A Piece of My Own

by Cheerfully Dark

Ever wonder what it's like to be reborn into the one-piece world as a member of a nearly extinct race, it's not fun I'll tell you that. I have nothing to do with the Straw Hats, nor do I plan to seek them out. My goal is simple, to fulfill a promise I made years ago, and anyone dumb enough to get in my way will be left as nothing more than charred remains.

3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece

Great sea: Paradise, Location: ?, 15 years ago

"And there we have it folks. Our beloved Willy is nothing more than a bloody and not to mention headless smear on our beloved arena walls, but let's be honest we wouldn't have it any other way. Although he doesn't have a name our beloved crowd has deemed to give him one. Give it up for 'Janus'!"

I ignore the annoying cheers of my sick audience. Looking at another victim. I tried to make myself feel something, anything. Back in my old world the thought of taking another life would have made me sick. It did make me sick, at least when I was forced to kill the first time. I tried to resist, I tried to keep my morals, but that was just stupid, something I was forced to learn. After all, she doesn't like defective toys in her playground.

Now the thought of killing, the act of killing. It means nothing to me, just a tool for me to use in order to survive, and I do intend on surviving this hell hole. She thinks she has me all figured out, but I'll make her suffer, because once I'm strong enough, once. I'm. Powerful. Enough. I'll show her who's the toy and who's the master. That is a promise I made to myself.

Using my wings to cover my face I quickly take off my tragedy mask and put on my comedy mask in its place. With that complete, I look at the crowd and bring my hand up to cheer back at the crowd. They obviously love my enthusiasm even though it's fake. Like I said I can't bring myself to feel anything, anything but this burning anger for being forced to endure this suffering. However, I can't let them know that, so I cheer, I cheer until I reach the exit hallway and am led by the two guards back to my 'quarters'.

As unfortunate as it may seem the name Janus isn't inaccurate, I really am two faced.

(-)

Great sea: North blue, Location: Basking pirates ship

"Oh. My. Gooosshhhh." I say in part exasperation, part frustration.

"Why are you guys so useless? This is the North Blue and your pirates, how on earth can you not handle a single marine battleship firing at you. Didn't you guys say you've been pirates for years?"

I can't believe these guys are such idiots. I was taking a well-deserved rest. When I was woken up to the sounds of cannon fire. Since I was sleeping outside on the deck I obviously saw the marine battleship, but since I was on a pirate ship, and considering the captain said he's been pirating for years, I thought he had it handled, turns out I was wrong, so terribly wrong, because the marines got a well-aimed shot at the side of the ship, luckily it hit the upper part of the ship, so there's no need to worry about flooding, unluckily the impact caused the captain to fall and hit his head knocking him unconscious.

Now I'm watching these so-called pirates, running around panicking like headless chickens as they're clearly used to having the captain tell them what to do. Sigh the first thing I'm gonna do is make sure my crew is independent in case anything ever happens to me. This is just pathetic.

If nothing is done the marines are clearly gonna come take over this ship. I really don't care for these guys, but I'm kind of enjoying my leisurely pace.

"Attention pirates, in the names of the marines we order you to give up and surrender. If you comply you will be treated humanely and respectfully while you're sent to prison to atone for your crimes. If you don't, then we will have no choice but to come at you with the intent to kill, this is your first and final warning."

Wow, such good liars. Now I don't know how many people know this in my old world, but North blue is actually considered to be the strongest out of all the blues. This is because not only is the North Blue technologically more advanced, but it's also a breeding ground for strong notorious pirates.

The reason for this is simple. A lot of pirates who fail at sailing the grand line always turn back to hunt in less ferocious waters. However, even though the waters of the blues are less fierce than those of the grand line, pirates still have their pride. It's bad enough that they had to turn coat and run away, but if they choose to settle in any of the even weaker seas they'll be the laughing stock of all the pirates and so they choose to reside in the north blue. Big fish from all over the world try to compete in their own little world.

They steal, they pillage, and they claim territory, this means that the marines efforts are constantly focused on this sea.

Pirates vs marines, as you can imagine the fighting never stops, and innocents get involved, they lose their loved ones, and they make promises to themselves or to others of how they'll never let the tragedy that happened to them ever occur again. This means they aim to be stronger than the foe that supposedly wronged them, these people tend to join the side opposite of their grudge in order to exact that vengeance.

