Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• King Fárbauti reveals that the Roger Pirates left Elbaf a Road Poneglyph years ago. Adrian realizes Elbaf can help complete his quest to read the four Road Poneglyphs.
• Fárbauti offers Adrian ownership of two black Poneglyphs if he helps Elbaf with a problem. Whether Adrian accepts or not, the king promises he can read all three stones, including the red Road Poneglyph.
• Their discussion turns to Treasure Tree Adam and the Ancient Weapon Uranus. Fárbauti explains that Uranus is hidden within the tree, though he has never seen the weapon himself. This belief comes from giant tradition and a translation made by Kozuki Oden.
• Adrian agrees to visit the Royal Court Treasury and reads all three Poneglyphs. The red stone gives him a Road Poneglyph location; one black stone concerns God’s Country eight hundred years ago; the other describes Uranus.
• The text says Uranus is hidden within the World Tree, gathers sunlight, creates cloud paths that carry people or objects to precise destinations across the Grand Line, and can control clouds to produce weather over an island-sized area. Adrian concludes these paths could explain Shanks’s rapid journeys.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian weighs the value of owning the stones against the information they contain. His curiosity about Fárbauti’s request—and Uranus—ultimately leads him to accept the trip to the treasury, though he has not yet agreed to help.
• Fárbauti shows both caution and pride: he checks for eavesdroppers before discussing Uranus, but admits his knowledge is incomplete. His claim that giants trust weapons and strength more than history contrasts with Adrian’s scholarly interest.
• Adrian and Fárbauti negotiate cautiously, with Adrian asking what the king needs before deciding whether to make a deal. Adrian also leaves protective Transparent Ghosts near his companions before departing.

Significant themes

• Knowledge versus ownership: Adrian values what the Poneglyphs record far more than possessing the durable stones themselves.
• Tradition and incomplete history: Elbaf has preserved a secret about Uranus across generations, but even its king cannot fully explain it.
• Power and mistaken expectations: Adrian expects Uranus to be a devastating weapon, but its unusual abilities—transport, sunlight, and weather control—defy his assumptions.
• History’s lingering consequences: The information about Uranus connects Elbaf to the Ancient Kingdom and the conflict from eight hundred years ago.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Adrian reads the three Poneglyphs in Elbaf’s treasury. The account of Uranus describes it as a solar-powered aerial weapon that can influence clouds and weather and attack or intercept targets. Adrian concludes that Uranus is powerful but not an overwhelming, planet-level weapon.
• A Poneglyph about God’s Country says it once stood atop the Red Line. Adrian infers that the Lunarians, including King, came from the moon, possessed extraordinary resilience and fire abilities, and were the original “gods” before the Celestial Dragons took the title. He also concludes the passage does not identify God’s Country as the former Great Kingdom.
• Outside the treasury, King Fárbauti asks Adrian to help with a threat tied to Treasure Tree Adam. The king explains that the tree was once called the World Tree and is sacred to Elbaf.
• Elbaf’s prophecy says the World Tree will fall, despair will emerge, and a final war will bring the world to an end. The despair is Nidhogg, a black Poison Dragon living beneath the tree.
• Nidhogg has recently awakened and grown restless, apparently reacting to Elbaf’s recent use of Uranus. The prophecy places the world-ending war perhaps ten or twenty years in the future, but King Fárbauti cannot say whether Nidhogg has already escaped.
• The giants struggle to counter Nidhogg because he is fast and can fly; even their strongest warriors cannot keep up. Prophecy also says the one who defeats him will not be a giant.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian processes the Poneglyphs analytically, connecting their clues to what he already knows while concealing his broader conclusions from the king. He recognizes the prophecy’s resemblance to Ragnarok and suspects the future war will involve Luffy and the World Government.
• King Fárbauti shifts from casual conversation to anxious seriousness as he reveals Elbaf’s sacred history and its danger. He admits the giants’ limits against aerial foes and seeks Adrian’s help.
• Their exchange grows more candid: Fárbauti initially assumes Adrian knows little about the tree, then learns Adrian can read Ancient Script and trusts him with the prophecy.

Significant themes

• Ancient history and contested identity: The Poneglyphs suggest that titles such as “gods” and control of historical truth have been taken over by later powers.
• Prophecy and destiny: Elbaf’s centuries-old prediction appears to foreshadow a distant global war and a non-giant champion.
• Limits of strength: Despite Elbaf’s formidable warriors, their abilities are poorly suited to a fast, flying enemy.
• Knowledge versus uncertainty: Adrian draws confident connections from the evidence, while even the Giant King cannot determine whether the immediate threat has fully broken free.

