The Little Thief

In the blink of an eye, a few days had passed, and they were back in the town where it all began and ended.

"Aren't you going to report to your superior?"

"Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Mr. Cifer and Mr. Enel."

On the street, Tashigi bowed to the two men in front of her again.

Although she hadn't learned any methods to become stronger or received any guidance from Cifer's ship during this period, She had personally witnessed the world's strongest swordsman and the world's most renowned black blade.

She had witnessed the joy of the villagers after being saved, seen the filth beneath the cloaks of Justice, and also seen a beacon in the darkness.

All of this had given her far more than she had given in return.

"Stop being so lost."

"Okay!"

She turned and ran off. The atmosphere was no longer as heavy as when they first met. Cifer could tell that some sort of shackles on her seemed to have been broken.

"Let's go!"

Since he already knew the current direction of the plot, Cifer was naturally more relaxed about managing his time.

He called Enel, and they wandered around the streets of Loguetown. After all, it was the town where the Pirate King was executed, so it was still quite prosperous.

"Sorry!"

A boy, about 11 or 12 years old, accidentally bumped into Cifer and quickly apologized before running off without looking back.

"That kid's not exactly clean!"

To steal from his own Captain, what kind of shame was that for a God? Enel's gaze was cold as he watched the direction the boy was heading.

"Birds of a feather."

Cifer lightly tossed the bulging wallet in his hand.

Neither of them intended to rush forward and expose him. They leisurely followed behind the boy.

"Big harvest! Big harvest!"

The boy ran to a dilapidated street filled with all sorts of garbage, emitting a foul odor.

He cautiously looked around, confirmed no one was there, and eagerly opened Cifer's wallet to count the money.

"100,000 Belly!"

He was ecstatic. This amount was equivalent to his earnings for several days, bringing him one step closer to his dream.

"What's this?"

He discovered a folded piece of paper tucked into a hidden pocket of the wallet.

"Black Winged Great Demon Ulquiorra Cifer, Bounty... ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand..."

Counting the amount on the bounty poster, he unknowingly broke out in a cold sweat, and the poster even fell to the ground.

I just stole from a super bad guy?!

"It's okay, it's okay. He probably didn't notice. I was very careful..."

He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulled out a handkerchief, and nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead, constantly looking around.

"Wait?!"

As he wiped his forehead, he seemed to notice something. He fumbled around his body and found that his wallet was gone!

It was then!

That man was my first customer today. I only brushed past him, he must have taken it back then!

That wallet contained my card with hundreds of thousands of Belly saved up!

His heart bled. He wanted to go back and find that man, but recalling the bounty poster, he prayed that the other party wouldn't come looking for him.

"Little Jerry, looks like you're having good luck today, counting your money so quickly!" Jerry heard one of the voices he least wanted to hear at that moment.

Turning around, he saw a group of men in their early twenties, dressed casually with various hair colors, emerging from an alley.

They were thugs from Loguetown, who made a living by bullying children and civilians. The one who had just spoken was one of them.

But they weren't pirates, nor had they committed serious crimes like murder or arson. Even if the Marines caught them, they'd at most be locked up for a few days before returning to their old ways.

They weren't afraid of jail at all, even calling it a "hardship camp" and bragging to other thugs about their "further studies" after being released.

"Brothers, what do you need from this little guy?" Running was impossible, so he could only hope to minimize his losses.

"You little brat, if I hadn't seen you hiding here counting money yesterday, I wouldn't have known you could steal so much!"

The man who had spoken earlier gently patted Jerry's face, a smug look on his face.

"My buddies and I just got out of the hardship camp and have no money for food. Treat us to a meal with your earnings today!"

Without further ado, he grabbed Jerry's right hand behind his back and snatched the wallet.

"No! Give it back!"

Jerry struggled to get his wallet back, but was knocked to the ground by the man's companions with a few punches and kicks.

He had only one thought in his mind now: to get that wallet back!

His savings of many years were gone. If this wallet was stolen too, he didn't know what face he'd have to go home.

"Give it back!"

Like a rabid dog, he bit down hard on the calf of the man holding the wallet. The intense pain caused the man to repeatedly punch and kick his head.

With two teeth shattered, Jerry, covered in blood and gasping for breath, collapsed on the ground.

The man who was bitten wanted to deliver a few more kicks, but was held back by the others.

"You'll kill him if you keep hitting him! Have you forgotten who the Marine commander of this town is?!"

Thinking of the ferocious appearance of the White Hunter Smoker, he shivered all over and ultimately didn't kick again.

"Give it back!"

Just as they turned to leave, Jerry's hand once again grabbed his trouser leg, causing him annoyance. He stomped on Jerry's hand.

Jerry cried out in pain and had to let go. He could only watch helplessly as they took his stolen wallet, preparing to go enjoy themselves. He lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Just a minor setback...

After a moment, he stood up again, wiped away his tears, and limped home, his back resembling a lone wolf that had failed its hunt.

"Boss, is it really okay that we beat that kid so badly just now?"

One of the thugs was still scared. It wasn't the first time they had used heavy force on someone, but the other party was just a child. He didn't know if he could handle it.

"Don't worry, we just beat him up, we didn't kill anyone. Even if Smoker found out, at worst we'd just go back for a bit of 'advanced training' in the hard labor camp."

The man holding the wallet didn't take the incident to heart. He was thinking about what kind of big meal he should have later. After all, he had checked, and the wallet contained 100,000 Belly!

"Excuse me, young man, it looks like you're holding my wallet!" Before they could reach the main street, Cifer's tall figure blocked their path.

The real owner showed up?!

The group of thugs were initially a bit fearful, but then they thought, they had been operating in Loguetown for some time. This person in front of them looked tall, but he spoke so gently, he must be someone easy to bully.

The leader of the thugs couldn't help but think of getting some extra money.

"I was just about to say, it looks like you have my wallet on you!" The others understood immediately and moved to grab Cifer.

"Honestly..."

With a casual wave, streaks of crimson bloomed in the alley.