And so an infinite cycle was created. A cycle of loss, vengeance, and strength.

This brings me back to why I called them liars. Some people know, and some people learn, but you can't survive on a battlefield by showing mercy. Whether you're on the side of 'good' or 'bad' showing mercy is a certified way of getting yourself killed. What the marines are doing is just employing a textbook tactic of trying to bring us in a false sense of security, making us contemplate that maybe, just maybe, will be spared if we give up, but let me tell you that as soon as we raise that white flag, they'll shoot us to death faster than you can say 'pirate king'.

Not only that, but it also puts the marines in a good light. 'The benevolent warriors tried to give the evil pirates a chance at life, but were rudely turned down and so they had no choice, but to destroy them.' And unfortunately, that tactic tends to work a lot.

"Maybe we should just give up."

"'It's hopeless, we can't win without the captain."

"Were done for."

Their morale was already in shambles the moment their captain was knocked unconscious, but now that they seem to be offered a glimpse of hope they latched onto it like the greedy cretins they are.

Sigh, guess I'm gonna have to stop them.

Walking forward to the edge of the ship my steps caught the attention of everyone around me. It seems that in their panic they forgot that I was still here.

Looking up at the sky I can see that it's barely dawn. These poor fools thought that they had an easy target little did they know that I'm here. Igniting the flame on my back and bringing out comedy I prepare my attack.

The Basking pirates are all silent, seemingly wondering what I'm going to do.

The thing is as a Lunarian I can consciously control and manipulate my flames. When watching King he was able to shape and manipulate his flames into a dragon as well as to reach temperatures so hot they rivaled that of Akainu's magma. What I'm about to do is practically the same.

Enveloping comedy in blistering heat, I concentrate, and concentrate, and concentrate. Until comedy is reminiscent of newly annealed metal. This is one of my more destructive techniques.

Sovereigns Gift: Searing Saucer

Satisfied with the heat, I launched comedy straight at the marine battleship ship. Some would think I'm crazy, why on earth would a comedy launch at a full-sized galleon? Like I said I can control and manipulate any flame I produce. I just enveloped comedy in my fire and before I launched comedy I consciously manipulated my flames to be a little loose.

Looking at my fan the flames that surround it seem to grow bigger, leaner, and not to mention brighter. Until they expanded to both the shape of a flying saucer and the size of your stereotypical UFO.

"What the hell is that!"

I aimed my weapon at the center of the ship and by the time comedy arrived at the galleon the flames that surrounded her were as wide as the warship. It's only natural as they were quite a distance away from us and the longer it spins the wider the disk gets. The fate of that ship can be inferred. Comedy sliced through that galleon like a hot knife through softened butter. Normally this attack only melts nothing more, but one can't forget all the gunpowder and other heat-sensitive materials a battleship of that size would carry. Thus

BOOM!

An earth-quaking noise resounded as the Marine ship erupted and a huge explosion went off as it was cleanly severed in two, illuminating the darkened sky.

The flames the saucer was composed of quickly died out and comedy, which was the medium of the entire technique, came flying back to my awaiting hand and generated a hissing sound as she rapidly cooled down.

The flame on my back died out and for once it wasn't of my own volition. After an attack that big I'm now in my cool-down phase. I won't be generating any more flames for the next 2 minutes, not like I need to, considering the threat is handled and even if I do, let it be known that I'm no one trick pony.

Looking at the battleship, I realized that those were people's loved ones. Those people could have been somebody's wife, husband, brother, sister, or friend, and I realized I took that all away and the one thing I feel for all those lives I took Is complete and other… Apathy.

I have been killing for years. These people aren't the first lives I took in this world and they won't be the last either, if I get caught up and teary for every death I cause in this world I'll never thrive, I'll never succeed. I only have enough space in my heart to cry for those I cherish and nothing more, and I don't intend to make room.

Satisfied with my work I ignore the shocked faces of my onlookers. Grabbing the comforters I lean against the ship's mast and try to get some more rest, I'm so tired of being interrupted from my naps.

(-)

What in the actual hell was that? Zenny Morris fearfully exclaimed.

