Water 7 Underground Sewers.
Haya ran excitedly back to the camp. The moment he saw Terry, he shouted eagerly, "Brother Terry, you definitely won't believe what I heard at the docks!"
"Is it news about Dr. Reddy?" Terry, who was bandaging his wounds, looked up and asked.
As Iceburg's Galley-La Company grew stronger, the situation in Water 7 had improved significantly. Even the local gangs didn't dare act as recklessly as before, and more and more people had moved out of the sewers.
However, this camp was still targeted by many desperate individuals.
After recovering from his injuries, Terry had grown increasingly stronger, but he couldn't completely fend off sneak attacks from the shadows. It was inevitable that he would still get hurt.
"It's not about Dr. Reddy. Galley-La Company is hiring again."
Haya exclaimed with longing, "Once you become a shipwright, no one will dare bully us anymore. Brother Terry, you can definitely do it."
Terry smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't want to be a shipwright."
There were over sixty orphans in the camp, most of them around seven or eight years old. Terry was the only one who could fight.
If he joined Galley-La Company, he wouldn't have time to protect the camp anymore.
Unless Galley-La Company was willing to take in everyone.
But that was clearly impossible.
So he chose to stay.
That's why he didn't explain the real reason to Haya, simply using "I don't want to be a shipwright" as an excuse.
"You don't want to join Galley-La Company?"
Haya was disappointed by Terry's answer.
Whether in the past or now, becoming a shipwright had always been the dream of orphans like them. And after merging with three other shipyards, Galley-La Company had become the largest shipbuilding company in Water 7.
"Is there any news about Dr. Reddy?"
Terry smiled and changed the subject, his tone hopeful.
Back then, Reddy had said that healing his injuries might turn him into a monster. Terry had mentally prepared himself and accepted the treatment.
But his wounds healed, and he didn't become a monster.
Terry was disappointed.
Especially over the past year, the camp had faced countless attacks, both overt and covert. He had driven away those who coveted the camp, but he was gradually feeling powerless.
He desperately wanted strength.
Haya shook his head. "Nothing big has happened recently... Oh, right, I heard the Gates of Justice opened yesterday."
"The Gates of Justice?"
Terry was surprised.
Haya said dismissively, "The Gates of Justice opening isn't a big deal. They were probably escorting some big pirate to Impel Down."
"You're right. I overthought it."
Terry relaxed. For a brief moment, he had genuinely worried that Reddy had been captured by the Marines and sent to Impel Down.
Haya suddenly asked, "You're worried about Dr. Reddy, aren't you?"
Terry froze.
"Don't treat me like a kid. I'm not stupid. You ask me almost every day if there's news about Dr. Reddy. Isn't it obvious?" Haya gave him a look of disdain, acting like an adult.
Terry awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Is it that obvious?"
Haya patted Terry's arm and comforted him in a mature tone, "Dr. Reddy is a big shot now, with a bounty of 3 billion Berries. There's no need to worry about him."
"Actually, I just wanted to ask Dr. Reddy to give me strength."
Since Haya had seen through him, Terry stopped pretending. Keeping his thoughts bottled up wasn't a good feeling.
Haya was shocked. "But the price of gaining strength might be turning into a monster, Brother Terry."
He had been there too and didn't want Terry to become a monster.
"This is the Grand Line."
Terry stared at his clenched fist, his mood low.
Galley-La Company had indeed improved Water 7's situation significantly. Local gangs and foreign pirates had all chosen to lay low.
But this was the sewers, a very special environment.
There was never a shortage of bad people here.
Terry clenched his fist tightly, his eyes regaining their light. "Back then, you saw that monster too. If I can get that kind of power, no one will dare mess with us for real."
Haya grew anxious.
Just as he was about to speak, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Was that monster really created by Dr. Reddy?"
Terry quickly turned around, pulling Haya behind him, and stared warily at the man who had somehow appeared behind him without notice.
"It seems you won't cooperate willingly."
Blueno's face remained expressionless as he suddenly disappeared from his spot.
Terry's expression changed, and he frantically searched for Blueno's figure.
The next moment!
A sharp pain exploded at the back of his head, and his consciousness quickly faded into darkness.
Blueno grabbed Haya, who had also fallen unconscious, with his left hand. With his right hand, he caught Terry by the collar before he could collapse.
An Air Door opened.
Blueno carried the two of them inside.
...
A certain basement.
The CP9 members had gathered once again.
This was a safe house they had set up.
Out of caution, Lucci had instructed Blueno to abandon the original plan of opening a bar as a contact point. Instead, he ordered Blueno to use his Devil Fruit ability to investigate the whereabouts of that monster and to monitor Iceburg.
"They're both tight-lipped."
Blueno reported to Lucci, "I've already tortured them, but neither of them talked."
"Oh?"
Lucci was surprised.
CP9 was an intelligence organization, and interrogation was their specialty. It was unheard of for anyone to resist Blueno's interrogation without breaking.
But today was an exception.
Not just Terry, but even Haya, a kid, had endured the torture without talking.
Kalifa swirled the wine glass in her hand and took a sip of red wine. "These two kids are quite talented. They'd fit well in the CP organization."
Lucci said, "If they can provide useful information, I don't mind sending them to headquarters for training."
"Then they might be our future colleagues. Should we continue torturing them?" Kaku had also taken an interest in Terry and Haya.
Lucci said coldly, "If they can't endure it, they won't become our colleagues."
Kaku shrugged and said nothing more.
Blueno continued his report, "One thing is certain: they've had contact with Dr. Reddy. And from their words, we've confirmed that the monster back then was indeed Dr. Reddy's creation."
Lucci concluded, "The perfect Artificial Devil Fruit serum!"
Everyone's expressions turned grave.
The reason for Reddy's defection lay in this formula.
The difference was that what the World Government had obtained was only the research from the assistants Reddy recruited at the Punk Hazard laboratory. But the monster in Water 7 was personally created by Reddy.
That monster's value was extremely high. It might even be possible to extract the formula for the perfect serum from it.
Lucci looked at Blueno. "Have you found that monster?"
Blueno shook his head.
Since that battle, the monster had never appeared again.
He had gone underground, focusing his investigation on the sewers where the monster first appeared. That was how he accidentally discovered that some people had been in contact with Reddy and the monster.
Lucci nodded and instructed, "Kalifa has already become Iceburg's secretary. To avoid alerting him, we'll temporarily set aside the blueprints. Everyone, focus all efforts on finding that monster."
"Understood."