No. 16's Lawless Zone

Seeing Senga's actions, Stussy couldn't help but nod in satisfaction, thinking that this Senga was quite sensible, and her evaluation of him improved unconsciously.

With the main mission complete, Stussy prepared to leave. Before departing, she handed Senga a card, winked at him, and told him to find her when he wanted to relax in the pleasure district, then left.

After Stussy left, only Senga and Kalifa remained in the office. Kalifa, as an intelligence agent trained since childhood, quickly entered her secretary mode. She brought Senga a cup of hot tea and stood respectfully by his side, asking for his instructions.

This was Senga's first time experiencing a secretary's service, and he found it somewhat novel. Although this secretary was actually a spy, she provided all the expected services.

After some thought, Senga asked Kalifa to compile a summary of all major and minor events currently happening in the Sabaody Archipelago. He wanted to get a general understanding of the situation; he couldn't just stay here and waste a year, could he?

Upon receiving the task, Kalifa quietly went to organize the information. Soon, she brought in a stack of documents half her height and placed them on Senga's desk.

Senga thought that her efficiency was truly remarkable. If she weren't part of the World Government, he would definitely have made her his real secretary.

Shaking off his scattered thoughts, Senga lowered his head to examine the documents Kalifa had compiled. Through them, he obtained a lot of useful information.

For example, areas 1-29 of the Sabaody Archipelago were primarily where gray market transactions occurred, such as human trafficking and illegal activities. The Celestial Dragons also frequented these areas to purchase slaves.

After reading for a while, Senga closed the documents in his hand, stood up, and said to Kalifa, "Prepare yourself, and come with me to Area 16."

Kalifa immediately notified a squad of Marines to stand by, then retrieved a white suit for Senga to wear. She followed closely behind Senga as they headed towards Area 16.

As soon as they entered Area 16, Senga keenly sensed malicious gazes fixed upon them. It seemed this place was called a lawless zone for a reason; their Marine identities offered limited deterrence here.

Senga walked down the street as if on a stroll, faintly hearing cries and screams, likely from trafficked slaves or pirates engaging in infighting.

Senga wouldn't interfere with the slave trade. Since this practice had persisted for so long under the watchful eyes of the World Government and Marines, it was undoubtedly supported by someone. Whether it was Celestial Dragons or other World Government officials, they wouldn't allow anyone to disrupt such a trade.

All Senga could do now was to first be a good Marine. He would deal with these other matters once he possessed greater strength and a higher position in the future.

At this moment, inside a house by the roadside, a group of pirates had been watching Senga and his entourage for a long time.

In the center of the room sat a thin, short man, guzzling a barrel of beer almost as large as himself. A subordinate retreated from the window and respectfully said to the short man, "Captain Jerry, those Marines aren't making any moves. They're just walking around like they're sightseeing."

The short man, Captain Jerry as he was called, captain of the Blood Rat Pirates with a bounty of 120 million Beli, heard his subordinate's report. He put down his beer, wiped his mouth, and said in an extremely high-pitched voice, "Who's leading them? Ambuster?"

"Don't know, seems like a new face. There's a woman following him, quite pretty!"

A pretty woman? Hearing this, Jerry's alcohol-fogged brain immediately cleared.

What did a pretty woman mean here? She meant walking Beli! The supply had been dwindling in recent years, and the quality was poor. Hearing about a beautiful woman, he immediately scrambled to the window, pushed the subordinate aside, and peered out.

Through the window, he saw Kalifa behind Senga at a glance. Kalifa's shapely figure and her cold, beautiful face were immediately labeled as top-tier by him. He then looked at Senga in front of Kalifa and sneered, "He's already a Captain at such a young age. Probably some rich kid here to gain experience. Too bad his luck is so bad, coming to a place like this. I'll be taking your weapons and the woman behind you. Watch out in your next life!"

After saying that, he called out to his subordinates and rushed out of the house, blocking Senga and his group. He arrogantly pointed at Senga and said, "Kid, this isn't a place for brats like you. Be sensible and hand over the woman and the weapons behind you, and I might let you live. Otherwise, don't blame Blood Rat Jerry for being impolite!"

"Blood Rat Jerry?"

Senga frowned. He hadn't expected to run into someone who would practically hand themselves over while on patrol. Kalifa pushed up her glasses and dutifully provided Senga with information about Jerry.

"Blood Rat Jerry, bounty 120 million. Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, the Rat-Rat Fruit, Giant-Toothed Rat Form. He enjoys robbery and tormenting women, and has been keen on human trafficking in recent years."

Senga listened with his arms crossed and thought that this Jerry was an absolute scumbag. In that case, he wouldn't give him a chance to enter the Deep Sea Prison.

With that thought, Senga lowered his arms, preparing to deal with this so-called "rat." Seeing Senga's movement, Kalifa's gaze narrowed.

Is he going to make a move? She was also focusing on observing Senga's abilities and strength, but the result was likely to disappoint her.

Senga was indeed preparing to make a move, but he was stopped by Metis on his shoulder. Metis meowed, "Master, leave this rat to me."

"Hmm? Are you confident? His bounty isn't exactly low."

"Don't worry, Master, it's all on me. Who told him he's a rat?"

Senga thought about it. Metis hadn't made a move since her birth, so this was a good opportunity to see her strength.

And so, Kalifa, who was watching with anticipation, didn't get to see Senga make a move. Instead, she saw the black cat on his shoulder leap out and land in front of Jerry and his pirates.

What is this? Not only Kalifa and the Marines, but even the pirates on the other side were bewildered. What did it mean to send out a pet in this situation?

Jerry, however, shivered. He didn't know why, but the moment he saw the black cat, all his hair stood on end, and he felt an instinctive fear from the bottom of his heart.

Shaking his head, he wondered what was happening to him. It was just a pet cat. Even if he was a Rat-Rat Fruit user, he shouldn't be this afraid of it.

Metis, with her four paws on the ground, let out a loud meow towards the sky, and a ball of black flame immediately enveloped her. The black flame surrounding Metis grew larger and larger, stopping after reaching the size of a small house.

As the black flame dissipated, everyone present had their pupils constrict. The original pet cat had vanished, replaced by a completely black demonic cat, with black flames occasionally flickering on its body.

Metis licked her lips, her large eyes fixed on Jerry. Senga heard her voice in his mind, "Master, I'm starting!"