Chapter 282: Supreme Straw Hat

The Float-Float Fruit…

Adrian lowered his head, closely examining the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit in his hand, his mind racing with thoughts.

The Float-Float Fruit exhibits two major characteristics: flight and the manipulation of matter.

The power of these two abilities is undeniable!

It's safe to say that the fearsome scale and deterrent power of the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates, which allowed them to dominate a large part of the New World and become a major headache for the Marine Headquarters and the World Government, were largely due to the ability of the Float-Float Fruit to make inanimate objects float and be controlled at will.

In this world where naval battles are the primary form of combat, any airborne unit is a significant threat!

Not to mention an entire army of floating islands!

If you give the Float-Float Fruit to anyone, that person could quickly become a formidable warrior and a highly mobile aerial force.

This Fruit is also the most valuable Devil Fruit Adrian possesses since acquiring the [Devil Fruit Fusion Card].

Unfortunately, however, the most useful ability of the Float-Float Fruit overlap somewhat with the Ghost-Ghost Fruit.

This "flight ability" granted by the Float-Float Fruit is just one of the many features of the [Ghost Body].

As for the unique ability to manipulate matter and create floating islands, while Adrian admires its grand effect, he doesn't envy its practical use.

As mentioned before, the Float-Float Fruit leans more towards support in top-tier battles.

And for a lone wolf, the only attractive aspect of the Float-Float Fruit is its "free flight" ability.

It offers almost no enhancement to one's personal strength.

{For me personally, I don't mind… the movie didn't do Shiki any good. If Adrian had this, he could have a ship that can go underwater and on the sky. Giving it to someone close would be even better.}

Furthermore, Adrian has always focused on the energy route.

With [Ghostly Energy].

With [Spiritual Pressure].

Why would he need the [Matter Manipulation] ability of the Float-Float Fruit?

Besides, the matter manipulation ability of the Float-Float Fruit, even in the hands of the Golden Lion for decades, only allows for the alteration of shapes and the negation of gravity.

It can't delve into the more microscopic and fundamental aspects of matter, merely performing simple material reorganization and aggregation.

Adrian isn't about to waste the precious [Devil Fruit Fusion Card] on the Float-Float Fruit.

So, who should he give it to?

Adrian instinctively glanced at his two crew mates.

Rumi, who already consumed the Castle-Castle Fruit, is a great space assistant and doesn't need the Float-Float Fruit.

As for Love, she isn't responsible for combat tasks at all. She's in charge of being cute, cooking, preparing baths, washing clothes, waking people up… and playing.

"The Float-Float Fruit should be stored with the other three fruits. When the right person comes along, it will be given to them..."

"Giving it to Love would be a waste of such a strategically significant fruit!"

Adrian thought silently to himself.

As for the Golden Lion in his soul form, he's temporarily out of consideration.

About ten minutes later...

After a preliminary examination of Shanks' injuries and condition, and bandaging him like a mummy using his Bandage ability, Dr. Moy walked over and whispered, "Sir, sir..."

"Type it!"

Dr. Moy, complying quickly, manipulated the bandages to type out a large block of text.

'Shanks' current physical condition is very poor. The massive sword wound from a few days ago has greatly damaged his body's core. However, the main reason is that Shanks didn't receive prompt and effective treatment after sustaining such severe injuries, leading to further deterioration. Additionally, prolonged lack of proper nutrition has contributed to his current condition…

Adrian felt a bit dizzy looking at the sea of white subtitles and had to raise his hand to signal.

"Please simplify."

"I can't heal him, we need help."

"No problem!"

Adrian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since we're heading to Reverse Mountain anyway, I originally planned to go straight over it to reach the paradise, but given the situation, let's visit the doctor from the Roger Pirates instead!"

The Golden Lion sharply caught on to the key point.

"Roger?!"

"Yes, Dr. Crocus of the Roger Pirates!"

Adrian glared fiercely at the Golden Lion.

If it weren't for this guy, Shanks wouldn't be so badly injured!

The Golden Lion looked at Shanks with a mixture of confusion and disdain.

This red-haired brat! Float-Float Fruit appeared as soon as he was about to eat that fruit, how ridiculous!

"Never heard of him! But why would someone from Roger's crew help this red-haired kid?"

"Really? You haven't noticed?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow, a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Look at the straw hat on Shanks' back."

"What?!"

The Golden Lion grumbled in dissatisfaction but floated over to carefully examine Shanks.

"This hat... ah! This straw hat! It looks so familiar!"

The Golden Lion's expression changed dramatically, and he shouted repeatedly.

"Roger! This is Roger's hat!!"

{…}

Adrian nodded solemnly. "Yes, this is the supreme straw hat that once accompanied the Pirate King Gol D. Roger throughout his legendary life!"

"But how does this kid get to to wear Roger's hat?!"

The furious Golden Lion reached out to grab Shanks.

But in his soul state, he couldn't touch either Oto or Kogarashi, let alone take the supreme straw hat from Shanks.

"Shanks was once a member of the Roger Pirates," Adrian said calmly. "Roger personally placed this straw hat on Shanks' head before he disbanded the crew."

Adrian emphasized certain parts for effect.

"As a fellow top-tier pirate, you should understand Roger's intention, right?"

The Golden Lion turned his head to look at Adrian, his pupils slightly contracting.

He turned back to Shanks, his tone complex. "So, this kid is Roger's successor?"

"Exactly!"

Adrian said, quite pleased.

Shanks, you helped me get the Float-Float Fruit through some mystical means, so I'll repay you with the master of the dual-sword style!

No need to thank me!

"This is Roger's personally chosen successor, who also inherits Roger's ideals and spirit," Adrian said. "When I met Shanks, he was preparing to travel the seas, gather a crew, and form his own pirate crew."

Adrian even dropped a little spoiler.

"The dream of this Straw Hat Kid has always been to become the freest person on the seas!"

The Golden Lion nodded very seriously.

"Roger never disappoints!"

"???"

Adrian looked at the Golden Lion, utterly perplexed.

Wasn't I talking about Shanks?

Why are you elevating this to Roger's level?

Could it be… someone used hallucination power or something like that. Or does this top tier pirate have delusional disorder.

Maybe the long years in the sea had caused this man to become fixated on the position of something akin to ruler, be it sea, land or the whole world.

His ambition grew to go for the World Government, the everlasting power, Roger, the one to beyond the last island and earn the title of pirate king.

Something that was closer, he could grab on. Maybe he developed an attachment to it.