Volume 2 Chapter 27

"Welcome back Captain" officers lined up along the walkway of the Atlantis as Ezra made his way through the ship. Ezra noticed some new faces amongst the old faces, he also noticed some scars on some of the old faces, this told some stories of some of the battles they must have faced in West Blue during the period he was away.

"Ok everyone get back to what you were doing, we will have an assembly when we get to our new post" Ezra's voice echoed through the submarine as if he spoke on a speaker, the strange thing was to the people next to Ezra his voice was not too loud and to those, at the far end, his voice was not quite either. The Lieutenants could tell that their captain had levelled up just by this little trick.

"Brains, gather the Lieutenants"

Entering the meeting area, Ezra noticed that a lot had changed on the ship.

"Captain, when you left we had to hold the prisoners at the 80th Marine Base for our services, the Rear Admiral paid for an upgrade to be done to the ship. The current Atlantis is twice the size of the previous one with a lot more weapons. The captain's room was left untouched but more seawater can now be allowed constantly into the lower deck without affecting the pressure. The prison area was upgraded with a seastone alloy, this has a mild effect on devil fruit users and will only cause fatigue rather than fully nullifying their powers. Atlantis is now a mobile base, Sir" Bomber reported.

"Very good, you all have been busy. What happened to No. 2, No. 6 and No. 15" Ezra asked.

"Sir, we ran into a difficult situation, No. 2 and No. 6 sacrificed themselves for the rest of us to retreat. We finally won that battle due to their sacrifice. No. 15 is currently in the med bay, Law is currently performing a prosthetic surgery on his arm." Bomber replied he had been blaming himself for what had happened to his brothers and was hoping to be punished for it.

Ezra did not know all the details and did not want them to relive some of those experiences. "It is a good thing that you all are safe! No. 2 Edward and No. 6 Shin, will be promoted to Eternal Marines and their numbers will never be given out to others. Let's take a minute to remember them." Ezra said as he bowed his head.

"Captain"

Law and No. 15 walked in after a minute had passed.

"Glad to see you are ok, and Law you didn't let me down, you have grown into a fine doctor," Ezra said as he patted Law on the shoulder. "Before we start, No. 15, while I was in HQ I heard about a cyborg program, this is something where weapons like prosthetics are added to the body making the human a cyborg if this is something that interests you we can apply for some parts and Law can easily fit them on for you. Think about it"

"Captain, Yes. I feel that I would be more useful that way" No. 15 replied

"Very well, your codename will change to Iron Soldier from now on, I will get the necessary parts delivered"

"Thank you, Captain"

"I have learnt a lot during my time at HQ, and I will take my time to teach you all everything I know, You Lieutenants must become monsters in your own rights, the power of the Devil Fruit will only be a tool, our physical strength must be at an insane level also. I will start working on a plan when we get to G-8"

"Captain, one more thing. In the last raid where we lost No. 2 and No. 6, our loot was a Devil Fruit. The fruit was the Bari Bari no Mi (Barrier Barrier Fruit)." Brains replied

"Based on what I know of you all, No. 1 is the best person for that fruit" Ezra replied after giving it a quick thought

"That was the conclusion we arrived at, No. 1 is as always in charge of navigation and protecting the ship. We all saw it as a fitting power." Brains replied.

"No. 1 your codename will now be Shield, I am hoping in the future our backs will remain covered by you," Ezra said looking at his Lieutenant.

"I have no problem with that, for you all to make that decision without me also shows that you have all grown. There is still much for us to do, so let's get to G-8. We need to tell the world that we Atlanteans are back!."

********************

G-8 Marine base was occupying Navarone Island. It had buildings along the coast that were home to some marines who were residents at the base. It also had an important building built into the rock formation in the middle of the cape. The only way to enter and exit this Island base was through a large gate blocking the cape. The island is home to hundreds of marines soldiers organised into different groups for various purposes.

The main objective of G-8 was to provide shelter and a place of treatment and recovery for injured marines as well as serving a fortified dockyard for repairing damaged vessels.

The base commander is Rear Admiral Jonathan

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Ezra read the information provided about the G-8 base he was to report to. He could not understand why he and his troops were being sent to a defence facility that served as a medical bay and a dockyard. 'Is there someone in the higher ranks targeting him' different types of questions flooded his mind?

"It's ok, they can't stop me, only I can stop myself," he said confidently as he sat back into his captain's chair on the lower deck.