• Nidhogg and Elbaf’s request: King Fárbauti admits he cannot pinpoint Nidhogg, the prophesied Black Dragon of despair, because it hides inside Treasure Tree Adam. He explains that using Uranus can wake the dragon, which gnaws at the tree’s roots and has sometimes flown out before returning. Disappointed by the uncertainty, Adrian agrees to stay in Elbaf for only three days to see whether Nidhogg appears, partly in return for the Poneglyphs the king showed him.
• The prophecy’s possible source: When Adrian asks who foretold Nidhogg’s role, Fárbauti recalls a name resembling “Time” or “Moon.” Adrian suspects the prophet was Kozuki Toki, user of the Time-Time Fruit, and considers whether she might have known more about the future than he thought. He also wonders if Nidhogg could be the mysterious silhouette seen near the end of the Straw Hats’ Thriller Bark adventure.
• Adrian and the Giants: Prince Loki anxiously asks whether Adrian accepted the king’s request. Adrian says he will remain for three days and assumes the Giants may prefer him to stay away because he is human. Loki corrects him: Elbaf dislikes weaklings, not powerful warriors, and invites him to stay in the Royal Court. Loki privately resolves to learn Adrian’s fighting techniques and challenge him again, refusing to accept their earlier defeat as a fair measure of his ability. Brogy and Dorry agree that Elbaf welcomes strong fighters.
• Ulti’s request and rewards: Ulti persuades Adrian to accept the invitation because she wants to sleep in a Giant-sized bed. Adrian then claims the rewards for completing the “Giant’s Challenge”: 2.15 billion experience points, an Elbaf Legend Point, and two random skills. He is irritated when both rewards are overlapping spear techniques—Hakun and Hero’s Spear—especially since he already has Ikoku Sovereignty.
  Character developments and themes: Adrian remains pragmatic and skeptical, weighing the risks of an uncertain hunt against its potential benefits for his advancement. His speculation about Toki highlights the story’s interest in prophecy, time, and hidden history. Loki’s pride turns defeat into renewed ambition, while Elbaf’s hospitality challenges Adrian’s assumption that humans are unwelcome. The chapter also uses humor to offset the looming threat of Nidhogg and Adrian’s frustration with his rewards.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Adrian fuses the skills Ikoku Sovereignty, Hakun, and Hero’s Spear, obtaining Elbaph Spear. However, he considers the result disappointing because it requires at least 3,000 Strength—meaning only someone already extremely powerful can use it effectively.
• While completing his research on the Three-Eye Tribe, Adrian senses a violent, ancient soul awakening. At the same time, Treasure Tree Adam, Elbaf’s sacred World Tree, begins shaking, accompanied by the sound of something chewing inside it.
• Adrian moves Louf and the others into the Impenetrable Fortress for safety and investigates the tree. Using his Soul Reaper senses and Observation Haki, he discovers that Nidhogg, the legendary Poison Dragon of Despair, has hollowed out much of the tree’s interior.
• King Fárbauti and several powerful Giants, including Loki, Brogy, and Dorry, arrive. Fárbauti explains that Nidhogg has been eating away at Treasure Tree Adam for centuries, destroying its lower branches and hollowing out the trunk.
• Adrian prepares to honor his agreement with Elbaf: help eliminate Nidhogg in exchange for two Ordinary Poneglyphs. Fárbauti insists that they wait for the dragon to emerge and organizes the Giants into a battle formation around the tree.
• After an extended period of chewing and movement within the trunk, Nidhogg finally bursts out of Treasure Tree Adam. The enormous western-style dragon emerges fully, revealing blue-black scales, golden eyes, immense wings, and a body nearly the size of a medium-sized island.
• Adrian realizes that defeating or confronting Nidhogg will likely complete the second branch of his Species Transformation mission. He flies toward the dragon, unleashing his full Spiritual Pressure and provoking a wary response from the ancient creature.
• The chapter ends as Nidhogg roars at Adrian, beginning their confrontation.

Character Developments

• Adrian: Remains confident and analytical despite his frustration over the fusion skill. His perception and combat abilities continue to impress the Giants. He also reveals that he can fly in his Soul Reaper form, surprising King Fárbauti.
• King Fárbauti: Demonstrates extensive knowledge of Nidhogg and Treasure Tree Adam. He acts cautiously and strategically, trusting the dragon will emerge rather than risking damage to the sacred tree.
• Nidhogg: Is introduced as an ancient, intelligent, and immensely powerful creature tied to Elbaf’s apocalyptic prophecy. Although physically enormous, it recognizes Adrian as a genuine threat.
• Loki, Brogy, and Dorry: Appear among the Elbaf forces assembled to witness and potentially participate in the coming battle.

Significant Themes

• Power and usefulness: Adrian questions the value of abilities that are impressive in theory but unnecessary for someone already overwhelmingly strong.
• Prophecy and ancient threats: Nidhogg represents a long-feared catastrophe from Elbaf’s past, connecting the present conflict to ancient legends and fate.
• Protection versus destruction: Adrian and the Giants must defeat Nidhogg without seriously damaging Treasure Tree Adam, making the battlefield itself a central concern.
• Respect between powers: Nidhogg’s instinctive wariness of Adrian establishes that both are extraordinary beings, despite their massive difference in size.

Character Interactions

• Adrian and King Fárbauti discuss Nidhogg’s location, its destruction of Treasure Tree Adam, and how to force or wait for its emergence.
• Fárbauti’s cautious strategy contrasts with Adrian’s readiness to confront the dragon directly.
• Adrian’s arrival and overwhelming Spiritual Pressure immediately draw Nidhogg’s attention, setting up the chapter’s climactic battle between the Soul Reaper and the legendary Poison Dragon.

Key plot points and events

• Nidhogg attacks Adrian with clouds of deadly poison, but Adrian’s Soul Reaper Body makes him immune. The giants retreat from the corrosive mist and King Fárbauti urges them to trust Adrian.
• Adrian uses Future Sight to avoid Nidhogg’s spiked tail, then sends a spiritual-pressure dragon through it, nearly severing the limb.
• He evades Nidhogg’s venom and strikes from above with Pale Emperor. The Flying Slash tears through the dragon’s scales, hide, and flesh, but only leaves a shallow mark on his skull.
• Injured and recognizing Adrian’s advantage, Nidhogg flees toward the sea. Adrian lets him go, hoping to draw the enormous dragon away from Treasure Tree Adam so he can fight without risking the tree.
• Adrian considers storing Nidhogg in Lumi’s Impenetrable Fortress, but Lumi says it is too small. Adrian accepts this and sends Lumi back to keep Louf and the others company.
• The giants prepare to celebrate Adrian’s victory, but he suddenly disappears before returning to them.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian is confident and resourceful: he relies on soul-based attacks, Haki, and mobility rather than trying to overpower Nidhogg physically. His thoughts reveal that he views the dragon’s scales, hide, sinews, and bones as valuable spoils.
• Nidhogg, initially a terrifying aggressor, becomes wary and frightened after Adrian injures him. Intelligent enough to recognize the danger, he chooses to retreat.
• King Fárbauti keeps the giants calm and trusts Adrian, though he privately wonders whether Nidhogg’s survival is required by prophecy.
• Lumi understands Adrian’s plan but cannot accommodate Nidhogg. Adrian treats Lumi gently, showing their familiar, affectionate relationship.
• The giants shift from fear to amazement and pity as the prophesied monster is badly wounded and driven off.

Significant themes

• Courage and trust: Fárbauti asks his people to trust Adrian despite the danger.
• Power through strategy: Adrian succeeds by using immunity, foresight, mobility, and soul power rather than matching Nidhogg’s brute strength.
• Prophecy versus choice: Fárbauti’s concern about the prophecy contrasts with Adrian’s practical focus on the fight.
• Pragmatism and restraint: Adrian draws Nidhogg away from the World Tree and accepts the Fortress’s limits rather than forcing a solution.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Adrian pursues Nidhogg, Elbaf’s enormous Despair Poison Dragon and the creature central to the island’s ancient apocalyptic prophecy.
• He deliberately lures Nidhogg far from Elbaf to prevent its death from causing a devastating tsunami near the island.
• Using a surprise teleportation-like ability, Adrian appears in front of the dragon and tests its durability. His Flying Slashes sever one of Nidhogg’s claws and one of its hind legs, crippling it.
• Adrian finishes the battle with Elbaph Spear, blasting a massive hole through Nidhogg’s abdomen. The game panel confirms that he has killed the dragon and awards him a Dragon-Slaying Swordsman Legend Point.
• To prevent Nidhogg’s falling body from creating a catastrophic wave, Adrian cuts off its head and uses his Ice power to freeze the resulting tsunami in midair. He also freezes a path across the sea and rolls the dragon’s head back toward Elbaf.
• King Fárbauti and the Royal Court Giants witness Adrian’s return with Nidhogg’s head and are stunned by the speed and scale of his victory.
• The game panel announces that Adrian’s relationship with Elbaf has reached its highest level: Worship.
• King Fárbauti mentions that Elbaf had expected help from the Red Hair Pirates, immediately shifting Adrian’s attention to Shanks, who has recently allied with Katakuri to defeat Charlotte Linlin.

