"Goo la la la la..."
Whitebeard reeled in his Haki, his eyes narrowing slightly as he finally focused on the black-haired boy. Calm, composed, confident... and cunning! This kid was a force to be reckoned with. He knew it wouldn't be easy to pass through here.
"Brat, tell me your purpose directly."
"Right then." Adrian snapped his fingers and pulled back his Haki. Ignoring the murderous glares of the division commanders, he pointed a finger at the Noah blocking the passage.
"Whitebeard, you've seen the situation. Without my help, none of you are getting through here. So... I'm here to collect tolls. In other words, I'm legally robbing you!"
A sudden silence fell over the massive Moby Dick. The thousands of crew members were frozen in an unspeakable, dead quiet silence. The commanders and their crew alike stared at the black-haired boy standing so boldly before Whitebeard. One word rang in their minds: Awesome!
Was this kid so poor he'd lost his mind? How else could he have the guts to rob the strongest man in the world, the Yonko, Whitebeard himself? Faced with this spectacle, what else could they do but scream "impressive" and "unbelievable" in their heads?
"What did you say?!" Whitebeard was stunned for a moment, then his face contorted in anger. This was outrageous! He was Whitebeard, the most feared pirate in the New World. And today, he was being robbed by another robber?!
This was a corruption of human nature, a moral decay! He, a hunter of geese, had his eyes pecked out by a goose!
Whitebeard thought to himself, Do you really think I can't hold my weapon anymore?! He grabbed his great blade, Murakumogiri, ready for a fight. I, Whitebeard, would rather sink and feed myself to fish than give you a single Berry!
"Dad, don't be impulsive. We're 10,000 meters deep. If the coating breaks, we won't be able to save Ace, and we might all suffer... a serious loss." Afraid of offending his father further, Marco quickly replaced the word "annihilation" with "serious loss." While there were a few mermen among the crew, there weren't nearly enough to save everyone. If a fight broke out here, the Whitebeard Pirates would be the ones to suffer the most.
Boom!
Whitebeard angrily slammed Murakumogiri onto the deck, then turned his head away, a clear sign that he was done. He wouldn't be talking to this guy anymore.
"Tell me, how much do you want?" Marco sighed, asking Adrian with cold eyes.
"Not much, not much." Adrian raised a finger and shook it.
"100 million Berries, right? Fine, we'll give you..." Marco relaxed immediately. He thought to himself that this guy was a country bumpkin. He risked offending the strongest crew in the world for a mere 100 million Berries!
But then...
"I'm talking about 100 million for each division commander. As for Whitebeard... I'll give you a special membership discount and charge you 100 million as well," Adrian said with a smirk.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why don't you just rob us..." Marco blurted out, then stopped short. He realized that was exactly what was happening.
Before Marco could say anything else, Whitebeard's temper flared again. He grabbed his great blade, pointed it at Adrian, and roared, "You little brat, are you looking down on me?!"
Adrian: "?"
Whitebeard continued, "I'm the strongest man in the world! How can my price be the same as my sons'? Marco, don't you dare stop me. I'm going to beat him up today..."
"Father, please stop talking. We didn't bring that much money with us this time..." Marco was on the verge of tears, trying to persuade him. He was practically kneeling.
"Hmph! In all my life at sea, I've never been treated like this. Pay him whatever he wants," Whitebeard said, throwing Murakumogiri onto the deck once more. He closed his eyes and refused to look at anyone. A bunch of disrespectful brats! I'm out of sight, out of mind.
"Fine, 100 million it is! We'll give it to you!" Marco said viciously. He had already put Adrian on his kill list. After they saved Ace, he, Marco the Phoenix, would personally hunt down this guy who had humiliated the Whitebeard Pirates, no matter where he ran.
Adrian had guessed what Marco and the others were thinking. But he wasn't afraid. The Summit War would be the end of the Whitebeard Pirates. Without Whitebeard, they were nothing. As for Marco... he had already marked him as his target.
A moment later, Marco pushed a pile of 1.5 billion Berries toward Adrian (two commanders, Ace and Thatch, were missing from the sixteen divisions). The pile wasn't just cash; it contained personal belongings and jewels. Some of the most valuable were from the division commander who loved women. Her eyes were filled with furious anger as she watched Lin Xiao take the treasure.
"I'm going to move the ship now. You all stay here and don't move." Adrian gave Marco a thumbs-up. After he collected everything, he went to the Noah.
"Hey, is that guy a merman? How can he move so freely in the deep sea?"
"Father, look! He's... he's actually pushing that giant ship?!"
Under their stunned gazes, Adrian slowly pushed the island-sized Noah's Ark out of the passage. While he was 80% sure he could sink the Whitebeard Pirates right then and there, the fame and influence he would gain from the Summit War were far greater. Besides, why would he do the World Government and Marines a favor by getting rid of their number one threat for free? If he was going to make his debut on the world stage, the Summit War was essential. What could be more glorious than taking on both Marine Headquarters and the world's strongest pirate crew at the same time?
"Little brat, don't let me see you again! Or else... I'll beat you to a pulp!" As the Moby Dick passed by Adrian, Whitebeard's furious roar echoed through the deep sea.
But Adrian didn't care. He smirked. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. Fish-Man Island is mine now. If you want to stop there, each of you will pay another 100 million!"
Boom!
The Moby Dick shuddered, followed by Whitebeard's utterly furious roar.
"Go to hell! I'm not going to Fish-Man Island!"