Everything's OK!

Everything's OK!

"Ow, that hurt."

Mercer climbed off the black-haired little girl and rubbed his nose. His eyes were genuinely close to tearing up now.

A sour sting welled up in his eyes.

Then a clear voice rang out. "Um, are you okay, little brother?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose to ease the discomfort, Mercer looked up and saw the black-haired girl.

Her face was covered in dust. Two locks of hair hung down at either side of her forehead, each tied at the end with a bronze clasp. She wore a beautiful outfit in an uncommon style.

"Mercer. My name is Mercer, not little brother." Mercer sniffed. "And thanks for earlier, for cushioning my fall. I'm fine."

"Oh, were you captured by them too?"

As she said this, the girl became furious. Her cheeks puffed up, and deep-blue eyes brimmed with anger.

"Yeah, I was captured." Mercer nodded. "What about you? How did you get here?"

At that, the girl looked even angrier, as if she had finally found an outlet to vent through.

"Those bastards actually used such a dirty trick as drugging us! If not for that, we never would have been caught by lowlifes like them.

"I'm a Kuja apprentice warrior. An outstanding crew member permitted to sail out with the ship."

"And then you got captured."

Mercer curled his lip. "No matter how I look at it, 'apprentice' and 'outstanding' don't really go together, do they?"

The girl's face instantly flushed red. She pointed her right index finger at Mercer's nose, tilted her head back with her nostrils pointed at him, and trembled with rage.

"Y-you-you're so rude! How could you say that about me?"

"What else was I supposed to say?" Mercer turned to the other two girls. "Are you two Kuja too?"

The green-haired girl nodded, but she also looked curiously at Mercer. "Then how were you captured?"

The orange-haired girl was equally curious, though a flicker of fear passed through her eyes. "You were captured when you were so little. That's so pitiful."

"Don't ignore me! I'm talking to you!" The black-haired girl slapped the floor in exasperation. "Sonia, Golde, you're not allowed to talk to this rude guy."

Hearing the black-haired girl, Sonia and Golde shrank back, turned their faces away, and softly answered, "Okay."

Watching this, Mercer twitched his mouth. He stared at the black-haired girl and said blandly, "You really are a little kid. You get angry when you can't win an argument. By the way, what's your name?"

"Hmph."

The black-haired girl turned away, her face full of displeasure. "Why would I tell an annoying little brat like you my name?"

Mercer simply ignored her and looked at the other two girls. "Aren't you worried?"

When they secretly turned to look at him, Mercer raised an eyebrow at the black-haired girl before continuing.

"This bunch are slave traders. In a few days, they'll transport everyone in this cell to the Sabaody Archipelago and sell us as slaves. You all seem pretty optimistic. Do you have some way of escaping?"

Confusion appeared in the two girls' eyes. Slaves? They did not really understand the weight of that word. But the black-haired girl seemed to understand.

"No, we'll definitely be rescued. The Kuja must be trying their best to find us. We'll definitely be rescued. You two, don't be afraid. Big sister will protect you."

As she spoke, the black-haired girl glared at Mercer, clearly unhappy with what he had said.

"I heard this ship is the Slave Ship of one of the kings of the Underworld. Its captain is also a famous hunter in the Underworld, and a Devil Fruit user.

"Are you really sure you can be rescued?"

The truth was often the sharpest blade.

Mercer saw the confusion in the three girls' eyes. It was easy to imagine that the dark world was a complete blind spot in their knowledge.

The black-haired girl glanced at her sisters, took a deep breath, and glared with a bravado that belied her nerves.

"Who cares what king he is? Our Kuja Pirates aren't afraid of anyone! We'll definitely be rescued, so stop talking."

Mercer touched his nose and smiled awkwardly. "All right. Then let's change the subject. Have you thought about saving yourselves?"

"I have, but we can't open the iron cage. And the food here makes our bodies weak, but we can't go without eating either. We've already been captured for nearly seven days. Oh, right. My name is Hancock. Boa Hancock. I'll be the strongest warrior of the Kuja in the future."

"Oh~. My name is Hancock. I've been captured by slave traders, my body is weak, and I'm waiting for a chance to escape—or for people from home to come save me? I'm so pitiful."

Mercer muttered under his breath, "Like that?"

Hancock froze for a moment, then her face turned crimson. Her body trembled. "I-I-I'm going to kill you! You hateful little brat!"

With a shriek, Hancock pounced at him with her claws bared. Mercer leaned back against the iron bars, covered his head with both arms, and curled up in the corner.