Character Developments

• Adrian demonstrates overwhelming strength, tactical intelligence, and responsibility. He not only defeats Nidhogg but also considers the environmental consequences of its death and prevents Elbaf from being destroyed by the resulting tsunami.
• His confidence grows as he evaluates Nidhogg’s weaknesses, experiments with its bone durability, and efficiently ends the battle once he has gathered enough information.
• Adrian’s game-system progression advances through the new Dragon-Slaying Swordsman Legend Point and the completion of another point in his Species Transformation side quest.
• King Fárbauti shifts from anxious uncertainty to profound respect and gratitude. Adrian’s victory also forces him to question the meaning and accuracy of Elbaf’s ancient prophecy.
• The Elbaf Giants, including Prince Loki and the Royal Court, move from viewing Adrian as a powerful outsider to treating him with near-religious reverence.

Significant Themes

• Prophecy versus reality: Nidhogg was believed to be the dragon destined to bring about Elbaf’s final catastrophe, but Adrian kills it before the predicted apocalypse occurs. This raises doubts about whether the prophecy was misunderstood or false.
• Power and responsibility: Adrian’s strength is not limited to defeating enemies; he uses it to contain the disaster caused by Nidhogg’s death and protect Elbaf’s people.
• Legend and reputation: Killing Nidhogg transforms Adrian into a legendary dragon slayer and elevates his status among the Giants to “Worship.”
• Practicality and opportunism: Adrian preserves Nidhogg’s head rather than allowing the corpse to sink, treating the remains as potentially valuable.
• The game system as a source of destiny: Adrian’s rewards and faction rankings continue to shape his growing influence and suggest that major historical events can generate system quests or Legend Points.

Character Interactions

• Adrian and Nidhogg engage in a one-sided confrontation marked by the dragon’s fear, rage, and desperation as Adrian methodically dismantles it.
• King Fárbauti and the Giants react with shock when Adrian returns carrying Nidhogg’s head. Fárbauti sincerely thanks him on behalf of Elbaf.
• Fárbauti reveals that the Giants had been waiting for assistance from the Red Hair Pirates, but the mention of Red-Haired Shanks captures Adrian’s attention more than the Giants’ praise.
• The chapter ends by setting up Adrian’s likely interest in the Red Hair Pirates and the broader consequences of Shanks’s alliance with Katakuri against Charlotte Linlin.

Key plot points and events

• Elbaf’s King Fárbauti explains that the Red Hair Pirates had visited before Adrian and become close to the Giants. Their use of the cloud route created by Uranus helped awaken Nidhogg, the dragon Adrian has just killed.
• The Red Hair Pirates are expected to return to Elbaf in about a week. Adrian decides to wait and surprise Shanks rather than send word ahead. He also plans to use Shanks in an experiment involving Kurozumi Orochi and Kurozumi Semimaru, whom he has confined in his Impenetrable Fortress.
• Elbaf celebrates Nidhogg’s death, though Fárbauti remains troubled by an ancient prophecy predicting the World Tree’s fall and an apocalyptic battle. He ultimately sets aside his worries and joins the festivities.
• Adrian studies the Soul Secrets of a Three-Eye Tribe member and considers how to use Nidhogg’s remains, potentially recruiting Wano craftsmen to work on them.
• When the Red Hair Pirates arrive, they encounter a newly frozen stretch of sea. Adrian appears on their ship, greeting Shanks and the crew.
• Adrian recognizes Shanks’s sword, Griffin. Shanks says he fished it up near Edd War, where Adrian had once sunk its former owner along with the weapon.
• Adrian reveals he has come with a purpose. Shanks, anticipating another beating from his old mentor, reaches for Griffin; Adrian asks in surprise whether Shanks intends to fight him.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian remains confident and playful, treating the meeting with Shanks casually despite his intimidating reputation. He is curious about Shanks’s growth after the battle in Totto Land and intends to involve him in an experiment.
• Shanks is initially drunk and exuberant, but Adrian’s arrival sobers him quickly. His reflexive reach for Griffin suggests both caution and a familiar expectation that Adrian will challenge or beat him.
• King Fárbauti shifts from unease over the prophecy to joining the celebration, trusting the immediate victory over Nidhogg despite lingering uncertainty.
• Beckman stays practical and wary, concerned about the unfamiliar frozen sea and alarmed by Adrian’s sudden appearance. Buggy and the rest of the crew are likewise intimidated by Adrian.
• Adrian and Shanks’s reunion highlights their history: Shanks once apprenticed aboard Adrian’s ship, and Adrian has repeatedly beaten him.

Significant themes

• Prophecy versus reality: Nidhogg’s death appears to contradict Elbaf’s ominous prophecy, but the prophecy’s meaning remains unresolved.
• Power and reputation: Adrian’s fearsome standing immediately changes the Red Hair Pirates’ behavior, even in the middle of their celebration.
• Fate and coincidence: Shanks acquiring Griffin by fishing it from the sea seems absurdly unlikely, yet fits his apparent destiny to wield it.

