Adrian stared at the three S-rank random draw tickets in his hand.
Then, without hesitation, he said, "Use."
"Ding! S-Rank Random Weapon Ticket used successfully."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has obtained: Senzu Bean ×10,000!"
Adrian blinked.
Senzu beans?
He immediately pulled up the item description.
[Senzu Bean] — from the Dragon Ball world. A miraculous food: a single bean can stave off hunger for up to ten days and—most importantly—has phenomenal restorative power. If you are not dead, a senzu bean can pull you out of extreme exhaustion or grave injury and restore your body to peak condition in the shortest possible time.
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
He'd used an S-rank weapon ticket — why did he just pull food? A miracle restorative food at that. It didn't make sense.
"System, explain." He couldn't help himself.
"Ding! Host, a senzu bean restores the extremely fatigued and gravely injured to full combat readiness, does it not?" the system replied.
"That's true," Adrian said. The effect was ridiculous: one bean, full recovery. It was basically a full-health potion.
"Ding! Host, once the wounded regain their strength they regain their fighting capability. Isn't that a weapon?"
Adrian stared at the notification, speechless. The system was arguing in circles.
"Ding! Host, a weapon is something used to attack enemies. If a senzu bean returns someone to fighting form, isn't that effectively restoring attack power? Therefore it qualifies as a weapon."
Adrian gave up. Some arguments weren't worth wasting time on. Whatever the system decided, the system decided.
"Fine. It's a weapon," he muttered, and accepted the result.
Ten thousand senzu beans. He stored them in his system space at once.
Even if he had to eat one per day to stay battle-ready, he could keep fighting for decades. Against emperors or admirals—even if the other side could withstand more than he could—what mattered was endurance. Senzu beans gave him ridiculous endurance.
He picked up the second ticket.
"Use."
"Ding! S-Rank Random Ability Ticket used successfully."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has obtained: Thunder Spear (Nation-Destroyer Grade)!"
Adrian's eyes lit up.
Again, the system favored him with power from other worlds. This one was terrifying: the Thunder Spear — the kind of technique that, in its original form, had enough explosive force to erase any trace of a place the size of Arlong Park.
He felt a thrill run through him as the ability flowed into his mind. With his spiritual pressure already present, he could in theory condense reiatsu into a spear of thunder and throw it. But there was a catch.
The ticket had given him a Nation-Destroyer grade ability. His current reiatsu was at the Breaker level. Even draining himself dry wouldn't produce enough spiritual energy to form a full Nation-Destroyer Thunder Spear. It was like having a spell that needs 100 mana while you only have 50.
He could do one of two things: level up his reiatsu massively, or hope the system would allow him to manifest a downgraded version of the technique. Of course, a downgraded spear would deal far less damage—the difference between hundred-point and ten-thousand-point attacks. Still, power scaling could be remedied; he had reputation points, and reputation bought upgrades.
He set the ability in his head like a loaded promise. One day, he would wield a true Thunder Spear.
Finally, he used the third ticket.
"Use."
"Ding! S-Rank Random Subordinate Ticket used successfully."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has obtained: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (Nation-Destroyer Grade)!"
Adrian's breath stopped for a second.
The system had summoned, in full, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez — the Arrancar who'd once been the Sexta Espada. A pale blue crop of hair, ocean-blue eyes with green shadowing, fragments of hollow mask fused to the right cheek, and that terrible hollow hole in his abdomen.
"Sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. At your service, Master," the Arrancar said, but his tone was unexpectedly deferential. For a being as fierce and proud as Grimmjow, obedience like this was… unsurprising when the system produced him. System summons came with absolute loyalty.
Adrian smiled and said coolly, "Stand up, Grimmjow. From now on, call me Boss."
Grimmjow rose without a trace of rebellion. "Yes, Boss."
"Board the Shark," Adrian ordered. "Get to know the crew. Make yourself useful."
"As you command."
Grimmjow strode to the Shark, his presence already bending the mood aboard that ship.
Adrian watched him go and let his mind wander. A subordinate of Nation-Destroyer grade meant a lot. Within the Hollow/Arrancar hierarchy, Espada strength varied wildly — Grimmjow hadn't always been the absolute strongest among his peers, but he was fierce and aggressive by nature. Even at a comparable grade, he would be one of Adrian's foremost offensive assets.
Having another nation-class powerhouse changed the game entirely. With senzu beans to keep everyone fighting fit, a Thunder Spear waiting to be trained into use, and Grimmjow at his back… opportunities suddenly looked a lot more explosive.
Adrian's grin widened. The world had just gotten a lot more interesting.
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