In all 19 years of his life he never once thought anything that he just witnessed was even remotely possible.

After the captain got knocked out the entire crew was thrown into disarray and as ashamed as he was to say it he was no different. His situation is nothing new. He was just another poor orphan who the regular folk couldn't even bother to look at.

He stole, he lied, he cheated, he did anything if it meant that he could survive, he trusted nobody and in turn nobody trusted him and he was fine with that. Then one day on the day of his eighteenth birthday his hometown was attacked by pirates, the very same pirate whose ship he's aboard right now.

They razed his village, took everything of value, and killed numerous people; he didn't want to be a victim. He was a survivor. He's been through so much shit in his life and he'll be damned if a little pirate mugging was gonna kill him, unfortunately, he decided to hide in a tavern and the one thing pirates like other than treasure was booze. Obviously, he was discovered and the pirates were wondering what to do with him.

"HASASA! Well, looky here. We have a straggler here boys, one who looks like he hasn't even grown any hair on his balls. HASASA."

The captain's voice was the epitome of mockery, and his crew reflected him perfectly. "Tell you what boy, after this raid and all this booze I'm in a considerably good mood, so how about I make you a deal. Join my crew and you are free to go."

"And if I refuse?" It took all my willpower not to stutter as I looked the cruel man in the eyes. My only response was a finger sliding across his throat.

Anyone can deduce what choice Morris made, but it was his next choice, that really made me understand myself.

"Good, good then there is just one thing you have to do. Hey, bring her in here boys." Soon the captain's men brought out someone that gave me mixed feelings.

Her name was Amelia she also was 18 years old and one could say that she was the town's beauty. She had what could only be described as a sculpted figure which was the perfect blend of thin and filled. She had delicate ears, a cute button nose, and a burnished complexion. A set of dazzling white always appeared every time she aimed a picture-perfect smile at the town. And she had enticing constellation-blue eyes and what could only be described as angel blond hair that put all the other girls to shame. Yes, any man looking at this woman couldn't help but let blood flow to the groin.

"Me and my boys, we're gonna have fun with her, but I've decided that I'll let you have her isn't that nice, and don't even think about refusing my generous offer. Think of this as an initiation. Something to give me proof that you're one of us. You know what I'm implying and I know what I'm implying, well leave you two to get acquainted. Do try to show her a good time and remember skipping out on my offer is like spitting in my face and I don't take well to disrespectful crewmates. Come one boy's let's go, we're not freaks after all. You have a one-hour boy HASASASA!

With that, the pirates left the tavern and he was left with the biggest choice of his life. He would have to force himself on someone in order to survive.

Looking closely he saw that she was shedding uncontrollable tears and was fighting her restraints.

Just like the rest of the town he also thought that Amelia was beautiful. Not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. He's seen the way she treats the people. She's so full of kindness that anyone and everyone will be drawn to her. He knew he never had a shot after all, he was just a street rat, but he dared to hope that he could possibly have a friend. One day, in the early morning he decided to approach her when he happened to spot her walking into the town park. Sometimes he wishes he hadn't because Morris ended up overhearing her conversation with her friends.

"Haha Amelia how can you stand smiling all day."

"Uhhh! It's so Goddamn annoying. To smile for these worthless pigs, to put on an act for them that I actually care about them and to talk to those dirty street children. All of it is just so repulsive."

He was in shock, this was the same, Amelia. Amelia smiles and laughs and gives such sweet compliments to the townspeople.

"Then why do you do it Amelia what's your aim, do you just want to be this beloved girl for the whole town."

"Don't be stupid. I'm only doing this so I can be the next town leader. My grades are exceptional, my looks divine, and the personality I crafted for the townspeople is perfect. All I have to do is put on a show for these fools and this town will be mine. Think about it, sure it comes with responsibility, but have you seen how cushy the current leader lives? Not to mention that you can shape this entire place in your own image. It's perfect and just a few more years and I'll be able to relax in my luxurious mansion attended by the finest of butlers, and this town will be nothing more than my garden where I can trim out the unwanted weeds anytime I want."

Shockingly, that day he cried. He cried because his hope in this world died, even the nicest of people in this world are fake. There is no such thing as a good person in this world. There is only the user and the used.

