"Moshi moshi, Randell Captain, this is Atlas." Atlas easily dialled Randell's private Den Den Mushi, greeting him in a familiar tone.
"Vice Admiral Atlas? Do you have an order for me?" Randell asked in a serious voice.
In the eyes of an old-school Marine like him, rank trumped personal friendship. He thought Atlas was calling to entrust him with a mission.
"Old man Randell, why are you being so formal with me? I'm actually calling to ask for a personal favour." Atlas's tone was slightly dissatisfied as he spoke, half-joking, half-scolding.
"Hahahaha, alright then! I'll take advantage of your brat's offer for a moment! Go on, what is it you need from this old codger?" Randell's tone relaxed as well.
He was a Marine from the same era as Garp. Although he didn't have Garp's legendary achievements, he had similarly toiled silently for the Marines for decades.
"It's nothing much. Please go to Shimotsuki Village and pick someone up for me. She will definitely be an outstanding Marine one day."
Atlas was, of course, talking about Kuina. To prevent his appearance from causing her to die earlier, he decided to bring Kuina into the Marines as soon as possible.
She was already ten years old. Having lived in the dojo her whole life, she must have a very solid foundation. In a few more years at most, she would be ready for real combat.
"That's rare! A kid you think so highly of must have excellent potential!"
"No problem. I'll send someone to pick her up and bring her to the Loguetown base when I have a moment. You can come and get her to bring her to Headquarters when you're free."
...
East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.
World's greatest swordsman?
Koushirou stared blankly at the determined Zoro. The red mark on the boy's face hadn't faded, but his expression was filled with stubbornness.
His fists were clenched, as if that vow electrified every pore in his body.
"Are you... Serious?" Koushirou slowly let his gentle smile fade.
His face became stern and serious. He straightened up from his half-crouch, his gaze, peering through his glasses, locked directly onto Zoro's eyes.
"Of course! A real man never goes back on his word!" Zoro didn't look away in the slightest, his words resolute.
"But..." Koushirou said with some hesitation, "Kuina is leaving tomorrow. Atlas has already sent someone to take her to the Marines."
"Wha—!!?"
.............
Night fell, and darkness enveloped the sea.
Shimotsuki Village, as expected, fell into slumber.
The few lights that remained on were from homes engaging in... post-dinner digestive activities, exploring the origins of humanity.
Isshin Dojo.
The dojo's students had all returned to their own homes, to their own mothers. The daytime's liveliness was gone.
But the master's bedroom was still brightly lit.
Koushirou and his wife knelt on the bed, an oil lamp lit beside them. The yellow flame cast its shadows onto the wall, filling the entire room.
"Are you really at ease sending Kuina to the Marines?" Mrs Heidi's brow was furrowed, clearly questioning Koushirou's decision.
"I don't want to, either. I never thought that constantly discouraging her would instead ignite her competitive spirit, making her determined to prove that a woman can also become the world's greatest swordsman."
Koushirou also shook his head with a bitter smile. He had always told Kuina that a woman could not become the world's greatest swordsman.
But as someone who was himself quite skilled, and who had travelled the seas in his youth, how could he not know that gender was never a barrier to becoming strong!!
But he doted on his daughter and didn't want Kuina to go to sea. After all, the sea was just too cruel!
"With Kuina's personality, she'll go to sea sooner or later. It's better to let her see the vastness of the sea early on."
"Besides, I'll be more at ease with Atlas looking after her."
"But..."
"Alright, let's leave it at that. Staying with the Marines is at least better than drifting around alone at sea!"
Koushirou pulled Heidi into an embrace, speaking in a soft, warm voice.
"It's not like I can hand Kuina over to Dragon, right? Although I don't know what he's planning, his movements are far too mysterious. It's definitely more dangerous than being a pirate."
Dragon was someone he had met by chance many years ago, who had once borrowed a large amount of grain from him.
Heidi's illness had also been cured by one of Dragon's companions. Although the couple was very grateful to him, the powerful man's movements were too mysterious.
Even Koushirou, who had seen countless people, couldn't figure out his objective.
"Ehh—!!"
Mrs Heidi let out a long sigh, helplessly accepting the fact that Kuina would soon be leaving her.
"Don't sigh. How about we have another son, one who can inherit the dojo in the future?"
Whoosh—!
The moment he spoke, a strong gust of air blew out the candle, and the sturdy bed began to shake violently.
