"What CP9... I don't know what you're talking about."
Lucci forced himself to stay calm and denied it, while his mind raced to figure out where the leak had occurred that exposed his identity.
At this moment, other shipwrights noticed the increasingly tense atmosphere and quickly ran over.
As for the other tourists and local residents, they were scared out of their wits the moment the maid transformed into a long sword, and not a single one dared to stay and watch the commotion.
Reddy ignored these loyal shipwrights and stared directly into Lucci's eyes. The smile on his face gradually faded. "Although I despise the World Government, they are ultimately maintaining order in this world. I don't want to completely turn against them yet."
"Where are the two children you kidnapped?"
"If you don't hand them over, I'll have to kill you!"
The shipwrights were stunned, hearing terms like "World Government" and "kidnapped children." What was going on?
Lucci remained silent.
To be honest, after Reddy appeared, Terry and Haya held little value for him anymore. Handing them over to resolve this incident would have been a cost-effective trade.
However, he couldn't do it.
His identity absolutely could not be exposed. Otherwise, if word reached Iceburg, not only would he be fired, but Kaku and Kalifa might also be expelled as collateral damage.
Having been around Iceburg for over a year, he knew this man was absolutely capable of such ruthlessness.
"Hey, kid, Lucci is a foreman at Galley-La Company!"
Lucci had been a foreman at Galley-La Company for more than half a year. His skills and strength had earned the trust of the shipwrights.
Seeing Lucci being threatened, some shipwrights didn't bother thinking too deeply and stepped forward, glaring angrily at Reddy.
Reddy smiled without responding.
He had no qualms about killing the shipwrights who tried to help Lucci. Being deceived by Lucci was their problem, not his.
Shipwrights were rough, hot-tempered men.
Seeing the clear mockery in Reddy's smile, most of them were immediately provoked.
"Wait, this guy looks familiar!"
A more experienced shipwright hurriedly calmed the others and carefully examined Reddy. Soon, his eyes widened in shock as he stammered, "He... he's the infamous scientist Dr. Reddy, with a 3 billion berry bounty!"
"What!"
The shipwrights' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and their anger instantly vanished.
Many pirates came to Water 7 to repair or even build ships, including those with bounties over 100 million berries. They weren't unfamiliar with such figures.
But a 3 billion bounty was seriously over the top.
Lucci knew he couldn't let these shipwrights stay any longer and immediately urged them, "He's not an opponent you can handle. I'll lure him outside the city. You all, get out of here!"
"Afraid your identity will be exposed?"
Reddy shook his head with a faint smile and turned to walk toward the city outskirts. "I don't want to destroy Water 7 either. I'll wait for you outside the city."
Lucci stared at Reddy's back, tempted several times to launch a sneak attack, but ultimately held back and silently followed him out of the city.
The shipwrights exchanged glances.
What should they do?
Soon, someone shouted, "Quick, go find Iceburg! Lucci is definitely no match for the infamous scientist!"
...
Reddy led Lucci to the beach.
By now, the nearby sea was devoid of ships. Whether pirate ships or merchant vessels, they had all fled the moment they heard about the chaos in Water 7.
These people were well-informed.
The last time chaos erupted in Water 7, it had drawn the Beast Pirates and the Marines.
"How did you know my identity?"
Lucci stopped and stared coldly at Reddy. "You've had no chance to meet anyone who knows me."
Reddy turned around, resting the long sword on his shoulder, and smiled mysteriously. "Kalifa, Kaku, Kumadori, Fukurou... oh, and Jabra, they're all your people, right?"
Lucci's face paled.
Every member of the team sent to Water 7 for the mission had been exposed!
"You know too much!"
Before the words even finished, Lucci instantly disappeared from his spot.
Clang!
Lucci's speed after using Soru was extremely fast, but Reddy possessed the innate abilities of the Lunarian race and had also absorbed Ryuma's shadow, making his reflexes even quicker.
"Is this all you've got?"
Reddy blocked Lucci's Shigan with the flat of his blade, feeling slightly disappointed.
Lucci was an excellent benchmark.
This was Reddy's first real battle with a strong opponent after his enhancements.
He wanted both to accumulate combat experience and improve his self-preservation skills, as well as to verify the accuracy of the system's ratings.
Unfortunately, the current Lucci was far from reaching his peak strength.
Though not weak, he didn't pose much pressure either.
Lucci said nothing, suddenly bursting into motion as his Shigan rained down on Reddy like a storm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Reddy thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of fighting a strong opponent. The long sword transformed from the maid precisely blocked every one of Lucci's strikes under his control.
After a while, Reddy suddenly retreated and shook his head. "If you're trying to compete with me in speed, you're probably going to die."
Ryuma's swordsmanship was exceptionally refined and concise, embodying the concept of simplicity as the ultimate sophistication.
Reddy couldn't perfectly replicate Ryuma's swordsmanship, but combined with the Lunarian race's innate abilities, he had mastered one move.
Speed!
Unparalleled drawing speed!
"You're strong."
Lucci's expression was grave. The brief exchange had made him realize that the World Government might have been deceived by Reddy.
This was no weak, defenseless genius scientist.
He was clearly a master swordsman with exquisite skills!
Coupled with the already exposed clones, Lucci's heart sank to the bottom.
For the first time, the thought of fleeing crossed his mind.
CP9 was an intelligence organization. Unlike other fighters who stubbornly stood their ground even when outmatched, retreating wasn't a psychological burden for him.
"Ittoryu Iaigiri..."
Reddy relaxed his body, striving to tap into the instincts imparted by Ryuma's shadow.
He took this battle seriously, setting aside his usual playful demeanor. He wanted to go all out to gauge the level of strength he could achieve after absorbing the shadow.
"Such overwhelming presence!"
Lucci was inwardly shaken, sensing that the man before him had suddenly transformed into an unsheathed supreme-grade sword, radiating an exceptionally sharp aura.
At this moment, he realized escape was likely impossible. The only option now was to fight with everything he had.
With this thought, Lucci tore off his shirt, revealing his muscular physique, and focused entirely on defending against the upcoming strike.
"Thunderclap Flash!"
As Reddy murmured softly, Lucci's pupils contracted sharply. In his vision, Reddy's figure instantly vanished.
"I can't block it!"
Lucci reacted swiftly, instinctively using Kami-e to sense the airflow.
The next second!
Lucci's heart pounded. It was too late!
Reddy's speed far surpassed the movement of air, reaching an utterly terrifying level.
"Tekkai!"
Lucci roared, activating the Rokushiki technique Tekkai with all his might.
Clang!
The elongated blade embedded itself into the beach.
Reddy was panting slightly.
Although he had fused with King's genes, it hadn't been long. His body still struggled to fully support the exertion of Ryuma's swordsmanship at full power.
Lucci maintained his Tekkai stance, but suddenly, blood sprayed from his chest. His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto his knees on the sand, his head hanging weakly.
Reddy walked up to him.
Lucci's eyes had rolled back, and he had lost consciousness.
Reddy examined the wound on his chest and smiled faintly.
That strike had indeed breached Tekkai's defense, but it had only barely penetrated, not seriously injuring Lucci.
Lucci had lost consciousness purely due to the immense impact force of the slash.
Speed equaled power!
Especially since Reddy also possessed King's strength.
Reddy was very satisfied with the gains from that strike, which had accelerated his transformation.
He was even more pleased to have captured Lucci, a gene donor with a Bloodline Factor rating of lv13.
Just as Reddy was about to call for someone to take away the unconscious Lucci, a laser suddenly shot down from the sky, striking the beach between them.