One Piece: I Loaded the Game Panel

Not to mention short! Sleazy!! Ugly!!!

Gion shook her head and cast those irrelevant thoughts aside. She had come to the Flower Country on a secret mission from Sister Tsuru: investigate a group of strangely behaved, seemingly immortal drifters. She could not waste too much time on this stranger.

"Still haven't seen enough, Tao Ya?" Gion asked.

Adrian shook his head. "Not quite. I was just about to take a closer look."

Just then, a rough male voice sounded behind him.

"Hey, brat! I want your seat. Mind getting lost?" The speaker was a middle-aged drunk in a green cloak, his face flushed from drink.

Gion said nothing more. She lifted her glass, took a small sip of red wine, and watched the spectacle with interest.

"Could this setup be any more forced?" Adrian sighed and turned around. "Judging by your clothes, which navy are you with?"

"I'm Sili, Second Division Commander of the Second Treasure Navy!" the stubbly drunk roared, pride ringing in his voice. "If you know what's good for you, get out of this tavern!"

Then he turned to Gion with a lecherous grin. "Woman, want to have a drink with me? Mine's big and white..."

Gion frowned at once, her displeasure plain.

It bore repeating.

Whether a dirty joke landed really did depend on the face telling it!

"Second Treasure sounds about right..."

Adrian pressed a hand to his forehead, then looked toward Cui Ze. "Boss, if a fight breaks out, I'll try to keep it under control. But if..."

Cui Ze's brows drew together. He waved a hand. "No need to trouble yourself, sir."

He turned to the middle-aged drunk and said grimly, "Sili! Are you sure you want to cause trouble in this bar? This is—"

"This is Happo Navy territory!" Sili cut him off loudly. "That's what you were going to say, little gambler! I'm not afraid of the Happo Navy!"

The mood in the tavern had turned decidedly ugly. Customers who were still sober enough had already risen to leave.

A clash between the Second Treasure Navy and the Happo Navy was not something drinkers who were all talk could get involved in.

"Boss Cui Ze, looks like your reputation doesn't carry quite as much weight as you thought," Adrian teased, without a hint of nerves.

Cui Ze's frown deepened.

"Si—"

Crash!!

Sili abruptly smashed his bottle against the floor, spilling crimson wine everywhere.

"Shut up, little gambler! Just because you won this tavern from Aunt Mia doesn't mean you can—"

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted in front of Sili's face, cutting off the rest of his words.

Cui Ze caught only a faint flash of white. Then blood poured from Sili's nose and mouth, and he fell helplessly onto his back.

Sharp-eyed Gion quietly turned her attention to Adrian. She had not suspected that the young man beside her, with his endless teasing remarks, was a Devil Fruit User hiding his strength!

And his power came from the exceptionally rare Paramecia-type Hollow-Hollow Fruit!

The relevant information slowly surfaced in Gion's mind.

"There goes my good mood. I'm emotionally devastated..." Adrian flicked his fingers and muttered in displeasure. "Hey, Boss Cui Ze, knocking out someone from the Second Treasure Navy won't cause any major problems, will it?"

Adrian had naturally been the one to strike. He had no interest in listening to some underling's threats, much less letting a nobody who had appeared out of nowhere keep showing off. So he had simply blown the drunk away with a Mini Hollow.

Before Cui Ze could answer, however, an even more vicious voice rang out.

"You little punk. After hearing that, I can't pretend nothing happened!"

At the same time, a towering man strode straight into the tavern.

He stood nearly five meters tall, the top of his head almost brushing the ceiling. Beneath stiff black hair that stood up like steel needles was an ugly, fleshy face. His shoulders were broad, his arms as thick as tree trunks, and the long saber in his hand had a handle as thick as a goose egg.

"So you're the brat who hurt my man?"

The hulking brute glared coldly at Adrian, who remained seated at the bar. His grip tightened until the saber's cast-steel handle creaked faintly.

Adrian turned to the visibly shaken tavern owner. "Who is he? He sounds like someone high up in the Second Treasure Navy."

"He..." Cui Ze went pale and hastily corrected himself. "This lord isn't merely high up in the Second Treasure Navy. He's its pillar—Hog!"

"The Second Treasure Navy's pillar?"

Adrian immediately took Hog much more seriously, though he remained outwardly calm as he spoke.

"I wonder how you compare with Chinjao, the Happo Navy's pillar who dominated the West Blue a few years ago!"

"Chinjao? You mean 'Chinjao the Drill,' the one whose head a Marine flattened with a single punch? That drill-less dragon who spends all day wailing on the Jewel Ice Sheet?"

Hog burst into laughter, his coarse voice making everyone's ears ring.

"Don't make me laugh. I'm nothing like that sorry excuse for a man!"

"Oh? Then does the Second Treasure Navy's pillar have a bounty of five hundred million?" Adrian asked, feigning confusion.

"A bounty..." Hog's face suddenly reddened. When it came to bounties, even ten of him could not match Chinjao.

Hog waved a hand dismissively. "Only ordinary pirates care about that nonsense! I couldn't care less!"

"Oh, I see." Adrian nodded. "Perhaps your bounty is over a hundred million, then? Surely it isn't less than one-fifth of Chinjao's?"

Hog stopped talking. A battle of words had never been his strength.

He fixed Adrian with a vicious glare, planted his foot, and lunged. His saber came down in a vertical slash, as though he meant to cleave the bold brat mocking him in two!