...
Elsewhere, in a corner of the dojo.
The cold moonlight shone on the rows of wooden training posts.
Kuina gripped her bamboo sword with both hands and began her extra training for the day with methodical movements.
Yah—!!
Thwack—!!
Hah—!!
Thwack—!!
The dull, rhythmic sounds of striking echoed in the empty, open space.
"Kuina—!!"
Suddenly, a loud shout interrupted Kuina's rhythm. Zoro, holding two steel longswords, had appeared behind her at some point.
"Zoro?"
Kuina lowered her bamboo sword, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Zoro in confusion, wondering what this guy was up to now.
"You're leaving tomorrow?" Zoro didn't answer immediately, asking a question of his own.
"Yeah. Brother Atlas is taking me to the Marines."
"In that case..." Zoro's eyes widened angrily, and he shouted with a wide grin, "Fight me for real, Kuina!"
"Use your real sword!!"
"Me?"
Kuina wiped the sweat from her forehead and caught her breath. "Alright."
After speaking, she walked to the side and picked up the Wado Ichimonji that was leaning against a post.
Clang—!
The longsword was unsheathed. She held the sword with both hands, the blade's edge pointing at Zoro, who had already taken his two-sword style stance.
"I'm coming!" Zoro warned, once again launching the first attack.
"Bring it!"
Yah—!
Wah—!
The two small figures crossed paths, and the crisp sound of metal clashing rang out!
Clang—!!
Two longswords fell to the ground. Zoro fell at the same time.
Kuina pressed her leg on Zoro's body, and the Wado Ichimonji thrust fiercely into the ground right next to Zoro's moss-green head.
"This is my 1,889th victory! Damn it! I can't accept this!" Zoro slammed his palm against his forehead, gritting his teeth.
Thud!!
Kuina plopped down next to Zoro, looking up at the round moon, her voice light.
"You know, Father used to tell me that a girl could never become the world's greatest swordsman. I was so frustrated back then."
"But Brother Atlas told me that there are many strong women in this world. One of the three Emperors in the New World is even a woman."
"So what are you trying to say!!?" Zoro turned his head to look at Kuina, not understanding.
"Idiot! Let's make a promise!" Kuina suddenly sat up, hugging her Wado Ichimonji, and shouted with excitement.
"Don't you always say you want to be the world's greatest swordsman, too? Then let's have a competition to see which one of us can become the world's best!"
"Alright!!" Zoro immediately got up, held out his hand, and offered it to Kuina.
Slap—!!
The crisp sound of a high-five rang out. Under the moonlight, two small hands gripped each other tightly!
"By the way, Zoro, why don't you use the Sandai Kitetsu that Brother Atlas gave you? Huh? Atlas said I'm too young and can't control that cursed sword yet."
"Oh, actually..." Kuina suddenly recalled the first time Atlas had brought Zoro to challenge her. "You should maybe try three-sword style!"
....
Sea Circle Era 1512.
New World, Raijin Island.
Atlas stood steadily on the sea, not far from Raijin Island. His tall body swayed with the surging waves, as if he were one with the ocean.
Black-and-red Haki flowed slowly beneath his feet, maintaining his body's basic balance on the sea's surface.
He wasn't relying on any ability, just purely using his own power to stand on the water.
The key point was the control of Armament Haki.
In his previous life, watching Naruto, one could run on water by channelling chakra to their feet.
Although Armament Haki and chakra are completely different systems, by referencing the internal destruction technique of Armament Haki, Atlas discovered that Armament Haki could also be made to flow.
However, to run on the sea, the level of micro-control required for Armament Haki was much higher. At least, it was very difficult for Atlas to do.
His fighting style relied entirely on outputting massive amounts of Armament Haki, and his control over it was very crude.
To make a small amount of Armament Haki flow under his feet without making waves was undoubtedly difficult for him.
After all, he was used to being overbearing and couldn't change his habits overnight.
Fortunately, after several months of practice, he could finally, barely, achieve this effect for short periods.
But it still required a state of extreme calm. Applying it in battle was still somewhat difficult.
Atlas looked at Raijin Island in the distance. Countless purple bolts of lightning rained down densely on the island.
Dark clouds swirled above it, and the ceaseless roar of thunder constantly challenged the limits of human hearing.
Raijin Island is one of the three starting points of the New World routes after Fish-Man Island, and it is also the most dangerous of the three routes.