Plot and events

• Adrian confronts Shanks over two promised Devil Fruits and proposes another rebirth experiment. Rather than relying on Shanks, he decides to test Buggy, whose reputation for extraordinary luck intrigues him.
• Adrian brings Shanks and Buggy into Impenetrable Fortress, where the dying Kurozumi Orochi and Semimaru are being held. He explains that Orochi was Wano’s former shogun and Semimaru its former senior advisor, and describes their crimes and ties to the Rocks Pirates. This reassures Shanks and Buggy that Adrian has not simply captured innocent old men.
• Adrian chooses Orochi’s Mythical Zoan, the Hebi-Hebi Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi, for the first test. Buggy reluctantly steps forward after Shanks backs away.
• At Adrian’s instruction, Buggy holds an apple resembling the fruit described in Orochi’s memories. Adrian kills Orochi, and the apple transforms into the Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit.
• Astonished, Buggy recognizes it as a genuine Devil Fruit. Though tempted by its value and rarity, he gives it up immediately, afraid to keep it while Adrian is watching. Lumi uses the Castle-Castle Fruit to take it.
• Adrian credits Buggy’s remarkable luck and asks him to conduct the next test as well. Buggy boasts that Shanks is useless, then prepares another piece of fruit. Adrian kills Semimaru, beginning the second experiment.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian remains confident and controlling, treating the experiments as routine. He is also genuinely curious about Buggy’s luck and impressed when the first test succeeds instantly.
• Buggy moves from fear and confusion to excitement when the fruit reappears. His greed briefly shows, but fear of Adrian outweighs his desire to keep the Mythical Zoan. Once praised, he regains his swagger and needles Shanks.
• Shanks is reluctant to take part and watches Buggy’s success with disbelief, questioning whether Devil Fruit rebirth is truly possible. His cautious retreat leaves Buggy to volunteer in his place.
• The long friendship between Shanks and Buggy comes through in their silent, exasperated exchanges and Buggy’s resentment at being made the test subject.

Significant themes

• Luck versus control: Adrian’s method depends on uncertain experiments, but Buggy’s extraordinary luck appears to make success immediate.
• Power and fear: Buggy’s desire for a rare, valuable fruit is quickly overcome by fear of Adrian.
• Moral justification and cruelty: Adrian frames the captured men’s past crimes as justification for using them in the experiments, while their deaths are treated as procedural.
• Uncertainty and discovery: Shanks’s astonishment highlights how the experiment challenges what the characters believe about Devil Fruits.

Key plot points and events

• Buggy’s unusual luck successfully produces a second Barrier-Barrier Fruit during Adrian’s Devil Fruit rebirth experiment. Adrian stores it, though he has no other fruit users to test.
• Adrian suggests that Buggy’s luck surpasses Shanks’s. Buggy eagerly boasts, then quickly moderates himself around the man who killed Big Mom.
• Shanks asks whether his outstanding debt to Adrian is settled now that Buggy has produced two fruits. Buggy refuses to let Shanks use his contribution to erase his own debt, recalling that Shanks once refused to help him collect a fruit.
• Adrian compromises: he reduces Shanks’s debt by one fruit and lets Buggy choose a reward for his assistance. Buggy settles for gold and silver, receiving a pile worth over fifty million Beli. Delighted, he asks to be called for future jobs; Adrian requests a Vivre Card in return.
• Aboard the Red Force, the crew sails toward Elbaf. They are astonished by the enormous frozen head of Nidhogg, the dragon of Elbaf’s prophecy. Adrian reveals that he defeated the dragon in advance. Shanks, who came to Elbaf without knowing this, is left with little more than a dry compliment.
• Adrian and Shanks exchange brief praise, and Shanks confirms that he and Katakuri killed Big Mom after her resurrection.

Character developments and interactions

• Buggy shifts between fear of Adrian and confidence in his own luck. He proves willing to bargain and protect his interests, refusing to cover Shanks’s debt, but ultimately asks only for treasure rather than risking a bold request for a Devil Fruit.
• Shanks is embarrassed by Buggy’s refusal and frustrated when Adrian’s “favor” makes him feel indebted. His surprise at Nidhogg’s remains underscores how far Adrian’s power and achievements outstrip his expectations.
• Adrian treats the experiment and negotiations casually, rewarding Buggy’s useful contribution while maintaining control of the terms. His offhand dismissal of Nidhogg’s strength further displays his confidence.

Significant themes

• Luck and ambition: Buggy’s extraordinary fortune creates possibilities Adrian immediately imagines exploiting, while Buggy sees a chance to earn easy money.
• Friendship versus self-interest: Shanks appeals to his friendship with Buggy, but Buggy insists that Shanks must answer for his own debts.
• Power and perspective: The Red Hair crew sees Nidhogg as a near-island-sized marvel; Adrian describes the dragon as weak, highlighting the vast gap between his capabilities and theirs.

Plot points and events

• Shanks tells Adrian that Big Mom briefly returned from death after her heart was pierced, but Adrian dismisses the subject and challenges Shanks to a fight.
• Adrian expects the fight to trigger a high-rank challenge quest, hoping Shanks has grown stronger after defeating Big Mom with Katakuri. Shanks is revealed to be Level 100, still at the level cap.
• Shanks attacks fiercely, but Adrian parries him with ease. The Red Hair Pirates watching recognize the enormous gap between their captain and Adrian.
• After several interruptions, Adrian finally focuses on the duel. The two continue fighting while the Red Hair Pirates and Elbaf’s giants gather to watch.
• Their conversation turns to Laugh Tale. Adrian teases Shanks for never having reached it, while hinting that he could get there himself but has chosen not to.
• Adrian checks his Prophet quest: he has read seven of eight ordinary Poneglyphs and three of four Road Poneglyphs, and must still reach Laugh Tale. He knows Kaido has a Road Poneglyph, but still needs to locate an ordinary one.
• Once the duel ends, Shanks returns to his crew and boasts about his performance, drawing praise from his crewmates and mockery from Buggy. The giants invite everyone to a feast.
• After the celebration, Adrian prepares to leave Elbaf. He leaves Nidhogg’s enormous severed head behind, taking only useful materials such as scales, bones, fangs, and blood.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian remains confident and playful, treating Shanks as a potential source of experience and a quest trigger. Though he can easily overpower Shanks, he ultimately uses the duel to study his swordsmanship. His attention soon returns to his long-term goal of upgrading his Prophet profession.
• Shanks fights with determination despite recognizing Adrian’s superiority. His recent victories and training have strengthened him, and he is ready to use Conqueror’s Haki infusion, but Adrian’s pauses leave him confused. He later turns the encounter into a humorous tale for his crew.
• The Red Hair Pirates admire Shanks’s courage but acknowledge that Adrian is far stronger; Buggy punctures the crew’s praise with teasing.
• King Fárbauti warmly hosts Adrian and accepts his decision to leave, while agreeing to keep Nidhogg’s head in Elbaf.

