Chapter 21

Adrian had never realized it before. But as he kept accelerating without ever reaching his limit, he understood just how terrifying the ability he had stumbled upon was!

The ability to ignore physical obstacles meant a ghost could fly without the slightest resistance.

As the scenery seemed to race backward around him, a realization suddenly struck Adrian.

A ghost's flight speed depended only on his speed of thought!

Of course, that did not mean Adrian could approach the speed of light, let alone exceed it.

Human thought had its limits. The fastest Adrian could control his flight was roughly five hundred kilometers per hour.

At that speed, it took Adrian little time to follow the sea chart Dr. Clover had given him to the infamous Gangster Island—Oatfee Island.

It was an island town. Hills stretched for nearly a hundred meters along its northern and eastern sides, while buildings of every kind crowded its densely populated southern coast.

High in the sky, Adrian looked down at the picturesque island, an unreadable look in his eyes.

The next moment, specks of ghostly light appeared. Dense swarms of Mini Hollows waved their arms as they gathered around him.

"Little cuties, go take a look around the island for me..."

Mini Hollow: Astral Cruise!

A vast flood of hollows swept toward Oatfee Island without a sound. Dozens of meters above the ground, they abruptly scattered, spreading evenly across every street, around every corner, and wherever anyone could be found.

Astral Cruise was a detection technique Adrian had developed using the Hollow-Hollow Fruit. The tiny Mini Hollows made excellent scouts, helping him gather intelligence without anyone noticing.

To ordinary people, the little White Hollows dozens of meters overhead were barely noticeable in daylight. At night, people would only mistake them for oddly shaped, twinkling stars and pay them no mind.

Adrian closed his eyes and connected with the Mini Hollows below. Seeing through their eyes, he carefully surveyed every corner of Oatfee Island and searched for information.

Before long, he discovered something startling.

"That unmistakable bright pink hair... What's Mrs. Penelope doing here?"

Adrian's eyes flew open, a hint of confusion in them.

"I'll go take a look!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Adrian shrank his ghostly form to the size of a Mini Hollow and flew down.

Near the center of Oatfee Island, Mrs. Penelope sat imprisoned in a solitary two-story building, gazing out the window with sorrow in her eyes.

She did not believe she had done anything wrong, whether by urging her husband to trade the Hollow-Hollow Fruit to someone else or by writing to Ohara for help.

So how had things come to this?

Her husband had been missing for nearly a month. Given the Capone Gang's reputation for cruelty, even Penelope's natural optimism could not make her believe they were treating him as an honored guest.

All she hoped now was that he was still alive.

"Mrs. Penelope. Mrs. Penelope..."

A faint voice suddenly drew her back from her thoughts. She glanced around the room in confusion, then gave a rueful smile.

Have I finally started hearing things because I'm so worried? If I'd known this would happen, I never would have written to Ohara... Penelope looked around the empty room with a bitter smile.

"Sorry. I forgot to change back to my usual size..."

A voice both strange and faintly familiar sounded, and Adrian appeared out of thin air.

"It's—" Penelope's eyes widened. She swept a glance around, then quickly lowered her voice. "It's you, Adrian!"

"That's right, ma'am." Adrian looked apologetic and kept his voice low. "Mrs. Penelope, I'm terribly sorry about what happened to you."

"There's no use saying that now..." Sorrow filled her face. "Mr. Adrian, how did you get here?"

Adrian did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Ma'am, I have a question for you too. If I remember correctly, your letter said you were still at the Clearwater Trading Company..."

"I was." Penelope gave a bitter smile and explained. "But the Capone Gang found out about the letter just as I entrusted someone to deliver it. They may have deliberately let me send word so you'd come straight into their trap!"

She continued, "As soon as the letter went out, the Capone Gang brought me to Oatfee Island and cut off all contact with the outside world."

"And your family..."