"Mind Door"

"Captain, we are now approaching the entrance of G-8, Atlantis is too big to enter the cape. We are waiting for your instruction" Brains reported

"Stop the ship at this location, inform the soldiers to remain on standby. Gather the Lieutenants we are going to head to G-8 to report to the Rear Admiral before beginning our patrol of the area" Ezra informed Brains telepathically.

"Everyone we are going into Code Orange, remain on standby" this was broadcasted over the speakers.

Code Orange: Standby, be prepared for mobilisation if needed otherwise do as you please.

A small lifeboat slowly made its way into the cape, the peaceful atmosphere was a first for some of the battle crazy Lieutenants.

"Captain, the tide is getting lower" Shield drew the attention of the group to the reduction in seawater in the bay.

"That is one of the best defences this base has to offer, we call it Devil's Snare, as the water reduces, the bay becomes filled with cliffs and rock formation which usually reside under the seawater." A voice announced over the speakers.

There was no longer a need for the boat as the bay was now dry, allowing Ezra and the Lieutenants to walk over to the entrance to the main building at the centre of the cape.

"Commodore Rose D. Ezra reporting with my Crew of Lieutenants" Ezra announced in the Hall.

"I heard about you marine, you were the captain that was causing big waves in West Blue 2 years ago. Why were you assigned here? Did something happen in the marine HQ? Did you offend anyone?" a man with orange-red hair with brown eyebrows and moustache asked. He was dressed casually but with a feathered tricorn hat.

"Greetings Rear Admiral Jonathan" Ezra saluted "Negative, I was assigned here from the top with no prior knowledge sir," Ezra replied.

"Okay, you can relax a bit. This is not the HQ. You don't have to be so uptight here, Commodore Ezra" Rear Admiral Jonathan said casually.

"Thank you, sir, what are your arrangements for us. We currently have a crew of 500 soldiers and a ship that cannot be brought into the bay." Ezra reported

"Okay, I would not even try to keep you here. I feel this assignment was a mistake. Here I am still fighting to keep this base open and now they send me a superstar commodore. Does it not smell fishy? You are free to do as you like, only report to me if something needs escalating. Dismissed, I'm off fishing before my wife finds out I skipped dinner" Rear Admiral Jonathan said as he left in a hurry holding a fishing rod and a bucket of bait.

"Let's go back! It seems we are to make our own arrangements." Ezra and his team made their way through the base, placing the order for the mechanical parts at the medical bay before heading back to the ship.

Atlantis, Training Area

I will now explain to you all the foundation techniques of power the marines have developed and perfected over 700 or so years. We will start with the intermediate techniques.

The first move is a defensive skill that accelerates the blood and muscle movement, making the body as hard as steel. This technique is known as Tekkai (Iron Body).

The second move is called Soru, This technique allows the user to move at a very high speed by performing steps imbued with explosive force.

The third move is called Kami-e. This technique makes the user's body extraordinarily flexible to avoid any attacks. The user can float or bend their body like a piece of paper. The ability to read the airflow changes caused by some actions is harnessed by this technique.

Brains you can delve into my mind, display methods of the training to all the group. After narrowing his mind on the information he wanted Brains to share, it was not much work with the Omoi Omoi no Mi (Mind Mind Fruit) as Brains used his "Mind Read" and "Mind Share" skills.

From now on, for the next 6 months, I want you all to solely focus on the basic physical strength training, every day is limit breaking training. Luckily we are here at G-8, they should have a lot of medicinal solutions, which can be used to rapidly reduce fatigue.

"Have you heard a group of Diehard marines were assigned to our base" someone mentioned during dinner at the Mess Hall.

"Yes, I happened to run into them doing some weird training the other day when there was a low tide. They were carrying weights and running on the wet slippery ground" someone else said

"Really, that did happen. I thought I was having another dream" someone else said

"Officer in the hall!" someone yelled, putting an end to all the gossiping as all the marines got up to salute the petty officer that just entered the mess hall.

"At ease! I overheard the discussion you all were having, those Diehards go by the name Atlanteans and they have been at this base for 6 months already. And that is 6 months of training only, every day, every hour. They sure know how to make us look bad" he spat out as he spoke, his annoyance could not be contained any longer. "Finish your meals and head to the drill grounds for training."

Ring Ring

"Rear Admiral Jonathan, I thought it would be best to inform you that our preparation has been completed. We will now start with patrolling the area around the bay. I will be in touch if anything comes up out of the ordinary." Ezra requested permission to start another campaign, this time in the Grand Line. He could somewhat sense the Doriki levels of his Lieutenants, the highest was almost at the basic human limit and the lowest was at the level of an averagely trained marine soldier. There was still work to be done but time was needed.

