Chapter 82
Mermaids at least have half a human body, okay?
Although it's not the more crucial lower body, her upper body is still very beautiful!
Please don't change the idioms without permission!
Besides, once the mermaid turns thirty, she can simply shed her fishtail and transform into a human, walking upright on two legs, okay?
That's a mature woman in her thirties--
The next mission notification immediately interrupted Adrian's rant.
[You have triggered the S-Rank Random Mission [The Mermaid's Lament]!]
[Mission Brief: Human trafficking and the slave trade have always been the root of the tragedy on Fish-Man Island, arousing deep hatred in every Fish-Man Island and Fish-Man Race living there. Whenever Merfolk merman becomes a slave, the cries of the rest of the Merfolk echo through the deep sea. Destroying this phenomenon is the lifelong wish of all the inhabitants of Fish-Man Island!]
[Mission Requirement: Completely end the world's mermaid Slave Trade]
[Mission Hint: This is a nearly impossible task!]
[Mission Rewards: 10 billion experience points, 5 random rewards, 2 World Legend Points!]
Special Reward: [Mermaid Liberator]: Your relationship with the Fish-Man Island faction is permanently upgraded to the highest level, [Worship]!
[Slave Liberator]: Your initial rank in any Order Faction is permanently set to [Respect]!
The second task that appeared surprised Adrian.
"Ten billion experience..."
This is by far the most generous experience reward quest Adrian has ever encountered.
Even after breaking through Level 100, this level of experience should at least be enough to raise one or two levels, right?
However, along with the huge experience point rewards came an almost insurmountable level of difficulty in the mission.
How to completely eradicate the Slave Trade on Fish-Man Island?
Given the population size of Fish-Man Island, this is an impossible task.
Even if Adrian were to establish a base on Fish-Man Island, it would only temporarily halt the mermaid Slave Trade.
After all, without buying and selling, there would be no harm.
The true supporters behind the mermaid Slave Trade were not the nobles and wealthy merchants, but the Celestial Dragon Race who stood above the World Government!
Even the World Government, which has ruled the oceans for eight hundred years, wouldn't take the initiative to do this, so who could possibly do it?
Even though the Whitebeard Pirates, renowned throughout the seas, openly planted their flag above Fish-Man Island, the mermaid Slave Trade persisted despite repeated crackdowns. Tragic incidents of mermaids being captured, trafficked, and enslaved occurred almost every so often!
In other words, stopping the mermaid Slave Trade on Fish-Man Island is something even the World's Strongest Man couldn't do!
The [Mermaid's Lament] quest is too difficult.
Just like the task description itself suggests, this is a task that is almost impossible to complete!
For the time being, Adrian couldn't even imagine where to begin.
However, another random task posed no difficulty for him.
Having accepted the two missions, Adrian's eyes turned cold, and he instantly appeared ahead of the Bullhead Pirates' route.
Upon seeing someone suddenly blocking the way for the Bullhead Pirates, the Fish-Man Island residents who were watching nearby immediately stirred up a commotion.
"Who is that? And why did they step forward at this time?"
"That person is human! Could he also be a member of the Bullhead Pirates?"
"Why isn't a single Fish-Man brave enough to stand up against these Pirates?"
"Are all the guards in the Ryugu Palace dead? Why haven't they noticed what's happening here yet?"
The members of the Bullhead Pirates were slightly taken aback when they saw the short figure suddenly appear in front of them.
"Hey! Who are you?"
"Why are you blocking the way for our Bullhead Pirates?"
"Kid, are you looking for death?"
Paris, the captain of the Bullhead Pirates Pirates, also lowered his head, his black, bell-like eyes fixed on Adrian below, and said without a trace of emotion:
"You're blocking my way, get the hell out of my way!"
On this vast ocean, there are countless Pirates with similar appearances.
There are many examples of people who look completely different and have vastly different experiences, yet are still mistaken for the same person.
The most famous and also the most interesting of them are Sanji and Duval.
Due to a mistake in the handling of the Bounty poster, Duval inexplicably took on Sanji's name, thus becoming a target of constant pursuit by Bounty Hunter and the Marine Branch.
Because of this, Duval was inexplicably transformed from an ordinary village thug who enjoyed bullying villagers into Pirates, while also bearing Sanji's 77 million Beli Bounty...
I don't know if it's because the will of the universe is truly acting out of a twisted sense of humor, or because there are just too many people with face blindness on the ocean.
Pirates usually identify each other by their distinctive features.
For example, Edward Newgate's crescent-shaped Whitebeard, Shanks's bright Red-Haired, and Luffy's Straw Hat, etc.
At this time, although Adrian's Bounty exceeded 600 million Beli, the world only knew him by his nickname "White Ghost," and his true identity could only be confirmed by the release of his Ghost abilities.
So, at this moment, the minotaur Paris genuinely didn't recognize who the short, two-meter-tall man in a suit standing in front of him was...
A mocking smile appeared on Adrian's lips.
"Captain Paris of the Bullhead Pirates, what was your Bounty again?"
Upon hearing this, one of the Pirates henchmen immediately shouted with immense pride:
"The captain's Bounty is a whopping 222 million Beli!"
[Chapter 146 The Minotaur is Dead!]
The amount of the Bounty has just been revealed.
Suddenly, a ghostly blue light flashed before the henchman's eyes. Completely caught off guard, he didn't even have time to raise his arm before being blasted away by the close-range Ghost Energy Cannon.
As if struck head-on by a beast charging at full speed, the henchman was sent flying through the air, crashing through the shell wall of a Fish-Man Island house, and lying among shell fragments and coral shards, his fate unknown.
