Chapter 47

Without his drillhead, Chinjao had also lost the ability to open the Jade Treasure Ice Bed.

But that limitation did not apply to Adrian!

His Ghost Body could pass straight through the thick ice that was an insurmountable barrier to ordinary Pirates.

Even the Hollows he created could penetrate the Jade Treasure Ice Bed.

If he could not open it from the surface, surely blasting it apart from within would be easier?

The Mini Hollows were not powerful enough?

Peacemaker ought to do the job, then.

And considering the Happo Navy's reputation for turning on its own side...

Ahem. With that strangely favorable increase in their relationship, Adrian was confident he could make this deal happen!

Tsai Dou patiently listened to Adrian finish recounting the legend of the Jade Treasure Ice Bed before admitting, "White Ghost, perhaps you've misunderstood. Ever since my father was defeated by Garp, even the Happo Navy hasn't been able to open it again."

Tsai Dou seemed entirely untroubled by airing his family's embarrassment.

Adrian smiled faintly. "What if I told you I could help the Happo Navy open the Jade Treasure Ice Bed and retrieve the enormous fortune inside?"

Tsai Dou frowned slightly. He set his teacup down with a sharp tap.

"Please don't joke about this, White Ghost! My father has lived near the Jade Treasure Ice Bed for years, thinking day and night about how to open it. He hasn't made the slightest progress!"

It was a perfectly normal reaction.

It was like losing the key to your house, only for a stranger to appear out of nowhere and casually claim he could open your front door...

Forget believing him. Not losing your temper and hitting him would already show remarkable restraint!

Adrian did not offer a lengthy explanation in the face of Tsai Dou's distrust. He simply performed a demonstration.

He entered Ghostification, raised his hand, and brought it down.

His arm passed straight through the table without the slightest resistance!

"That's... the power of a Devil Fruit!"

Tsai Dou's eyes widened. A possibility had suddenly occurred to him.

The Jade Treasure Ice Bed lay in the far north of the Flower Country, an immense frozen expanse.

Above it rose strange and ever-changing sights: jagged peaks of ice, winding valleys, and sheer walls stretching across the vast landscape.

More captivating still was the thick layer of gold, silver, and jewels beneath the ice.

Buried there was the enormous fortune the Flower Country's Happo Navy had accumulated over centuries. Treasure beyond counting covered the bed's lower reaches—a fortune that would drive ninety-nine percent of the people on the seas mad at a glance!

At that moment, a towering bald man nearly five meters tall sat cross-legged on the endless ice. A green cloak bearing the words "Eighth Treasure" hung from his shoulders. Streaks of gray stood out in his thick black beard, and the number "12" was tattooed above his left eyebrow.

He was the Happo Navy's twelfth leader—Chinjao the Drill!

These days, of course, more people called him the "Dragon Without a Drill," or simply mocked him as "Bell Pepper."

Suddenly, Chinjao rose from the ice.

He bent his knees and sprang into the air. Clasping his hands together, he flipped headfirst, and dense Armament Haki instantly coated the bald head that had once been his drill. He roared:

"Dragon Without a Drill: Chinjao Opens the Gate!"

BONG—BONG—

The dull impacts rang across the vast Jade Treasure Ice Bed.

Facing its former nemesis, the ice merely trembled. Not a single crack appeared.

Chinjao collapsed onto his back on the Jade Treasure Ice Bed. Large tears seeped from the corners of his wrinkled eyes as he raged helplessly, "Garp!! Damn you, Garp!! I'll never forgive you!!!

"I'll hate you down to your grandchildren!! Garp!!!"

Just then, Adrian arrived at the Jade Treasure Ice Bed amid the enthusiastic escort of Tsai Dou and the Happo Navy. Naturally, he heard Chinjao's furious howl from afar.

Adrian glanced at Tsai Dou, rather embarrassed. "Should I give him a moment, Mr. Tsai Dou?"