"I still haven't heard anything about Clivatt. I'm afraid..." Penelope's eyes reddened, and her voice caught. "But they haven't gone so far as to hurt a child. Little Pepe is still with me. She's asleep in the bedroom right now... If it weren't for her, I think I would have..."

Adrian fell silent for a moment.

Penelope wiped her eyes. "Mr. Adrian, I'm grateful you came to Oatfee Island, but you can't take on the Capone Gang alone. They're nothing like the third-rate pirates you find at sea. You'd better..."

Adrian gently cut her off. "Ma'am, leave the Capone Gang to me. I'll handle them. For now, I have two options."

"Please, tell me."

"First, I can take you and Perona to Ohara. Once you arrive, you and your daughter will be safe."

"And the second?"

"You stay on Oatfee Island. I'll find somewhere safe for you and your daughter, of course. Then you wait while I deal with the Capone Gang."

"I choose the second," Penelope said without hesitation.

"Why?" Adrian asked, puzzled. "The first option is safer."

"Until I know for certain what happened to Clivatt, I'm not leaving!"

"I see..." Adrian murmured. "Come with me, then. The hollows have found a well-hidden place. No one will find you there."

"After that, all you need to do is wait."

On a sea where flight was exceedingly rare, people tended to overlook anything happening in the sky.

With the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's help, Adrian spirited Penelope and her daughter out of the two-story building hidden deep in the island's center. He did not alert a single Gang member guarding the entrance.

After settling them in the safe place the Mini Hollows had found, Adrian quietly stationed more of the little scouts nearby to watch for danger and protect them. Only then did he leave.

Just then, a message appeared on the panel.

[You have triggered the B-rank random quest: Capone Gang!]

[Quest description: Capone Bell rules Oatfee Island with ease, just as he controls a fifth of West Blue's underworld on a whim. The Capone Gang's current boss favors silk shirts, expensive tailored suits, and diamond belt buckles. He also likes building his fearsome reputation with blood.

Recently, Capone Bell set his sights on an unknown nobody who stole his precious Devil Fruit. It's time to make your choice!]

[Quest hint: If history has taught us anything, if the sea has taught us anything, it's that anyone can be killed.]

[Quest requirements: Unknown]

[Quest rewards: Unknown]

Adrian accepted the quest and muttered to himself, "B-rank difficulty? The gangs of West Blue really do have numbers on their side...

"But unknown requirements and rewards? That's a first.

"The hint is clear enough, though. The Capone Gang has its sights on me. Little do they know, I was planning to use their reputation as my stepping stone!

"Those pesky bugs keep buzzing in my ears. Even if they can't cause much trouble, they're still enough to ruin my mood!"

Adrian entered his ghostly form, rose into the air, and vanished in an instant.

About fifteen minutes later.

South Street, Oatfee Island. Hard Shell Bar.

The bar had a rough exterior of black brick. Through its hazy windows, the noisy atmosphere inside was faintly apparent.

Even in the morning, plenty of patrons were carousing inside Hard Shell Bar.

After all, this was the Capone Gang's headquarters—the true heart of Oatfee Island.

Calm-faced, Adrian ignored two addicts smoking in a corner by the entrance and pushed open the door.

A lively scene greeted him: smokers puffing away, gamblers playing cards, drunks swigging straight from bottles...

On a raised platform suspended in the center of the bar stood an enormous black sofa. A tall, imposing man with a cigar between his lips and a short, bristly black beard smiled as he surveyed the room, like a king inspecting his domain.

Beside the suited man sat an unremarkable, short, fat man. His black pinstriped suit was stretched so tight it looked as though a button might pop off at any moment.

They were Capone Bell, the Capone Gang's current boss, and his son, Capone Bege!

Adrian's lips curved slightly. "Well, that saves me the trouble of searching the whole island for you!"

The bartender behind the counter was a tall, thin, balding man. He smiled pleasantly. "First time here, sir? House rule: every newcomer gets a free glass of rum."

The bartender pulled a bottle from beneath the counter and removed the cork.

Glug, glug—

Golden-brown liquor slowly filled a glass, its faint aroma spreading through the air.