The minotaur Paris's expression immediately turned extremely ugly.
In broad daylight on Fish-Man Island, this unknown dwarf dared to knock his crew member away in front of everyone—he was practically asking for death!
Paris tossed the mermaid he was carrying on his shoulder to one of his men and let out a deafening roar.
The next moment, he lowered his head, pointed his huge, sharp horns at Adrian, and charged forward.
"Bullhead Charge!"
The Fish-Man Island residents who were watching felt the ground beneath their feet tremble.
The enormous minotaur, exuding an unparalleled aura of oppression, rushed in front of Adrian almost in the blink of an eye, ready to crush this nameless nobody into dust with his unmatched strength!
However, just as he was about to be hit, Adrian vanished instantly.
Free Ghost - Cloud Walking!
Paris smashed through several houses before stopping his charge. He knew his attack had been ineffective. Just as he was about to turn around to look for the nameless soldier, he suddenly felt an unknown threat coming from his left side.
This beast-like instinct saved Paris's life; he instantly raised his left hand, his muscular arm, almost as thick as a normal person's waist, successfully blocking the long sword slash from his left.
However, he was still blasted back more than ten meters by the extremely sharp blade energy, and a huge, deep wound that revealed the white bone was left on his arm.
Moo--!!
Paris let out a painful roar as he looked up at the sky, instantly entering his strongest human-beast form.
With a series of rumbling footsteps, an enormous minotaur-like Monster, nearly ten meters tall, appeared before everyone's eyes!
Paris's black leather jacket and pants were stretched to their limit, and the parts of his body not covered by clothing were covered with a thick layer of tough brown short mane. His two huge, curved bull horns, which were already poised to shoot into the sky, swelled up even more, almost reaching the size of a normal human body!
'Minotaur' Paris, Zoan Bison Form Fruit user with the Bull- Ox-Ox Fruit, Bison Form!
"You really hurt me, you little dwarf!"
A plume of hot, white steam billowed from Paris's Monster bull-headed nostrils as he looked at Adrian, who had reappeared on the street, his voice low and menacing, filled with undisguised rage.
"Die now!"
Rumble--!!
The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. The enormous minotaur, whose body resembled a towering iron tower, lowered its head once more, scratching its hooves, and launched a second, fierce attack.
The hard hooves pounded the ground as it charged toward Adrian once more, cracking the road surface and sending pieces of stone flying everywhere it went!
"War Bull Charge!"
It's pure violence, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal or technical sophistication!
Let me show you what true power is!
Adrian frowned.
The next moment, Yubashiri from her sheath.
A deep, Black Jade Armament Haki instantly clung to the snow-white blade, and a flowing pink hue, like cherry blossoms in spring, faintly appeared on the sword.
Adrian gripped the hilt of the Yubashiri sword with both hands and slashed downwards with great force.
With a sharp, piercing sound, the razor- Skillful Grade, carrying unparalleled momentum, slashed down fiercely towards the pair of enormous bull horns!
Bang--!
The moment the two extremely powerful forces collided, it was as if two bombs with sparks had collided. The violent shockwave spread rapidly in all directions, shattering the windows of the surrounding buildings. This was followed by a deafening sonic boom, and then a huge amount of smoke and dust.
Thump!
A heavy thud was heard as something fell to the ground.
After the smoke cleared, the onlookers were astonished to discover that this contest of strength, despite the vast difference in size, had ended in defeat for the minotaur Paris.
At this moment, the iconic massive bull horns on either side of Paris's forehead—the right one had snapped off and fallen to the ground, while the left one was covered in deep cracks and looked on the verge of collapse.
"You bastard! Who are you?!"
Paris's bell-like eyes were now bloodshot, his pupils shrunk to the size of pinpoints, and his Monster body had grown even larger than before. His short, brownish-red mane stood on end, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
"Me?" Adrian held the Yubashiri in one hand, his left index finger raised, a small, cute White Hollow dancing back and forth on his fingertip. "Just a rookie Pirates who wants to learn from a senior's power."
"You're the White Ghost?!"
Paris's voice, which had been filled with rage, suddenly carried a hint of fear. The speed at which his body was expanding stopped instantly, and the bristling fur fell back down.
The raging bison was startled and docile by this small, White Hollow.
The Fish-Man Island residents who were watching recognized Adrian's identity using the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's abilities and immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves.
The rest of the Bullhead Pirates were instantly thrown into chaos.
"The White Ghost? That's the White Ghost?!"
"The White Ghost who tormented Celestial Dragons and held his own against Admiral?"
"A super Great Pirate with Bounty exceeding 600 million Beli?"
"It's over, it's over, the captain's definitely going to lose this time..."
Perhaps hearing his men's cowardly words of fear before the battle even began, Paris suppressed his terror and looked coldly at Adrian.
Although Paris also believed that White Ghost was an extremely powerful Great Pirate, he did not think he would be defeated so easily!
"Rookie Pirates, experience the invincible power of the minotaur!"
"If I'd known it would be such awful lines, I shouldn't have responded to you..."
Adrian sighed. Faced with an opponent who didn't understand Haki, he couldn't even muster the interest to fight.
Mini Hollow - Withering Heart-Piercer.
Having not used the power of Withering Heart-Piercer for a long time, the semi-illusory Ghost nimbly flew towards Paris.
Paris was fully prepared and threw a punch to block, but he didn't expect that the White Hollow would completely ignore his attack and pierce straight into his chest.
"Varied--"
Bang!