Chapter 18: 18. Return
"wee~wee~wee~wee..."
A rapid siren sounded right above the Logue Town Marine Base. Rows of marines lined up in an orderly manner in a tense atmosphere. Colonel Randall also appeared on time at the base campus to inquire about the situation.
"Report to the colonel, a pirate ship was spotted docked at the port! It's the Hammer Pirates with a reward of 30 million berries for all members!"
A sailor who looked like an intelligence officer loudly reported.
Well, the Hammer Pirates, Randall remembers them, Captain Goguro has a bounty of 20 million berry, and he can be considered a big pirate in the East Blue. (T/N: Since Luffy has not yet been born, Garp does not come to East Blue very frequently. Therefore, although East Blue is still the weakest sea, the overall bounty is not as low as it was more than ten years later)
"Everyone is here! Line up and go to the port to stop the Hammer Pirates and prevent the pirates from landing! Protect the safety of the residents of the town!"
Randall yelled. A bounty of 20 million is enough for him to take seriously.
After all, he is just a branch colonel, unlike Smoker in the future who basically has strong dominance over pirates who don't know how to use haki by relying on the Logia fruit.
A careless move might cause the boat to capsize in the gutter. However, the cost of capsizing in war is often life, so Colonel Randall couldn't help but become serious in his eyes.
"Yo! How did Colonel Randall and the others know that I was coming back, and they started such a big fight? Really, it makes me almost feel embarrassed..."
Atlas' haki naturally captured a group of Marines coming from afar, especially the leader, Colonel Randall. He thought they were here to welcome his return, so he sat cross-legged on the bow of the ship with a smile and enjoyed the scene. A moment of highlight.
When Randall arrived at the port, he found a young man with a resolute face and bulging muscles sitting on the bow of the Hammer Pirates. However, he did not see anyone else on the pirate ship. He thought there was an ambush, and he became increasingly worried. Be wary. But Randall always felt that this boy looked familiar, as if he had seen him before somewhere.
"Colonel Randall, what's wrong? You don't recognize me?"
Atlas also felt that something was wrong at this time. When Randall saw him, instead of giving him a big hug, at least he didn't come over and give him a confused look, and then look wary. And the sailors at the back were all murderous and looked like they were going to eat him. They didn't look like they were coming to greet him!
"Are you...that brat Atlas?"
Colonel Randall carefully compared the man in front of him with the kid in his heart, and said with some uncertainty.
This is not to blame Randall, after all, Atlas is now considered an adolescent boy, and he has indeed changed a lot from before leaving Logue Town.
First of all, the height and body. He was relatively lean before, but now his smooth muscle lines, thick latissimus dorsi, and bulging deltoid muscles are completely different from before, and his appearance also looks much more mature, the whole person's temperament has a sense of sharpness...(T/N: Yup, those muscle names are real).
"Huh?! Colonel Randall doesn't remember me. It really breaks my heart."
Atlas said he was sad, but there was a smile on his face.
The surrounding Marines breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that they were not enemies. Some of the Marines who knew Atlas wanted to say hello, but they held back due to military discipline.
"What's going on with this pirate ship?"
"Oh, I met this on the road. The boat was too slow, so I just killed them and earned some military honors for you as a meeting gift."
Atlas replied casually.
"Then why don't you take down this pirate flag!?"
Randall's forehead was beating, and he was a little excited.
Atlas was stunned, looked in the direction of the pirate ship, then looked at the furious Randall, and immediately understood.
"Well, don't be so angry, I just forgot."
After speaking, he drew his sword and slashed at the mast of the pirate ship. A blood-red slash flew away, cutting off the pirate flag directly and falling into the sea.
"Look, it's gone now."
This really shocked Colonel Randall and a group of sailors. Colonel Randall was okay. After all, he was also someone who had been to the Grand Line. The swordsman had naturally seen it. He was just surprised by Atlas' growth rate, but the other marines were completely conquered by this powerful force.
"Hahahaha, good boy, let's go to my office and have a good chat."
"All Marines! Disband where you are!"
Randall said with a laugh, and kept pulling Atlas towards his colonel's office.
. . . . . .
Randall was sitting leisurely on the chair in the office, puffing away at a cigar in his mouth. Naturally, this cigar was not a high-end item, just an ordinary commodity. Although Randall is not very powerful, he is definitely worthy of the word 'justice' behind him!
"Come, tell me in detail what happened while you were away."
Randall looked at Atlas with satisfaction.
"Ah, it's nothing. I just got lost after chasing the Philok Pirates, and then happened to meet Vice Admiral Garp... Vice Admiral Garp should have... told you everything after that."
Atlas roughly reported what happened during this period to Colonel Randall. In fact, he was not sure whether he had told Colonel Randall because of Garp's unreliability.
Then Randall, as an elder, asked some details about what happened when Atlas was "wandering" outside, and Atlas answered them one by one.
After a long time, Atlas gently closed the door of the colonel's office, and he was going to visit Captain Wright.
By the way, Atlas is now a branch captain, the same level as Wright.
. . . . . .
At Wright's home, Atlas looked at Captain Wright with a constipated look on his face, because his shoulder insignia clearly showed that Wright was already the Major of Logue Town Marine Base. This made Atlas, who originally wanted to show off, The words suddenly stuck in my throat.
In fact, it is more than enough to be promoted to school-level officer with Atlas's strength and military merit, but school-level officers cannot be appointed by a mere branch colonel. They have to report to the headquarters, and then the headquarters will issue a letter of appointment, which is expected to take a while.
After having a hearty chat at Wright's house and asking about Wright's situation, the visit basically came to an end.
"Oh, by the way! Remember to go find Smoker when you have time. He should really want to see you right now..."
Finally, Captain Wright, oh no, Major Wright said meaningfully to Atlas.
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Although he was a little confused, Atlas still answered.