"My Lord, if you do this, aren't you afraid of alerting Kaido in advance?" the woman asked, a worried look on her face.
"That's right, Captain. If someone with abilities really blew themselves up in battle, Kaido's first thought would be that we're messing around," Shiryu added, his tone mirroring her concern.
"He won't," Adrian replied with a confident smile. "As one of the Yonko, Kaido doesn't provoke others, and few would dare to provoke him. Even in the New World, the Beasts Pirates rarely get the chance to fight with all their strength. As long as they rest, the disadvantages won't be easily revealed."
"Hey, the captain's move is really brilliant," Shiryu exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with admiration. He gave a thumbs up. "This kind of genetic defect can't be manifested in normal battles, but when it rises to the Yonko level, it's as terrifying as a death sentence. Just imagine the scene where tens of thousands of people blew themselves up on the spot… Ugh, it really makes people feel creepy."
A wave of gloating smirks spread across the faces of the others. To dare to scheme against a Four Emperor like this, their captain was likely the only one in the world with such audacity.
"Mansherry," Adrian said, turning to the dwarf princess. "I'll leave it to you to increase the production of artificial Devil Fruit."
"Your Majesty, there's no problem. The Tontatta tribe will cover it!" Mansherry readily agreed. When it came to growing plants, no one knew more than her people.
"Captain, although the artificial Devil Fruit has great disadvantages, it's still a way to quickly improve our overall strength. Shouldn't we keep some for ourselves?" Bullet asked.
What Adrian lacked most at the moment was a capable fighting force. The New World was a lawless place, and with countless powerful enemies watching, relying on just a few strong men was not enough to ensure the long-term stability of the Kingdom of Dressrosa. The formation of the returning army was imminent.
But Adrian had no intention of letting his own people use the defective products created by Caesar. He had other plans.
"It's just too much to do," Adrian said, shaking his head slowly. "After the situation has completely stabilized, find a chance to contact Germa 66. Their battle suits and cloning technology are far safer than the artificial Devil Fruit, SMILE."
"Hey, it's still the captain who's well-informed and has far-reaching strategies!" Shiryu's flattery came at the perfect moment, immediately drawing envious glances from Bullet and the others. Damn, it's nice to be cultured.
After finalizing their strategy, Adrian was about to get up and leave when Violet hurried in from outside the palace.
"Your Majesty, while inspecting the surrounding waters, I discovered a large ship with the flag of the Big Mom Pirates, heading toward Dressrosa." Violet's brows were furrowed with a hint of panic.
The appearance of another Four Emperors' crew clearly frightened her. It had only been a few days, and already Dressrosa had become a hub for the world's highest-level fighters.
"Hey, does that old woman from Whole Cake Island also want to take our Dressrosa?" Bullet grinned grimly, a fiery fighting spirit reigniting in his eyes. It didn't matter who came, as long as there was a fight, this was his expression.
"A reckless man is a reckless man," Shiryu said, raising his head with an air of superiority. "Have you ever seen a fight that brings so few people?"
"Where haven't I seen it? What about Kaido's last attack?" Bullet retorted, his eyes wide.
"Well…" Shiryu was at a loss for words. Damn! But it's true.
"Captain, Big Mom is obviously here to win you over this time," Shiryu pondered for a moment, then looked at Adrian with a smile. "Based on that old woman's temperament, she's probably planning to marry one of her daughters to you and then take the opportunity to annex us into her kingdom!"
"She's thinking dully. How could captain who worked so hard to conquer this country give it up because of a woman?" Bullet scoffed with disdain.
"What do you think, Redfield?" Adrian turned his gaze to a dark corner in the hall. After eating the Vampire Fruit, if he didn't activate his "Heart Network," he couldn't even perceive Redfield's presence, let alone anyone else.
"In addition to what Shiryu said, Linlin is most probably concerned about whether her experiments will be affected after the captain takes over Doflamingo's business," Redfield said, slowly emerging from the shadows. As old and powerful as he was, he knew Big Mom's greedy and brutal character all too well.
Adrian nodded slightly. After a moment of thought, he stood up. "Let's go. We'll meet them."
When the group arrived at the port, the Big Mom Pirates' ship had just docked. Three figures stepped off: Katakuri, one of the Four Sweet Generals, and behind him, the two combatants Baron Tamago and Pekoms.
Adrian was no stranger to Katakuri, a man who had developed his Observation Haki to the ultimate level and could briefly "foresee" the future.
Seeing Adrian appear, the three stepped forward.
"Hello, Your Majesty Adrian. This is the second son of the Charlotte family…" Baron Tamago took a grand step forward and was about to introduce Katakuri, but Adrian interrupted him with a cold tone.
"Forget about being polite… Katakuri, just explain why you are here."
"He knows me?" Katakuri's pupils shrank, and he looked at Adrian as if facing an enemy. Since the Battle of Dressrosa, Adrian's name had become a household name. This powerful king, who had suddenly risen during the Summit War, had performed a series of astonishing operations that even Garp and Sengoku found hard to believe.
After hearing the news that Adrian had attacked two Admirals and successfully killed Aokiji, Katakuri dared not despise this young Emperor who was less than twenty years old. He could feel that this man was truly strong. Mother actually wanted to win him over by marrying her daughter? Can this really work?
"Your Majesty, my mother appreciates your courage and means very much, so she has specially asked, that she wants to marry one of her daughters…" Baron Tamago spoke again, his face arrogant and without the slightest awareness of who he was facing. In his opinion, even if Adrian had dared to destroy the World Government's large fleet, so what? His mother was the strongest woman in the world. No one dared to disobey her decisions, and Adrian was no exception.
"Oops, this idiot," Katakuri's face changed drastically halfway through Baron Tamago's words, as if he had foreseen something terrible. But it was too late to stop it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures emerged from behind Adrian.
Boom!
Baron Tamago and Pekoms had no time to react. Their heads were already pressed heavily into the ground, creating two terrible craters. Redfield and Bullet each had a foot on a head, arms folded, and they looked sternly at Katakuri. Their expression seemed to say: Go ahead, boy, do it. Guess what we'll do?
"Marry?!" The Empress's furious roar suddenly rang out. Someone dared to insult her supreme "God"? This was a death wish! The terrifying Conqueror's Haki swept out in an instant.
The Empress pointed a finger at Katakuri and roared: "You bastards, my king is a man who stands in the sky. In front of him, who is worthy to be married to him?!"