Chapter 35: Disturbing News in the Letter
At the port of Ohara, a light gray single-person boat slowly came to a stop.
Compared to when it left, there were now some traces of gunpowder on the boat's hull.
Single-person boats like this, sailing alone on the sea without significant markings, were always the favorite targets for harassment, and even attacks and robberies, by the pirates.
When heading to the Kano Country, it didn't feel as noticeable, but upon returning, Adrian had encountered pirate attacks three times in total. He could already sense the influence of Pirate King Roger's actions.
The Great Pirate Era truly began officially after Roger's execution, but even at that time, there were already initial signs.
The pirate groups that attacked Adrian were particularly low-tier, with relatively unknown pirate flags, and none of the captains had bounties exceeding 5 million Berries.
Adrian decided to repay them in kind and launched remote bombardments on the pirates.
A wave of Mini Ghost Nova Fires.
The pirate ships that attacked him were all sunk into the sea. The panel information indicated that most of the pirate's levels were just over LV20, barely filling up their experience bars with some hollow experience points.
Returning from the Kano Country to Ohara took Adrian a total of eight days, more time than the journey there. This was mainly due to creating detailed sea charts of the route.
This time returning to Ohara, Adrian also planned to borrow a comprehensive sea chart of the entire West Blue from the Tree of Knowledge Library.
After all, he wasn't a native of the West Blue, and he was not familiar with many aspects of it. The Tree of Knowledge Library in Ohara happened to help him fill in the missing information in terms of basic knowledge.
The Tree of Knowledge Library, Ground Floor.
Dr. Clover, still dressed in a three-leaf clover attire, intercepted Adrian, who was about to go to the geographical information area to read books.
"Do you have something on your mind, Dr. Clover?" Adrian asked slightly puzzled.
Was this old doctor preparing to lecture him again?
Dr. Clover didn't say anything, just passed the envelope.
Why is he giving me an envelope?
But if Dr. Clover doesn't say, it probably isn't anything important, right?
Adrian's thoughts raced as he took the envelope in his hands and asked, "What's this letter?"
Dr. Clover explained, "On the sixth day after you left Ohara, a small boat belonging to the 'Shimizu Trade Association' arrived at the island. Someone entrusted them to send you a letter, but since they couldn't find you, they temporarily left the letter with me."
Shimizu Trade Association?
Adrian searched his memory for a moment and quickly found the answer.
Isn't that Perona's family business?
He remembered that after obtaining the Devil Fruit from Captain Krivat, Adrian had advised Lady Penelope that if something bad happened, she could send someone to Ohara for help.
Did something really happen?
Adrian took the letter, apologized to Dr. Clover, then found an empty spot and opened the envelope. He quickly read the contents of the letter.
Sure enough!
This was a plea for help from Lady Penelope!
Captain Krivat had already mentioned that ownership of the Devil Fruit belonged to the Capone Mafia.
But when the lives of everyone on the ship were threatened, Captain Krivat broke the rules and, in exchange for the Devil Fruit, sought Adrian's assistance.
Apart from losing the Devil Fruit and the passengers on the ship being slightly alarmed, the Shimizu Number had no other losses. They even managed to exchange a not insignificant bounty from the nearby Marine base for the group of easily defeated pirates.
However, Capone Mafia's things are not so easily obtained!
Lady Penelope's letter was to explain this situation.
The letter mentioned that the Capone Mafia took Captain Krivat away, and for several days, there has been no news, fearing that something unfortunate may have happened.
With no other options, Lady Penelope had to seek help from Adrian, who had promised assistance before.
Adrian calculated in his mind, 'The letter from the Shimizu Trading arrived six days after I left Ohara. Until today, nearly twenty days have passed… Actions at sea are inconvenient, and message delivery is difficult. In other words, from the day Lady Penelope wrote the letter, it may have been a whole month!'
Adrian frowned slightly, wondering what unfortunate events might have occurred during this extended period.
The only relatively good news so far is that the Capone Mafia only took Captain Krivat and left Lady Penelope and her daughter behind. However, this information is already a month old!
Dr. Clover, appearing out of nowhere, asked, "Adrian, you don't look too good. Have you encountered something?"
"Nothing, Dr. Clover. I can handle it myself," Adrian shook his head slightly, not intending to say much to the elderly academic who was focused on research.
As if recalling something, Adrian suddenly asked, "By the way, Doctor, do you know the exact address of the Otefi Island?"
"Oatfi Island?" Dr. Clover' expression changed, and his tone became urgent. "Did you have a conflict with the Capone Mafia?"
As one of the five most famous underworld organizations in the West Blue, the Capone Mafia was a colossal entity that ordinary people could only dream of reaching.
Even in the seemingly peaceful Ohara, the name of the Capone Mafia was known.
Dr. Clover quickly understood, "It's about that letter... It's from the Shimizu Trading Company, right?"
"Yes, I have a friend from the Shimizu Trading Company," Adrian briefly explained, "Due to certain reasons, he got into a conflict with the Capone Mafia."
"The Capone Mafia, that's quite troublesome..." Dr. Clover stroked his beard, looking worried, "Adrian, my boy, can you really handle it on your own?"
Adrian flashed a confident smile and said, "Please don't worry, I'll be fine."
"I don't think you're the type to boast. If you say you can handle it alone, then you probably can." Dr. Clover was moved by Adrian's tone and said, "Come with me! Otefi Island is the Capone Mafia's headquarters. Even here in Ohara, we've heard about the infamous reputation of the 'Island of the Mafia.'"
Dr. Clover led Adrian to the geographical information area, pulled out a scroll of sea chart from the shelf, and handed it to Adrian.
"This records the most convenient route from Ohara Island to Otefi Island. As long as you don't go off course, with the speed of a sailboat, you should be able to reach Otefi Island in two days." Dr. Clover emphasized, "Take care, Adrian."
Adrian was invigorated, nodding solemnly. "Thank you for your help."
After a brief packing of his belongings, Adrian quickly left the Tree of Knowledge Library. He wasn't planning to sail there; it would consume too much time and energy. This time, he planned to fly directly to Otefi Island!