Chapter 42
Bang!
The leg coated in Armament Haki slammed head-on into Adrian's fist, which was as hard as steel. The collision boomed like a cannon shot and sent a violent shock wave through the air.
The next second, Adrian laughed with delight, a flush of blood rising to his fair face.
"Hahahaha! So that's it! Armament Haki is just a medium!"
He hadn't lost this clash of strength. His fist was still holding firm against Doflamingo's leg!
Against his max-level Ghost Body, Armament Haki had shown none of its supposed countering effect. Instead, it was consumed like a medium!
That was right!
Doflamingo was expending Armament Haki to let his physical body touch Adrian's body beneath Ghost Body. That was what was really happening in this fight!
In other words, Armament Haki dealt no extra damage to Ghost Body!
The only thing that could inflict damage was the force produced by the enemy's own body.
For example:
Suppose an enemy had a base strength of 200. Armament Haki raised it to 300 and granted him its other benefits.
But against Adrian, that enemy would still have only 200 strength. His Armament Haki would provide only the basic ability to touch Adrian's body, with none of its other bonuses!
That was Armament Haki's true effect here: a medium for contact!
Armament Haki could touch a ghost, but that was all it could do. It brought no additional effects.
Adrian used Demon Swordsman again, swapping places with a Mini Hollow and moving away from Doflamingo.
"Fufufufu... I know who you are. You're the White Ghost from the West Blue, aren't you?"
"That's right, Mr. Doflamingo. Isn't it a little late to recognize me now?" Adrian raised one hand high. A ghost swelled with the motion. "Ready for your final defeat, Mr. Doflamingo?"
Giant Hollow: Glorious Moment!
Cold sweat poured down Doflamingo's face as an enormous White Hollow slowly appeared. It blotted out the sky and covered almost everything around them.
With my current abilities, I can't stop that!
Doflamingo looked up and shouted in despair, "Even if you want to destroy the Donquixote Family, I deserve to know why!"
Pop—
A soft bursting sound rang out.
The Giant Hollow burst like a balloon. A gale swept across the ground, but caused no harm.
"Just a joke, Mr. Doflamingo." Adrian smiled, thoroughly pleased with himself. "I'm actually here to do business."
[Two-Color Haki Scroll]
Mach-speed knee to the gut!
Who does business like that?!
Doflamingo's fingers twitched. Suppressing the urge to attack again, he released Sky Walk and dropped back to the ground, waving away all his family officers.
"Fufufufu... White Ghost, what business would you like to do with the Donquixote Family?"
He was still deeply puzzled that the White Ghost from the West Blue knew he was a Celestial Dragon. But after weighing their respective strengths, Doflamingo decided to bury the question.
As long as he isn't an Agent sent by the World Government to kill me!
And given that earlier remark about "trash waiting around to die," Doflamingo was fairly sure the legendary White Ghost of the West Blue wasn't a lackey of the World Government.
That was enough!
When Doflamingo said nothing about the wrecked auction house or his defeated family members, Adrian understood that he intended to let those matters go.
He really is an unusual pirate. He knows when to bend and when to stand firm.
Whether he was the Heavenly Yaksha of decades later or the sea thug of today, the man had a strong Merchant streak.
Adrian smiled faintly and landed as well. He looked at Doflamingo, his gentle voice leaving no room for argument.
"First, I need to confirm something. As the victor, I'm entitled to claim spoils from the loser, correct?"
After a moment's silence, Doflamingo slowly nodded. "Of course."
Adrian smiled. "Then I want two things: the methods for training Armament Haki and Observation Haki."
"No problem!"
Doflamingo agreed without the slightest hesitation. He even seemed relieved.
He had expected the White Ghost to demand a huge chunk of the Donquixote Family's assets. Instead, he only wanted methods for training the two types of Haki.
Those methods were rare only in the four outer seas. On the Grand Line, especially in the New World beyond its midpoint, practically everyone had Armament Haki.
Even a small-time pirate scraping by at sea might have respectable Haki skills.
If the training methods for Two-Color Haki could settle this affair, Doflamingo couldn't have asked for a better outcome.
"Good. That's my only demand." Adrian beckoned. "Tommy will handle everything else."
Tommy Shelby, who had been watching from the rear, finally stepped forward. He approached Doflamingo, straightened his clothes and hat, then politely offered his right hand. "Hello, Mr. Doflamingo. I'm Tommy Shelby of the Razor Gang in the West Blue."
Razor Gang? Tommy Shelby?
Neither name meant anything to Doflamingo.
He frowned slightly, but for the White Ghost's sake, he forced himself to shake Tommy's hand.
A short while later, Doflamingo assigned a Donquixote Family officer to host Tommy, then invited Adrian to join him.
"You must have only recently arrived in the North Blue, White Ghost. You haven't tried our local specialties yet, have you? Why not attend a North Blue-style banquet?"
This affair was a disaster, but it was also an opportunity.
If Doflamingo could bring the immensely powerful lone wolf White Ghost aboard the Donquixote Family's ship, it would be a windfall!
Even if he couldn't, establishing a good relationship early would still be well worth it!
That night, in the central tower of Stride Island.
A vast long table stood in the banquet hall, laden with all manner of North Blue delicacies. Bottles of cellar-aged wine from islands across the North Blue came and went in a steady stream.
On the stage beyond the table, a group of scantily clad women in silver-threaded high heels and vivid dance skirts swayed their serpentine waists. The rippling curves of their bodies were mesmerizing.
