Chapter 107
At this moment, in Whitebeard's eyes, the Ghost brat opposite him was a completely different existence on the sea.
Even in this New World that reveres battle, passion, and carnage.
The way Pirates fight is usually limited to using swords, guns, and cannons; they rarely use other abilities.
Even Golden Lion Shiki, the former admiral of the Flying Pirates, rarely used only his Float-Float Fruit ability to fight others.
Most of the time, Shiki will still use his Swordplay, as well as various "Lion Cut" techniques that incorporate Devil Fruit abilities, to fight his enemies.
The Ghost brat opposite him, aside from using Swordplay once during the initial clash, was basically just using his unique Ghost abilities to fight!
In particular, that eerie, dark blue energy deals considerable damage!
After enduring such a relentless barrage of attacks, even Whitebeard's resilient body was starting to feel the strain.
"Speaking of which, these flying creatures are really quite annoying!"
"To actually use my true skills against such a junior, I wonder if those guys will laugh at me if they find out."
Whitebeard abandoned his attempt to close the distance with the Ghost brat in the air and plummeted straight to the ground, creating a massive circular crater.
The next moment, he planted the Supreme Grade Sword Murakumogiri in the ground, raised his hands, spread his fingers into claw shapes, and as if tearing a curtain, he suddenly "grabbed" the existence of space.
Whitebeard suddenly pulled down with both hands, and the air and scenery in front of him immediately unfolded in layers of dislocation.
The Mist Theater, towering high in the sky, was also torn into several large fragments by this sudden shock.
The Ghost Energy beams shooting out from the Mist Theater had their trajectories altered due to the misalignment of their launch points, causing them to explode into dazzling fireworks in the air.
Adrian, who had been hiding in the Mist Theater, finally revealed his true form under Whitebeard's tearing attack.
"Gurarara, you little Ghost, we've finally 'met' again!"
[Chapter 188: The Ultimate Specialty from the World's Strongest Man!]
Adrian remained calm, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "Yes, Whitebeard, shall we continue?"
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed, and he unleashed an invisible Conqueror's Haki, condensing an incomparably powerful aura that pressed down on Adrian in the air.
Despite the stark difference in terrain, Whitebeard appeared even more imposing!
"Ghost, do you think your ghostly tricks can hurt me?"
"Of course I don't think that way," Adrian chuckled casually, "But gaining the upper hand over me isn't something you can do in a short time."
In fact, Adrian's maxed-out [Ghost Body] is really effective against super-powerful area-of-effect attacks like the "Tremor-Tremor Fruit" and the "Wind-Wind Fruit".
Most Devil Fruit users simply cannot apply Armament Haki to an attack of this magnitude!
Whitebeard pondered for a moment. With the aid of the versatile Hollow-Hollow Fruit, taking down this brat as soon as possible would indeed be quite a difficult task.
"Besides, we made Promise before the battle."
Adrian took out a spare Pocket Watch from his pocket and gently tapped the metal case of the Pocket Watch a few times.
"This 'challenge' will only last for thirty-five minutes."
Adrian challenged Whitebeard to complete the mission and obtain the reward, not because he actually wanted to test his strength against Whitebeard at this time.
With his quick wit, he naturally knew how to maximize his profits.
Out of consideration for having previously revealed the existence of "Miss Buckin" and "Edward Weevil," Whitebeard readily agreed to this special challenge with a time limit.
"You little Ghost brat, so you planned this all along, even before the battle started!" Whitebeard said. "Now, you're the first Rookie Pirate to successfully challenge Whitebeard!"
Adrian laughed and said, "One day, I will turn this [challenge] into a [duel]!"
"Gurala la la..."
The Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh.
"I'll look forward to that day, you little Ghost."
The battle between the two was now completely over.
Whitebeard returned to the Moby Dick, and the massive whale ship slowly sailed away from Hand Island.
At the strong urging of the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard abandoned his already unpleasant journey to Zou and headed towards the nearest island for underground intelligence exchange.
They will be there searching for the whereabouts of Miss Buckin and Edward Weevil, who are currently in hiding.
The Whitebeard Pirates may welcome a true "captain's son" in the near future.
Adrian stood alone on the rocky cliff of Hand Island, glancing at Whitebeard's S-Rank Challenge, which was already marked as "completed".
He stretched out his hands, breathed hot air into his palms, rubbed them together a few times, and then selected task settlement.
[S-Rank Challenge [Whitebeard] Completed!]
[You have gained 2.33 billion experience points!]
[You receive a reward: Randomly select one enemy skill or Specialty]
[Note: Due to the significant difference in size and abilities between the host and Edward Newgate, the effects of some extractable skills have been automatically adjusted.]
[Random selection in progress... Selection complete]
Please choose one of the following five abilities as a reward:
[1: [Be My Son] - Skill: With a kind expression, extend your palm and say to someone, "Be My Son, XX." The target will immediately acknowledge you as their father. The skill's success rate is affected by factors such as psychological state, level suppression, Intelligence attribute, and Legend Points.]
[2: [Peerless Strength] - Specialty: For every level gained, Strength increases by +5 and Stamina increases by +3.]
