Plan 014 OK!

Chapter 14: Plan 014 OK!

"Heh-heh, if I tell you, will you spare my life?"

"What's this in my hand? A surgical knife. What's it for? Surgery. Keep talking nonsense, and believe it or not, I'll remove both your balls."

The man swallowed hard, his face twisted with extreme terror. This child was a devil.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! I'm the captain of the Profit Society Fifth Squad. We're from the Slave Hunting Company. My boss is Razor Hand Jacks of the Underworld. We serve Du Feld, the King of Loan Sharks, one of the rulers of the Underworld."

As he said this, the man glared fiercely at Mercer, as though he had suddenly found some courage. "Let me tell you, you'd better let me go, otherwise, we'll—AAAAAHHH!!!"

The surgical knife in Mercer's hand lightly sliced across the man's left eye. He could clearly feel the slight elasticity of the cut.

A little disgusting.

Then, the surgical knife stabbed into the philtrum beneath the man's nose. Agonizing pain shot straight through his brain, instantly sobering him up.

"Keep talking. Since you're part of a human trafficking gang, where do you sell your goods?"

Bloodshot filled the man's right eye from the pain. His body trembled as he stared at the surgical knife lodged in his philtrum, speaking in a quavering voice.

"The ship. Our slave ship is at the harbor. We just closed several big deals and thought we'd pick up a few more along the way before heading to the Sabaody Archipelago to deliver them to headquarters for auction."

"How many men? What weapons? What kind of ship? When do you leave?"

"Fifty men. The captain is Jacks. There are five squads, nine men each. I'm from the Fifth Squad. Apart from the captain, three cooks, and the navigator, that's everyone.

"Unless something unexpected happens, we'll set off at six tomorrow morning. We have knives, guns, and swords. The ship is a Large Three-Masted Sailing Ship, with a Black Flag with Bloody Razor on the mast.

"Oh, right. Our captain is a legendary Devil Fruit user. He's a Blade Man, very powerful."

Mercer silently watched him spill the information like beans, then slowly stood up and pulled out the surgical knife. Before the man could rejoice, Mercer kicked him in the neck, sending him crashing headfirst into the ground and knocking him unconscious.

Mercer still hadn't killed anyone in this fight.

Turning to look at the silent Bogard, Mercer said calmly, "Human traffickers. A fine big ship. And plenty of kidnapped people. Does this Marine Colonel who arrived late have any thoughts?"

Bogard's mouth twitched. Where had this child learned that infuriatingly sarcastic way of speaking? He was absolutely unbearable. It wasn't like Vice Admiral Garp had that talent.

"I'll go find Vice Admiral Garp right now."

Mercer nodded. "That's probably for the best. There's a Devil Fruit user, after all. A Blade Man, too. It's normal if Uncle Bogard can't beat him. Grandfather is a vice admiral, so he should be very strong, right?"

That was a lie.

Mercer naturally wouldn't act as though he knew everything.

Bogard's lips trembled with anger.

In this first half of Paradise, as long as he didn't run into any real monsters, there was no one he feared. Even if that dead fatso Du Feld were here, he wouldn't be the least bit intimidated.

He'd cut him down in one stroke.

And then—

"Grandfather's on vacation, so he'll definitely be too lazy to do anything. Uncle, do you want to make some extra money? The two of us can arrest them. There must be treasure on that slave ship. We could make a good sum, and then you'd have savings if you ever want to marry one of Vice Admiral Tsuru's female soldiers."

Bogard stared blankly at Mercer. Still, it really was an opportunity to earn some extra money, and he was somewhat tempted. Of course, rescuing the innocent came first. Now that he knew about this, he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen it.

Just as he was about to speak, Mercer continued.

"But can you really do it, Uncle? Can you beat that Devil Fruit user? It'd be pretty funny if the two of us went over there only to become another source of income for them. I'm still young. I don't want to become a slave."

Bogard laughed angrily and gritted his teeth at Mercer. "If he were as strong as your grandfather, I'd turn around and leave with you without a word. But do you think some underground bug, some loan shark's subordinate, could be stronger than your grandfather? Stronger than a Marine vice admiral?"

Mercer smiled as well.

"Then it's a deal. We split it fifty-fifty—no, forty-thirty-thirty. You get forty, Grandfather and I get thirty each. What do you think?"

Bogard said, "Your reasoning."

"I lured these people out. I dealt with them. I got the information through interrogation. Later, I'll also be joining the battle and doing my best to protect the victims. It isn't unreasonable for me to take thirty percent, is it?"

Bogard nodded, signaling Mercer to continue.

