Rumble!
With the death of the Golden Lion, the Lion Fruit's ability also disappeared instantly. The massive island suspended in the sky immediately lost its support and crashed down towards the sea from an altitude of 10,000 meters. The smaller islands shattered and disintegrated in the air as they fell. In addition to the rare flying beasts, many special humans with wings on their arms fluttered into the sky. Adrian immediately summoned his golden coffin and plundered the Lion Fruit.
[Ding! VIP ability looting is complete!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for gaining the "Float-Float Fruit", earlier possessed by the newly deceased "Golden Lion Shiki"!]
[The system had automatically "scaled-free" Float-Float fruit, eliminating side effects such as seawater and Seastone.]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for obtaining the "Great Swordsman" level of kendo!]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for obtaining the special sword skill "Slash Wave"!]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for obtaining the special sword skill "Lion: Thousand Slice Valley"!]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for obtaining "Intermediate Conqueror Haki"!]
[Ding! Congratulations to Host for obtaining "Entry Level - Armament Haki". Since it has not exceeded the Host's own level, it is automatically converted into corresponding experience!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining "Primary - Observation Haki". Since it does not exceed the Host's own level, it is automatically converted into corresponding experience!]
"The Conqueror's Haki has indeed degenerated to this extent!" Adrian couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Although he had been prepared, he still couldn't believe that the Golden Lion, with his immense tolerance, would be defeated by Luffy's crew. Even with injuries like broken legs and the rudder in his head, the Golden Lion's strength had been declining, but he was still in the ranks of great swordsmen. This alone was enough to prove the profound strength of the veteran powerhouse.
Even without the Float Fruit, Golden Lion alone would have been enough to crush the entire Straw Hat crew.
"No matter what, these are two famous swords. Let's not get them go to waste. Before I go to Wano Country to get Enma, I'll use these for now!"
Adrian reached out and pulled the Oto and Kogarashi from the Golden Lion's legs. He knew that these two swords were definitely not amongst the great swords category, but they were clearly not just some common items—they were swords worthy of a legendary pirate like the Golden Lion.[1][2]
"Without the encounter with Enel, Luffy's trip to Skypiea should've been much faster than in the original story!"
"The Enies Lobby campaign must be over by now, so they must be ready for the Devil's Triangle, where Gekko Moria is!"
Adrian curled his lips into a sly smirk and muttered to himself, "I'd like to see if your father, the Head of Revolutionary Army who's been hiding in the dark, would dare to go to the Summit War to save you!"
The reason he was focusing on Luffy was twofold. First, he planned to turn in Luffy for a Shichibukai position, just as Blackbeard did, and then participate in the Summit War openly. Second, he wanted to use Luffy's identity to draw out the Revolutionary Army that had been hiding in the dark and push the scale of the Summit War to an unprecedented level. Although this approach was very dangerous, for him, who had plundered four top-level Devil Fruits one after another, it was the best time to rise to power.
Now, the time for the hunt had finally arrived!
It's just that Adrian had clearly underestimated the speed of Luffy and his crew. After not finding Enel, Luffy and the others not only failed to find the golden bell but were also driven out by the residents of Skypiea and Shandian who were caught in the flames of war. So their itinerary was much faster than in the original. The Straw Hat crew had now boarded the new ship, Thousand Sunny, and had just reached Thriller Bark, where Gekko Moria was.
Naval Headquarters, Marineford. Fleet Admiral's office.
"What did you say?! You found the Golden Lion's body in the East Blue?!"
When Sengoku received the news from the East Blue branch, a look of hesitation appeared on his face. But after the photo of the Golden Lion's body was printed out by the photocopying phone bug, he immediately froze. As an old opponent who had fought Golden Lion several times, even though the corpse in the photo had been horribly blown into pieces, Sengoku still recognized it as the Golden Lion himself.
"Golden Lion was hiding so deep. I've returned to the East Blue several times over the years, but I haven't found any trace of him!"
Garp, who was usually carefree, now had a rare, dignified look on his face. He pointed to the photo and said, "But to be able to injure and kill him like that, I think the opponent strength must have been close to that of an Admiral!"
Sengoku nodded heavily. In the entire East Blue, there was no one who could have dealt with Golden Lion like this.
"Sengoku, that ruthless style... could it be that kid who did it?"
After pondering for a moment, Garp suddenly had an afterthought.
"You mean... Adrian?"
Sengoku's face darkened instantly, and there was a faint killing intent in his eyes. But after a long silence, he shook his head helplessly. "Forget it, regardless of whether the Golden Lion was killed by him or not, in this era, such an outcome is only beneficial to the Marines and not harmful."
"Our top priority now is to complete the deployment as soon as possible and fully respond to the arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Three days ago, Blackbeard took Ace directly to the World Government and got the Shichibukai position as he wished. Subsequently, the World Government issued an order to the Marines to publicly execute Ace. The time was set in half a month. The reason for the urgency was to prevent the Whitebeard Pirates from having too much time to prepare. Everyone understood that a big battle on the day of the execution was inevitable. If the Marines didn't want to lose all face, they had to make complete preparations in advance. After all, Whitebeard is recognized as the strongest man in the world, and the Tremor Fruit he owned was recognized as the most destructive Devil Fruit.
So, Sengoku naturally put the pursuit of Adrian on hold.
"Sengoku, I want to go to Impel Down!" Garp said suddenly after a long silence.
"What are you thinking, old bastard? The enemy is already at hand, don't force me to attack you!" Sengoku growled through gritted teeth. When he'd learned the truth about Garp fostering Roger's son hidden the World Government pursuit, Sengoku wanted to smash his head in. Back then, to remove Roger's bloodline, the Marines and World Government had imposed the death penalty on all babies born within ten months after Roger's imprisonment, as well as on pregnant women. Blood had flowed like rivers then. And the culprit who caused this human tragedy was Garp, the world-renowned Marine hero. He had raised Roger's son right under the noses of the Marines and World Government and had let him go out to sea to become a pirate. Sengoku was almost enraged. It was only the nostalgia of friendship they had that stopped him from attacking.
"Sengoku, don't worry, I won't do anything out of the ordinary. I just want to take a look at that child..." Garp knew he was in the wrong and was powerless to refute, so he could only use his friendship to plead. In his mind, whether Ace was a pirate or Roger's son it didn't matter. He was a grandson whom Garp had watched grow up.
[1] Oto and Kogarshi are swords on rank of Skillful grade. The grades go from Wazamono(Lowest grade), Skillful Grade, Great Grade, and Supreme Grade(Highest grade).
[2] Oto and Kogarshi are swords on rank of Skillful grade. The grades go from Wazamono(Lowest grade), Skillful Grade, Great Grade, and Supreme Grade(Highest grade).