Significant themes

• The gap between strength and ambition: Shanks has grown formidable, yet Adrian remains far beyond him.
• Adventure and delayed discovery: Adrian can potentially reach Laugh Tale but postpones it, prioritizing his profession quest and practical goals.
• Humor amid danger: The intense sword fight is undercut by Adrian’s distractions, his teasing about Shanks’s straw hat, and the crew’s banter afterward.

Plot points and events

• King Fárbauti asks Adrian to trade Nidhogg’s remaining scales and bones to Elbaf, which needs durable materials for weapons and armor. Adrian accepts Treasure Tree Adam branches in exchange.
• Adrian also requests permission to inspect Uranus, the Ancient Weapon housed near the tree’s crown. With his standing in Elbaf, the king agrees.
• That night, Adrian reaches Uranus and finds a machine-filled chamber inside Treasure Tree Adam. Its functions include collecting sunlight, creating cloud paths, and controlling weather. He also discovers a Flight control, leading him to suspect Uranus can fly—or may be a giant cannon-like launcher—but leaves without operating it.
• Adrian departs Elbaf by air, crossing its dangerous weather belt before bringing out the Nether Abyss. The crew later sails toward Lodestar Island, the final island on the Log Pose.
• At Lodestar, Adrian completes the charting quest [Apocalypse Forecast], gains the profession and its [Child of Weather] Specialty, then spends experience to raise the profession to its level-10 cap. This triggers a new upgrade quest: [Calamity].

Character developments

• Adrian remains pragmatic and curious: he accepts a useful trade, investigates Uranus without risking its activation, and prioritizes completing his nautical-chart quest over using Uranus to shortcut the journey.
• He is surprised that [Apocalypse Forecast] is only a fourth-tier Navigator profession, but quickly turns the disappointment into motivation to level it. Its weather-related Specialty proves vague and difficult for him to understand or use.
• King Fárbauti demonstrates Elbaf’s practical priorities, valuing Nidhogg’s remains for martial equipment and offering valuable Adam wood in exchange.
• Beckman stays alert until Adrian leaves, then privately reproaches the already-drunk Shanks for acting without enough forethought.

Significant themes

• Practical value versus mystery: Elbaf sees Nidhogg’s remains as resources, while Adrian treats Uranus as something to inspect cautiously rather than exploit.
• Power and responsibility: Adrian declines to operate a potentially dangerous Ancient Weapon despite discovering its controls.
• Progress through exploration: Completing the sea chart advances Adrian’s profession, while his decision not to take a shortcut preserves the challenge of the journey.
• Humor and uncertainty: Adrian’s speculation about Uranus and frustration with the seemingly nonsensical weather Specialty add a comic edge to the adventure.

Character interactions

• Fárbauti respectfully negotiates with Adrian, offering Treasure Tree Adam branches for the dragon’s remains; Adrian accepts and adds a request to see Uranus.
• Beckman silently monitors Adrian’s departure with Observation Haki and reacts with relief once the threat is gone, then reflects irritably on Shanks’s judgment.
• Adrian’s crew, including Louf and Ulti, only recover from the feast after the Nether Abyss has already been underway for hours.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Adrian receives a new Navigator profession quest: upgrade Apocalypse Forecast to Calamity, a fifth-tier profession. He must chart all four Blues, complete the remaining three of Paradise’s seven routes, and chart all three New World routes. The reward includes Weather Manipulation.
• The long journey required changes Adrian’s plans. He intends to finish charting routes through the New World and Paradise, then tour the Four Blues—where he can also reunite with players and gain experience.
• Adrian reaches Lodestar Island, the final island of the New World voyage. Though unremarkable, it has many inhabitants, most likely people who came searching for the Pirate King’s treasure without knowing that reaching Laugh Tale requires four Road Poneglyphs.
• Adrian disembarks with Jiansefu and Brown. When Jiansefu asks to remain with him, Adrian declines but offers him three possible paths: the outer seas, bounty hunting, or the World Government. Jiansefu chooses to become a bounty hunter working for Adrian.
• Adrian asks Brown what he plans to do next. The chapter then reviews Adrian’s recent study of Brown’s Three-Eye Tribe ability: he has acquired an imitation skill that lets him perceive a target’s “spirit”—its soul if alive, or spiritual essence if not—and roughly sense whether a living being is hostile or friendly.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian remains focused on long-term growth. Although Weather Manipulation itself holds little appeal for him, he wants Calamity’s likely Intelligence-and-Charm bonus. He also shows practical consideration by giving Jiansefu options rather than simply abandoning him.
• Jiansefu reveals how strongly he wants to stay connected to Adrian. After being turned down as a direct follower, he accepts a subordinate role as a bounty hunter.
• Brown is still learning what comes after his rescue and has not awakened his Three-Eye Tribe gift. Adrian has investigated that gift and extracted an imperfect version of it.
• Adrian’s exchange with Jiansefu establishes a clear end to their voyage together while leaving open a way for Jiansefu to serve him. Brown’s situation remains unresolved at the chapter’s close.

Significant themes

• Progress demands long journeys: Adrian’s professional advancement is tied to exploration and charting, making growth a matter of sustained effort rather than shortcuts.
• Ambition and belief: Lodestar Island gathers people chasing the One Piece, illustrating how dreams can send people toward a goal without a clear understanding of what it takes to reach it.
• Power and usefulness are relative: Brown’s spiritual perception may be rare, but Adrian’s own soul-related abilities make the imitation skill seem modest.
• Knowledge versus misconception: The chapter distinguishes the genuine Voice of All Things from Big Mom’s mistaken belief that an awakened Three-Eye Tribe member can read the Poneglyphs.

Key plot points and events

• Adrian reflects that Roger’s Voice of All Things could hear the “voices” of certain objects, including Poneglyphs, but could not read their inscriptions. He judges Brown’s imitation of the Three-Eye Tribe’s gift to be nearly useless.
• Adrian advises Jiansefu and Brown to seek safety under Katakuri’s protection in Totto Land. He reveals that Brown’s daughter, Charlotte Pudding, is alive and being protected by her sister Brûlée. Eager to reunite with her, Brown asks Adrian to take him there.
• Adrian briefly explores Lodestar Island, finding many capable pirates but no especially powerful figures or treasures. When Lumi and Ulti suggest sailing on to Laugh Tale, Adrian declines: he still has a quest stage to complete and Poneglyphs to collect.
• The Nether Abyss takes a different route through the New World for Adrian’s [Calamity] quest. Adrian searches Wano for Kaido and the challenge he hopes to trigger, but Kaido and the Beasts Pirates are absent.
• At Totto Land, Katakuri attacks Adrian to avenge Big Mom. Adrian easily handles his attacks, delivers Brown to Katakuri, and leaves them to work things out. He then confirms at Big Mom’s grave that she is truly dead.
• Adrian completes the second New World route required by the quest at Misteria Island. The ship then dives to Fish-Man Island for a rest before heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