He never faulted her for her Insincerity. Despite her being a two-faced liar, she was only playing by the rules of the world. To use strength to get what you want. There are different kinds of strength in this world, not just the physical kind. Amelia was just using her looks and her brains to get what she wants and those who fell for her charms just lost to her strength. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is why he didn't listen to her pleading as he undid her gag to make sure she was as loud as possible. Which was why he relished the fearful look in her eyes as he undid his belt. This was why her screams were music to his ears as he ripped off her clothes and admired her perfect figure.

When he inserted his rod inside her, he both lost and gained something that day. He finally gained insight. The proverbial piece that's always been missing in his life finally appeared and made him complete. He liked power. Power is the only thing in this world that can ensure your safety, your success, and your freedom. As he kept thrusting deep inside her without any consciousness for her comfort. He decided he wanted more.

He wanted more power, to be free, and finally not have people look down on him anymore. As much as the captain was a piece of shit he appreciated this lesson. The power to do anything you want whenever you want, he needed it, and as he finished inside her he told himself he'll get his hands on more of it by any means, even if he had to follow scum like him.

The past year he's been working his butt off like he never has before. He lived on the streets so he was already tough to begin with and he liked to believe he only got stronger. He pillaged, he stole, he fought, he killed. All in order to achieve his dream. And for a time he thought he could take on anything besides the captain of course. That was until he met him.

He didn't understand what happened one moment the captain was enforcing his strength and giving his demands and the next moment we were all face down to the ground and groaning and/or vomiting with severe displeasure. He doesn't understand what he did other than look at them. After the man's friend and the cow returned to his side and retreated back to the village we all got a beating we would never forget.

I was helpless once again, in the face of greater strength.

The burn wounds are still fresh on his body. After that unforgettable and humiliating defeat, they all basically became his hostages, forced to attend to his whim as he just relaxed on the deck of the ship. Despite the beating he gave them, despite him explicitly stating that their lives mean nothing to him and that they can go kill themselves anytime, he couldn't help but admire him. He's everything he wanted to be, everything he could be. The man did nothing wrong in Morris' opinion, all he's done is play the game correctly and as his right, he can do whatever he wants with people ranked lower than him.

Then the showing he performed as he casually unleashed an inferno-shaped Frisbee only increased his admiration for him in spades. Looked around at his 'crewmates'. All he sees is fear and trepidation. After witnessing that nobody wants to be anywhere near him, he's already decided on what he needs to do.

Anything it'll take to be one of the top players in this game they call life.

(-)

2 hours later

Ok, I give up.

After trying and failing to fall into the land of dreams for the past 2 hours I eventually see that it's pointless to try and get any more shut-eye.

Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Looking across the deck I can see a tiny little dot smacked down on the open ocean. The next island.

"Hey, you there. Could you kindly tell me everything you know about that island over there?" The surprise yelp I get from the random pirate is pretty annoying.

"Oh right, um the navigator said it's called Tomari Island. It's an island composed of one really big town called Grugen and it's known for its resident's exceptional fishing skills and its abundance of aquatic life. It's a pretty normal island with even more normal citizens and It's an extreme Hotspot for pirating or at least it used to be. 10 years ago they stationed a marine base here at the request of vice admiral Jonathan the commander of G-8 on the Grand Line. You see this was his hometown and since he's a valuable asset to the marines they immediately centered a marine base smack down in the middle to keep his precious island safe."

"Really I suppose this marine base must be pretty formidable if it discourages so many pirates."

"Well it's not that the marine base is that formidable. I mean sure, not many want to mess with the marines, but at the same time, I know of many pirates who would. The problem is that there's a vice admiral that's stationed here. He goes by the name 'Old Lace'. He's a marine that resided in the grand line before he decided to stand down and semi-retire in this little old town, and when he heard what Jonathan was doing he decided it was the perfect chance."

"Oh, I see so when you say semi-retire you mean that instead of focusing on threats of the grand line he decided to go to more peaceful waters. He's still fighting, but the pirates he's fighting are much weaker than what he is used to in other words, he's the perfect deterrent."

"Exactly."

Well isn't this a surprise a retired marine protecting a little island in North Blue. Not only that, but he was a vice admiral as well which means he can use haki and if he really is training all those marines on the island that means they're pretty tough as a unit.