Tsai Dou nodded stiffly. He had never expected the old man to lose his mind right now. How many years had it been since that business with Garp? Why was he still obsessed with him?

And if he wanted revenge on Garp, he should go after him! What was the point of staying here and weeping over the Jade Treasure Ice Bed?

A long while later.

"Father, this is White Ghost, the legendary figure who recently emerged in the West Blue," Tsai Dou said, introducing Adrian to the Chinjao who had finally calmed down. "He—"

Chinjao had no patience to hear more. He gave Adrian an irritated look. "Brat, you're the one who says you can open the Jade Treasure Ice Bed?"

Adrian frowned. "Chinjao the Drill, I believe the two sides in this transaction should at least be treated as equals."

"Equals?" Chinjao sneered. "Ya-ho-ho! I was sailing the seas before you were even born, you brat who came out of nowhere!"

Adrian's brow tightened. He looked at Tsai Dou. "If you still want to make this deal, my share has risen to fifty percent."

Originally, Adrian had only intended to take thirty percent of the fortune beneath the Jade Treasure Ice Bed. Wealth simply did not mean that much to him.

But Chinjao's contemptuous attitude had angered him!

Tsai Dou hurriedly grabbed Chinjao's arm and whispered in his ear, "Father, my dear father! White Ghost really can enter the Jade Treasure Ice Bed! I saw it myself! For the sake of the Happo Navy, please hold back for now!"

Chinjao paused and looked at his son. "He really can?"

"Absolutely!" Tsai Dou said firmly. "White Ghost is an unusual Devil Fruit User who can pass through physical barriers without resistance! The Jade Treasure Ice Bed won't stop him!"

Chinjao remained doubtful, but at least he stopped making trouble. He jerked his chin at Adrian. "Go on, brat. Let's see if you can break this thing open!"

Adrian kept his eyes on Tsai Dou. "Eighty percent."

"White—" Tsai Dou grew anxious.

"Fine!" Chinjao cut him off. His eyes bored into Adrian. "Eighty percent it is! As long as you can open the Jade Treasure Ice Bed!"

Adrian gave him a cold glance, said nothing, and walked to an empty stretch of ice.

He crouched and pressed one hand against the Jade Treasure Ice Bed.

Mini Hollow: Fireworks Festival!

At Adrian's command, countless Mini Hollows appeared, gathering into a huge sphere of gleaming white light. Then, like a firework bursting, they launched an indiscriminate barrage outward from within the ice.

Crack—crack—

A nerve-racking sound came from deep within the Jade Treasure Ice Bed. Fine fractures appeared where the Mini Hollows had exploded and spread rapidly toward the surface.

But the Mini Hollows were not powerful enough. The fractures stopped within the ice, failing to break all the way through.

Adrian had learned what he needed to know. He used his power again.

Giant Ghost: Peacemaker!

A White Hollow far larger than the sphere of light appeared and sank into the Jade Treasure Ice Bed. Then it exploded!

BOOM—BOOM!!

A violent shockwave tore through the Jade Treasure Ice Bed, shaking the surrounding area. It surged to the surface, opening a web of fissures before blasting a huge round hole through the thick ice. Inside lay a sea of gold, silver, and jewels glittering with dazzling light.

"Ya-ho-ho-ho! So you really do have some ability, brat!"

At the sight of the Jade Treasure Ice Bed finally opened after so many years, Chinjao burst into laughter.

As he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki without restraint, a crushing presence radiated from him. The near-tangible pressure made several weaker-willed members of the Happo Navy roll their eyes back, foam at the mouth, and collapse unconscious.

Chinjao immediately showed his true colors as a pirate. "Now get out of the Happo Navy's territory, White Ghost brat! Ya-ho-ho-ho!"

"I regretted coming to the Flower Country to make this deal from the moment you first opened your mouth, Chinjao the Drill," Adrian said coldly. "But do you know why I opened the Jade Treasure Ice Bed anyway?

"Because you Pirates aren't the only ones who can rob a thief!

"I only meant to take thirty percent. Now I'm taking it all!"

