Chapter 288: Paradise: Route of Entertainment and Food

What kind of nonsense was this? {You wouldn't say this if you see that you have Protagonist Lucky Halo… maybe you would, since it would be unfair…}

Shanks grumbled, nearly losing his patience.

'I worked so hard to help you with this bizarre Devil Fruit experiment.'

'Instead of thanking me for showing up to work when sick, you tell me I owe you a Devil Fruit?'

Is there such a black-hearted pirate captain?

What is this?

I've been on the ship for half a month, and I owe the captain 100 million Bailey? {Roughly, it seems the average price of a devil fruit is 100 million Beli}

But looking at Adrian's solemn and serious expression, Shanks decided not to complain.

A man can be both thick and thin!

Cough cough!

Can be tough or flexible!

Sometimes, you have to endure for a moment and take a step back to see the bigger picture.

As long as I don't get a Devil Fruit, Adrian will never find it on me!

Adrian had no idea about the rich internal monologue Shanks was having.

Even though this Devil Fruit rebirth experiment could now be considered a complete failure, Adrian, out of caution, decided to wait with Shanks for another ten minutes in this deliberately isolated castle space.

Half an hour passed.

None of the fruits in the room changed shape, not even the one in Shanks' hand.

The body of 'Spiral Durei' had completely turned cold and lifeless by this time.

Adrian finally gave up on the idea of obtaining the "Spin-Spin Fruit" and left the castle.

Splash!

'Spiral Durei's' body was casually thrown into the sea to join the rest of his pirate crew in the depths. Not only doing it is acting to the tradition, but it also increases it attack power. {Furious tides!!}

Crocus quietly approached Shanks and asked in a low voice.

"What did the White Ghost do? Did he do anything to you?"

Shanks still held the apple, taking a few vicious bites out of it.

"Adrian didn't do anything. He just killed that Devil Fruit user and then handed me this apple to see if the Devil Fruit would be reborn."

Hiding secrets from Crocus was not in Shanks' nature.

Besides, Adrian hadn't explicitly forbidden him from revealing this information.

However, hearing Shanks' words, even Crocus, who had experienced the greatest challenges on the Grand Line with the Roger Pirates, was at a loss.

"This White Ghost… Where did he learn about this method?"

"Who knows where he got this bizarre method from, but he seems to have a lot of faith in it." Shanks sighed, utterly speechless.

"Who doesn't know that after a Devil Fruit user dies, their fruit can randomly appear anywhere?"

"White Ghost must have acted this way for a reason. There must be some information we're missing."

Crocus stroked his chin, the light behind his glasses flashing with a sharp glint of reason. "Something's definitely fishy here!"

"Uncle Crocus, stop talking about this things? No one can guess what Adrian is thinking." Shanks rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"That guy… is completely different from other pirates!"

Adrian didn't pay attention to the muttering between these two.

As long as Shanks didn't leave him, there was nothing to worry about.

Besides, Shanks served as the 'bait' to lure out the remnants of the Roger Pirates.

Adrian couldn't be happier if Shanks kept in touch with Crocus.

Who knew if the old ship doctor, who had been living in seclusion at Twin Capes, had been secretly keeping in touch with the remaining members of the Roger Pirates?

Leaving Shanks to rest and recuperate in the lighthouse keeper's hut, Adrian returned alone to the Abyss, continuing to wait for the next Devil Fruit user to arrive.

He refused to believe that someone as lucky as Shanks would have such bad luck!

Time passed slowly.

The Abyss had been anchored at Reverse Mountain for three days now.

Although the frequency of pirate appearances remained high, Adrian had not encountered another Devil Fruit user since the second day.

As for the possibility of hidden Devil Fruit treasure chests on those pirate ships…

Unless they were World Government agents on a specific mission, or Devil Fruit users who had already consumed the fruit, what pirate can resist the temptation to eat the Devil Fruit if they found one?

Despite this, Adrian diligently sent out the trio of Rumi, Love, and Doctor Moy to scavenge those empty pirate ships.

But aside from some insignificant gold, silver, and weapons, there were no valuable treasures to be found.

Not even a single treasure map!

Adrian gave up on waiting for a Devil Fruit user and the idea of conducting further experiments.

On the sixth day at Reverse Mountain, in the early morning, a mostly recovered Shanks reluctantly bid farewell to Crocus and boarded the Abyss once more.

Before they departed, Crocus suddenly raised his arm and waved it energetically from the isolated island below, calling out loudly.

"Adrian, which route are you taking this time?"

Hmm?

So you're finally asking?

I thought you'd hold back forever!

Adrian raised an eyebrow and casually answered Crocus' question.

"This time, we're heading for the Entertainment and Food route!"

The first half of the Grand Line, known as Paradise, can be roughly divided into seven routes.

Each route has different content and islands, requiring navigators to use different Log Poses to reach various destinations.

In this pirate-filled and bloody "Paradise," there's also a luxurious Entertainment route right in the middle of the seven paths!

The first three islands on the Entertainment and Cuisine route just happened to be the final three targets of Adrian's navigator mission!

Once those islands were completed, Adrian didn't plan to linger in Paradise any longer. After dropping off Shanks and Doctor Moy at Sky Island, he would head straight to the New World to advance his trial tasks!

{Those who have read Chinese Entertainment would already know how it will be. I have also read IRAS. Let's see what happens.}

But at that moment, Crocus' question sparked a bit of imagination in Adrian.

'Besides the enjoyment aspect, will the navigator mission also include Rayleigh's specialty?' {What's that? Cross island swimming?}

'Remnants of the Roger Pirates, don't let me down!'

Crocus, unaware of Adrian's thoughts, feigned concern and asked, "Do you have all your Log Poses ready?"

"No problem at all, Mr. Crocus." Adrian replied with a cheerful smile.

"Remember, our first stop will be the Reveland Kingdom!"

{"Reveland" is a blend of "revelry" and "land." "Revelry" refers to lively celebration, merriment, and enjoyment}