He originally thought that an Eternal Pose for Raijin Island would be hard to get, but he didn't expect this dangerous-looking island to be so important.
The entire island is shrouded in thunderstorms almost all year round.
The environment is extremely harsh, with very scarce flora and fauna, yet a few natives still live on this dangerous island.
However, this also meant that basically no pirates were interested in this island, not even the Emperors with their immense desire for expansion.
To successfully land on the island, one must be equipped with a special umbrella. The natives on the island are also able to move around freely thanks to this special umbrella.
In any case, Atlas didn't really understand. In a thunderstorm, shouldn't holding an umbrella make you more likely to be struck by lightning?
Thinking of this, Atlas slowly controlled his body to float up from the sea surface and flew toward Raijin Island's shore.
Soon, a clear coastline appeared in his line of sight.
At the same time, a small, uniquely shaped boat was slowly lowered onto the sea surface.
The boat was entirely black, not as if it had been painted, but more like the colour of charcoal after a lightning strike. The material was not very sturdy, clearly unable to withstand long voyages.
The boat was very small, no different from an ordinary fishing boat.
Once the small boat was completely on the water, several people in green clothes jumped onto it, took out oars, and rowed vigorously in Atlas's direction.
Soon, the small boat drew near.
A group of green-robed people tilted their heads back to look at Atlas, who was floating in mid-air.
"Honourable Marine, are you planning to land on the island? You can't do that without a lightning-proof umbrella!"
The leader of the green-robed people squeezed a stiff smile onto his pale face. He held up the green long-handled umbrella in his hand and hawked at Atlas in a hoarse voice.
Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed, the white-silver light illuminating the leader's face.
It was covered in wrinkles. Perhaps due to a perennial lack of sunlight, his complexion was exceptionally pale.
Below his sharp, hooked nose were loose, broken, and yellowed teeth. His mouth, which seemed to split his face nearly to his ears, looked particularly creepy, enough to give anyone goosebumps.
"Do you... Need an umbrella?" Seeing Atlas remain silent, the old, green-robed man asked again.
"Your umbrella... can repel lightning?"
Although the lightning on the island was just ordinary natural lightning, without any special abilities, in such a dense thunderstorm, forget an umbrella... even if he carried a house up there, he'd still get struck!
According to Atlas's speculation, Raijin Island was formed a long time ago when a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user developed their power to the point of Awakening and fought an enemy, completely changing the island's climate.
It was just like the future battle between Akainu and Aokiji for the rank of Fleet Admiral, which, after ten days and ten nights, turned the island battlefield into a harsh climate of half ice, half fire!
The Awakenings of the three Devil Fruit types each have their own characteristics.
Zoan-type Awakenings grant a massive boost to physique and healing abilities. Paramecia-types can assimilate and control their surroundings.
Logia-types can permanently change the geographical environment, a power truly worthy of being called a natural disaster!
"That's right. The umbrella in my hand can help you enter this island safely. And you...Only need to pay a small price."
The green-robed old man said this while pinching his thumb and forefinger together, as if measuring something small.
"Oh? In that case..."
"Would you mind revealing the principle behind how this umbrella repels lightning? It's mainly to satisfy my personal curiosity. If it's not convenient, then forget it."
"Hehe..." The old man's smile didn't fade.
He raised the umbrella in his hand and explained unhurriedly, "There's nothing inconvenient about it. Almost everyone who comes to this island asks this question before buying an umbrella."
"This island's climate has been like this for as long as I can remember. My family has lived here for generations. Although the island is almost barren due to the constant thunderstorms..."
"However, there is always a glimmer of life. There is one type of plant that has survived stubbornly and has a decent ability to reproduce."
"And, perhaps because of the environment, things made from this plant can avoid lightning. The lightning is completely blocked out, just like rain."
"So, without this umbrella in my hand, which is made from that special plant, you cannot land on this island."
The green-robed old man gently stroked the umbrella, his face full of confidence.
"But, if you expose this secret so easily, won't pirates just rob you and take your umbrellas?"
Atlas slowly descended, asking in confusion.
"Every seven days, there is a massive thunderstorm on the island. This umbrella in my hand is not enough to get through it. Only we know the method.
"The fastest a Log Pose can take to record the magnetism here is ten days. Unless those pirates are willing to stop here and go no further, otherwise..."
"Hehe—!!!"