yet deep.
She naturally wouldn't feel any resentment toward Atlas for Moria's death. Right now, she was just a somewhat withdrawn little girl.
"..."
Perhaps the shock had been a bit too much for her, as the current Perona lacked the cheerful demeanour of the future "Ghost Princess," but she still nodded lightly.
"Alright, then let's set off immediately! Destination: Marine Headquarters!"
As soon as he spoke, the Thriller Bark, which had been moving slowly through the Calm Belt, was rapidly lifted from the sea, kicking up a huge spray of white waves.
This caused the newly recovered Baby-5 to cry out in alarm, and even Perona couldn't help but cast a look of wonder at Atlas.
This man... is so special...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The Thriller Bark, under Atlas's control, did not dock at the harbour.
Instead, it hovered directly above Marineford, its near-sun-blocking shadow casting over the heads of the Marines on duty, causing them to exclaim in shock.
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell is that!"
"Is that an island or a ship! I've never seen a vessel this huge!"
"Don't tell me that guy, the Golden Lion, is attacking Headquarters again?"
"You idiot, the Golden Lion was already executed by Vice Admiral White Hō! Besides, the flag on the mast is ours!"
Fortunately, Atlas had the foresight to have the two little girls quickly make a Marine flag.
Otherwise, the sudden appearance of an unidentified ship over Marineford would have likely caused a massive panic, and that old geezer Sengoku would probably be complaining about him again.
It wasn't just the Marines on duty. On a ship bearing the World Government's insignia below, the leading CP9 agent also narrowed his eyes, a look of apprehension on his face.
Such disaster-level power...
SWISH!!
After positioning the Thriller Bark, Atlas appeared at the port with Baby-5 and Perona. Soon, the Captain on duty jogged over; he recognised him.
The man before him was the hottest new star of Marine Headquarters, the Admiral Candidate White Hō, an absolute top-tier figure in the Marines!
"Vice Admiral, sir! What are your orders?" The Captain on duty ran over and gave Atlas a solemn salute. Part of his duties included receiving high-ranking officers.
"...People from the CP agencies?" Just as Atlas was about to wave him away, his gaze suddenly hardened.
His line of sight shifted to the World Government ship docked at the port, and... the CP agent who seemed to be looking at him with a hint of hostility?
This guy...
Atlas left the others and walked forward. It wasn't because he disliked the guy and wanted to teach him a lesson, but mainly because he had remembered something.
This guy... his name is Who's-Who.
Then his purpose for being at Marine Headquarters should now be to transport some Devil Fruits confiscated by the Marines to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
The Gum-Gum Fruit should be on board. Atlas wasn't certain, because he had previously asked Sengoku about the Gum-Gum Fruit but hadn't seen it in the warehouse.
The World Government often dispatched CP agents to Headquarters to clear out some strategic inventory, which naturally included Devil Fruits.
However, this was indeed the first time Atlas had seen Who's-Who in person.
"A CP agent?"
Atlas carefully sized up the man who would later defect from the World Government.
Unlike Lucci, he wore a flamboyant red suit, had long pink hair, wore earrings, and had a lit cigarette in his mouth.
"CP9 agent, Who's-Who, the strongest prodigy of CP9!"
Feeling the immense pressure coming from Atlas, Who's-Who prudently stated his name and title, unable to resist emphasising his prodigy status.
"The strongest prodigy? Tch—! I just beat one up not too long ago..." Atlas sneered. The CP agencies and the Marines had an unspoken rivalry.
Who's-Who and Rob Lucci had naturally been compared to him since their debut. But he had grown too fast.
Before they could even catch up, he had already left them far behind in the dust.
"..." Who's-Who's pupils contracted. He had already guessed who the other prodigy Atlas was referring to.
Although he always claimed to be on par with Lucci, only he knew in his heart that his talent was far inferior to Lucci's.
"What's in here is for the World Government. You can't go in!"
In his moment of distraction, Atlas had already started walking toward the ship's cabin behind him. Who's-Who quickly tried to stop him.
But... Atlas couldn't be bothered to listen. Who's-Who wouldn't dare to stop him anyway physically. Otherwise, Lucci's fate would soon become his own.
Atlas walked straight into the cabin. There were many items inside, with Devil Fruits and some famed swords sorted and arranged neatly.
These were all scarce strategic resources in the world of pirates. Soon, a wooden box caught Atlas's attention.
He opened it, and a Devil Fruit appeared before him.
It wasn't oddly shaped like other fruits, but had the round appearance of a normal fruit, with mysterious spiral patterns and a purple skin. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it.
This was the Gum-Gum Fruit Atlas that the Atlas had been looking for!
Whether it was a so-called "God Fruit" or not was unimportant. What was important was that this was absolutely the most suitable Devil Fruit for Luffy!
"Hey! I'm taking this Devil Fruit!" Walking out of the storage room, Atlas now had a small wooden box in his hand. What was inside was self-evident.
"But, this is for the nobles in the Holy Land..." Who's-Who stammered, hoping that this Marine might be wary of the Celestial Dragons.
"I'll talk to Admiral Sengoku about this. You don't need to worry about it." With that, Atlas brushed past Who's-Who and walked straight toward Baby-5 and the others.
"..." Watching Atlas's departing back, Who's-Who was filled with resentment but could only swallow his grievances. This was the frustrating reality of being weaker.