"You'll be the main attacker. The Devil Fruit user and the strong members of the slave hunting gang will all be dealt with by you. You'll do the most dangerous work, so you get forty percent. The remaining thirty goes to Vice Admiral Garp, as insurance for the two of us. If that King of Loan Sharks ever comes looking for trouble later, we'll let Grandfather deal with him."

"How about it?"

Bogard gave Mercer a complicated look. Seeing that he had thought everything through, he said, "You may be young, but you think like an adult. Fine."

Mercer beamed with delight and immediately separated a small portion of the Beli he had just looted, handing it to Bogard.

"This is your forty percent. Since you've joined us, this preliminary fight counts as part of your share."

Bogard stared at Mercer for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "You really are particular about these things, kid."

"Even brothers keep clear accounts. We agreed on the shares, so we follow what we agreed on."

Bogard accepted it.

Glancing at the traffickers still groaning on the ground, Bogard walked over and gave each of them another kick. Accompanied by the sound of bones cracking, they all fell into deep unconsciousness.

"Heh. I put in some effort too, so it doesn't count as taking it for nothing."

Mercer's eyes widened slightly, his face saying that he had learned something.

Bogard's old face reddened slightly at the sight.

The two immediately left the alley and headed straight for the harbor.

Harbor.

Even though the sky had darkened, it was still bustling with people coming and going.

Both possessed Observation Haki, giving them a wide range of perception. The harbor itself was not particularly large, and within a few breaths, it had been completely encompassed by their senses.

A human trafficker's ship would definitely contain many living Auras. Following that logic, the two quietly began searching.

They specifically targeted ships with many Auras.

Although the harbor was not vast, it was a tourist destination, and the ships were densely packed, making the search difficult for the time being.

While walking, Mercer asked, "By the way, I heard that some Observation Haki users can sense the emotions of living beings, like fear. Can you do that, Uncle?"

Bogard froze for a moment, then understood. His face darkened. "That's an extremely rare trait. Very few people can awaken it, so no, I can't."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bogard said blandly, as if in retaliation, "What about you? Can you sense emotions?"

Mercer was speechless.

He rolled his eyes at Bogard as though looking at an idiot.

"If I could sense them, why would I be asking you? We'd already be heading straight for the Slave Ship."

They searched ship after ship.

Since they knew what the vessel looked like, more than ten minutes later, they found it in a secluded corner: a Three-Masted Sailing Ship, flying the Black Flag with Bloody Razor, with a jumble of Auras aboard.

At that moment, they knew they had found their target.

Bogard grabbed Mercer's hand, and the two walked past the Slave Ship, casually glancing at several sailors on the opposite deck who were eating meat, chatting, and shouting noisily.

A few minutes later, they reached a corner.

Mercer raised his head to look at Bogard. "What? Why don't you pull out that big sword of yours, charge in, and slash them all down in a few swings?"

Bogard sighed. "We still don't know the condition of the victims inside. If I rush in recklessly and they use hostages to threaten me, what then?"

"You just charge in, cut down two of them, then shout, 'I'm a pirate! Hand over your treasure and I'll spare your lives!' Who would use hostages to threaten a pirate?"

Bogard sighed. "Better safe than sorry. I'm a Marine—I can't just stand by and watch people die. If that happens, I'm confident I can handle it, but no one can guarantee there won't be an accident."

"Then what do you want to do?" Mercer was utterly exasperated. "How about I go up there and walk into their trap, let them throw me into the cell where they keep the slaves, then use Observation Haki to send you a signal? I can even protect the hostages, so you'll have absolutely no worries."

Bogard's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked Mercer up and down. Fair-skinned, clean, adorable—and most importantly, small, only around a meter tall. No one would be on guard against a little kid like him.

Mercer shuddered under Bogard's gaze and said helplessly, "Uh... you wouldn't."

With a slap, Bogard forcefully planted both hands on Mercer's shoulders, making Mercer grimace in pain. Bogard said excitedly, "Mercer, you really are a genius. Uncle was right about you—this plan is perfect."

"I have every reason to believe you're using this to settle a personal grudge. There's a Devil Fruit user on that ship. I sympathize with the victims too, but I don't want to risk my life to save strangers."

Bogard sighed. "I know this puts you at considerable risk, but I promise you: the moment you're in danger, I'll rescue you immediately. Your safety is my top priority. Trust me."

Mercer looked into Bogard's determined eyes and sighed. "Fine. You win. I'll do it."

He shook his shoulders, knocking Bogard's hands away, then vigorously rubbed his face. Mercer took a deep breath and relaxed his entire body.

He took off his shoulder bag and handed it to Bogard, then skipped away, looking exactly like an ordinary boy his age.

Bogard stared blankly, the corner of his mouth twitching. After several seconds, he managed to squeeze out, "This kid's got some skills."