Character developments and interactions

• Brown shifts from feeling worthless and hopeless to being moved by news of Pudding. His desire to meet his daughter gives him a clear reason to return to Totto Land.
• Adrian acts as a practical benefactor to Brown, but remains focused on quests and exploration. He avoids Laugh Tale for now, searches unsuccessfully for Kaido, and shows little interest in lingering with Katakuri.
• Katakuri remains hostile toward Adrian, whom he blames for Big Mom’s death, but Adrian judges that Katakuri has grown stronger since their last meeting.
• Ulti is excited by the prospect of Laugh Tale, but Adrian redirects her to sword practice; Page One responds by training harder.
• Lumi is eager to continue sailing forward, but follows Adrian’s decision to turn back and pursue another route.

Significant themes

• Safety and dependence: Adrian presents protection by a strong leader as a practical choice for weaker people.
• Family and belonging: Brown’s longing to meet Pudding drives his decision to return to the family and place he once fled.
• Ambition balanced by patience: Laugh Tale appeals to Adrian, but he prioritizes unfinished quests and preparation over rushing toward the ultimate destination.
• Power and uncertainty: Even formidable figures such as Katakuri have limits, while Kaido’s disappearance frustrates Adrian’s plans.

Key plot points and events

• Adrian leaves Jiansefu on Sabaody, telling him to hunt wicked pirates and become a bounty hunter. He then departs without finding either a Celestial Dragon or Rayleigh.
• He returns to Little Sky Island, Visalia, and gives Dr. Clover’s archaeologists several Ancient Poneglyphs—including a Road Poneglyph—providing them with a wealth of material to study.
• Adrian delivers Poneglyph rubbings to Robin, advancing the Straw Hat Pirates’ hidden quest, “Know the Past.”
• Ulti and Page One settle into life on Visalia. Perona invites them to afternoon tea with Robin; Ulti treats the invitation as a chance to prove she is Adrian’s best underling.
• Ulti challenges Robin, but Robin uses her Flower-Flower Fruit powers to trip and restrain her. Robin affectionately praises Ulti’s horns, leaving the embarrassed girl unable to keep up her tough act.
• Adrian turns to planning his return to the Four Blues. His main objective is to collect players’ saved experience points, as he did in the game’s first version. He recalls that version 2.0 raised the level cap, opened Paradise as a starting area, and introduced dungeons, but realizes his recent travels kept him far from players. He then produces a small white, diamond-shaped crystal.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian balances supporting historical research with his longer-term plan to exploit player activity for experience points.
• Dr. Clover and the archaeologists are delighted by Adrian’s haul, especially the Road Poneglyph, which gives them a major new focus for study.
• Ulti adapts to her new surroundings by treating socializing as pirate-style alliance-building, though her ambition and bravado are undercut by Robin’s effortless defeat.
• Page One is reluctant to attend tea and would rather practice swordsmanship, but Ulti pressures him into joining her.
• Perona acts as a friendly guide and is curious about the younger Oni siblings.
• Robin welcomes the newcomers, demonstrates the Flower-Flower Fruit’s abilities, and responds to Ulti’s challenge with calm, playful affection.

Significant themes

• The pursuit of history: The Poneglyphs give Robin and Ohara’s scholars new opportunities to uncover the past.
• Belonging and hierarchy: Ulti tries to establish her place among Adrian’s followers, while the siblings adjust to life among Visalia’s residents.
• Power softened by warmth: Robin easily defeats Ulti but treats her gently, turning a would-be rivalry into an affectionate introduction.
• Games and exploitation: Adrian views the players as a source of experience points and plans his return around harvesting them.

Plot points and events

• Adrian prepares to exploit the newly announced Dungeon System by turning his legends, special items, quest access, and high-level skills into rewards that will attract players and generate experience. He plans to offer manageable dungeons based on Four Blues legends rather than deadly world-class ones.
• He outlines a voyage through all four Blues to satisfy his [Calamity] profession quest. The West Blue comes first, followed by possible business with Doflamingo in the North Blue, an old quest and a chance to find Bullet in the East Blue, and an as-yet-undecided purpose in the South Blue.
• Adrian gathers Robin, Perona, Ulti, and Page One to announce the voyage. Robin and Perona are thrilled because he had promised to take them to sea.
• During a card game, Ulti loses to Robin twenty times and ends up covered in paper strips. Adrian arrives to find the group teasingly observing her defeat.
• Adrian offers Perona the Float-Float Fruit, hoping both to strengthen her and make up for having taken the Hollow-Hollow Fruit—an ability she might otherwise have received. Perona eagerly eats it and immediately discovers she can fly.
• Ulti, excited by Perona’s new power, clings to Adrian’s leg and begs for a Devil Fruit of her own.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian shows careful strategic planning, balancing player-focused rewards with what players can survive. He also reveals a considerate, almost apologetic side in choosing a powerful gift for Perona.
• Robin is relaxed and quietly formidable, effortlessly beating Ulti at cards. She eagerly remembers Adrian’s promise and looks forward to the voyage.
• Perona is affectionate and enthusiastic about sailing. She accepts the Float-Float Fruit without hesitation and is delighted by the prospect of flight.
• Ulti is competitive, comically unlucky at cards, and eager to gain power. Her defeat gives way to hopeful pleading when she sees Perona fly.
• Page One acts as the card-game referee and supports the group from the sidelines.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunity: Adrian gives an unused but valuable ability to someone who can benefit from it, while considering future power-ups for the others.
• Adventure and preparation: The Four Blues voyage promises exploration, unfinished quests, and new encounters.
• Player-facing strategy: Adrian treats dungeons, items, and quests as ways to engage players and harvest their experience—while still tailoring challenges to their abilities.
• Found family and affection: The voyage and gift reflect Adrian’s promises and care for the younger members of his circle.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ulti, her face wrapped in bandages after a previous incident, clings dramatically to Adrian while insisting that Robin has not yet been defeated. Robin ignores her challenge and uses her Flower-Flower Fruit to catch Perona, who is still unable to control her newly acquired Float-Float Fruit and is being carried away by the wind.
• Adrian warns Ulti that she will not receive a Devil Fruit unless she lets go. He then reveals six remaining fruits: the Paste-Paste, Heat-Heat, Butter-Butter, and Barrier-Barrier Fruits, along with the Mythical Zoan Okuchi no Makami and Hebi-Hebi Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi.
• Adrian cautions Ulti and Page One that the two Mythical Zoans may carry symbolic duties connected to Wano Country—the wolf deity representing protection and justice, and the Orochi representing disaster. Taking his warning seriously, the siblings reject both fruits.
• Page One chooses the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, hoping to protect Ulti instead of relying on her to defend him. Ulti initially wants the same fruit but accepts that one is enough and refuses to claim more than she feels she has earned.
• Impressed by her restraint, Adrian gives Ulti the Famous Sword Oto and tells her to improve her swordsmanship.
• Several days later, Adrian and his companions secretly leave Visalia. He stores the Nether Abyss and the group inside Impenetrable Fortress, transforms into his Soul Reaper form, and flies across the Grand Line, the Calm Belt, and the Red Line to return to the West Blue.
• Nearly two years after the beginning of the game’s version 2.0 beta, the Razor Gang has become the dominant force in the West Blue. It has effectively unified the underworld, attracts most players, and is influential enough that the Marines cannot attack it without legitimate grounds.
• Tommy Shelby, the Razor Gang’s leader, continues to manage the organization carefully, including business dealings with the Donquixote Family. He is shocked when Adrian contacts him and announces that he has returned to the West Blue.
• Adrian’s first destination is not the Razor Gang’s headquarters, but Ohara. Although he previously saved its scholars and research materials from the Buster Call, the World Government later destroyed the abandoned island, including the ancient Tree of Knowledge.
• Robin reacts painfully to the sight of Ohara’s ruins. Perona comforts her by embracing her, while Adrian notices a Marine warship nearby but chooses not to pursue it.
• The chapter ends as Adrian and the others prepare to land on Ohara, with someone asking why they received no warning.