"Take these two to get registered for the academy. I'm going to see Admiral Sengoku," Atlas instructed the Captain on duty.
It had to be said, the education system in the world of pirates was a complete mess, if one could even say it existed. Most of it was private, aristocratic education.
The only public schools Atlas had seen were in the Marines, and the students were mostly the children of officers from Headquarters. So, the cause of education has a long way to go.
The World Government didn't understand its importance.
"Yes, Vice Admiral White Hō!" The Captain saluted again, then led Baby-5 and Perona away.
Watching them leave, Atlas strode across the main square of Headquarters and headed toward Sengoku's office.
"Teacher Zephyr is here too?"
He pushed open the office door, and the sight of Zephyr's muscular frame met his eyes, which surprised Atlas slightly. As an Admiral, Zephyr was in a state of semi-retirement, spending most of his time at the recruit training camp. He rarely came to see Sengoku.
"Hehe, the new session of the recruit training camp is about to start. I just came to coordinate some work with Sengoku," Zephyr explained with a smile.
"Are there any recruits that have satisfied you this session, Teacher Zephyr?" Atlas said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"There are a couple with good potential, but they're still a far cry from Enel."
"Oh? Enel?" Speaking of Enel, it had been several months since he had been handed over to Zephyr.
Atlas had gotten a general idea of his progress from Zephyr's occasional comments.
The guy had been quite arrogant at first, but after being beaten up by Zephyr and Shuzo countless times, he had humbled down considerably.
His growth in strength is a leap, especially in terms of his physique.
Following Atlas's suggestion for the development of his fruit, his "tempering the body with lightning" training was progressing quite well.
"You brat, you cause such a huge commotion the moment you get back!"
Sengoku, who had been quietly listening to the chatter between Zephyr and Atlas, could no longer hold back and spoke with a slightly displeased tone.
"I didn't want to. I just happened to run into Moria on the way and took his head," Atlas said with a shrug, feigning helplessness.
"Moria..." Sengoku thought for a moment. "I believe the World Government invited him to become a Warlord. You..."
"That's right. I ran into CP9 on Thriller Bark, but I killed Moria before they could do anything."
"The Warlord system shouldn't exist in the first place, and even if it does, it should be under the control of us Marines!" As he spoke, a murderous aura emanated from Atlas.
Sengoku and Zephyr both nodded in agreement. For the Marines to allow a group of pirates to legally plunder was, without a doubt, a disgrace to justice.
"The Marines have no control over the Warlord matter. The World Government has already started looking for other candidates. The Marines can't interfere at all," Sengoku said with a headache.
The current power of the Marines was enough to deter the disunited pirates.
The three of them present knew very well what the other purpose of the Warlord system was, but they were powerless to do anything about it.
"Forget it, let's not dwell on this," Sengoku said, not wanting to continue the pointless topic.
He continued, "When do you plan to head to your new post in the New World? That base can't go without you."
"In a few days. I don't have my own flagship yet. I was thinking of having the science unit at Headquarters refit Thriller Bark and make that my flagship."
This was not an unreasonable request.
Atlas was supposed to have his own flagship, and Sengoku had mentioned it several times before, but Atlas had always refused, citing dissatisfaction. Now that he was asking, Sengoku was more than happy to oblige.
"Also, I brought back two kids from my trip. They have good Devil Fruit abilities, both Paramecia. One is the Arms-Arms Fruit, and the other is the Hollow-Hollow Fruit."
"Are you treating Headquarters like a kindergarten? You bring back a bunch of kids every time you go out," Sengoku rolled his eyes, but there was absolutely no hint of blame in his tone.
Although his methods against pirates were very similar to Sakazuki's, Atlas possessed a compassion that Akainu lacked. Sakazuki was too cold.
"I can't help it. I'm just adding bricks and tiles for the future of the Marines. Besides, wasn't Rosinante picked up by you in the same way?"
"Alright, since you'll be at Headquarters for the next few days, you can come by my place when you're free and give some pointers to the recruits.
There's a female swordsman among them this time," Zephyr said, seizing the opportunity to invite Atlas to the recruit camp.
As a former student of Zephyr, Atlas naturally wouldn't refuse. It was just like with Gion back then; she had been tricked into being a sword instructor at the recruit camp for several months in the same way.
Of course, Atlas didn't have several months to teach. The G-5 base in the New World was still unguarded.
If he stayed at Headquarters for a few months, Sengoku would transform into his giant Buddha form and blast him to the New World with a shockwave.
"No problem. The science unit will need a few days to work on my flagship anyway. I'll come bother you then, Teacher." In just a few words, the matter was settled.
"Oh, right, old man Sengoku, I took a Devil Fruit from a World Government transport ship just now. If they ask about it, you have to cover for me," Atlas said casually, placing the Gum-Gum Fruit on Sengoku's desk.
"It's just one Devil Fruit. Are you planning to become a user?" Sengoku was surprised.
Although Atlas had displayed several abilities that defied comprehension, Sengoku had seen him swim in the sea with his own eyes and knew he wasn't a user of the Devil Fruit.
"No, it's for Luffy. This fruit is very suitable for him."
"Garp's grandson? Be careful, he doesn't come after you for this..." It was just one Devil Fruit; Sengoku didn't care.
Even if it were transported to the Holy Land, it would just become a toy for those Celestial Dragons. It was better to use it to strengthen an important asset for the Marines.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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