"Yes, Boss. I already photographed Mihawk's defeat. Once Morgans sees this shot he'll contact us — don't worry."
Lucci answered. At that moment, Adrian's mind was filled by the system's chimes.
Ding! Bandit operation complete!
Ding! Calculating…
Ding! Target strength: Cataclysm!
Ding! Item tier obtained: Cataclysm!
Ding! Future notoriety: Four Seas!
Ding! Calculation complete. Event rating: SS+++.
Ding! Reward: 1,000,000 Reputation!
Ding! Bonus: SS-rank Random Weapon Ticket ×1, SS-rank Random Ability Ticket ×1, SS-rank Random Henchman Ticket ×1!
The system's verdict left no doubt: this run scored a full SS+++ — a perfect sweep. A million reputation points flowed into his account. With that, he could instantly elevate all of one attribute to Nation-Destroying, or push a single Nation-Destroying ability up to Cataclysm. The SS-tier tickets promised rare, world-bending spoils.
"By the way, Kakashi — go rob that leader from the Krik pirates over at the Baratie. He's wearing armor forged with lots of gold; it's worth something. Take the armor, and if you must, finish him off. Besides the gold, he's worthless." Adrian considered and then ordered Kakashi to relieve Krik of his armor. Stealing the small things stacked up — even a C-rank op was profit.
"Understood." Kakashi moved at once, sprinting across the sea toward the Baratie. Grimmjow and the others retreated back to their ships.
On the captured Navy vessel, Smoker and the sailors watched Adrian's duel in stunned silence. Smoker's shock was visceral — the man they'd underestimated had the power to shake the Grand Line.
"He's... this strong?" Smoker murmured, eyes glued to Adrian's departing form. If his crew had not been bound in Seastone and Mihawk not injured, Smoker doubted he could have saved the situation alone. Adrian's appearance had turned their intelligence on its head — pinning him down now could be tantamount to confronting a Yonko. He prayed Lord Sengoku wouldn't act rashly.
Back at the Baratie, Zeff had done what he did best: he rescued Mihawk from the broken wreckage. Sanji and Zeff hauled the wounded swordsman aboard while sailors and the remaining crew scrambled. Sanji watched Adrian's retreating ships with tight concern. The bandits hadn't gone far.
"What a mess," Sanji muttered. "You did what you had to, Zeff, but I'm worried."
Zeff only grunted. He had always been a survivor; he'd saved Mihawk because a fellow strong soul had been struck down. Yet now, seeing Kakashi running across the sea toward them, Zeff and Sanji's relief turned to horror. Had they just invited a fresh wave of trouble?
Kakashi arrived in a blur. But instead of focusing on Mihawk or Sanji, he vanished into the melee and, with practiced efficiency, snatched up Krik — delivering a clean, merciless finishing blow and stripping the pirate leader of his golden armor. The whole job was over in minutes; the theft precise and clinical.
Zeff and Sanji stared in stunned silence. Kakashi walked away without a backward glance, carrying the loot. Sanji breathed out in relief. "Guess you weren't the worst liar after all," he muttered at Zeff.
Over on the Merry, Adrian heard the system ping again.
Ding! Bandit operation complete!
Ding! Calculating…
Ding! Target strength: Dreadnought!
Ding! Item tier: Common!
Ding! Future notoriety: Townsfolk!
Ding! Future influence: Town!
Ding! Result: B+.
Ding! Reward: 1,000 Reputation!
Ding! Bonus: B-rank Random Item Ticket ×1!
Not every score could be monumental, but B+ for Krik was respectable. A thousand reputation and a B-ticket still had utility. Adrian pulled the B-ticket and used it immediately.
Ding! B-ticket used successfully.
Ding! Congratulations — obtained: Eternal Blade!
Adrian stared blankly. The description read: a legendary Chinese culinary utensil, one of eight fabled kitchen tools — it makes ingredients perpetually fresh. "You want me to cook?" he muttered. The blade looked ordinary to him; without a chef's hand it did little for a fighter.
"Grimmjow, give that Eternal Blade to the little cooking prodigy," Adrian said. "If he gets this, his food will never spoil — good for morale."
Grimmjow shrugged and carried the utensil off for the cook.
Next Adrian spent an SS-ticket.
Ding! SS-ticket used successfully.
Ding! Congratulations — obtained: House of Time and Spirit!
Adrian's eyes lit up. He read the description rapidly.
[House of Time and Spirit — from the Dragon Ball world. A special pocket space whose internal time diverges from the outside. It contains food, water, rooms — air is thin, swelteringly hot or freezing, and gravity can reach ten times normal. Despite the harshness, it's as vast as the earth and functions as a hyper-accelerated training ground: one day outside equals one year inside. Up to two people may enter simultaneously. Each person may only spend a lifetime total of two days inside; but as long as the internal year-count doesn't reach two, re-entry is possible.]
This was a genuine cheat code for training. Two days inside equaled two years' worth of progress. Put Lucci or Grimmjow in there for two days and they'd come out transcendent — maybe jumping from Dreadnought to Nation-Destroying, possibly Cataclysm, given enough favorable conditions.
But it wasn't for the weak. Ten Gs of gravity, extreme temperatures, thin air — average bodies would black out quickly. Only those with tremendous physiques could even survive. Among Adrian's crew, Lucci, Grimmjow, and Madara had the endurance to train there; Lucci's animal toughness and Grimmjow's raw resilience made them ideal candidates. The trick was pairing two comparably strong fighters so they could spar and push each other during those two internal years.
Adrian grinned. The House of Time and Spirit was just a door — portable and compact, like a gizmo from some cartoon. Handy. He stored it safely back in system-space for later deployment.
He pocketed his spoils and set his plans in motion. A million reputation, rare tickets, the House of Time and Spirit — the bandit ledger swelled. This run's headlines would hum across the Four Seas, and Adrian's ledger — and legend — would only grow.
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