Reddy crouched in front of a man in a suit.
The suited man's face was bruised and swollen. He supported himself with his hands on the ground, avoiding Reddy's gaze in terror.
He had tried to resist before, but all he got was a brutal beating.
Behind Reddy, a group of children of varying ages glared at the suited man with hatred.
These children would never forget how this suited man had led his gang to raid their hideout, wreaking havoc and attempting to sell them off.
"Doflamingo is auctioning a Devil Fruit, so you needed to raise money?" Reddy's expression turned strange after hearing this answer.
However, recalling the scene he had witnessed earlier in the city, Reddy wasn't too surprised.
The public order in Water 7 had clearly improved compared to over a year ago.
Street thugs were rarely seen now.
Even those who had tried to monopolize businesses through intimidation had disappeared.
Clearly, a major source of income for the local gangs had been cut off.
Aside from the Galley-La Company, Reddy couldn't think of anyone else who would target the local gangs.
Because Iceburg's goal wasn't just to consolidate Water 7's shipbuilding industry. He planned to unite the entire city to strengthen his position.
Such an opportunity to gain favor wouldn't be missed.
The suited man pleaded meekly, "I was just following orders to capture people here. I don't know anything else... No, I only know that the boss wanted to buy a Devil Fruit to become stronger and fight back against the Galley-La Company."
Reddy stood up, looking down at the suited man, and asked politely, "Did you take Terry?"
Catching this low-ranking gang member with some status in the local underworld was within Reddy's expectations.
But he was more curious about why Terry, who wasn't weak, would have trouble dealing with such small fry.
The environment of the sewers also made it difficult to set up an ambush.
The suited man froze, then quickly shook his head weakly. "That kid Terry is strong. I wouldn't have dared to come here to capture people if I hadn't heard he went missing."
"If it wasn't you... then who?"
Reddy couldn't figure it out, so he stopped dwelling on it. He turned to the group of children and asked, "Who else hasn't returned?"
"Dean hasn't come back!"
Someone shouted from the crowd.
Reddy recalled the child who had bumped into him earlier. He remembered now.
That child was indeed named Dean, picked up from the streets by Terry... or more accurately, snatched from the hands of a gang member.
Perhaps because he had spent some time with gang members, Dean had developed rough manners, as if he had grown accustomed to using harshness and ferocity to protect himself.
Reddy asked another question, "Besides Dean?"
He felt like someone else was missing, but he couldn't remember who at the moment.
"Haya isn't back either!"
Another voice called out from the crowd.
Reddy suddenly realized.
Indeed, Haya, the talkative kid who liked to act mature, was missing. No wonder the place felt unusually quiet.
Reddy pieced together the clues and made a judgment. "Dean fled into the city. Terry and Haya... they were probably captured."
Even the weakest clone was at least Level 4, roughly equivalent to a Marine Ensign.
Reddy naturally looked down on such weak clones, but among these gang members, they were still quite strong.
The clones had swept through most of the sewers, rescuing the kidnapped children, and were currently searching the remaining areas.
In the slave auction market, children were always in high demand, but adults could also fetch a good price.
The gang members weren't just targeting orphans but also the homeless and impoverished who lived in the sewers.
However, Reddy didn't have the clones bring these people before him.
"Doctor Reddy, can you please go save Terry and the others?"
A girl around fifteen or sixteen years old looked at Reddy with pleading eyes.
When Reddy turned to her, her face flushed slightly, and she quickly averted her gaze in embarrassment.
"Of course."
Reddy smiled reassuringly at the girl.
By now, he already had a rough target in mind... CP9!
Terry wasn't weak, but he only used his strength to protect his companions and rarely provoked trouble, making him the type who kept to himself.
Since he had no enemies, the only common link between Terry and Haya was their connection to Reddy.
In all of Water 7, only CP9 would be interested in this and thus kidnap the two.
...
The chaos in Water 7 quickly subsided.
Led by Iceburg, the Galley-La Company earned widespread praise from tourists and locals alike for their handling of the situation.
"Someone saw that monster return to the sewers."
Kaku found an excuse to report the latest intelligence to Lucci.
Lucci hesitated briefly before firmly rejecting his earlier resolve. "Don't pursue him. Capturing Dr. Reddy isn't our mission."
Kaku was stunned. He hadn't expected Lucci to suddenly give up the chance to redeem himself.
In truth, Lucci had realized something.
That night over a year ago, he had been knocked out almost effortlessly. If the attacker had intended to kill, he would have died then.
After confirming it was Reddy who had done it, Lucci had been furious and secretly devised a plan for revenge.
But as Reddy became the director of the Punk Hazard Research Institute and developed two inventions of immense strategic value within a year, while also revealing his possession of several powerful clones, Lucci had shelved his plans.
If Reddy had been that strong over a year ago, how many more powerful clones did he have now?
The World Government lacked nothing, especially the genes of strong individuals.
Faced with such an opponent, Lucci felt pressure for the first time in his life.
"Then I'll have Jabra and the others return to the safe house."
Seeing that Lucci had made up his mind, Kaku nodded and turned to find Jabra and the others.
Lucci watched as Kaku hurried away before returning to his role as a strict foreman of the Galley-La Company, organizing the other shipwrights to maintain order in the city.
"Can you tell me where the two children you captured are?"
Just as Lucci finished assigning tasks to the shipwrights, a gentle voice suddenly spoke from behind him. His hair stood on end as he immediately dashed forward to create distance before turning around.
Reddy stood with his hands in his pockets, allowing Lucci to retreat.
"Two people?"
Lucci's gaze first fell on the maid behind Reddy.
He recognized Baby 5 and was certain she was still in Dressrosa.
Which meant the maid behind Reddy was one of the clones.
"If he keeps her by his side, she must be strong!"
Lucci quickly assessed the maid's strength in his mind, raising his guard even further as he denied, "What children? I don't know what you're talking about."
Reddy extended his right hand.
The maid behind him transformed into a long, slender sword.
Reddy gripped the hilt, his smile never fading, but his words sent a chill down Lucci's spine, his instincts screaming warnings.
"The strongest genius in CP9's 800-year history is only at this level?"