Character Developments

• Ulti remains impulsive, dramatic, and intensely competitive, but demonstrates unexpected maturity by respecting Page One’s choice and refusing to take more than one reward. Her desire to become stronger is redirected toward swordsmanship through Adrian’s gift of Oto.
• Page One shows a protective side, choosing the Barrier-Barrier Fruit so he can defend Ulti rather than remain dependent on her strength.
• Adrian acts as both leader and mentor. He rewards loyalty and restraint, carefully considers the consequences of Mythical Zoan powers, and begins his return to the West Blue with personal and strategic goals.
• Robin is reminded of the destruction of her homeland. Her quiet grief contrasts with her usual composure, emphasizing the emotional cost of Ohara’s loss.
• Perona develops a supportive bond with Robin, comforting her despite being emotionally affected by the ruined island herself.
• Tommy Shelby is established as a capable administrator whose cautious leadership has transformed the Razor Gang into a major regional power.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Devil Fruits are presented not merely as weapons but as powers that may carry symbolic duties, especially the Mythical Zoans tied to Wano.
• Protection and loyalty: Page One’s choice and Ulti’s willingness to share the Barrier-Barrier Fruit emphasize the siblings’ devotion to one another.
• Merit and restraint: Ulti’s refusal to claim excessive rewards shows that strength is balanced by discipline and a sense of deservingness.
• The aftermath of destruction: Ohara’s ruins represent the World Government’s effort to erase history and preserve fear, while Robin’s reaction keeps the tragedy emotionally present.
• Order outside official authority: The Razor Gang’s popularity reflects the public’s reliance on unofficial powers when formal institutions such as the Marines fail to provide practical protection.
• Return and reckoning: Adrian’s return to the West Blue reconnects him with old allies, unfinished plans, and the consequences of earlier events.

Important Character Interactions

• Robin restrains and rescues Perona with her Flower-Flower Fruit, while Ulti continues her comic confrontation with Robin.
• Adrian negotiates with Ulti over her behavior and later rewards her with Oto.
• Page One and Ulti silently coordinate their Devil Fruit choices, prioritizing each other’s safety.
• Adrian and Tommy Shelby reconnect by Den Den Mushi, signaling the revival of their alliance.
• Perona physically comforts Robin at Ohara, creating a moment of shared grief and solidarity.
• Adrian observes the nearby Marine warship but deliberately avoids confrontation, suggesting that his immediate purpose at Ohara is more personal or strategic than combat-focused.

Plot points and events

• Marines report seeing Adrian, the “White Ghost,” near Ohara. At Marine Headquarters, senior officers speculate about his reasons for returning to the West Blue but reach no conclusion. Adrian remains unconcerned and would welcome a fight with powerful Marines.
• Adrian’s crew lands on the ruined island of Ohara. His Observation Haki confirms that the Buster Call left it nearly lifeless, and Robin visits the remains of the Tree of Knowledge and its library.
• Robin and Perona recover a small number of surviving books. Adrian explains that the World Government removed or destroyed most of the library’s contents, and that the Scholars—not the books alone—were the Tree’s greatest treasure.
• Encouraged by Louf and Adrian, Robin uses her Flower-Flower Fruit on the old tree’s stump. She produces a sapling resembling the Tree of Knowledge, which the crew carries aboard the Nether Abyss.
• Adrian entrusts Robin with raising it. However, his hidden quest requires the tree to reach eight hundred years of age. He considers Devil Fruits that could accelerate plant growth or aging, including the Shove-Shove, Ripe-Ripe, and Time-Time Fruits.
• The Nether Abyss reaches Birmingham Island, where Tommy Shelby and senior Razor Gang members—including many players—wait at the pier. The gang’s West Blue player community discusses the gathering on its online forum.

Character developments and interactions

• Robin confronts the grief of seeing the place that sheltered her childhood destroyed. Though disappointed by the nearly empty library, she finds a new purpose in reviving the Tree of Knowledge and accepts responsibility for its care.
• Adrian supports Robin with reassurance and practical guidance, while privately focusing on the quest’s long-term age requirement.
• Louf offers the idea of growing a replacement tree, prompting Robin’s breakthrough; Adrian approves of his suggestion.
• Perona shares Robin’s excitement when the sapling appears. Ulti and Page One also marvel at Robin’s ability and consider what it might imply for their own Devil Fruits.

Significant themes

• Loss and renewal: Ohara’s destruction remains a lasting wound, but Robin’s power creates hope for its recovery.
• Memory and knowledge: The chapter emphasizes that knowledge lives not only in books, but also in the people who preserve and carry it forward.
• Found family and care: Adrian’s guidance and Robin’s commitment show the crew supporting one another through grief and responsibility.
• Long-term ambition: Reviving the tree is only the first step; Adrian’s quest requires a solution that could preserve its growth across centuries.