He had learned something.

Looking at the sailors laughing, cursing, and fooling around aboard the ship, Mercer cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey!!! Uncles, is this a passenger ship?"

Hearing the shout, one of the men warily walked to the railing and looked down. When he spotted Mercer below, he narrowed his eyes. "Kid, where are your parents?"

Mercer's eyes filled with tears. "Waaah, my uncle was killed by pirates. I barely managed to escape. I just want to go back to Water Seven now. I have money—can you take me there?"

As he spoke, he took out a stack of Beli from his pocket—the money they had seized earlier—and said pitifully, "This is all I have. Is it enough? If it's not, when I get home, I'll have my grandfather make up the rest."

As if afraid they would not believe him, Mercer hurriedly added, "My grandfather is really amazing. He's some kind of high-ranking official. Please, I'm begging you."

The people aboard exchanged glances. But they would never let a fat sheep that had come to their door slip away, especially when this place was secluded and there was no one nearby.

One of them immediately smiled. "What a poor little fellow. Fine, Uncle agrees."

They lowered a rope ladder. The man climbed down, rubbed Mercer's head, tucked him against his waist, and climbed back onto the deck in just a few moves.

The moment he reached the deck, Mercer noticed that these people had begun secretly looking around. More than ten seconds later, the man carrying Mercer smiled. "It's so late. Little Fellow must be tired, right? Uncle will take you somewhere to rest. We'll reach Water Seven by noon tomorrow."

As he spoke, he casually slipped the Beli from Mercer's hand, flicked through it, and said with a smile, "Little Fellow, this isn't enough for the fare. Remember to have your grandfather make up the ship fee when the time comes."

"Okay!"

Greedy bastard.

Amid the envy of the others, the man stuffed Beli into his pocket and dragged Mercer into the cabin.

Just a child—no one would come to inspect him.

As he was dragged along, Mercer curiously examined the ship's layout. It was utterly ordinary. Walking down the corridor, he asked, "Mister, when are we leaving?"

"Mister?"

The man ignored Mercer and simply kept walking. At the end of the corridor, near the stern, a staircase leading to a lower deck came into view.

"Mister?" Mercer called again.

At the staircase, the man frowned and lowered his gaze to Mercer, snapping, "Shut up. Keep yapping and I'll kill you."

Mercer pretended to be terrified. "Y-you're a bad guy."

The man's gaze immediately turned even fiercer. Mercer quickly shut his mouth, tears welling at the corners of his eyes as his body trembled slightly.

The man curled his lips into a smile, picked Mercer up, and headed downstairs. More than ten seconds later, he pushed open an iron door, revealing a spacious prison hold.

A passage ran through the middle, with square cages on either side. The iron bars were exceptionally sturdy.

Each cage held varying amounts of "cargo," mostly children and women, along with some strange-looking races.

There were three guards in the prison hold at the moment—one fat and two skinny. When the fat man saw the newcomer, a cruel smile spread across his face. "Sili, shouldn't your second team be out scouting for prey today?"

Sili pulled a strange smile. "A silly roe deer. A big fat sheep that walked right into our trap."

The fat man licked his lips and gave Mercer's fair, clean appearance a creepy chuckle.

Sili frowned. Glancing at the trembling Mercer, he coldly said to the fat man:

"This is premium cargo, Zhu Jie. Don't be an idiot. If you damage him and the boss finds out, watch out—he'll skin you alive."

As though recalling something, Zhu Jie shuddered and gave an awkward smile. "I know, I know. Just looking, just looking."

Sili nodded, picked up a ring of keys from the table, and swept his gaze over the cells. A few seconds later, he dragged Mercer to a cage in the corner that held only three people.

Mercer looked at the three people inside. They were three girls, all dirty and bedraggled, with black, green, and orange hair. They all looked to be around ten years old.

When the black-haired girl inside saw Sili approach, she spread her arms and shielded the other two girls behind her, backing away like an agitated mother bird.

Opening the cell, Sili grabbed Mercer by the arm and threw him inside. "You'll sleep here tonight. In a couple of days, you can leave. Behave yourself."

Mercer was hurled heavily into the black-haired girl's arms, knocking all three girls to the ground.

Several cries of pain followed.

Sili sneered, locked the door, and tossed the keys down as he passed it. His footsteps clicked away as he left the prison hold.

Once Zhu Jie saw him walk far away, he viciously shut the door and spat. "What the hell is he acting so high and mighty for? A dog flaunting its master's power."

The other two skinny guards gave bitter smiles.

"His cousin is the boss, after all."

New author, new book! Please support with follow-up reading!

Please recommend, bookmark, and invest!