Before crossing over into this world,
Adrian had often browsed pirate forums.
There was a famous joke among fans:
"Most CP9 members die because they're overly confident in Tekkai (Iron Body)."
Attacks they could easily dodge
were instead tanked head-on.
No one knew what went through their heads.
If they were enemies, that was amusing enough.
But now Lucci was his subordinate.
"Looks like I'll have to talk some sense into Lucci later…"
Adrian sighed.
At the center of the battlefield—
Crocodile's massive, shimmering sand blades
came crashing down on Lucci.
With Tekkai and Armament Haki combined,
such an attack barely tickled him.
"Did you skip a meal? That was weak," Lucci said coldly.
"Now it's my turn."
Another sharp Soru—
Lucci vanished
and reappeared behind Crocodile.
Before the Warlord could react,
a barrage of Haki-enhanced fists
hammered into his body.
Every punch connected—
no intangibility, no escape, no defense.
Crocodile spat blood,
his vision blurring,
unable to resist even slightly.
The One Piece world was unlike others.
Strength could come from fruits—
but also from pure martial arts.
And Crocodile, despite being a Logia user,
had long neglected body training.
He paid for it now.
From back to front,
from left to right,
Lucci's punches fell endlessly.
His screams echoed nonstop across the battlefield.
No one could count how many blows landed—
Eventually, when Lucci felt Crocodile had suffered enough,
he stopped.
The infamous Warlord collapsed to the ground,
blood pooling around him.
His body twitched weakly.
Once a powerful schemer
who believed everything was in the palm of his hand—
a future Pirate King contender in his own dreams—
now he looked like a stray rat
beaten half to death.
Robin watched silently,
her emotions mixed.
Thank goodness she'd chosen the winning side.
Otherwise she'd be lying beside Crocodile
as a sand-stained pancake.
"Cough… You idiots—
go inside and bring out all of Baroque Works' treasure."
Adrian ordered casually.
"Everything valuable.
Don't leave so much as a coin."
A short while later,
Baroque Works had been cleaned out.
Crocodile was unbelievably rich—
that earlier treasure chest was nothing but pocket change.
Piles of gold, mountains of jewels,
rare artifacts you could never buy on any market—
all carried out and lined up before Adrian.
"Take everything back," Adrian instructed.
Then he leisurely walked toward the half-dead Crocodile.
The Warlord still lived,
though barely.
Most Devil Fruit users fell into the same trap—
relying too much on their powers
and neglecting physical combat.
Crocodile wasn't weak
—just too one-sided.
If Lucci hadn't held back,
he'd already be dead.
"This bandit job went beautifully,"
Adrian said cheerfully to the dying man.
"I'm very satisfied."
Right now,
Crocodile could only swallow his rage.
To survive,
he had to endure.
He didn't even have the strength to move.
"Old Croc, I'll be taking ALL your treasure."
Adrian grinned.
"And make sure you work hard from now on,
earn more, collect more artifacts—
I'll come rob you again later."
Crocodile trembled with fury.
Hatred bloomed in his heart like wildfire.
He would never forget this humiliation.
Then—
Ding! A bandit mission has been completed!
Ding! Calculating event evaluation…
Ding! Target Strength: Citycrusher-level!
Ding! Loot Value: Citycrusher-level!
Ding! Future Notoriety: Sea-level!
Ding! Future Influence: Four Seas!
Ding! Event Rating: S+++
Ding! Earned: 10,000 Reputation Points!
Bonus Rewards: S-rank Weapon Ticket ×1,
S-rank Ability Ticket ×1,
S-rank Subordinate Ticket ×1!
Adrian's grin widened.
Crocodile was technically only Citycrusher-level.
Normally, the mission should've been rated A.
But because of his status—
the first major villain of the original protagonist,
and a Warlord of the Sea—
the system boosted the mission rating tremendously.
A wonderful surprise.
"So it seems," Adrian mused,
"to get bigger rewards,
I need to meet more characters tied to the original storyline."
And "meet" obviously did not just mean shaking hands.
Experience would teach him the system's quirks.
And now he had three more S-rank tickets to use later.
He'd save them for when they returned.
Hopefully, the system would deliver something juicy.
"Aren't you going to kill Crocodile?"
Robin suddenly asked, puzzled.
Having suffered betrayal for most of her life,
she understood one truth deeply—
Sparing an enemy is being cruel to yourself.
Letting someone like Crocodile live
was planting a future disaster.
"What, are you worried he'll take revenge?"
Adrian smirked.
"I want him to.
But only if he brings more treasure when he comes."
Robin blinked in confusion.
"You just joined us…
so you don't understand my rules yet."
Adrian raised a finger.
"Remember this well:
We are NOT pirates."
"We are bandits."
"Our job is robbery, extortion, kidnapping."
"Killing people?
That's not part of our career goals."
He said this with perfect seriousness.
Robin froze on the spot.
Wait—
Brother… what did I just hear?
Who am I? Where am I? What kind of group did I join?!
Her expression was priceless.
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