At once, Hancock's delicate hands seized Mercer's arms and began tugging at them, while she let out incoherent shrieks.

Through the gap between his arms, Mercer looked toward the trio at the door. As expected, the commotion in the cell had drawn their attention.

"What are you doing?!!!" A furious roar rang out as a figure hurried over. Zhu Jie approached and saw Hancock pinning Mercer beneath her and bullying him.

"You little bitch, stop it! That brat's worth more than you."

Clang!

A foot kicked the cage hard. Fierce eyes glared fixedly at Hancock, while Hancock stubbornly glared right back.

Zhu Jie's mouth twitched violently. He felt insulted, but when he remembered how ferocious this little girl had been that day, like a female leopard, he could not help feeling a little guilty.

But then he remembered that she had already been drugged, and there was not much strength left in her now.

With a sinister smile, Zhu Jie gave Mercer another heated look before turning to Hancock. "You little brat, I'll teach you a lesson today. You actually dared to hit someone."

He quickly turned back to fetch the key, then hurried over again. The two skinny men following behind knew Zhu Jie would show some restraint, so they watched with amused expressions.

Click, click, click.

The lock opened, and the iron-barred door was pulled aside. Zhu Jie looked at Hancock, who had already risen to her feet, her fists clenched as she guarded herself warily.

The next second, Zhu Jie stepped forward and reached out with his right hand to grab Hancock by the hair. Hancock leaned her upper body back to evade his claw, then spun and kicked at Zhu Jie's waist.

With a crisp smack, the kick landed on his side. Pain shot through his entire body, and Zhu Jie bared his teeth as he cursed angrily, "You little brat, you're courting death."

"Come on, Zhu Jie! You can't even subdue a little girl who hasn't even grown all her hair yet? Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Hehahaha, how pathetic."

The two men's mockery and spectator-like amusement made Zhu Jie's eyes redden with blood. With an angry roar, he threw himself at Hancock with his limbs spread wide.

Seeing this, Hancock had been about to dodge, but she realized her two younger sisters were behind her. Left with no choice, she gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and swung them forward.

Mercer had already gotten up. Seeing this, he grinned. Using Observation Haki to predict Zhu Jie's movements, he rushed forward and kicked hard at the man's left leg just as it left the ground.

Splat!

The considerable force made him lose his balance at once. He slid past Hancock with his limbs spread wide and crashed face-first onto the ground. The next second, Mercer stepped closer and stomped on the back of his neck.

Crack! His neck bone broke.

Immediately afterward, Observation Haki spread out as Mercer sensed the movements of the other two men. Holding the Surgical Knife he had just pulled from his boot in his right hand, he flicked his wrist and hurled it with force.

Whoosh! Squelch!

A spray of blood burst from one skinny man's left eye, and the considerable momentum sent him tumbling backward.

At such close range, with the bodily control brought by his breathing and the assistance of Observation Haki, there was no chance of missing.

Mercer did not stop. He charged at the last skinny man. The distance of less than five meters vanished in an instant, and the skinny man finally realized something was wrong. Just as he was about to shout, Mercer's right leg tore through the air and slammed viciously into his crotch.

With a crisp crack, Mercer's merciless kick sent him straight into the air.

Mercer pushed off with his left foot and leaped up as well, gripping the man's jaw with both hands before driving him forcefully downward.

A dull bang rang out. Blood flowed from the last skinny man's mouth, and his eyes rolled white as he lost consciousness.

Suddenly, a notification appeared in Mercer's mind. The next moment, three rice-grain-sized irregular crystals suffused with a mysterious gleam appeared.

[Obtained F+-rank Soul Crystal ×3]

Mercer stored the Soul Crystals in the panel. Ignoring everyone else, he immediately spread out his Observation Haki and sensed Bogard not far away, sweeping over him with this perception that possessed "Internal Vision."

Then, the sensed Aura moved. In the blink of an eye, it appeared on the ship directly above them. Mercer sighed in relief. "Not bad this time. He wasn't late."

He went to the door and fastened it from the inside with the chain on it. "Whew, now I can finally relax."

Mercer dropped onto the stool by the door and rubbed his brow. For the sake of safety, he had not held back at all this time, taking three lives in one go.

Mercer's eyes half-closed as all sorts of thoughts surged through his mind. Am I nervous? Not at all. There wasn't even the slightest ripple. It was just like killing a reindeer.

