Adrian stepped down from the ship at a slow, casual pace. Beside him were Rob Lucci and Madara Uchiha, and with them they brought the hostages: Luffy, Smoker, and a group of captured marines. Of course you didn't come to a ransom exchange empty-handed — those prisoners were the proof that the deal was real.
The rest of Adrian's crew stayed aboard. There was no need to send everyone ashore; Lucci and Madara were plenty. With Hashirama Senju on the Shark Ship's deck as a guardian, even if the Marines tried anything to the ship after Adrian went ashore, Nami, Nojiko and the others would be safe. Hashirama's reputation as a ninja god wasn't for show — he could handle officers many ranks higher while still protecting his shipmates.
Loguetown. The square that should normally be crowded was nearly empty. Only the Marines who had come for the exchange waited in the open space.
"Grandpa!!!"
Luffy—skinny from ship rations and still chained—blurted when he saw Garp. The kid's biggest fear was Garp. Getting captured was nothing to him; what mattered was whether the food had been good. (He cared, truly, about the meal's quality more than anything.)
"Luffy, I'll get you back this instant," Garp said.
"Cut the goddamn speeches. Where are the things I asked for?" Adrian interrupted the reunion, blunt as ever. "If you don't produce them, don't blame me for what happens to your grandson or these Marines."
Garp's face fell dark. He waved his subordinate forward; a large crate was brought, opened, and the Devil Fruits were revealed inside.
"Lucci, check them," Adrian said. In times like this it paid to be paranoid. Fake fruits were a real possibility, and Adrian didn't fully trust an enemy's honesty.
Lucci inspected them quickly. "Boss — they're genuine."
"Marines don't have the gall to show me fake goods," Garp muttered, but his tone had an edge of resignation. The fruits were placed where Adrian could take them.
"Hand them over," Garp said.
Adrian held out his hand. Lucci reached for the crate, and then — almost impossibly — the box vanished. Not a trick: Lucci simply sent the fruits into Adrian's system space.
Garp's Kenbunshoku Haki prickled at that odd phenomenon. From his perspective, the box had simply evaporated into thin air. A Devil Fruit power? Maybe. That was secondary, though. His grandson's safety mattered most.
"You've got the goods. Time to free them," Garp said, his gaze boring into Adrian. He looked ready to move if Adrian balked.
"Fine. Release them," Adrian conceded with one hand-wave.
Lucci and Madara unfastened the prisoners. Luffy stumbled out and scrambled toward Garp; Smoker called for his subordinate Dazsuki — none of them wanted to be left behind.
"Adrian, you promised to free everyone." Smoker's voice was furious and accusing.
"Garp, don't be naive," Adrian said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "That little maid Dazsuki? She's my servant now. I can't spare her. I never promised to free every single one." He shrugged.
Garp sputtered. Adrian had taken the ransom — and returned nearly everyone — yet he'd withheld a single captive. That was maddeningly half-honest. Garp's restraint was admirable; he kept his hand on Smoker's shoulder to prevent the marine from charging off in a blind rage. The Marines had paid a heavy price to get Smoker back. They couldn't squander it by acting on hot blood.
Soon the rescued Marines were escorted away. Only a few people remained on the square: Adrian, Lucci, Madara, and Garp.
"Looks like leaving Loguetown won't be so easy today," Adrian observed, glancing around at the unusually empty streets. He'd noticed on the walk in that there weren't ordinary townsfolk around — the whole place seemed cleared out. Only an authority with the reach of the Marines or the World Government could have arranged that. That signaled the best moment for a counterstrike.
"I've lived long enough," Garp said suddenly, sharpening like a blade. "You're the first man in my life to kidnap my grandson and hold the Marines like this. Let you run loose? No. I'll do my duty. I'll drag you to Impel Down myself."
Adrian let out a dry chuckle. "I'd love to go… but not in shackles."
Garp's eyes flashed — then he launched a punch.
Adrian didn't dodge. He didn't need to. Lucci stepped forward in a single, fluid motion and intercepted the blow, planting his feet and throwing a counterpunch. His arm blazed with Busoshoku Haki; the two strikes collided and the stone beneath them shattered in a spiderweb of cracks.
Adrian watched, pleased. Garp sounded surprised. "I didn't expect Adrian to have a subordinate like you," he said, rolling the sight over. The level of Busoshoku Haki Lucci displayed suggested a rank comparable to an admiral — it was that formidable. Garp couldn't be sure yet whether Lucci was a match for him, but the man in white was not someone to be taken lightly.
Adrian and Madara stood back, letting the square be the stage for a confrontation between Garp and Lucci. How would it end? Lucci may have been Calamity-level now, but Garp had the last decades of experience and a natural ferocity that hadn't dulled much. Garp was still, in all likelihood, in the Calamity bracket himself; within that tier were layers and gaps. Even if Lucci trailed Garp a bit, he wouldn't be routed quickly.
At that moment, Adrian's system chimed in his mind.
"Ding! — Bandit action complete."
"Ding! — Calculating."
"Ding! — Target strength: Calamity-level."
"Ding! — Item grade: Nation-toppling."
"Ding! — Future fame: World."
"Ding! — Future impact: World."
"Ding! — Calculation complete: Event rating SS++."
"Ding! — Reward: 1,000,000 Reputation."
"Ding! — Bonus: SS-grade random weapon voucher *1, SS-grade random ability voucher *1."
The system chimed again identically, because Adrian's run was twofold: Luffy's ransom counted as a strike against Garp, and Smoker's ransom targeted the Marines. Both were high-value targets.
Two sets of SS++ results meant Adrian's coffers were enriched by two million reputation points, and he received two SS weapon vouchers and two SS ability vouchers. The haul was staggering — a game-changing windfall.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He pulled two of the SS ability vouchers from his inventory.
"Use."
The first one vanished into the system. A moment later:
"Ding! — SS ability voucher used. Congratulations: Armament Haki (Calamity-level) obtained!"
The second was used immediately after.
"Ding! — SS ability voucher used. Congratulations: Raikō (Calamity-level) obtained!"
Adrian read the descriptions and allowed a self-satisfied smile.
Armament Haki — one of the three Haki types — boosted defensive and offensive power and permitted the user to interact with and perceive the flow of physicality. Adrian already had Conqueror's Haki; with Armament he would be one step closer to mastering two of the three Haki forms.
But Raikō — now that was the prize. It was the thunder technique: the ability to form a massive, ball-shaped storm of black electricity in the sky, similar to ball lightning, filled with violent currents, then slam it down to obliterate anything in range. It was the sort of power that could flatten a nation under full force — Enel's cataclysm-level move. To have that ability available as a Calamity-tier skill gave Adrian an enormous advantage.
He grinned. Two Calamity-tier abilities in his grasp. Between his time-based techniques, Armament Haki, and Raikō, Adrian's arsenal was becoming truly terrifying.
While Adrian strategized, the duel between Lucci and Garp continued. Adrian used this lull to invest his newly acquired wealth.
"System: spend reputation to upgrade [Thunder Spear] to Calamity-level," he ordered.
"Ding! — 1,000,000 reputation consumed. [Thunder Spear] upgraded to Calamity-level!"
One million reputation down; Thunder Spear's destructive power leapt from Nation-toppling to Calamity. Adrian still had a healthy balance — just over a million — so he planned more upgrades. Growth didn't pause.
The square was charged with tension. Around them, distant ships and notorious faces watched the exchange like predators assessing a hunt. For Adrian, the ransom had been one move among many; with two million reputation and two new Calamity-tier abilities, the game had changed.
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