Adrian accepted the glass and idly turned it in his hand. "I once heard that nothing costs more than something free. I wonder what price I'll have to pay for this free rum?"

The bartender's expression changed. He forced a smile. "You're joking, sir. It's just our rule—"

"That's your gang's rule, not the sea's."

"Sir, you—"

The bartender's eyes darted. At some point, he had drawn a flintlock pistol. With a vicious grin, he thumbed the safety off and pulled the trigger. The brass bullet struck Adrian squarely between the eyes.

"Die!"

The bartender did not finish shouting until after the gun went off.

But the next instant, his smug look froze.

He watched the bullet pass straight through Adrian's head. There was no red blood, no pale brain matter. It might as well have passed through empty air.

"Godfather! He's a Devil Fruit User!"

The bartender shouted the warning and immediately ducked beneath the counter.

Adrian took out a handkerchief at his leisure and wiped the left hand that had held the glass, as if disgusted.

"'Scarface' Capone Bell. 'Bandit' Capone Bege. A pleasure to meet you. I have to say, the Capone Gang makes a terrible first impression."

A nickname might be earned, but it was rarely given without reason.

'Scarface' Capone Bell was tall and powerfully built. Reports said he excelled at close combat. An opponent had wounded his face in a fight when he was young, leaving the scar that earned him his nickname.

'Bandit' Capone Bege had an unpredictable temperament and a cruel streak that showed in everything he did. He would kill even a loyal subordinate without hesitation for disobeying the smallest order.

Adrian knew a little more about the latter.

More than twenty years from now, Capone 'Gang' Bege would become one of the eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation amid an age of upheaval. His bounty would exceed three hundred million Beli, and he would wield the power of the Castle-Castle Fruit!

No one answered Adrian.

Instead, a fierce barrage of gunfire and cannonballs poured down from the suspended platform, engulfing his position and blasting everything near the counter to pieces.

The tall, thin bartender who had attacked Adrian first was blown into a cloud of blood and killed on the spot.

Adrian frowned. "He may have been an enemy, but that was cold. You don't even care about your own men?"

"Drop the act, brat!" Seeing Adrian still completely unharmed, Capone Bell took a hard drag on his cigar, his expression icy. "You came to Oatfee Island alone. Now you can die here! I'll carve your name into your skull before feeding it to the sharks in Back Bay!"

"Men! Open fire!"

Capone Bege reacted just as quickly. He spread his right hand, and a miniature gate slowly appeared in his palm.

Several black-clad men, shrunk in perfect proportion, stood at the gate's entrance. Most had cannons shouldered.

At Bege's command, the Gang members pulled their triggers with vicious expressions, sending a barrage of cannonballs toward Adrian.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Blazing cannon fire swept across every inch of Hard Shell Bar.

"A planned ambush. So this really was a trap set for me..."

Adrian's calm voice came through the smoke and cannon fire. Unscathed, he walked step by step out of the barrage, his cold gaze fixed on Capone Bege as he poured down fire from the platform.

The Devil Fruit Bege had eaten was fascinating. Its spatial power was exceptionally rare, allowing him to store both living beings and objects inside himself.

He could even turn parts of his body into things stored within his castle, such as tank treads in place of his legs for high-speed movement.

Once he developed the fruit's power far enough, Bege would even be able to turn himself into a gigantic castle. Its defenses would be so formidable that even Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, would struggle to break through them quickly!

But the Capone Bege of today was not yet the Pirate Supernova whose bounty would exceed three hundred million Beli in twenty-odd years. Though he had begun taking control of the Capone Gang from his father, Capone Bell, his own strength was still nowhere near that level.

Seeing his normally unstoppable cannon barrage fail completely, sweat beaded on Bege's forehead. Beside him, Bell, who had been watching calmly, was just as astonished.

Captain Clivatt had not known the name of the Devil Fruit he was transporting, but the Capones, its owners, knew exactly what it was.