Because the bandit operation wasn't fully completed yet, the system had remained silent.
But now—
All he needed was to wait seven days.
Once the Going Merry was in his hands, the mission would be done.
During those seven days, Adrian had Lucci head to nearby villages to purchase food—mostly Sea King meat.
Not because normal fishermen could catch Sea Kings.
Rather, there were a few strong individuals who specialized in hunting small Sea Kings to sell.
A single pound of Sea King meat cost thousands of beli.
A small Sea King could weigh several thousand pounds.
Large Sea Kings, of course, were impossible for East Blue fishermen to handle.
So the Sea Kings typically hunted were the smaller varieties—like the type near Windmill Village, often even smaller than the Lord of the Coast.
These were the usual targets of large fishing crews specializing in Sea King hunting.
But Sea King meat didn't sell easily.
The price was so high that few people could afford to eat it regularly—at best occasionally.
So the hunters had to sell across several villages or sell them to merchants who would transport the meat elsewhere, which only increased the cost.
To Adrian?
Price meant nothing.
What mattered was strengthening Yoriichi and Zabuza—enhancing their physiques and helping them master Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and the Six Powers.
Once they mastered those…
He'd be ready to stir up far bigger trouble.
During these seven days, Adrian also worked hard.
Cheating with the system was nice, yes—
but learning the two types of Haki himself would save him two random draw tickets later on.
And even if he used a random draw…
there was no guarantee he'd actually pull Haki.
After all, lotteries were scams.
Who knew how scammy his system might be?
…
Seven days passed quickly.
They trained.
And trained.
And trained more.
Usopp eventually woke up, nearly wet himself upon learning he'd been kidnapped, and was ultimately tossed together with Hachi for company.
Then—the day finally arrived.
Kaya and Merry delivered the ship.
The familiar sheep's head.
No mistake—
It was the Going Merry.
"Mr. Adrian, this is the ship you wanted. Please take a look." Kaya stood by the railing, coat wrapped around her to block the sea breeze.
"Lucci," Adrian called.
Lucci boarded the ship immediately.
As a former foreman who spent years undercover at the Galley-La Company in Water 7, there was no one better suited to judge craftsmanship.
After a thorough inspection, Lucci returned.
"Boss, overall, this ship is excellent."
Adrian smiled.
Coming from someone who lived at the world's greatest shipbuilding hub—
that was high praise.
"Miss Kaya, you heard him. I'm very satisfied. So consider yourselves lucky—my little robbery operation ends here."
"We'll meet again if fate allows. Goodbye, Miss Kaya."
He ordered everyone aboard.
One ship was the former Arlong Pirates' Shark Submerge Three—which Adrian found too cumbersome a name, so he renamed it simply to the Shark.
The second ship was the Going Merry.
Two ships meant splitting the crew.
On the Shark:
Lucci, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Zabuza Momochi, and the two prisoners—Usopp and Hachi.
Lucci could steer; he had worked as a foreman and undercover agent for years.
On the Merry:
Adrian himself, Nami, and Nojiko.
This separation…
was absolutely intentional.
Originally, Nami and Nojiko were just forced into his bandit crew for the sake of the mission.
But after spending time with them—
To say he had no possessive thoughts?
Impossible.
What man wasn't tempted?
If a man had power, wealth, and status, and still claimed he "only loved one woman forever"…
Well, out of ten thousand such men,
99.999999% were lying.
So…
…
The two ships set sail.
The sword hanging over Syrup Village—
was finally gone.
Onshore, Kaya watched the ships disappear into the horizon, unsure whether to be happy or heartbroken.
Adrian's arrival had saved her, yes.
But he had also shattered the illusion she'd lived in for years…
and he had taken Usopp away.
Even if she wanted to help, Adrian had given her no chance.
And if she forced the issue…
Everyone in the mansion would die.
Her emotions were a tangled mess.
"Miss Kaya, let's head back. The sea breeze is strong—it's not good for your health," Merry said gently.
Unlike Kuro's false kindness, Merry's care was genuine.
"…All right. Let's go."
They turned and walked back toward the village.
…
Out at sea.
Two ships—one large, one small—traveled side by side.
Aboard the Merry, Adrian rested comfortably on a lounge chair.
And then—
A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
Ding! Bandit Operation Complete!
Ding! Calculating bandit event…
Ding! Calculation complete — Event Evaluation: S-Rank.
Ding! Rewards acquired: 100,000 Reputation!
Ding! Additional Rewards: S-Rank Random Weapon Ticket ×1, S-Rank Random Ability Ticket ×1, S-Rank Random Subordinate Ticket ×1!
The system notifications continued.
The moment he heard "S-Rank," Adrian almost sprang out of his chair.
S-Rank?!
That was outrageous.
He never expected it.
He had merely kidnapped Usopp, taken the Going Merry, and eliminated Kuro's crew.
Those pirates were small fry—they barely contributed anything.
The main reason for the S-Rank score was clearly:
Usopp + the Going Merry
with Kuro as a small extra.
"Back then, just getting Nami gave me a perfect A-Rank. So kidnapping Usopp and stealing the Merry—each alone could hit A-Rank. Together, plus the Kuro bonus… that's how it reached a perfect S-Rank?"
It was only a guess.
The system would never explain in detail.
But it didn't matter.
What mattered was the incredible reward.
100,000 reputation points!
Enough to raise one of his abilities from City-Crusher to Nation-Destroyer.
Adrian's heart pounded with excitement.
Then there were the bonus rewards—
three S-Rank random draw tickets.
These could yield a Nation-Destroying level weapon, ability, and subordinate.
Just imagining it…
His grin was harder to suppress than a loaded AK.
"All right… time to use the three S-Rank tickets."
Adrian took out all three glowing tickets from the system inventory.
…
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