Pirates: I Loaded the Game Panel

The players' attention had been drawn over!

Another half a day passed.

Having exhausted the Flower Country players' spending power for the time being, Adrian took stock of his gains and prepared to leave.

He had just taken out the Pillar of the Second Treasure Navy again, along with a large crowd of its rank-and-file members. Besides gaining some experience, he had dealt another blow to his standing with the Flower Country's factions.

His relationship with the Second Treasure Navy was already at "Deadly Enemy" and could fall no further. His relationships with the other navies had barely changed.

His overall standing with the Flower Country, however, had shifted from "Cold" to "Hostile."

The only strange thing was that his standing with the Happo Navy had risen again...

It made no sense.

When Adrian killed Hog, there had at least been a reason for the Happo Navy to like him more: Hog had provoked them and insulted their leader, Chinjao, first.

But why had it risen this time?

Were the Happo Navy and the Second Treasure Navy natural enemies?

Adrian checked his faction relationships. His standing with the Happo Navy had reached [Friendly], one step up from [Neutral]. It was absurd.

What on earth had the Second Treasure Navy done to make the Happo Navy hate them so much?

Adrian had no idea, nor did he want to dig into the story behind it.

Under the reluctant gazes of the Flower Country players, Adrian vanished from where he stood and set off for his next destination.

For a while after that, Adrian busied himself collecting experience from players. Every so often, he also showed off his strength in front of them to build his reputation and draw more players to him.

In just over a month, Adrian visited every player starting village in the West Blue and amassed a great deal of experience.

His original plan had been to finish collecting experience from West Blue players, then use his ghost form to fly across the Red Line and head for the South Blue.

Starting in the West Blue, he would travel through the South Blue, East Blue, and North Blue in a counterclockwise circuit of the four seas. That was the future plan he had once mentioned to Gion.

Unexpected news, however, threw his schedule into disarray and forced him to stop.

The players had been so eager to buy that...

The Razor Gang had run short of weapons!

Adrian hardly knew whether to laugh or cry when he heard.

He had never managed the Razor Gang's or Shelby Company's affairs himself. Tommy had developed both organizations admirably on his own, so Adrian had seen no reason to worry.

He had never expected the Razor Gang, now nearly a top-tier underground power in the West Blue, to be unable to keep up with player demand...

On second thought, it made sense.

However capable Tommy was, the Razor Gang was still a new gang that had existed for less than a year.

With Adrian backing it, ordinary gangs could not wipe it out, but that did not mean its expansion could be rushed much further.

It could keep supplying Adrian with firearms and other weapons, but doing so would certainly disrupt the Razor Gang's and Shelby Company's development plans.

Left with no choice, Tommy had informed Adrian through a Den Den Mushi.

"Mm. Got it."

After ending Tommy's call, Adrian sank into thought.

Stop trading with players in the other three seas...

He ruled that out immediately.

The amount of experience he gained directly affected Adrian's strength.

He had already raised both abilities of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit to their maximum level, making him one of the world's strongest Devil Fruit Users.

But apart from his Devil Fruit abilities, his main class was still only level 40. He had plenty of room to grow.

Cutting off trade with the players just because he had nothing to sell would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

He could suspend sales of firearms and weapons until the Razor Gang had rebuilt its stockpiles, then offer them to players again...

After a moment's hesitation, Adrian ruled that option out too.

Skills were valuable to most players, but they were also expensive—luxuries, more or less. Weapons and firearms, which directly improved their fighting ability, were what they truly needed.

Over the past month, far more players had bought weapons from Adrian than had learned skills from him.

That left only one solution.

The Razor Gang's stockpiles were insufficient, but it was hardly the only organization in the world willing to trade arms.

Adrian made a temporary change to his route. The South Blue would have to wait.

He was going to the North Blue.

While he was there, he could make contact with the Donquixote Family, which had risen to power in the North Blue.

Stride Island was a frigid island in the North Blue, cold throughout the year.

At that moment, its bustling harbor was crowded with visitors, a thriving scene of people coming and going.

"So this is the Donquixote Family's current headquarters? It certainly looks more impressive than Oatfee Island."

Adrian wore a casual black suit with the jacket open over a pale blue silk vest, a white shirt, and a dark red tie. His tousled black hair was combed back, and a pair of translucent yellow sunglasses rested on his nose.

"According to what we've gathered, the Donquixote Family has been based on this island for the past few years. We just can't confirm whether all its leading officers are here right now."

Tommy Shelby, whom Adrian had not seen in some time, carried himself with considerably more composure. He still dressed discreetly in a newsboy cap and tweed coat.

Since Adrian was here to approach the Donquixote Family, another North Blue underworld power, he had naturally brought Tommy, who had a talent for such matters.

Putting the right task in the right hands was the sensible way to do things.

“Should we settle in for a while and send people to gather information,” Tommy asked quietly, looking around, “or go straight to the Donquixote Family?”

Tommy had no intention of missing an opportunity to expand the Razor Gang into another sea.

He knew the Razor Gang and Shelby Company might not yet be strong enough on their own to become underworld giants spanning two seas. But the Razor Gang had [White Ghost] behind it.

Sorry, but having someone powerful at your back made all the difference!