Over these 6 months, Iron Soldier (No. 15) has shed a lot of his humanity, his amputated arms being replaced with two robotic arms which had an in-built weapons system. This also improved the overall physical strength of his but some training was also needed for both arms to be used properly. Due to the success of the arms, he requested more parts of his body to undergo the surgery. Now he is more metal than man and brings his codename to life.

Not too far from the G-8 marine base, a world government ship was making its way from an unnamed island.

"How dare they make fish-man island off-limits, how dare they take away all my beautiful mermaid slaves" a Celestial Dragon was enraged as he sat on his cool seat with two female slaves on each side. Another two were massaging his feet. 'Luckily I found that unnamed island who would have thought that they had such beautiful women there, I can't wait to taste the best of the commoners.' This was Saint Carlos a womanising Celestial Dragon, all his slaves were women. He made them all his wives after the kidnapping and snatching them from their husbands.

"Captain, there is a ship approaching!"

"Take us to the surface"

Seeing the symbol of the World government and the black smoke rising from the island not so far, anyone could figure out that this ship just raided that unnamed island.

"Shield stop that ship" Ezra ordered

"Bari Bari no Mi: Barrier wall"

A wall appeared in front of the world government ship.

"Unidentified vessel, prepare for inspection," Ezra yelled on the megaphone.

The Captain of the ship replied, "I am captain Rosemary of the 59th Fleet, under rear admiral Sicily. This is a world government vessel, for your good move out of the way"

"I am Commodore Rose D. Ezra of the G-8 Marine Base. You are currently within my jurisdiction. I noticed a pillaged island a short distance away from your position, I am currently investigating why it happened. I have concluded that Criminals or stowaways have boarded your ship. To clear the confusion, an inspection of your vessel is required, if you refuse, then we will have to use force." Ezra sounded very concerned as he spoke on the megaphone.

"Rosemary, what is going on? Tell this Commo or whatever to step aside. A commoner like him can't oppose someone of my standing" Saint Carlos asked

"Sir! I am under the direct command of a Celestial Dragon, You have been asked to make way for the ship." This time Rosemary's haughtiness had been reduced, she knew it was insubordination to speak down to a higher rank officer, but she was also being pressured by Saint Carlos. This was her being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Barrier 4 walls"

Using the power of the Bari Bari no Mi (Barrier Barrier Fruit), Shield placed 4 barriers around the ship, bringing it to a complete stop.

Captain Rosemary and the other crew knew this was the work of a fruit user. They were aware of the personal guard of Saint Carlos also being a fruit user. 'Was there going to be a battle on this ship' they thought.

Ezra, his Lieutenants (except Shield who was back on the deck of the Atlantis) and some soldiers boarded the world government ship.

"You are Rose D. Ezra, what is this about? How dare you block the way of a Saint like myself. I must speak with my father! You will be sent to rot in some no man's land after this is over. How dare a commoner threaten a God chosen like this" An endless stream of complaints poured out of Saint Carlos's mouth as soon as he saw the inspection team. "Millicent, capture them, my dear"

"Yes sir!"

"Nawa Nawa no Mi (Rope Rope Fruit): Net Binding"

Millicent transformed her fingers into ropes which then extended to cover Ezra and his team of soldiers.

"Sand Explosion"

Having faced various situations in the West Blue the Lieutenants were no longer the same. In addition to their experience, the training Ezra taught them had led them to a new level of power, each of them could be Captains of their own ship if they so wished. Using the sand as the object for his power, Bomber released a series of controlled explosions blowing away the ropes.

"Sea Shackle"

"You are now under arrest for attacking a marine! Ezra spoke as he looked at Carlos in the eye. Everyone on this vessel will be following us to our ship.

"Commodore we are innocent, All of us were taken from our families on that island. Some of our husbands were killed, others injured. The dead are kept in the lower deck, Please we need justice." a woman who saw this little confrontation as a way of escape balled her eyes out, retelling everything that they had encountered over the past day. Ezra and his officers grew more and more annoyed at the marines who stooped so low into being dogs for the Celestial Dragons. They already knew the Celestial Dragons were vermins to society but actually being a witness put things on a very serious perspective.

"You all are under arrest! Everything you do and say from now on will be recorded and used against you when you are at your hearing" Ezra announced.

"Brains confirm from each slave that they were not involved in any of this act even under orders"

"Yes Sir!"

