Chapter 154: I See Buddha, Buddha Sees Ghosts!

While hovering midair, Adrian raised his right hand and caught the lead-gray pocket watch that was flying towards him, tucking it into his coat pocket.

He then flew toward the direction where he sensed the fluctuation of Haki with the help of his Kenbunshoku Haki.

In his perception, that majestic presence, as brilliant as the blazing sun, was too conspicuous!

Adrian was surprised. He, who had just entered the New World, would bump into a Marine Admiral at such a close distance.

What would it feel if a pirate to come face-to-face with a Marine Admiral?

It's like you just emerged from the sea in the New World, and the first thing you see far away is a big golden pile…

Ahem!

It's Admiral Sengoku, the Buddha!

And he was chasing after a pirate.

As for the other unfamiliar presence fighting Sengoku, Adrian didn't have time to find out who it was yet.

With the terrifying speed boost from his Ghostly Body, he rushed to the location of the fight in a flash.

He could feel the scorching heat bursting from the center of the battle from far away. Shock waves rolled in the distance, and the invisible impacts even altered the surrounding cloud formations!

Only now did Adrian understand why the environment was so bizarre when the Abyss surfaced earlier.

The sky was calm, but the sea was raging. This was clearly the influence of the Haki clashe in this fight!

From afar, Adrian saw two extremely powerful Haoshoku Haki clashing, one golden and one blue. The clash of Haoshoku Haki caused red and black electric arcs to explode in the void, and the surrounding clouds were also shattered by the Haki.

The one exchanging blows with Admiral Sengoku, who was wearing a white Marine overcoat, had a stern look, a tall and muscular build, long golden hair hanging to his waist like coral, and was dressed in a set of black military uniform.

"That's… Douglas Bullet!"

Adrian's eyebrows twitched. He almost instantly recognized the identity of the man fighting Admiral Sengoku – Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir!

As a former crew member of the Roger Pirates with terrifying titles like Demon Heir, there was no doubt about Douglas Bullet's formidable strength. Even many crew members of the Roger Pirates called him a 'monster'!

According to Adrian's information, a few years ago, 15-year-old Bullet, after destroying his own Kingdom and military, wandered the seas. He encountered Roger and was defeated, then joined the Roger Pirates.

In the Roger Pirates, other than Roger, who could defeat him, even Rayleigh, the first mate, could only fight him to a draw.

This also meant that Scopper Gaban, the third in command in the Roger Pirates, was no match for Bullet!

That was terrifying! {Are you trying to be Borsalino?}

To some extent, this showed that the teenage Douglas Bullet already had the power to rival a Marine Admiral, or at least was one of the top fighters in the seas.

However, after learning that Roger had contracted a terminal illness and didn't have long to live, Bullet was greatly shocked. After one final fight against Roger, which he lost, he withdrew from the Roger Pirates.

Then something quite inexplicable happened.

In the year 1496 of the Sea Circle Calendar, 19-year-old Bullet, after being honed in the Roger Pirates, fought the future Warlord of the Sea, Sir Crocodile, to a draw! {… it's written in the wiki and I even… even watched One Piece: Stampede. It sounds so fricking stupid.}

This was simply preposterous!

No matter how Adrian looked at it, he couldn't believe this was true.

It was on par with the level of 'Gecko Moria engaging in an extended battle with Kaido in Wano Kingdom'!

Thinking ahead several decades, when Bullet escaped from the sixth level of Impel Down, he faced eleven Supernovas. With just his basic physical attributes and formidable martial arts, he effortlessly crushed these Supernovas who had trained in the New World for two years, even reverting Bounceman Luffy back to his original form with a single punch!

And how did Crocodile fight against these Supernovas?

Crocodile was defeated by the newcomer Luffy, who hadn't even mastered Second Gear, in the Arabasta Arc! {Or Haki}

No matter how Adrian pondered, he couldn't fathom how Crocodile managed to fight Douglas Bullet to a draw. {… me too!}

To say that Crocodile was strong…

Adrian couldn't see it.

Reviewing the specific combat records of this 'Warlord of the Sea,' when facing weaker opponents, Crocodile's Logia abilities allowed him to easily victories.

However, when up against stronger opponents, Crocodile had practically no record of outright victories. Most of the time, battles ended in stalemate, without any clear results.

Despite Crocodile's active role during the Summit War, he was merely on par with a fifty-fifty win rate.

Even when attempting to ambush Whitebeard, Crocodile was sent flying by Whitebeard's Third Division Commander, Diamond Jozu…

Adrian didn't believe that the Crocodile around the year 1496 of the Sea Circle Calendar could match the strength of a Marine Admiral.

So, thinking it over, the only reasonable explanation for Bullet and Crocodile fighting to a draw was:

After leaving the Roger Pirates, Bullet lost his sense of purpose in life. Once renowned as the 'Devil Heir,' he had devolved into a purposeless drifter, unable to fully utilize his abilities. {basically means a drunkard and addicted peroson.}

Meanwhile, at that time, Crocodile was a 'dashing' rookie pirate, even harboring ambitions to challenge the world's strongest man. His status and abilities received a boost from his determination, resulting in their evenly matched battle.

Returning to Bullet:

After Roger's execution in Loguetown last year, Bullet completely lost his life's direction and began rampaging in the New World.

If Adrian remembered correctly, the Marines would soon issue a personal extermination order for Bullet, deploying Marine Admiral Sengoku and the hero of the Marines, Iron Fist Garp, to defeat him and imprison him in Impel Down.

"So, this is just an ordinary encounter at sea?" Adrian's thoughts stirred as he moved closer to the center of the battle between Sengoku and Bullet.

Meanwhile, Sengoku and Bullet, currently locked in combat, also noticed the unfamiliar presence intruding into their battle zone.

During this period, Bullet had been continuously venting his pain and confusion, paying no attention to external events. Naturally, he wouldn't recognize Adrian's identity.

But Sengoku was different!

The World Government had wanted Sengoku to continue chasing White Ghost on the high seas, but he had declined.

As a result, Sengoku had taken on the task of capturing Bullet.

However, Sengoku hadn't anticipated encountering Adrian at this moment!

"White Ghost?! How are you here?" Sengoku's powerful shockwave successfully forced Bullet back, and he questioned Adrian's presence across the distance.

"Pirates appearing in the New World—is there anything wrong with that, Sengoku?"

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This is stupid.