"I see, thank you." I was about to walk away when I saw the man fidgeting in place seeing that he still had something to say. I gesture for him to continue.

"Well seeing as there's a vice admiral stationed there umm…well it wouldn't be wise to go anywhere near it seeing as we're pirates."

"Haha, just say that you're scared. Well it's fine I won't force you guys to go any further, but I do intend to go on that island. I'll just get there myself. Although, the question is what should I do with all of you?"

If one were to look, my mask took on a more sinister tint. Suddenly the deck of the ship got noticeably quiet.

"Umm, w-what do you mean?" The man nervously uttered.

"Come now, don't play dumb. You attempted to raid my village and on top of that you all insinuated that you were going to force yourselves on one of my friends, surely you don't think a little burn is going to make us even." Slowly, I start to pace around the deck of the ship seemingly in thought.

"So here's what I'm thinking of doing. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this to you all, but I plan to become a pirate too."

Suddenly, and quite expectedly, my comment broke the crew into shock.

"Huuh!"

"Wait, seriously!"

"Does that mean you're gonna join the basking pirates?"

Immediately, I appeared in front of the idiot that said that and flicked him in the head with my index finger, sending him crashing to the other side of the deck. Naturally, the uproar quieted immediately.

"Haha, don't be stupid you guys. I would never join a crew as pathetic as this one. Come on, I have standards." My words were a blow to both their pride and egos, but they didn't have the guts to refute my words.

"No, I plan to form my own crew, I have a plan on how to achieve that, but at the moment I'm currently a pirate crew consisting of one. That's where you guys come in." Dramatically, I point to each and every one of them.

"Until I form my crew I will be riding along your ship for the foreseeable future." Naturally, my words angered them, but I had a retort

"Haha don't worry, don't worry. If you allow me to stay then I'll be giving you a grand opportunity. You see I'm not a hero, nor do I think I'm a villain, or at least a particularly bad one. I like to think of myself as a person who grants opportunities. So here is what we're gonna do. You can either stay here on this ship and wait for my return or you can come with me and help me raid that island." Some of them had confused looks and one of them even raised their hand like they were a preschooler. Hmm, how weird. He's probably the youngest of the crew and doesn't look any older than 20. Entertaining him I motion him on.

"What do you mean by opportunity also I thought you didn't like raiding people or at least you gave the impression you did?" Did I really, I thought I was just giving the impression of a person who doesn't like people messing with what is his.

"Well to answer your first question, what I mean by opportunity is that if you follow my instruction not only are you going to be able to get loads of treasure, but you'll also get something much greater… strength." As I finished my statement I saw their eyes glazed over in apparent greed. Sigh it appears I lost them at the treasure. I knew these guys were hopeless, well most of them at least. The man who asked the question on the other hand had a determined blaze in his eyes, a blaze that forced a slight smile out of me.

"As for your second question, yes it's true I don't intend to raid the innocent village, it would be beyond tasteless to steal from people who can't even fight back, and if I have my way (which I will) I'll never be the type of pirate that does something as weak as purposely set my eyes on people who can't even defend themselves. No, what I intend to do is steal from the marines." As expected the look they were giving showed they weren't much of a fan of that idea.

"Why bother stealing from the marines, in case you forgot we were enemies and they have a vice admiral on their side, were doomed to fail." The captain has a point. There are probably a thousand or more shoulders in that base and there are only around 40. Lucky for them I'm worth more than a thousand.

"It's fine, just follow my plan and we'll be in and out. The Marines at that base most likely train for hours every day while you guys barely train at all, I have no doubt that even the lowest ranked soldiers will give you a run for your money. That's why we're gonna have to play it smart. We sneak in the base and cause confusion as well as chaos. Once that's all settled while there in a panic is when we attack. We'll beat them all down quickly, before the captain and vice admiral are able to act one that's settled, leave those guys to me. That's fine with you captain Basky. Since I could never remember his name I decided to give him the title Basky, judging by the constant vein throbbing on his left temple. I'm pretty sure he loves it."

