For Adrian, beheading Vander Decken IX was as easy as crushing an ant. The scoundrel had escaped him earlier before on Merman Street, but it seemed old habits died hard. He had dared to set his sights on Shirahoshi once more. Adrian couldn't allow that. How could anyone covet his beautiful Poseidon? Even the thought of that was a capital offense.
After killing Vander Decken IX in an instant, Adrian debated whether to use [VIP Plundering]. The Mark-Mark Fruit was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Once the user marked a target, anything the user threw would automatically land in on the target, no matter how far away. The tracking would only stop if the object was shot down or hit an obstacle.
While it sounded powerful, the fruit could only track one target at a time. To Adrian, that made it somewhat useless.
"Forget it. I'll save the limited Berries for a more useful Devil Fruit."
Adrian had learned from Neptune that the Ryugu Palace treasury held about 2 billion Berries worth of treasure. While Neptune said he could take it all, it was still less than what Adrian had hoped for. He didn't expect Fish-Man Island to be so poor.
Combined with the 1 billion Berries he had "legitimately" acquired from the Empress... ahem, he now had enough to use [VIP Plundering] four times. But to be safe, he needed at least another 1 billion Berries.
"There are less than five days until the Summit War. Where can I get another billion?"
Adrian's eyes fell on the massive "Ship of Promise" Noah, which was two-thirds the size of Fish-Man Island itself, in the depths of Fish-man District. A bold, insane idea immediately came to his mind.
In the original story, the Noah had been used by the ancestors of the Fish-Men as a tool to change the fate of their people. It was connected to the mysterious figure, Joy Boy, from 800 years ago, as well as the "Family of D." In the original timeline, Princess Shirahoshi's awakened ability had summoned Sea Kings to prevent the Noah from crashing into Fish-Man Island. Now, with Vander Decken IX's instant death at Adrian's hands, that terrifying scene would never happen.
As for Princess Shirahoshi, Adrian wasn't in a hurry to awaken her Poseidon power. But the Noah itself... now that he had decided to use the Float-Float Fruit's ability to raise all of the Fish-Man Island to the surface, the ark would lose its original purpose and value.
Looking at the immense ship, Adrian suddenly thought of a great way to make quick money.
He would plug the hole!
That's right! He would use the Noah to plug the giant gap under the Red Line!
As everyone knew, pirates in the first half of the Grand Line had only two options to enter the New World. First, they could apply to the World Government and pay a fee to pass safely and quickly. Second, they could dive 10,000 meters to enter the New World through the gap beneath the Red Line, a route filled with danger.
Adrian's true target wasn't the countless rookie pirates flooding in from the Grand Line. The person he really wanted to block was Whitebeard himself!
There were many theories as to how the Whitebeard Pirates' five large ships managed to appear directly in the waters below Marine Headquarters during the Summit War. Adrian believed the most plausible one was that the Whitebeard Pirates had been hiding on Fish-Man Island after disappearing from the New World. It was an excellent hiding spot.
But no matter where the Whitebeard Pirates were hiding, one thing was certain: they would have to pass through the big hole under the Red Line.
How could Adrian miss such a great opportunity for some "easy" money? No money, no passage. It was that simple.
"Heh heh, Whitebeard, you and I are destined to be enemies, so don't blame me for taking advantage of you."
A smirk appeared on Adrian's face as he swam quickly toward the Noah.
Whap!
He reached out and gently patted the ship.
Squeak...
A loud, groaning noise emanated from the hull. The massive ship, which hadn't moved in 800 years, began to float upward under the influence of the Float-Float Fruit.
Adrian immediately stood at the bow, commanding the colossal ship to move swiftly toward the Red Line.
"Look, what is that huge thing?"
"It can't be a Sea King... it's just too big..."
"It's Noah! It's crashing toward Fish-Man Island..."
"Everyone, run! The whole island will be crushed..."
"I don't want to die..."
The residents of Fish-Man Island were terrified by the immense size of the Noah. But the expected collision never happened. Instead, the ship strangely hovered over the island.
"This... how is this possible?! How is Noah moving by itself?!" Neptune was dumbfounded by the sight.
But in the next second, Adrian, who had transformed into a flash of blue lightning, appeared before them.
"Shirahoshi, come on! I'll take you for a ride on the ship!" Adrian said with a smile, grabbing Shirahoshi by the waist and returning to the Noah. The massive hull moved once again.
Neptune's jaw nearly dropped. The Ship of Promise was moving on its own, being manipulated by a human!
This... this was completely unscientific!
"Father, Mr. Adrian is truly powerful. The Noah, which hasn't moved in 800 years, obeys his commands." The eldest prince, Fukaboshi, said with a look of pure admiration.
The second prince, Ryuboshi, and the third prince, Manboshi, were more concerned with another issue. "Father, why is Mr. Adrian holding Shirahoshi at the bow of the boat with his arms outstretched? It looks beautiful, but there's no wind in the sea."