"Die, brat!!"

Pillar of the Second Treasure Navy

A vicious blade flashed downward, but Adrian shifted almost half a meter to the empty space on his left in an instant. The sudden burst of speed startled everyone present and drew a peculiar gleam from Gion's eyes.

Using Soru's explosive movement to narrowly avoid the blade, Adrian swiftly drew the finely crafted saber at his waist. While Hog was still overextended, he slashed at the man's right hand!

His first strike having missed, Hog showed no panic. He rolled his blade across his body and easily blocked the incoming saber.

Clang!

The blades met with a dull ring.

At the same time, information about the enemy appeared on the panel.

—

[Based on your level and attributes, you have obtained the following information.]

[Pillar of the Second Treasure Navy—Hog] (Hostile)

[Level: LV54]

[Attributes: Strength 123, Agility 105, Stamina ?, Intelligence 16, Charm 3, Luck 9]

[Abilities: [Advanced Polearm Affinity], ?, ?]

[Danger Level: Moderate]

—

The gap in their levels was considerable, leaving much of the information hidden behind question marks. Still, Adrian's high Intelligence let him work out quite a bit.

Judging by what Hog had shown so far, he was plainly the high-attack, high-defense type, like most large, powerfully built pirates.

Hog outclassed him in all three main combat attributes—Strength, Agility, and Stamina. Adrian could not win a head-on clash.

But I've already secured my victory!

Adrian looked at the "Moderate" danger rating and relaxed.

Any enemy who hasn't mastered Haki is a pushover! Such was the contempt of someone with a maxed-out [Ghost Body].

While Adrian was distracted by the panel for an instant, Hog suddenly closed in.

"What's wrong, brat? Did my strength stun you so badly you can't think straight?"

His combat experience is far too green!

Hog's face twisted viciously as he swung his saber at Adrian's body, seemingly intent on cutting him in two diagonally!

Adrian quickly pulled back his blade to defend. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he caught Hog's saber at the last possible moment.

An overwhelming force surged through the hilt. Against an enemy over half again as strong as he was, Adrian could not fully stop the blow. Hog's immense strength sent violent tremors through his arms, and his feet sank slightly into the floor.

But as long as the gap in strength was not enough to crush him outright, he could still fight!

Adrian gritted his teeth and held on with all his might.

Combat experience had always been one of his weaknesses. Even after two full years of Agent training, he had seen too few life-or-death fights where every stroke of the blade drew blood!

With Ghost Body's invincible passive ability protecting him, Adrian had nothing to fear. He certainly would not pass up this bundle of experience that had come looking for him!

"Is that all the strength you've got, brat? Are you trying to tickle me?"

Hog grinned savagely and swung his saber even faster. He might be nowhere near as strong as Chinjao of the Happo Navy, but he was still the pillar of the Second Treasure Navy—one of the pirates near the very top of the Flower Country's pecking order!

Adrian again used his high-level [Soru] to dart about within inches of the blade, striking back whenever he found an opening!

"You insist on trading blows with me up close? Are you that eager to die?"

Hog had no idea what gave Adrian the confidence to pit his strength against him, but he did not mind adding another soul to his blade.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—

Their blades crossed again, scattering a few sparks.

Then Hog noticed a detail: the force transmitted through Adrian's blade was gradually weakening.

I don't know where this brat learned those strange bursts of speed. He's as nimble as a monkey, but he's far weaker than me. After clashing head-on so many times, his muscles are starting to ache!

Hog watched Adrian's sweating brow and trembling arms, his eyes flashing. His fighting instincts were far sharper than his appearance suggested!

Now!

Without hesitation, Hog put his strength into both arms and unleashed the secret technique he had been preparing.

Two-Charge Fist: Ferocious Blade!

A powerful, blade-shaped shock wave erupted from the edge of Hog's enormous saber, striking at Adrian's vitals from a treacherous angle!

"Your life is mine, brat!"

Adrian's aching arms could not react in time. The massive blade of energy passed straight through his waist.

Certain he had won, Hog turned away with confidence.

"Ah, I knew it. That really was asking too much..."

What?!

Hog's pupils contracted. He spun around.

Adrian, who should have been cut in half, was standing right where he had been, completely unharmed!

"How is that possible?!"

Hog was stunned. He had absolute faith in the Second Treasure Navy's Two-Charge Fist, a technique passed down through generations. Who knew how many West Blue fighters had fallen to his blade because of it? How could it fail to injure a mere brat?

"Nothing's impossible. Our fight as swordsmen is over." Adrian shook out his arms and sheathed his saber. "Now I'm going to use my new power."

"You're... a Devil Fruit User?!" Beads of sweat suddenly appeared on Hog's forehead as a possibility flashed through his mind.

"Correct, but there's no prize."

A Mini Hollow slowly emerged from Adrian's fingertip, a faintly dangerous smile on its pale face.

"Ready to meet my little darling?"

Mini Hollow: Tempting Gift!

The small, adorable white ghost shot toward Hog and exploded violently.

The blast swept across the tavern's already battered floor, throwing dust and smoke everywhere.

A moment later, a hand as large as a fan waved the smoke aside, revealing Hog's demonlike face.

"Cough, cough. Brat, an explosion that weak won't do a thing to me!"

Hog swung his saber and stepped forward, ready to press the attack.