"This Plan of yours, how confident are you that it's gonna work? You're strong I won't deny that and although I haven't seen you fight my boys told me what you did to that marine battleship. So I'm somewhat confident in this plan of yours. However, I've heard rumors of all the crazy shit a vice admiral can do. Why should we follow you for some loot, when we could attain it elsewhere? If it's the amount we don't need it. We have other ways of getting loot and lots of it. As for strength, we've got plenty to survive; we don't need to be stronger, just smarter."

" Haha, you say smarter yet your crew had as much brain as a newborn toddler when you were knocked out. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that if it wasn't for me, you all would have had a one-way ticket to a navy prison." At my words, they had the decency to rub the back of their heads for their apparent incompetence, but it seemed that my little statement didn't move the captain at all.

"I admit that was a mistake, one that will never happen again. However, we are not going to fight a losing battle no matter how much you try to convince and or threaten us." The look in Basky's eyes was fierce; he truly doesn't believe they could win. Sigh what a loser, he fully intends to remain a mediocre pirate with an even more mediocre crew. Looking at the apparent crew it seems they were all on the captain's side. It makes sense if you think about it. A captain will always bring in like-minded individuals in their crew so it's no surprise the crew is also a bunch of cowards though it's not like I need their help.

"Sigh, that's okay. However, don't think you can skip out on your duties. I'll take the marine base by myself and I'll set off a signal to let you know when it's safe to come to shore, but let's make two things clear. All the treasure I take from that base will be mine no question asked." Some of them had the audacity to be disappointed. Seriously the nerve of people.

"Secondly, if any of you cause harm to the people of that village or try to sail away while I'm there. I'll kill you." My voice didn't change in the slightest. I threatened them as casually as a person would put on a coat. Naturally, they took a few nervous gulps and the captain himself was sweating profusely.

"Well, if there is nothing else I'll be off." Readying my wings I was about to take off.

"WAIT!" Or I was about to until a sudden and not to mention loud voice halted my ascent.

Looking toward the originator of the sudden shout. I look to see if it was the little man-teen that called me. Looking closely he was pretty young, possibly no older than 20. He had disheveled brown short-cut brown hair and was fair-skinned with freckles matted over his face. Honestly, he was quite plain looking with his only noticeable standout being those dark emerald green eyes of his. His build was somewhat strong yet surprisingly, lean and he adorned a dagger on his right him in the eyes. I can see that he was trembling with fear, his knees were shaky and he kept swallowing his saliva.

Curious, I tilted my head "Haha, can I help you."

My only answer was for him to suddenly slam his forehead on deck quite hard as he prostrated himself.

"Please let me join you."

Of all the things I expected him to say, that was certainly not one of them even. I was pretty certain that all of these guys were a lost cause. Is it possible I was wrong?

Naturally, I wasn't the only one shocked as the entire crew was flabbergasted at the guy's action, especially the captain.

"I'm interested in your proposition. I want to get stronger as well so can you please allow me to join your raid." Oh my, I knew this guy was different so he aims for strength huh, interesting.

"Hey Morris, get up. I don't care if he is the enemy, don't kneel to him. The only person you should kneel to is me as is my right as your captain." But the newly identified Morris didn't budge as he awaited my answer.

"Now hold on Basky. He has a request and who am I to turn it down." Walking closer to him I ask him his name.

"Umm, it's um Morris. Zenny Morris." Hmm, he is quite timid, is this his usual attitude or just a temporary one because he's in front of me?

Looking closely at the captain I can see he's pissed, both at me, and at the defiance, Zenny just showed, but obviously, I don't care.

Soon I stretch my hand out to little Morris. He quickly accepted it. An issue I'll figure out later.

"I'm pleased to have you join me Morris Haha." At the positive affirmation, those eyes of his lit up.

"I'll do my best."

(-)

"ATTENTION!"

At once the Marine soldiers stood upright with ridiculously correct postures. Their chin was up, their shoulders were back, their chest out, and their stomachs in.

The marines were standing in what was known as training hall C. It was a finely crafted and expansive training room composed of blue and white. It has plenty of space, loaded with weapons both wooden and metal, and was permanently matted in random spots with both sweat and blood from the extensive and rigorous training that the marines are put through.

The man that commanded these troops sported a fierce look with an even fiercer build. He wore the typical marine outfit along the captain's coat that had the mark for justice and had a particular nasty-looking scar on the left side of his face. This man makes a truly intimidating sight if not for the fact that this man had a comical hairstyle.