To be fair, Doflamingo really knew how to enjoy himself better than anyone else in the pirate world!
At least when it came to women!
Adrian kept his manners as he enjoyed the North Blue dishes before him, occasionally looking up to admire the graceful dancing nearby.
"Fufufufu... Good food, isn't it, Adrian? Care for some wine?"
Doflamingo approached with a glass in one hand and his other arm around a sultry, lightly dressed beauty, greeting Adrian as the banquet's host.
"I don't smoke, and I only drink in moderation."
Adrian raised a hand to decline.
"Besides, I'd rather get the training methods for Two-Color Haki as soon as possible than indulge my appetite."
"Fufufufu... I've already prepared them." Doflamingo took a new black notebook from inside his coat and handed it to Adrian. "These are my notes and experiences from training Armament Haki and Observation Haki. They also include quite a bit from Trebol and the others."
In truth, Doflamingo still found it hard to believe that the White Ghost didn't know Haki. He had been beaten by someone who couldn't even use it.
Adrian drew out a napkin and wiped his mouth before accepting the notebook and casually leafing through a few pages.
The ink on the white pages was still fresh. This "Haki training manual" had only just been written.
At the same time, a notification appeared on his panel.
[Skill scrolls acquired: Armament Haki / Observation Haki. Learn them now?] [Note: Learning them directly costs 4 Skill Points. Studying them yourself can reduce the Skill Point cost.]
Skill scrolls I can learn by spending Skill Points?
That's a first.
Looks like Doflamingo didn't try any tricks. He put real effort into making these notes thorough...
Suppressing the urge to learn Two-Color Haki immediately, Adrian gave Doflamingo a slight nod.
"I'll be staying in the North Blue for a while. I hope the Razor Gang and the Donquixote Family enjoy a productive partnership."
"Fufufufu... To a productive partnership!"
Doflamingo laughed freely, raised his glass, and drained it.
With the training methods for Two-Color Haki in hand, mastering them was now only a matter of time. Adrian had accomplished most of what he had come to the North Blue to do.
While Tommy worked tirelessly to reach an arms-trade agreement with the Donquixote Family officers, Adrian studied the Two-Color Haki notes in a training room prepared for him.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Once the Razor Gang and the Donquixote Family had largely settled their agreement and purchased a sizable stock of firearms, Adrian said goodbye to Stride Island and the Donquixote Family. His North Blue experience-farming tour officially began.
The North Blue players' enthusiasm nearly drowned Adrian. They had thought Big Lethal was a benefit reserved for West Blue players, never expecting him to come to the North Blue too!
For a time, the experience and Beli the North Blue players had saved up flowed into Adrian's pockets like water.
After visiting every starting island in the North Blue, Adrian headed for the East Blue as planned to continue farming experience.
[East Blue]
Sea Circle Calendar, year 1499.
East Blue.
Mirapar Island was a prosperous island of moderate size, known for its glassware and trendy clothing. It was also home to a "DOSKOI PANDA" flagship store famous throughout the East Blue.
Recently, however, a large number of strangely behaved drifters had appeared on Mirapar Island for no apparent reason, causing considerable trouble for public order.
But the island's longtime residents soon discovered that although these drifters of unknown origin were rather weak, short, and ugly...
They were kindhearted, at least. They were especially eager to help, practically competing to take care of every little problem in town.
Those "drifters" were, of course, players!
Mirapar Island was one of the starting islands in the East Blue.
At that very moment, East Blue and South Blue players were arguing fiercely on the official game forum.
The debate had begun to take shape when Adrian appeared in the North Blue. After he finished visiting its last starting island, the argument between East Blue and South Blue players reached its peak.
Since Big Lethal had appeared in the North Blue, players had become certain of one thing: he wasn't exclusive to any single outer sea. He might visit all four.
Which sea Big Lethal would visit first after the North Blue had become the players' favorite subject of argument lately.
Some gamblers had even started betting pools on the forum over which sea he would appear in next.
The forum moderators quickly locked those threads, but that did nothing to dampen the players' enthusiasm.
Just then, a flood of new posts appeared in the forum's East Blue section. Their many messages all came down to one sentence:
"Big Lethal is in the East Blue!"
A little earlier.
Adrian arrived from the North Blue and slowly landed on a deserted stretch of Mirapar Island's coast.
Compared with the cold North Blue, the East Blue was pleasantly warm. A gentle sea breeze blew in from the azure waters, carrying a little of the sun's warmth and the ocean's moisture. It made him feel pleasantly lazy.
Adrian opened the forum's East Blue section and scanned it. "The East Blue has plenty of starting islands too. Public launch was almost three months ago. A lot of players have learned skills, and many have successfully chosen their primary classes. I'd better pick up the pace."
Then he checked the total experience on his panel, and his mood improved further.
After advancing to Sword Master, Adrian had reached level 41. He had completed quite a few quests and encountered several major events since then, but he had held off on leveling up.
Holding his level to farm experience hadn't made much difference at lower levels, when leveling up required relatively little experience.
Once he reached level 41, though, Adrian had worked out the trick of holding his level while farming experience.
Between the Battle of Loguetown, killing Gecko Moria, defeating Doflamingo, and the experience he had gathered from players, Adrian estimated that his East Blue trip would fill the experience bar needed to advance to level 60.
All told, players were still his biggest source of experience!