"Mind Wave"

This was an intrusive skill, which uses someone's emotions to look into their hearts.

"Sir, all of them are new slaves. It was only the personal guard and the marines that took part in this mission." Brains replied

"I am very ashamed to be considered one of you guys. Take them away!" Ezra instructed his team to sweep the vessel. No one knew that as soon as they boarded the ship everything that took place was recorded on a Recording den den mushi. This was arranged as a backup, by Ezra in case the justice they wanted was not served. "No. 5, take some seamen with you, return the slaves to their homes, bury the dead and treat the injured. When all that is done, return to G-8. You should have the eternal pose right?"

Eternal Pose: it records the special magnetic waves of a certain island within the Grand Line, allowing the user to know the exact direction to the island.

"Yes Sir"

Ring Ring

"What is it, Commodore Ezra. It has only been a day since you left the base. Your call just drove all the fishes away"

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT! Get back to base pronto"

This kid just kicked a hornet's nest. 'I now understand why he was sent to G-8,' the thought

Arriving at G-8 was some kind of relief for the Atlanteans, all the way here they had to bear with Saint Carlos yelling his lungs out from the prison area on the submarine.

A world government ship was waiting outside of the G-8 base and someone was yelling at the top of their voice.

"Rear Admiral Jonathan, do you realise how much trouble you are in. This will not go down well on your records. How can you be in charge of a base that captured a Saint." Ezra heard the voice of a stranger in the office

"Calm down Condoriano, That is why I called for your unit to help reduce the impact of this event." Rear Admiral Jonathan replied

"Don't use my codename, I am Inspector Bulldog. You should have told me about this situation over the phone, I would not have brought my son Shepherd with me." Inspector Bulldog mentioned, before turning to the officer behind him "Shepherd one day you will also become an inspector with the codename Condoriano, this type of situation happens all the time. You should learn how to deal with it."

"Commodore Rose D. Ezra reporting in" Ezra announced as he walked into the room.

"Ezra, you created a messy situation this time," Jonathan said, he could tell that Ezra was just carrying out his Job but sometimes looking away was what all marines had to learn when it had to do with the Celestial Dragons.

"I don't understand Rear Admiral, My duty is to protect the people under this base's jurisdiction. I couldn't turn away watching an island getting pillaged, men killed and women enslaved. This was all done under the orders of Saint Carlos. To add to that he ordered an attack on the marines during a normal ship inspection. Following our guidelines, we had to bring him in." Ezra's annoyance could be felt from his replies.

"It's ok, leave the rest to me. You and your men can are to remain on standby no more active missions for now until this case dies down" Rear Admiral Jonathan announced

"Yes Sir!" Ezra replied, he was curious about what the outcome of this event will be, this was also him testing the waters for any future dealing with the Celestial Dragons. But from the way the case was being handled, he could tell that his rank was not high enough to cause any ripples in the corruption built into the marines.

Getting back to the ship "Code Orange" was announced across the ship, There was a sense of tension on Atlantis but ultimately every one trusted their Captain and his decisions. This was going to be big news!

*********************BREAKING NEWS*************************

***The Sea Hero's back at it

Everyone remembers the Hero of West Blue from two years ago. Due to his valiant campaign in West Blue, he is no longer a small-time captain but a Commodore. He is now a resident commander at the G-8 marine base. During a routine inspection, Commodore Ezra and the Atlanteans busted a huge human trafficking operation. The criminals involved were actually posing as marines after hijacking a world government vessel. If not for the Effort of the Atlanteans more lives would have been lost. A spokesperson had been to the island just off the Long Ring Long Land to confirm the situation. Everyone is grateful to the Commodore for the rescue.

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This news was circulated around the world, it was the headline of every news outlet in every village, city, town, kingdom. This spotlight was good for the marines as it showed that their justice was correct. But to those who knew the actual story could only sigh at the elaborate cover-up created.

Ezra and his crew read the news but there was no joy or celebration, they knew the events will never be disclosed properly and the world government had done everything they could to keep it that way. If not for the island being publicised, they will have been erased.

"We have been placed on an indefinite standby period due to this incident. I think we should use this time to solidify our training. Not far from here is an island called Karakuri Island, from the information on this island, its weather conditions are always cold and snowy, this should be a good place to push our training to its limits." Ezra announced to the crew.

"Yes sir!"

6 months later, at someplace on the open seas in the New World.