Mercer knew this was thanks to the animals in this world being overly intelligent and spiritual. During all this time, frequent hunting had thoroughly trained him, and he no longer cared much about such things.

And besides, these people deserved to die. Those who don't treat others as people don't deserve to be treated as people themselves.

Those who kill will eventually be killed. I'm no exception. I have that resolve.

"Are you okay?"

At that moment, a surprised voice sounded. Mercer knew who it was without looking. The next second, the handle of a Surgical Knife was offered to him, the bloodstains on its blade already wiped clean.

Mercer took a deep breath, his gaze calming again. He reached out and accepted the Surgical Knife, looking into her eyes. "What is it? Do you need something?"

Hancock lowered her head and bit her lip, then suddenly raised it again, her eyes blazing. "You provoked me on purpose just now, didn't you? You deliberately angered me to draw their attention? Right?"

Mercer looked at Hancock, who had thrust her face close to his, and tugged at the corner of his mouth. "What are you thinking? Have you read too many storybooks? I didn't expect you to get that worked up either. Are you an idiot?

"When your life and death aren't in your own hands, you still act so thoughtlessly. Looks like it wasn't anyone else's fault that slave traders managed to catch you.

"But I'll give you credit for what happened just now. You did play a part, at least. That deserves encouragement."

Mercer patted Hancock on the shoulder. Seeing her irritated expression and twitching mouth, he smiled and shoved her head away.

Staggering back two steps from the push, Hancock flew into a rage.

"I'm an idiot? Then what about you? You only killed a few small fry. There are stronger ones above us. Can you beat them?"

"Probably not."

"Heh, I thought you were so amazing. Turns out you can't beat them either."

Hancock looked smug, as though she had won a round. Mercer gave her a strange look. "Whose side are you on?"

Hancock's expression froze. Just as she was about to speak, Mercer raised his left index finger to his lips. "Shh. Listen."

Hancock was somewhat suspicious and did not understand what Mercer meant. But within those few seconds, furious roars and screams seemed to erupt from above, one after another.

Hancock's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked at Mercer expectantly. "Do you know what's happening?"

Mercer gave her an approving look. "You're not completely stupid. You've got some brains. How could someone as smart as me get caught by a few petty thieves? I'm not an idiot like you."

Hancock fell silent.

She suddenly squatted down, biting her lip without saying a word.

Mercer had no intention of going upstairs. His mission was to guard the hostages here; Bogard could handle things above.

He swept his gaze over the cages and the group of "unlucky fellows" inside. Then he got up and headed toward Zhu Jie, saying to Hancock's two sisters as they approached, "Go check on your sister. Looks like she's having a mental breakdown."

The two girls looked at Mercer strangely. Their sister was having a mental breakdown—whose fault was that, exactly?

Still, they said nothing and simply nodded obediently.

Mercer took the key ring from the iron-barred door. The keys jingled as he spun them around his hand, looking at everyone in the dungeon. "Don't worry. This ship has already been taken over by the Marines."

"For now, just stay quietly here. The Marines will come handle your situation later. All you need to do is stay put."

After saying that, Mercer ignored them. He had no intention of opening the cages and letting them out. After all, none of them knew each other, and Mercer had no idea who they really were.

There might even be pirates among them.

Huh?

There really were.

Without drawing attention to it, he glanced at the Hancock sisters, who were inexplicably radiating nervousness.

Their tension was plain to see.

About three minutes later.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The iron door was knocked on, followed by Bogard's voice.

"Mercer, are you in there? How is it? Is everyone okay?"

Mercer replied blandly, "Too slow. I'd already finished everything here. I've been waiting for you forever."

He walked to the door, removed the chain, and opened it. Bogard stood before him, his clothes spotless, looking nothing like someone who had just been in a fight.

Mercer asked curiously, "Didn't you run into that ability user?"

"I did. Cut him down in one slash."

Bogard said coolly, "His ability was decent, but his strength was nothing special. About the level of a fifty-million bounty. One slash was all it took."

"Then why did you take so long?" Mercer said irritably. "You had me worried for nothing."

Bogard opened his mouth slightly, wanting to curse but unable to get it out. In the end, he only said, "Were you worried about me?"

"Yeah. I was afraid that if you couldn't beat him, I wouldn't know how to save myself."

Bogard covered his face with one hand and sighed. "You really aren't cute at all."

"None of your business." Mercer smiled. "Since you've taken care of things upstairs, let's go look for treasure. We'll leave this place as it is for now and let Grandpa deal with it tomorrow."

"Fine."

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