Water 7.
Reddy jumped down from the carpet floating in mid-air and landed on the beach.
"This place seems to have changed a lot."
The busy ships coming and going on the distant sea caught Reddy's attention. He remembered that was the direction of the dock.
In just over a year, Water 7 had become much more prosperous than before.
Reddy adjusted his coat, put his hands in his pockets, and left the beach.
The changes in the city surprised Reddy.
There were clearly more Bull in the rivers than a year ago.
The hoodlums who used to be seen everywhere on the streets had also noticeably decreased.
Even those hoodlums who still wandered the streets were not as reckless as before and behaved much more cautiously.
As Reddy walked, he overheard from the conversations of passersby that the Galley-La Company was consolidating its power, causing local gangs and pirates to no longer act as boldly as they used to.
"Galley-La was established earlier... seems like it's my fault."
In the original story, the Galley-La Company was a shipbuilding company formed after Iceburg merged several other shipyards. Reddy roughly guessed the reason.
It was probably because he had lured CP9 to Water 7 ahead of time, causing Rob Lucci, who was rated as lv13 by the system, to infiltrate Iceburg's side earlier.
With Lucci around, consolidating the shipwrights of Water 7 wasn't too difficult.
Reddy thought to himself as he arrived at the entrance to the sewer.
He had only one purpose for returning to Water 7 this time... if Terry and the other orphans were willing, he would take them away.
If they weren't willing, he wouldn't force them.
As for Lucci, Reddy was somewhat interested, but not much.
Reddy entered the sewer. Before he had gone far, a child suddenly rushed out from a corner ahead and bumped into his chest.
The current Reddy was no longer the weakling he used to be.
He didn't move, but the child was knocked dizzy and fell to the ground.
"Don't block the way!"
The child was about nine years old but had a very bad attitude. He scrambled up from the ground and hurriedly ran outside.
Reddy watched the child's back thoughtfully.
He felt the child looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
"That brat is escaping, chase him!"
Soon, several men rushed out from the corner. The leader wore a black eyepatch over his right eye, and his exposed chest was covered in thick hair. He clearly wasn't a good person.
These men saw Reddy and also noticed the child who was about to escape the sewer.
The leader, the eyepatch-wearing man, immediately shouted, "Catch him, don't let the Galley-La Company see!"
The others sped up, but Reddy blocked their path.
"Does he have a grudge against you?"
Reddy kept his hands in his pockets, scanning the faces of the eyepatch-wearing man and his group. He could tell from their appearance that they were part of a gang.
Actually, it wasn't hard to tell.
He had also lived in the sewer for a while.
The social structure in the sewer was quite complex. Most people were so poor they had no place to live and were forced to stay there.
Even if there were conflicts, they were mostly over competing for a suitable camping spot.
And the winners wouldn't completely eradicate the losers.
But the eyepatch-wearing man and his group were trying to kidnap the child.
This was one of the common tactics used by gangs, often employed to intimidate and threaten orphans with no one to rely on, brainwashing them into joining the organization to expand their forces.
"Don't meddle in other people's business!"
The eyepatch-wearing man, seeing the child had already escaped the sewer, became furious and glared at Reddy. "You cost us a lot of money."
Reddy understood. "So you're human traffickers."
The eyepatch-wearing man laughed loudly. "The Galley-La Company cut off our income. These brats here are in high demand on Sabaody Archipelago."
"Boss, he looks pretty good too. He could probably fetch a good price." The others eyed Reddy with ill intentions.
Reddy's appearance was quite presentable.
Though somewhat tall and thin, his proportions were well-balanced, and his overall demeanor was unique.
Some nobles were into that.
"Grab him!"
The eyepatch-wearing man had lost a child, and now Reddy had conveniently appeared before him. Spurred by his underlings, he immediately barked the order.
Before they could act, Reddy snapped his fingers.
"Woman... no, you're a Devil Fruit user!"
The eyepatch-wearing man watched as a maid-dressed beauty suddenly materialized beside Reddy. His laughter instantly died, replaced by a servile expression.
The others also turned pale with fright.
Who would've thought this man was a Devil Fruit user!
"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
Sweat poured down the eyepatch-wearing man's forehead, quickly forming a small puddle at his feet.
"Her codename is Maid."
Reddy kept his left hand in his pocket and stretched out his right hand to the side.
The clone leaped into the air and transformed into a long sword.
Reddy gripped the hilt and effortlessly rested the two-meter-long blade on his shoulder. He shook his head. "Human traffickers deserve death..."
Before he could finish, the eyepatch-wearing man and his group turned and fled.
They weren't stupid. They knew Reddy was about to kill them.
But Reddy was faster.
The eyepatch-wearing man and his group only felt a blur before their eyes. To their shock, they saw Reddy standing in front of them with his back turned. A question mark popped into their minds.
Did I run the wrong way?
Then, excruciating pain erupted from their waists.
The men looked down and saw their midsections gradually soaking with blood.
"One-Sword Style Iaido: Thunderclap Flash!"
Reddy slowly turned around, filled with the joy of indulging in his dark humor.
For human traffickers, any sympathy would be disrespectful to the victims.
As he spoke, the eyepatch-wearing man and his group were bisected at the waist.
With this slash, Reddy had cut them in half.
Reddy casually tossed the sword aside and kindly reminded them, "If you can find a famous doctor within ten minutes, you might survive. If not, then I can only say sorry."
Those who were frequently bisected at the waist should know that it doesn't kill a person instantly.
The real causes of death are excessive blood loss and unbearable pain.
Reddy ignored the eyepatch-wearing man and his group, who were wailing and waiting to die, and headed toward Terry's camp based on his memory.
Now he remembered where he had seen that child before.
He had once played with that child too.
But it had been so long that he hadn't recalled it immediately.
"Did something happen to Terry?"
Reddy unconsciously quickened his pace.
Terry's genetic rating was lv8.
This level wasn't high, but it certainly wasn't low either. The upper limit was roughly equivalent to a Marine captain.
The eyepatch-wearing man and his group were purely gangsters, pathetically weak.
Of course, that was relative to the big shots Reddy had seen so often.
But even if Terry hadn't reached his upper limit, dealing with a few gangsters shouldn't have been a problem.
Reddy followed his memory to Terry's camp.
The camp was now in complete disarray.
Tattered tents had been reduced to rags, covered in footprints. Clearly, someone had broken in and rampaged through the place.
"Something really did happen!"
The smile vanished from Reddy's face, replaced by a cold expression.
It was obvious that the gang had attacked this place and kidnapped the orphans living here.
Combined with the fact that the child had just escaped the sewer, Reddy concluded that the camp had been attacked by the gang not long ago.
Reddy snapped his fingers.
All the clones he had created so far were summoned, standing quietly before Reddy, awaiting their next orders.
"Find those children. Kill anyone who tries to stop you."
Original Characters in this Chapter:
[雷迪 - Reddy]
[特里 - Terry]
[眼罩男 - Eyepatch Man]
[混混 - Hoodlums]
[小孩 - Child]
This response is AI-generated, for reference only.