Key plot points and events

• News spreads that Adrian—known to players as Big Lethal and in the world as White Ghost—has returned to the West Blue aboard the Nether Abyss. Players across the game’s seas flock to the forum and livestreams to witness his arrival.
• Adrian disembarks at Birmingham Island with Louf, Robin, Ulti, and Page One. He makes the ship vanish with a snap, astonishing the dockside crowd.
• He greets Tommy Shelby, the Razor Gang’s leader, and praises him for his work. Adrian then surveys the gang’s player-officers, privately thinking of them as his “crops.”
• Several players use Detect on Adrian. Their panels cannot reveal his level or attributes and label him “Extremely lethal.” Adrian notices their attempts and briefly releases his intimidating aura, leaving many players stunned or temporarily weakened.
• At Razor Gang headquarters, Tommy reports on the organization’s growth and credits the Undying Drifters—players—for their contributions. He also reveals that Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family want to contact Adrian, apparently because Doflamingo plans to leave the North Blue for the Grand Line.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian returns as an even more powerful, almost mythic figure, but still shows care for the Razor Gang he founded by listening attentively to Tommy’s report. He remains amused by the players’ excitement and their attempts to assess him.
• Tommy is shown as a steady, authoritative leader respected by the gang. Adrian’s praise moves him deeply, and he reaffirms the Razor Gang’s loyalty.
• Nan Riri, a level-40 player and Paper Roll Fruit user, recognizes Adrian and tests him with Detect. The terrifying result makes him realize how far Adrian surpasses even the gang’s boss.
• The players’ forum chatter reveals their nostalgia for Adrian’s earlier exploits, their awe at his current status, and their comic fixation on his companions—especially Louf and Ulti. Page One is largely overlooked.

Significant themes

• The gap between players and powerful NPCs: Players can discuss and record Adrian, but his strength puts him far beyond their ability to understand or challenge.
• Legend and reputation: Adrian’s past achievements have made his return a major event across the game world.
• Loyalty and stewardship: Despite his immense power, Adrian remains invested in the organization he built and recognizes its members’ work.
• Humor and game culture: Forum reactions, player slang, and competitive boasting contrast with the danger and seriousness of the world itself.
  The chapter ends with Adrian intrigued by Doflamingo’s plans, setting up a likely encounter between the two.

Key plot points and events

• Adrian returns to the West Blue and learns Doflamingo wants information about the Grand Line. He plans to visit the North Blue next and contact him there.
• Adrian asks Tommy if he wants to leave the West Blue for the Grand Line. Tommy is content running the Razor Gang and has no interest in piracy or further ambition.
• At the Razor Gang’s Central Building, player Nan Riri spots a new mission offering the right to buy a rare Dungeon Crystal: White Ghost, named for Adrian’s feared nickname, Big Lethal.
• Nan Riri and his friends complete the mission first. Though the crystal costs 500,000 Beli and one million experience points, they pool their resources and buy it. The crystal can open the dungeon five times.
• The team enters a time-rewind dungeon set in 1497, when the Capone Gang was one of the West Blue’s leading gangs. Their objective presents a choice between joining the Capone Gang or White Ghost.
• Expecting to fight a younger, weaker Adrian, the players choose the Capone Gang. The dungeon begins loading, with no clears or completion records yet.

Character developments and interactions

• Adrian remains pragmatic and forward-looking, while showing genuine appreciation for Tommy’s loyalty and straightforwardness. He doesn’t pressure Tommy to pursue a larger life.
• Tommy confirms that his priorities are firmly rooted in the West Blue; managing the Razor Gang suits him better than chasing adventure.
• Nan Riri is eager, organized, and curious about the game’s rare content. He leads his team through the mission and makes the final purchase despite its steep cost.
• Nan Riri’s friends tease him about his name, but quickly unite around the dungeon opportunity. Their enthusiasm for testing themselves against a younger Adrian overrides their caution.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus contentment: Adrian’s travels contrast with Tommy’s satisfaction in staying home and maintaining his power.
• Players’ confidence and curiosity: The team treats the dungeon as a chance to challenge a legendary figure, underestimating the danger in their excitement.
• The game’s expanding world: The rare crystal and time-rewind dungeon connect players to major events from the setting’s past and promise a new way to experience them.

Plot points and events

• The players receive a dungeon mission to defend the Capone Gang’s headquarters from White Ghost, with large rewards for surviving, protecting Capone Bell and Capone Bege, escaping unharmed, or repelling White Ghost.
• Nan Riri warns the team not to be fooled by the generous rewards. They plan an ambush but ultimately decide to confront Big Lethal head-on.
• At the dungeon’s start, Big Lethal kills Xu Yizhen instantly with an unseen attack, then eliminates the rest of the team—including Nan Riri, despite his attempt to escape into the air. The party fails and is returned to the mission hall.
• Other players suffer similar quick defeats. The survivors conclude that fighting Big Lethal directly is a mistake and decide to stay near the Capone bosses next time, observing how the NPCs respond to his attacks.
• After the two-hour cooldown, Nan Riri’s team re-enters, chooses the Capone Gang faction, and heads into Hard Shell Bar to protect Capone Bell and Capone Bege.

Character developments and interactions

• Nan Riri shows caution and tactical thinking: he warns against underestimating the dungeon, leads the post-failure review, and revises the team’s strategy. He also points out that NPCs may have advantages over player Devil Fruit users, especially in stamina.
• Xu Yizhen is initially confident enough to approach Big Lethal, but is killed before he can react. Afterward, he helps the team reassess and proposes learning from the NPCs’ fight.
• The team’s camaraderie comes through in their banter and frustration. Xu teases Nan about being a Devil Fruit user; Nan sharply dismisses the comparison between players and NPCs.
• Capone Bell and Capone Bege have not yet interacted with the returning team, but they are identified as the key protection targets.

Significant themes

• Misjudging danger: The players assume a “newbie” Big Lethal will be manageable, only to discover he is already overwhelmingly powerful.
• Player limitations versus NPC strength: The dungeon’s historical replicas operate under different rules and capabilities from players, making familiar strategies unreliable.
• Learning through failure: The first wipe forces the team to abandon direct combat and adopt a more cautious, observational plan.
• Risk and reward: The exceptional payouts encourage players to attempt the dungeon, but the high rewards reflect its extreme difficulty.