“Since we're here to discuss business with them,” Adrian said easily, “we should take a look at where they do business.”

He flicked the newspaper in his hand, a local paper he had just bought from a roadside stand. The prominent front-page headline read: Donquixote Auction, Tonight!

The Donquixote Auction was one of North Blue's most renowned auctions.

For an auction to rank among the finest on the seas, even in one of the outer seas, was no simple feat.

It had to meet several conditions.

First, it had to hold regular auctions dedicated to luxury goods: fine oil paintings, soft furs, dazzling jewelry, and more.

Second, every auction had to bring in at least one hundred million Beli. That was the bare minimum.

Next, it needed a stable membership loyal enough to keep coming back.

Last and most important, it needed a powerful force behind it to protect its attendees.

Anything could happen on the open sea. The nobles and wealthy merchants attending an auction did not want someone taking by force what they had just bought.

Only an auction house that met all those conditions could be considered top-tier.

At present, the Donquixote Auction House's capabilities, reputation, and backing all gave North Blue's nobles and wealthy merchants reason to feel at ease.

Its reputation in particular stood out.

On the seas, there was probably no businessman more trustworthy or more honest than Doflamingo.

He actually dared to sell genuine Devil Fruits!

And he did not even tamper with them beforehand!

Just think how many Devil Fruits would pass through Doflamingo's hands in the future.

Two especially memorable examples were enough.

The power of wealth that could shake the world—the Gold-Gold Fruit!

The power of flames that could burn all things—the Flame-Flame Fruit!

Really, plenty of people might dislike Doflamingo's arrogance, but it was only on the surface. Deep down, he was an honest man.

Yes, an honest man...

The item Adrian and Tommy had their eyes on was no ordinary lot.

As one of North Blue's famous auction houses, the Donquixote Auction occasionally sold particularly unusual goods.

The final lot tonight, for example, was a genuine treasure of the sea—a Devil Fruit!

As the public head of Shelby Company and the Razor Gang, Tommy needed no introduction when it came to business acumen.

But on these seas, where strength ruled, power was what gave a person the confidence to speak.

Adrian occasionally gave Tommy pointers on physical combat, but they had not had enough time together for Tommy to make much progress.

As it happened, the seas offered another way to gain strength quickly.

A Devil Fruit.

Adrian did have the Castle-Castle Fruit, which offered both offense and defense, but he had another use in mind for that rare spatial Devil Fruit.

Coming across a Devil Fruit auction here was a stroke of luck for Tommy.

Whatever else happened, they could buy it first.

The Donquixote Auction House on Stride Island had once been a theater, and it still retained much of its old layout.

The stage had become the auction platform, while the backdrop behind it had been replaced with posters of the lots. The overhead spotlights were still the sort used for ordinary stage performances, and jewelry and porcelain shone brilliantly beneath them.

A scattering of merchants attending the auction sat in the main hall on the first floor. A few acquaintances chatted quietly. The second-floor gallery had been divided into small private boxes reserved for distinguished guests.

Adrian and Tommy entered the Donquixote Auction House without drawing attention. Since they had decided to come on the spur of the moment, they simply found seats in the first-floor hall.

Before long, a formally dressed attendant handed them a booklet with brief descriptions of the auction lots.

“I didn't expect this Devil Fruit to be tonight's final lot,” Adrian said softly as he leafed through the booklet. “The Paramecia Bomb-Bomb Fruit.”

Tommy thought for a moment, then asked in surprise, “Sir, is that the fruit once held by ‘Scarface’ Bell, the former godfather of the Capone Gang?”

Tommy looked pleased.

He had arrived on Oatfee Island only after Adrian dealt with the Capone Gang, but the islanders had told him about that day's battle. He knew how dangerous Capone Bell's explosive ability had been.

"No, it isn't." Adrian narrowed his eyes. "If I'm right, ‘Scarface’ Bell had the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, not this Bomb-Bomb Fruit. Their effects are similar, but they're different fruits."

There was one thing Adrian left unsaid.

If he remembered correctly, this Bomb-Bomb Fruit would later belong to a member of the Donquixote Family. He did not know why it had appeared at today's auction.

Could it be that, after being sold today, this Devil Fruit will eventually be reborn and end up back in Doflamingo's hands? Adrian wondered.

"Sir, which do you think is stronger?" Tommy asked. "This Bomb-Bomb Fruit or the Bomb-Bomb Fruit Scarface Bell had?"

"They're about the same to me."

Adrian shrugged, his gaze lingering for a moment on an accessory pictured in the auction booklet.

"If I had to choose, I'd say this one is probably stronger."

Before the auction officially began, there was a customary opening performance: a dance that was quite a feast for the eyes.

How to describe the dancers' moves?

Suffice it to say they could have filled an adult comic.

After a dance that had left a certain soft part of the audience rather less soft, the Donquixote Auction's chief auctioneer stepped onto the platform. She was a woman with beautiful long golden hair, a mature figure, and creamy skin. She picked up her wooden gavel and, as was her habit, struck it three times to signal the start of the auction.

Compared with the sultry opening performance, however, the first few lots were fairly ordinary.

They still fetched respectable prices, but clearly fell short of expectations.