"Friendly reminder—
don't move.
Or you'll die."
Adrian warned calmly.
He had already noticed Nami subtly shifting her foot backward,
her fingers twitching toward something—
clearly looking for a weapon to counterattack.
At his words, Nami froze on the spot.
"…I'm a member of the Arlong Pirates! If you lay a hand on me, Arlong will hunt you down! You can't afford that price!"
With stealth failing, Nami rolled up her short sleeve and showed her Arlong tattoo—
trying to intimidate him.
Nojiko covered her face.
This was embarrassing.
The man in front of them had already killed a fish-man from Arlong's crew.
Did Nami really think flashing her tattoo would work?
To Adrian, it was basically a clown performance.
"How convenient. I just killed a fish-man on my way here. Pretty sure he was part of the Arlong Pirates."
Adrian smiled and pulled his AK from the system space, pointing it at her.
"You tell me—do I look scared to kill you too?"
Nami's legs went weak.
She hadn't expected the stranger to have already killed one of Arlong's subordinates.
Her bluff was instantly crushed.
Her threat had been nothing but a joke in his eyes.
"Alright, let's skip the nonsense."
"I'll give you both two options."
"First: resist me, and I kill you."
"Second: join my outlaw crew, and I spare your lives."
Adrian said it casually, as if listing menu items.
The words had barely left his mouth when—
PFFT!
Nami dropped to her knees with lightning speed.
"Boss! I've lived my whole life waiting for you to appear! I'll definitely join your outlaw crew! Being part of your team is an honor! Give me a hundred billion berries and I still wouldn't leave!"
Tears shimmered in her eyes,
her face full of dramatic emotion.
Adrian was stunned.
This acting… she deserves an award.
"Good, good!"
"From today onward, you're part of my outlaw crew. If I get a piece of meat, you'll get a sip of soup."
Adrian chose not to expose her obvious performance.
Forcing someone to join—
if they were truly loyal, that would've been suspicious.
So he played along perfectly.
Then he aimed the AK toward Nojiko.
"And you?"
"My sister will, of course, join Boss's crew and dedicate her life to you!"
"Right, Nojiko?"
Nami practically glued herself to Nojiko, giving her frantic secret signals.
The handsome man in front of them was clearly dangerous—
and not someone whose patience should be tested.
Refuse now,
and her fate could easily become the same as Bell-mère's.
"I'll join."
Nojiko answered decisively.
She wasn't stupid.
There was a time to resist—
and a time to submit.
"Very good."
"A wise person knows which way the wind blows."
"From now on, you're part of my outlaw crew too. I never mistreat my subordinates."
"If I earn 100 berries, you'll get 1 berry."
Adrian happily stored his AK back into the system space.
Nami and Nojiko:
"…."
You earn 100, we get 1??
This man was a certified cheapskate.
It wasn't "sharing soup"—
he was basically giving them the empty bowl after drinking it himself.
Excessive.
Absolutely excessive.
But they didn't dare complain.
They were captives now.
Rebelling?
Possible.
Surviving the attempt?
Very unlikely.
Soon after—
the system chimed in Adrian's ears.
"Ding! Outlaw action completed!"
"Ding! Calculating outlaw event…"
"Ding! Calculation complete. Rating: A-Rank."
"Ding! Reward: 10,000 Reputation Points!"
"Ding! Bonus Reward:
— A-Rank Random Weapon Ticket ×1
— A-Rank Random Ability Ticket ×1
— A-Rank Random Underling Ticket ×1"
Adrian grinned.
From nearly flopping his debut…
to rising straight to an A-rank outlaw—
He finally felt like he'd redeemed himself.
Translator's Thoughts:
Nami's survival instincts are S-tier—she went from ready-to-fight to "Boss, I will devote my life to you!" in 0.1 seconds. Meanwhile, Nojiko has fully entered "I'm done with today" mode.
And just like that, Adrian jumps from an embarrassing E-rank rookie to an A-rank outlaw in one move—kidnapping two major figures of East Blue. His crew is expanding fast… and so is the chaos he's about to unleash.
Next chapter: time to see what those A-rank tickets pull!
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