[Random quest triggered: Dragon Without a Drill!]

[Quest hint: Everyone dies eventually, but some people need a little help.]

[Quest objective: Defeat or kill Chinjao the Drill.]

[Quest reward: Randomly acquire one skill or Specialty from the enemy.]

The notifications flashed across Adrian's panel.

As Adrian accepted the quest, Chinjao flew into a rage. He roared:

"Ya-ho-ho-ho... Who do you think I am, brat? I'm Chinjao!"

"Yes, I know." Adrian raised an eyebrow and looked at him mockingly. "Chinjao, the Great Pirate of a bygone era. Chinjao, whose drillhead Garp smashed flat with one punch. The Dragon Without a Drill who hides by the Jade Treasure Ice Bed and cries all day. Leader Chinjao!"

"You—"

"Honestly, I admire your nerve in breaking the deal first. But that's the only thing I can praise you for."

"I—"

"That's enough trash talk. Ready to go to hell?"

A crimson glint flashed through Adrian's eyes as he activated Observation Haki, cutting Chinjao off.

His figure blurred forward at tremendous speed. He drew Yubashiri from his waist and brought down a savage slash at Chinjao's head.

"You little bastard!" Chinjao shook with fury, his wide eyes bloodshot. "Don't get too carried away!"

A vivid black sheen swiftly coated his uneven bald head. Chinjao drove off the ice with both legs, leaping straight at the sharp edge of Yubashiri with his Armament Haki-clad skull.

"Hasshoken: Wutou!"

Clang—

Blade and skull met with a sharp metallic ring.

A moment later, Chinjao's Super Strength sent Adrian flying into the air, while Adrian's slash drove Chinjao down into the ice.

Adrian adjusted his position midair. Pink Ryuo coated Yubashiri, and he swung out a dazzling Flying Slash.

A powerful snow-white Sword Aura fell from the sky toward Chinjao.

Though Chinjao's strength and spirit had both declined since his defeat by Garp, he would not fall so easily. His wealth of combat experience remained intact.

"Hasshoken: Wutou Spin!"

Even as he fell, Chinjao flipped over, rolled once through the air, and landed on his head. Spinning like a top, he moved swiftly aside and cleanly dodged the slash.

Then, using the tremendous centrifugal force of Wutou Spin, Chinjao shot back into the air along a strange curved path. His Armament Haki-clad, drill-less head hurtled toward Adrian again.

One Sword Style: Heavenly Midair Kill!

Adrian held his breath and focused. Eyes calm, he coated Yubashiri in Ryuo, gripped its hilt with both hands, and struck with all his strength.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Their explosive clash produced a massive shockwave. Several thunderous blasts rang out overhead, and the escaping gusts swept thick frost and powdered ice several meters into the air.

"White Ghost!" Tsai Dou, his face plastered with snow, spoke with deep apprehension. "I thought I'd already estimated his strength generously. But besides being a Devil Fruit User, he's a powerful Swordmaster!"

The Happo Navy men beside him murmured among themselves. One called out, "Lord Bean, should we..."

"Just watch! This is a fight we can't interfere with!" Tsai Dou gave the man a cold glance.

Then the snow cleared, revealing Chinjao's towering figure.

What stood out most was the bright red blood running down his uneven bald head, stark against the surrounding white!

Adrian's full-powered strike had wounded the once-renowned Great Pirate with a bounty of five hundred million!

Blood ran down Chinjao's forehead, mingling with large beads of sweat.

"Ya-ho-ho-ho! A Swordmaster too?" Chinjao touched the blood on his face. Needlelike pain throbbed through his forehead, and a long-forgotten thrill of battle stirred within him. "White Ghost brat, I really did underestimate you!"

"Enough talk!"

Adrian had no intention of indulging Chinjao's theatrics.

A fight was a fight!

If he was an enemy, he would die!

White steel flashed again. Adrian instantly entered Ghostification and lunged at Chinjao faster than an ordinary person could react.