Chapter 50
Back then, players from other regions had even joined in to mock the South Blue players for being abandoned by Big Lethal.
Yet who would have thought Big Lethal would actually come to the South Blue?
Some players felt Big Lethal had toyed with them and wounded their pride. They declared they would never learn skills from him again.
But plenty of low-level newcomers still waited eagerly for Big Lethal to arrive. Who cared about saving face? Practical benefits mattered more!
Amid these mixed reactions, Adrian set off with a spring in his step to harvest experience from the South Blue's beginner islands.
Things went much as he had expected. Most South Blue players had already changed classes, so although they had amassed plenty of experience, their enthusiasm for spending it had waned. His total haul from the South Blue was only about half what he had earned in the East Blue.
Still, he had finally finished visiting every beginner village in the outer seas, and Adrian felt no small sense of accomplishment.
A Massacre in the Name of Justice
South Blue.
Dorea Island.
It was a peaceful, mostly rural island, crisscrossed by mountain ranges. Its eastern terrain stood higher than its west, and it was ruled by Saint Dorea, one of the World Government Member States.
After leaving the South Blue's final beginner island, Adrian quietly came ashore on an empty stretch of Dorea Island's coast.
He wore a gray-white Balmacaan coat, left open to reveal a cashmere vest of the same color, a white shirt, and a gray spotted tie. A black fedora sat lightly on his head, giving him a relaxed, sunny air.
Gazing at the peaceful town not far away, Adrian stretched at length.
"My business in the South Blue is pretty much done. Next comes the trip to the Grand Line. I wonder if changing maps will trigger any new quests. I'm looking forward to it..."
Adrian walked alone toward the town along a coastal path. A gentle sea breeze brushed his face, and tall reeds swayed in the wind.
But as he drew closer, Observation Haki suddenly picked up waves of panicked "voices."
"Pirates again?" Adrian frowned. "Pirates have been showing up far too often lately. I guess they don't call it the Great Pirate Era for nothing."
As the thought occurred to him, Adrian quickened his pace toward the town.
To his surprise, though, the commotion inside had not been caused by marauding pirates. It was caused by Marine soldiers in white uniforms!
On the town's main avenue, squad after squad of Marines carrying long muskets hurried through the crowds under the orders of a senior officer wearing a Justice Coat.
The townspeople's expressions made it clear how much they hated and resented this search!
"Excuse me, what happened?"
Adrian tapped an onlooker on the shoulder and asked.
"It's because of the Pirate King..."
But the man had barely turned around and spoken half a sentence when he saw Adrian's clothes. His face changed at once, and he fled without looking back.
"Was that really necessary? At least finish your sentence before running off!"
Left with no choice, Adrian activated Observation Haki and quietly gathered information from the crowd.
"Pirate King," "Gol D. Roger," "pregnant women..."
Before long, Adrian had pieced together what was happening.
"It's... the Orphaned Child Incident!"
A little earlier.
After Roger's execution, the World Government and the Marines had thought they could finally breathe easy. Then intelligence arrived from Cipher Pol.
According to the report, Pirate King Roger might have left behind a child who had yet to be born.
After a thorough investigation, Cipher Pol confirmed that the child was likely in the South Blue, where the Pirate King had spent the final stretch of his life.
Orders came down at once from the Five Elders at the very top. The Marines were to assist Cipher Pol in searching the entire South Blue. They had to find Roger's unborn child and snuff out that wicked bloodline before the child could enter the world!
And if they could not identify the child for certain, then...
Kill every pregnant woman under suspicion!
After his fierce objections failed, Fleet Admiral Kong had no choice but to send Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Sakazuki, Marine Headquarters Colonel Doberman, and others to the South Blue to assist Cipher Pol.
What was happening on Dorea Island now was just one glimpse of the chaos engulfing the South Blue.
"Roger's era is over. We must tear out his bloodline by the roots!" On the town's main avenue, Colonel Doberman, his black hair tousled and a toothpick in his mouth, barked orders at the Marines around him. "From this moment on, investigate every infant born within ten months of his imprisonment, and every pregnant woman!"
"Kill the suspicious wom—"
Thud!
A vicious kick sent Colonel Doberman flying. He smashed through several buildings before crashing to the ground, unable to stop himself from vomiting a mouthful of blood. A deep dent marked the chest of his dark suit where the kick had landed. He was clearly badly injured.
"Who were you about to say you'd kill, you Marine scum?"
Adrian stood on the main avenue, his face livid. He slowly lowered his right foot as he watched Doberman continue to cough up blood.
"Can you say that and still live up to the word 'Justice' on your back? Or do you think slaughtering unarmed pregnant civilians is the Marines' justice? Your justice?"
Even measured against the worst atrocities committed by the World Government and the Marines across eight hundred years, the Orphaned Child Incident unfolding in the South Blue would rank near the top!
Adrian would not regret stepping in, even if it meant being branded a pirate!
It was the line he would not cross as a human being!
"Cough—" Doberman spat out another mouthful of blood. Rallying himself, he forced his battered body upright amid the wreckage. He looked at Adrian with fear and wariness in his eyes. "Who are you? Why are you interfering with the Marines and the World Government?"
Adrian looked around. Many Marines who met his gaze gripped their muskets without thinking, their legs trembling. The townspeople, once gripped by panic, now looked hopeful, as though they had seen a savior.
"Me?" Adrian's expression eased slightly, and he gave a soft laugh. "Before today, I was just a Pirate Hunter who liked fighting evil with evil. What I'll be after today is for you 'righteous' Marines to decide."
A notification suddenly appeared on his panel.
