Dust filled the air.
Soon, a figure was sent flying out from the billowing smoke.
Reddy looked up at Borsalino in the sky, his eyes burning with intensity, and swung his sword with all his might, unleashing a slash.
"What a terrifying slash."
Borsalino easily dodged the incoming slash and looked down from above, crossing his arms before swinging them outward.
Countless points of light shot out like rain.
"Eight Foot Mirror Jade, huh..."
Reddy smiled, his blade moving so fast it left afterimages as he forcefully blocked every single point of light.
Seeing this, Borsalino shed his lazy demeanor and stared at Reddy with a grave expression.
Even he found it hard to believe that Reddy, who had once been weak, had now become a master swordsman in the blink of an eye.
"Did you modify yourself?"
As the head of the Science Division, Borsalino immediately thought of the artificial Devil Fruit serum Reddy had been developing and Vegapunk's Seraphim project.
"Guess?"
Reddy grew more aggressive in battle, not content with just blocking the Eight Foot Mirror Jade. Seizing an opportunity, he unleashed another slash.
The Eight Foot Mirror Jade was interrupted.
Borsalino transformed into light and reappeared on the beach.
"You're really cautious, aren't you?"
Reddy wasn't surprised. Among the Marines he had spent the most time with, Borsalino was the one least willing to take a slash head-on.
"You're a genius scientist, after all."
Borsalino showed no sign of embarrassment as he quickly assessed Reddy's current strength.
They had only exchanged a few moves, but Reddy had already given him a strong sense of pressure.
"Can you tell me how you acquired such masterful swordsmanship?"
Borsalino wasn't in a hurry to attack. Instead, he asked Reddy, as if they were old friends, how he had gained such skill.
Reddy shook his head with a smile. "That's my secret!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a fiery gleam flashed in Reddy's eyes, and he instantly disappeared from his spot.
"Really scary."
Borsalino looked down at his chest, which had been slashed through, then turned to face Reddy, who was standing not far behind him.
As he spoke, the wound had already vanished.
Reddy's speed was indeed incredible, but his own speed was even faster. His Logia intangibility effortlessly nullified the attack.
"Enough playing around."
Reddy tossed his sword into the air.
The sword flipped midair before the maid returned to her true form, landing to his right.
Haki and seastone were the natural weaknesses of Logia Devil Fruit users.
Reddy hadn't mastered Haki yet, and there were no seastone weapons in the Punk Hazard research facility.
Against Borsalino, Reddy couldn't fight him directly.
But he still had his clones.
A snap of his fingers!
Four more clones appeared in response, forming a protective circle around Reddy.
"Is that CP9's Blueno?"
Borsalino looked at the clone created from Blueno's genetic template with great interest.
In his opinion, the Door-Door Fruit ability was no less than giving Reddy a pair of wings, allowing him to soar freely.
By hiding inside a door, no one could find him.
The Door-Door Fruit ability had amplified Reddy's self-preservation capabilities to an incredible degree.
"You're sharp. His codename is Door."
If anything, the Door-Door Fruit ability was what Reddy valued most, even more than the Float-Float Fruit ability.
With this power, no one could capture him.
"You're my target for capture, you know."
Borsalino pressed his palms together, then pulled them apart, forming the Ama no Murakumo light sword before charging forward.
The maid's right arm transformed into a blade, instantly coated in Armament Haki, and she moved to block the Ama no Murakumo.
"Now your opponents are them."
Reddy shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped back, his eyes filled with excitement.
This was the first real test of the combat capabilities of his Level 13 clones.
The maid blocked the Ama no Murakumo.
Door flashed in from the side, his fist covered in Armament Haki, and threw a full-powered punch at Borsalino's waist.
"Really scary..."
Borsalino dissolved into light particles to evade, reforming in midair.
At that moment, a shadow descended from above, aiming a punch straight at his head.
Borsalino had no choice but to dissolve into light again to dodge.
"His codename is Float."
Reddy took great pleasure in introducing his main combat force to Borsalino.
Before he could finish speaking, the maid's right arm transformed into a gun barrel, firing a rapid volley at Borsalino.
Unwilling to take the hits head-on, Borsalino dodged again.
Two shadows instantly cut off his retreat, both delivering Haki-coated kicks aimed at his waist.
Borsalino dodged once more.
"I might be going a bit overboard."
Reddy watched as Borsalino was surrounded and overwhelmed by the five clones, then shrugged with a smile and turned toward the unconscious Lucci.
At that moment, a door suddenly opened in the air behind Lucci.
Blueno leaped out, reaching for the unconscious Lucci in an attempt to take him away.
"Took you long enough."
Reddy chuckled and instantly disappeared.
Just as Blueno's hand was about to touch Lucci, a foot slammed into his abdomen, sending him flying back through the door.
Before meeting Lucci, Reddy had already scouted the city briefly but failed to find Terry and Haya—or even Blueno.
So he decided to confront Lucci directly.
Reddy's plan was simple.
Either Lucci would cooperate and hand over the two children, or he would resist.
Reddy leaned toward the latter.
In that case, Blueno would inevitably come to assist.
Whether he captured Blueno or Lucci, he would have leverage to exchange for the two children.
"Wait!"
Blueno stumbled out of the door, gripping each child by the neck. "I'll return them to you. Let me take him away."
He didn't dare say anything more threatening.
Based on all the intelligence, Reddy had a volatile temper and might not agree to the trade.
Sweat beaded on Blueno's forehead as he stared nervously at Reddy.
Reddy didn't look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Terry and Haya.
Both children were unconscious, with no visible external injuries.
From his experience, Reddy deduced they must have undergone intense interrogation, leading to exhaustion-induced unconsciousness.
"You don't have the right to negotiate with me."
Reddy shifted his gaze to Blueno's face, his words causing the latter's expression to darken as he instinctively tightened his grip.
Terry, being physically stronger, groaned and woke from unconsciousness.
"Dr. Reddy, don't worry about us."
Having struggled to survive in Water 7 with the orphans, Terry knew better than to let Reddy be held hostage.
Though it was unfair to Haya, this was the only answer.
Blueno hastily interjected, "I'll keep my word. Just let me take him, and I'll release these two children."
"Red—"
Terry didn't believe him and tried to speak, but Blueno tightened his grip, cutting him off.
Blueno only wanted to save Lucci and couldn't risk letting Terry provoke Reddy into acting.
That single kick had made it clear that Reddy's strength far surpassed his own.
If they fought, Blueno would lose without a doubt.
"Kaku, Jabra, Kumadori... why haven't you arrived yet?"
Blueno grew increasingly anxious. If even one of them could distract Reddy for just a second, he would have a chance to reclaim Lucci.
Reddy suddenly smiled. "Are you waiting for Kaku and the others to help you distract me?"
Blueno's face paled as his thoughts were laid bare.
"What a coincidence. I'm waiting for someone too."
Reddy kept one hand in his pocket and snapped the fingers of the other.
"Horohorohorohoro..."
Hearing that distinctive laugh, Blueno's expression twisted in horror. Before he could react, three Negative Hollows shot up from the beach beneath him, passing through his body in succession.
"I'm just a worthless bug..."