6 months was enough to beat the new blood into shape. The teamwork of the whole troop had improved. Law had also completed his 6 months of diehard training at the academy, his scrawny physique had improved and the illness that once plagued his life was now held back subconsciously by the Ope Ope no Mi (OP OP Fruit). Unlike how busy the island had been over the past six months, today every member of the troop was now standing at the beach, all 222 Atlanteans were waiting for the arrival of their ship, The Atlantis.

Splash

The submarine tore the water apart as the top half of its body emerged from the sea. The submarine was the length of a tanker compared to its previous rusted and scraped look. Its metallic exterior was painted blue, with Atlantic’s written in white bold font. It was covered in a coating that glistened under the sun.

“Captain, here is Atlantis. I will spend a day getting your officers up to speed with the system and artillery on board the vessel. She is probably the only ship of its kind in the world and definitely the only ship of its size, type and quality here in West Blue. Captain and Lieutenants come with me, I will introduce the inside of the submarine to you.” The instructor yelled from the top part of the submarine.

“Law come along as well” Ezra mentioned

“The body of the submarine is oval in shape but we kept the topside similar to a ship. Hence, the small deck we are standing on. There are four entrances, one frogmen exit is under the ship, two on the side; port side leading to the kitchen and the other starboard leading to the prison. Lastly, one is this one person hatch on the deck.” The instructor pointed to the hatch underneath his feet.

Going down the hatch was not so difficult for trained marines. There was enough room even for those with a larger physique. The inside of the submarine was lined with grey metallic sheets to cover the welds and bolts. The air in the submarine was no different from the air outside. This gave a feeling of being inside a building rather than a ship.

“The inside has been divided into many sections. On the top side, you have the dormitory which has enough beds for 400 officers. Just under the hatch is the bridge, this has a lot of modern underwater equipment like radar and a communication room which has a variety of den den mushi for jamming or for listening in on surrounding telepathic signals. There is also a communication system connected to every section of the ship. Still, on the top level; there is an engine room, kitchen, dining area and a gym which includes a training space for 20 people per session. There are sniper hatches on the top level with rifle handles incorporated into the hatch design.  

The lower section added difficulty to the upgrade. How submarine's work is by regulating the pressure inside the ship, so the request to create a hole for water to enter the vessel was crazy but we figured out a method for this.

The lower section has the Captains room. A switch integrated into the captain's chair, a Proko which is a projection den den mushi has been installed to project what its paired partner “Cameko” sees on the bridge, this way the captain can take total control of the ship from here if needed. The switch controls the seawater valves. The water valves flow from the prison into the captain's cabin. The captain did have the requirement of having the seawater flowing through each prison cell. To avoid mishaps, only the captain has access to this switch.

I already mentioned prisons, there are 400 individual prison cells. We could not get hold of seastone metal for building the cells but since the vessel will be in the depths whoever is held here is trapped here. We have provided as many seastone handcuffs as we could gather, they can be found in the storage room.

Weaponry 15 regular cannons, 6 three-barrel cannons as well as homing torpedoes have been installed and their ammunition can be found in the storage room also. Lastly the crown of the submarine, we built a medical bay and a library.” The instructor took the 22 gobsmacked marines through the ship as he pointed out various installations, modifications and upgrades. The changes were just too much, Ezra who had seen the damage done by the Happo Navy could not believe his eyes as he inspected the finished product.

Using this opportunity, Ezra made the arrangements he had for Law known to the other officers as well. “Law, there is still a lot for you to learn so this place will be under No. 5 jurisdictions for now. You will be assigned to his unit as the ship's doctor in training. It has been 5 years or more since we graduated but this is the first time we actually have something that is ours, this is our home, we have to protect it. Get your teams in, show them around.” Ezra said

“Yes Sir!”

Currently, only Law was busy looking at the med bay, Ezra and the Instructor.

“Thank you very much for this. I can only imagine what it took to build this. You have my word, that the world would know that Atlantis came from West Blue.” Ezra said in quiet words to the instructor before bowing his head at the grey-haired instructor.

The island became busy again with Atlanteans moving crates onto the ship, Boxed after boxes were unloaded to the storeroom and kitchen. While this was happening, Law, Ezra and some of the officers made their way to the training ground.

“Show me your progress over the last 6 months,” Ezra said seriously to Law

“Captain, I didn't learn any fighting techniques but I gained some useful knowledge about the Ope Ope no Mi,” after saying this Law pulled out two surgical scalpels getting into a random stance.

“OH, you have selected a weapon, I must say it does suit the path you have chosen. I won't be going easy on you, you need ideas for improvement” Ezra replied as a puddle of water slowly formed underneath his feet and a watery pole in his hand.

“Room”

“Water Collapse”

“Scan”

Law ran in the direction of the formless water, he had already used the scan skill to locate the captain's location. 

“Reform”

Whack, Law was sent flying before he could react.

Ezra: “I have an understanding of your fruit now. From the information HQ had about the fruit it is a surgeon's bread and butter power but I believe someone who knows every detail of a human body is a weapon. 

"Room" should be a space similar to your operating theatre, you should be able to control everything in that space. "Scan" should be like an X-ray or some other type of scan where you can see through anything in your space. If we think in that line you should be able to develop more skill and discover more of its utility.

I also noticed you use your fingers as a medium, my suggestion will be to tattoo each finger and then mix up your hand signs, this will stop your opponents from finding a pattern in your attacks.” 

Law could only nod his head in agreement, ‘it looks like this captain is not simple,’ he thought

Ezra: “I need to carry out an experiment and I need your help as the second devil fruit user amongst my troop. Use your powers and tell me what effects you feel.

“Room”

Ezra used “Sea Shackles” to bind Law. The seastone effect activated as Law’s Room slowly faded.

Law: “Captain, my power stopped working and I'm getting weaker.”

Ezra then cancelled the skill, only leaving drops of water on Law

Ezra: “Try using your power now”

“Room”

‘It seems there is a limitation to my power. For the seastone effect, I have to be physically connected to the seawater. A skill without any connection will not display that effect’ Ezra thought

Ezra: “No. 5, is everyone ready”

“Yes sir!”

“Atlanteans hear me now, It is already too late to run away. We are a bastion of peace, a defender of the weak! WE ARE IMPARTIAL, this is our JUSTICE! No matter the evil that lurks on this sea, today we set out on a campaign to take back control of the West Blue.” Ezra's voice reverberated in the quiet south beach.

Crazibrains

And so it begins!

I am currently trying to release as many chapters as I can this weekend as we are nearing the end of Volume 2.

A break will definitely be scheduled before Volume 3.