[You have triggered the B-rank random quest Justice's Massacre!] [Quest description: Having learned that Gol D. Roger still has an unborn child, the World Government, which has ruled the world for nearly eight hundred years, will not allow another great ruler of the seas to be born and challenge its power! Orders have come from the very top: the Pirate King's wicked bloodline must not remain in this world! Better to kill ten thousand by mistake than let one escape!] [Quest hint: Justice? What a fine-sounding word!] [Quest requirements: Unknown] [Quest rewards: Unknown]
Doberman roared, "Eliminating the Pirate King's wicked bloodline is the Marines' Absolute Justice! Pirate Hunter, are you really going to defy an order from the Marines and the World Government?"
Adrian sneered and did not bother to answer.
He raised his right hand high and activated his power.
White Hollow: Mist Theater!
Layer upon layer of white hollows surged from the void, blanketing the entire town like thick fog. From a distance, it looked as if an enormous white circular theater had been placed upside down over the island.
Seeing through the hollows' eyes, Adrian carefully identified everyone inside the Mist Theater. He singled out every Marine soldier and World Government Agent, then used his power again.
Dream Ghost: Sleeping Curse!
Adrian vs. Sakazuki
Thump, thump...
Under the Dream Ghost's influence, the Marines and World Government Agents fell one after another like cut wheat. Every one of them lay with eyes shut, sunk in a deep sleep.
Doberman, whom Adrian had deliberately spared, watched his fellow Marines fall. His expression shifted. "Pirate Hunter, how dare you slaughter—"
"Relax! I'm not some inhuman executioner!" Adrian cut him off coldly. "They're all fine!"
Dream Ghost: Sleeping Curse was one of Adrian's recently developed ghost abilities. As its name suggested, it sent people into a deep sleep.
The tragedy on Dorea Island had not yet occurred. Adrian could not bring himself to kill all these Marines and World Government Agents for atrocities they had not yet committed.
If he did, how would he be any different from them?
"Who is interfering with the Marines and the World Government?"
A furious voice rang out like a great bell. An intensely hot presence erupted from the southern part of town, and billowing smoke shot skyward alongside a spray of magma.
"Sakazuki!"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!"
Adrian's and Colonel Doberman's expressions changed at once. Adrian frowned deeply; Doberman was overjoyed.
If Adrian fought Akainu inside this town, everything he had just done would be for nothing.
The townspeople, the unconscious Marines, and the government agents would all be reduced to ash in the searing magma!
With that thought, Adrian made up his mind. He dispersed the Mist Theater, left the badly injured Doberman behind, and raced toward the eruption of magma.
Observation Haki picked up an unfamiliar presence approaching rapidly. Sakazuki waited where he stood and soon saw Adrian arrive.
"Are you the one interfering with the Marines?"
As he spoke, a cold glint flashed in Sakazuki's stern eyes. He leaped into the air, his right arm transforming into a massive magma fist. With terrifying heat and force, he drove it straight at Adrian.
Great Eruption!
Adrian's gaze remained cool and his expression unchanged. Faced with that monstrous fist of magma, he simply raised his right hand.
White Ghost: Fair-Weather Doll!
Hundreds of white hollows sprang from the void and swarmed toward Sakazuki like insects answering a supreme command.
Demon Swordsman!
The next instant, Adrian used his power to swap places with a white hollow.
At the same time, he drew Yubashiri and coated it in the Armament Haki properties Ryuo and Black Jade!
Boom!
The magma fist slammed down, striking nothing.
Slash!
A fierce sword strike burst forth, cleaving toward Sakazuki.
"Armament Haki!"
Sensing the intense threat from Yubashiri's blade, Sakazuki's eyes darkened.
With a low shout, he coated his body in Armament Haki and used the explosive speed of Soru to leap clear of Yubashiri's reach.
But the white hollows Adrian had summoned were not just for show!
Demon Swordsman!
Adrian used his power again, swapping places with the white hollow nearest Sakazuki.
Yubashiri, sheathed in jet-black Armament Haki, swept toward Sakazuki once more with unstoppable force.
Sakazuki's eyes narrowed. Demon Swordsman had caught him off guard the first time, but now he was ready. He coated his right fist in Armament Haki and met Yubashiri's edge head-on.
Clang—!!
The two powerful forces collided in midair with a thunderous crack, as though lightning had struck a blaze. The sound rolled outward.
A violent shock wave spread in an instant, kicking up clouds of dust. When the dust settled, a huge ring-shaped crater had formed where the two men had stood.
Just then, Sakazuki's eyes turned cold. His free left hand transformed into magma and shot forward, stretching toward Adrian with blinding speed.
Hell Hound!
Pfft!
The searing magma punched straight through an innocent-looking white hollow. It waved its translucent arms, emerging from the attack unharmed.
Magma could not hurt a ghost immune to physical attacks!
Mini Hollow: Nova Fire!
At Adrian's thought, countless white points of light appeared around him. In the blink of an eye, they became hundreds of spherical mini hollows and launched a saturation attack on his enemy.
Boom, boom, boom—!!
The dense barrage of mini hollows struck Sakazuki's magma body, blasting only a few insignificant holes. They quickly closed, while droplets of magma splashed onto the ground nearby and scorched it, sending up thin trails of black smoke.
Ghost Bombs were no more effective against a Logia Devil Fruit user!
In their brief encounter, the two had exchanged several rounds of attacks. The entire sequence had taken only seconds, but every move had been perilous.
Sakazuki shook out his hand and let it return from magma to flesh. He raised his head to look skyward and said coldly, "So it's you! White Ghost, from the West Blue!"