[3: [Armament Haki] - Skill: Omitted]
[4: [Legendary Naginata Mastery] - Skill: Passive skill, when attacking with Naginata, Strength attribute increases by 10%, attack power increases by 20%, and the chance to trigger additional attacks increases by 20%]
[5: [Human Mutant] - Specialty: For each level gained, Strength and Stamina increase by 4; Height remains constant at 666 cm.]
"Wow! This is amazing! Two Specialty and three abilities! And the quality of the draws this time is really high!"
After a careful look, Adrian immediately ruled out [Armament Haki].
Since his Armament Haki already overlapped with his own abilities and had been upgraded to the maximum level, there was absolutely no need to cover it with Whitebeard's Armament Haki; it would be completely unnecessary.
Following closely behind in being eliminated was [Legendary Naginata Mastery].
Although Adrian is a Swordsman, his abilities have absolutely nothing to do with the Naginata.
Moreover, he has absolutely no interest in things like Naginata.
This isn't the medieval era of Mount & Blade; let's save our long weapons!
The two Specialty that appear must be one of them.
The growth rate of [Peerless Strength] leans towards Strength.
Whitebeard's terrifying Super Strength was also very famous on this sea.
When the Paramount War breaks out in the future, the old and weakened Whitebeard will even be able to perform the terrifying feat of "stopping the ship with one hand"!
This once attracted a stubborn orange-haired boy who tried to imitate it, only to be crushed into a pancake by the tank tracks of the fortified city...
How can humans charge at tanks?
The growth rate of [Human Mutant] is more balanced, with a focus on increasing strength and Stamina attributes.
It's like a third-generation upgrade of Adrian's [Well-Built] Specialty.
Somewhat concerning is that the [Human Mutant] also has a fixed height limit of 6.66 meters.
This powerful Specialty, which originated from Whitebeard, retained the same height as its original owner even after being extracted from the panel.
If we disregard the existence of the two powerful Specialty, Adrian would still be tempted to choose the [Be My Son] skill.
Looking back, he once shouted those words to his sons.
Judging from the skill description alone, this is undoubtedly an incredibly overpowered skill.
Forcing someone into a father-son relationship with another person is definitely a powerful skill for an unauthorized father.
However, the frustrating thing is that it is also affected by many other factors.
If it were a guaranteed causality ability, Adrian would definitely choose it without hesitation!
Just like that peculiar setting where "one can catch a blade barehanded 100% of the time," anyone who can't catch a blade is instantly killed!
Anyone who doesn't call me Dad should die!
Unfortunately, this skill isn't a divine ability based on causality...
After a moment's thought, Adrian took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally and making his choice.
You have acquired the Specialty: [Peerless Strength]!
Adrian's body stiffened abruptly, as a sensation of intense cold and heat exploded within him.
He clenched his teeth, and every nerve ending in his body was transmitting the excruciating pain—a sensation of being broken and reconnected repeatedly—to his brain. He was almost in agony from the pain.
The period of suffering felt like an eternity.
Adrian finally felt the excruciating pain gradually subsiding. He was breathing heavily, his entire body soaked, as if he had just been pulled out of the water.
"Strength 817!"
"Stamina 469!"
"Give me the full set if you dare!"
"You brat!"
[200. Today's update will be a little late.]
As above.
There were no adverse reactions after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
But there shouldn't be a fifth watch today.
[Chapter 189: Heading to Wano Country (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)]
The aloof panel remained unmoved by Adrian's provocation.
Adrian has experienced the intense pain that comes with acquiring this type of physical Specialty several times.
In the beginning, this is how Low-Level Toughness and Well-Built came about.
However, the pain involved in acquiring Peerless Strength was far more intense and prolonged than the other two.
"That's the power of top-tier Specialty!" Adrian wiped the sweat from his brow.
The Peerless Strength he gained from Whitebeard is definitely a world-class Specialty.
This Specialty has largely compensated for Adrian's perceived shortcomings in attributes.
Historically, the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's ability has been biased, and the Free Attribute Points can be allocated entirely to Intelligence.
Even though Adrian is a formidable Swordmaster, his Swordplay, which relies primarily on strength, rarely proves effective in combat.
Especially when fighting against these world-class powerhouses.
Whether it's Sengoku the Buddha Sabaody Archipelago, Big M of Misteria Island, or Whitebeard just now.
In his battles against these powerful opponents, Adrian relied almost entirely on his Ghost Body, Ghost Domination, and Ghost Energy Fruit abilities to fight back.
Even the Swordplay of Swordmaster is utterly insignificant in the face of such a powerful opponent!
Especially for Sengoku the Buddha and Charlotte Linlin, Swordplay at the level of Swordmaster couldn't even break through their defenses!
Certainly.
Against seasoned, immature Marine veterans like Borsalino, he could still use Swordplay infused with emotional abilities.
And the results are outstanding!
After all, terrifying physical abilities like the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu or the Iron Balloon are extremely rare on the high seas.
Let's get back to the main topic.
This acquisition of the Peerless Strength Specialty greatly enhances Adrian's Strength and Stamina attributes.
Even using the word "improvement" to describe it is not entirely accurate.
Under the level multiplier of 80.