"Now I know that this base doesn't get much action lately since our esteemed Vice Admiral Lace's reputation scared most of the pirates away, and the ones who do try to take on this island are quickly and immediately captured, but there's no reason to be disheartened. In fact, you should all be celebrating. We are not Pirates, we are Marines. We don't crave battle, our goal first and foremost is to maintain the peace of the world and we are doing our part by maintaining peace on this island. It is because of us that those villagers can keep those smiles on their faces. It is because of us that the children can run around this island carefree. Without us, the balance will be lost and evil will gain an advantage. That is why we train as hard as we do and is why we persist. For the island, for the people, for the world, for JUSTICE! Do you all understand Men!"

"Yes sir, captain Cebra!"

WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A ZEBRA? The man now named Cebra uttered in outrage. Yes the reason this man's tough persona is ruined, is all because of his unique hairstyle which is naturally grown and oddly reminiscent of a zebra. He's quite sensitive about it.

"Get back to training all of you, you rude jerks." With the man effectively getting everyone back on task he walked out of the training hall.

"Geez, so many rude people these days. It's not a zebra, it's just my cool-looking hair."

Making his daily rounds Cebra surveyed the entire Marine base. This is one of his favorite tasks and he's happy that he can do it daily. Not only is he able to make sure the soldiers are on task and training diligently, but he can also see who's serious and who's not and he is proud to say that everyone in this base is a strong practitioner of justice.

They all came here for their own reasons, but their goals are all the same. These young men and women, dreaming big lofty goals of one day's bringing the tyranny of evil to an end, and as much as he admires that he also knows how utterly impossible it is.

There is no way evil can be completely purged, only mitigated. He had to learn that lesson the hard way because the easy way was never an option.

When he was promoted to captain and assigned his own base he was ecstatic, not only can he protect his own town, but he can help lead the next generation of marines. Sure it wasn't in the grand line where all the action takes place, but he was ecstatic nonetheless and proud to do his duty.

Yet he failed.

He failed as a captain, as a teacher, as a marine. When literally the first pirate attack came and he and his men lost. If it wasn't for Vice admiral lace being here this island would have been raided yet again. The people placed their hope in him when he made his lofty speech about how they would never have to fear an attack again, and he let them down because he couldn't protect them.

When he spilled his heart, his frustration, his fear, everything to the vice admiral. All he did was calmly listen, and when he finished. The only thing the man told him was to get stronger.

Rage, frustration, hatred. So many negative emotions built up inside of him that day. To be so casually dismissed. Just get stronger, that's all he's ever been doing and when it mattered the most he failed, all his hard work and training failed.

It hurt. His body, his head, his soul. Everything just hurts. He was irrational. He knew that, but he wasn't thinking. He just moved and went to attack the man that so easily dismissed his concerns only to get a face full of fist.

"You cheeky brat. You think you're the only one who's ever felt this way. News flash kid the world is a big place, and you're nothing more than a single droplet in the vast ocean. I will not pity you, I will not feel sorry for you, the only thing I can do is give you an answer. Get stronger, that's the only thing you can ever do if you want to make a difference because strength is the only way you can ever be free to achieve your dreams. Now let me ask you something, do you want to get stronger."

The only thing he could do was nod.

"Then follow me and we will make sure you're strong enough to be able to protect your ambition."

The training was tough, but he grew. He wanted to give in, but his ambition drove him forward, and soon he was strong. Strong enough to give the vice admiral a good fight, strong enough to where his men looked up to him, and most importantly strong enough to actualize his ambition.

And pretty soon the number of haki users on Tomari Island went from number one to number two.

When that happened vice admiral lace said there was nothing more for him to be taught.

No pirates that came here were able to defeat him. He trained his men diligently so they can uphold justice. He was confident this time that he could protect this island from anything.

These are facts, and he'll do his damndest to make sure they're never disproven.

(-)

Chapter 3, I think this one turned out well. As I've already hinted, Atlas has a past in this world where he had to fight to survive, and as I'm guessing you guys already figured out the older he got the tougher his opponents were so I hope that justifies his strength as well as how he seems to be already at a grand line level.

Hope you guys enjoyed see you next time