The Grand Line: Divided into two. Paradise and New World. Paradise is as its name implies the easier side of the Grand Line, navigation was not so difficult and the marines stationed on this half were not at the insane level. The New World, on the other hand, had the emperors of the seas present, which meant the marines stationed here were at a very high danger level. The scariest part of the New World was the ocean itself which defied the very laws of physics and nature.

"Boss, we finally made it over here. Your partner up at Mary Geosie sure helped us this time." Pika, one of the Donquixote pirate elites mentioned. "We finally left the north blue, too bad we didn't cause any waves there but since you are to be a king we should definitely get you a kingdom"

"shu shu shu, I really like that type of thinking. But we need to do something very big before taking a kingdom, don't you think." Doflamingo had a big smile plastered on his face as he spoke. "We can't rule as kings if we are wanted, so I need to join the Warlords. Only then can we do what we like without question. I heard that a relative of mine was kidnapped by fish-men last year and his ransom was a position on the Warlord table. I think we can use the same idea shu shu shu" he laughed. His way of speaking, it was very hard to know if he was being serious or joking.

"My contact in Mary Geosie informed me that there will be some items of value transported along this route. I say we use these as a ransom for a position." Doflamingo added.

"Captain we managed to hit the quota for heavenly tributes for the Celestial dragon this time. I felt much safer when we were escorted by the marines, but now we are on the straight leg of the journey and the wind is behind us." a seaman spoke to his captain who was sitting on the bow enjoying the sea breeze. The 2-mast ship was small in size but fast in speed. This was chosen to be the carrier of the tribute, they only had a short journey to the red port, this was the place which had the ship escalator to the river in Mary Geosie.

"Captain something is wrong" a seaman ran out of the navigation room yelling.

"Shushushu nothing is wrong, actually it is going according to plan. Shushushu, now pick up the den den mushi, tell your commander exactly what I tell you" Doflamigo said with a smile that made him look more insane. His light blonde hair, lean muscles and tanned skin were all displayed in his unbuttoned white shirt with red stripes. He had a brightly coloured pink feather coat on his back as he crouched on the railings of the ship.

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you," he said.

It was only now that the entire crew noticed that they have been bound by an array of strings.

"Ito Ito no Mi (String String Fruit): Human Puppets"

*******************BREAKING NEWS*************************

***SEVEN WARLORD OF THE SEAS

It has been confirmed that the warlord position will only be given to 7 people. This is provided they remain powerful enough to continue to hold this post. Two new members have been appointed, one was appointed a long time ago only to be made public now and the other was appointed a few days ago. They are Gecko Moria and Donquixote Doflamigo.

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"Shushushu, They were really quick with setting this up" Doflamigo laughed as he read the papers.

"Captain, we got what we wanted, we need to leave. Vice-Admiral Tsuru chased us here, she will be coming to pick up the tributes," Trebol, another elite officer in the Donquixote Pirates mentioned.

"Ok, Let's go get us a kingdom, ShuSHUSHU SHUSHUSHU"

It had been a year of standby for Ezra and the Atlanteans. This year was spent training in the cold terrain of Karakuri Island. Men and women could be seen running in the snow, climbing, jumping, doing all sorts of physical exercise, every day. This sort of training had now become a regular pastime for the villagers on the coast of the island.

"Captain, I made some progress with the information we found in the mine we excavated. Although I don't understand the science behind it. I can say that I can install those weapons on Iron Soldier with ease." Law reported his progress on the cyborg project he was given when the Lieutenants found an abandoned lab in an underground mine during a routine sweep. The entrance to the lab had a plaque that held the words VEGAPUNK.

"If he agrees, you can carry out the upgrades. He needs to also practice using his new body and his weapons system." Ezra said. Having an upgrade is a good thing but training is still required in making the most of those upgrades.

Somewhere in Mary Geosie

Commodore's who completed the elite training's information were displayed on a screen in front of an old bald man, holding a katana and wearing a white Gi. He was the same old man who showed concern about the appearance of the Umi Umi no Mi (Sea Sea Fruit). He was not alone in the room, but the figure of the other four in attendance was not visible as if they were not really there, only a part of their will taking form. One by one each candidate had been promoted from Commodore to Rear Admiral, as soon as it came to the last candidate.

Name: Rose D. Ezra

Rank: Commodore

Elite Training: First Place, Danger Level Doriki

Ship: Atlantis

Recommendation: Model Marine who practices Impartial Justice. He has carried out various campaigns in showing the powers of the marines and bringing peace to his jurisdiction on the seas. He is a strong candidate for the Admiral position

"DENIED!"