The Received Mission

Caw, caw, caw... High above, the clear cries of seagulls echoed across the sky.

The cool sea breeze swept lightly over the massive warship... Reg leaned against the railing, quietly gazing out at the boundless ocean.

Although he still needed to stand on a stool to lean over the railing, Reg was in high spirits... Even if another shipwreck happened, he would not die so easily now.

The Marines patrolling and working nearby also kept their distance from him... No one mocked him for his age or looked down on him.

That was the order of the Marines... If he had boarded a pirate ship instead, the people around him would probably have been laughing their heads off: A kid whose hair had not even grown in yet dared to put to sea like everyone else.

Reg was perfectly happy being alone... Jabra, meanwhile, was snoring away in the cabin, letting his body recover from the long period of intense training on the island.

"Bubbles..."

Reg recalled the mission he had received a few days ago... Their next destination was the "Sabaody Archipelago," also known to the world as the "Bubble Islands."

This island, located on the Grand Line before the Red Line and near Marine Headquarters, was no stranger to Reg... whether from his memories or from what he had read in books.

The Sabaody Archipelago consisted of the world's largest mangrove, the Yarukiman Mangrove, along with other mangroves of the same kind. Since their roots remained exposed above the water, they formed an island chain.

The island's most notable feature was the special natural resin secreted by the mangrove roots through respiration. The resin expanded in the air to form bubbles, which then floated into the sky.

Since the bubbles could only exist within the mangroves' climate range, once they left the climate zone of the Sabaody Archipelago, the resin could no longer fully exert its properties and would burst.

Bubble cars, bubble wheels, houses built atop bubbles... This colorful, beautiful bubble culture permeated every corner of Sabaody, giving it its other name: the "Bubble Islands."

The entirety of Sabaody was divided into seventy-nine zones... Every enormous tree root held its own towns and facilities:

Zones 01–9: Mainly human trafficking shops, slave auctions, and lawless areas... Luffy had beaten the Celestial Dragons senseless at the largest auction house in Zone 1, drawing Marine Admiral Kizaru there.

Shakky, whom many people called "Auntie Shakky," ran a bar called Shakky's Rip-off Bar in Zone 1. She herself was an information broker.

Zones 0–9: Mainly bubble parks, amusement parks, and the like.

Zones 40–49: Mainly sightseeing areas, specialty shops, hospitals, and the like.

Zones 50–59: Mainly shipyards, coating craftsmen, and the like... Pirates coated their entire ships here with bubble membranes made from natural resin, allowing their ships to enter the water and travel to Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea, before entering the latter half of the Grand Line—the New World.

That was the first way to enter the New World. The second was to pass through the holy land of Mary Geoise, located not far from Sabaody and guarded by Marine Headquarters.

Mary Geoise was surrounded by Marine Headquarters and was also where the Celestial Dragons lived, so naturally it was not open to pirates... Therefore, pirates only had one option: the deep-sea Fish-Man Island. Even though the survival rate was only 0%, that still could not stop their yearning for the New World.

Zones 60–69: Mainly Marine garrisons and entrances to institutions under P Organization jurisdiction.

Zones 70–79: Mainly hotel streets, "adult" streets, and the like.

The slave trade was an ancient "tradition" of the Sabaody Archipelago... Here, the so-called world nobles—the Celestial Dragons—ruled.

Slaves of every race were sold here: fish-men, mermaids, longarms, giants, longlegs, and more... Even humans fell within the range of merchandise.

Though these human slaves were labeled as people from non-World Government member nations and pirates... there were also quite a few from member nations.

There were no written rules, yet it was tolerated... The island's residents and visitors all understood this.

In Reg's eyes, the island had already rotted away. Those floating bubbles represented the Celestial Dragons... Once they left the World Government's protection, only destruction awaited them.

In a daze, Reg seemed to see those helpless, despairing slaves with explosive collars and iron chains around their necks... They truly deserved sympathy, but he would not save them.

Acting out of sympathy would not change anything... Those slaves would still be captured again, perhaps even treated more harshly.

Unless he could save them and keep them safe afterward... but could he protect them for the rest of their lives?

Even if he could, under a system like this... when a second batch and then a third batch appeared, would he save them or not? There was simply no answer to that question.

Reg had thought of the slaves on the island because his assessment mission was related to them. Colin's guess had been right; the two of them had applied for the assessment together... and received an assassination assignment.

Mission target: the Paike Crew in Zone 16... Occupation: slave traders.

Like Sam, who had sold him to P Organization, Paike "cooperated" with the World Government.

But just over half a month ago, a power shift had taken place within the organization... The second-ranking officer, Marcus, had risen to power overnight.

Nine-year-old Marcus had both skill and strength, but he was far too greedy for money... On one hand, he used internal turmoil as an excuse to suspend the supply of children to P Organization members who accepted them. In secret, however, he supplied people to the agents of several kingdom nobles. Their offers were more than three times what P Organization paid.

Among them, those with decent looks... people like Reg could be sold for ten times the original price.

Naturally, Marcus did not dare betray the World Government's partnership... But he wanted to obtain a large amount of Beri in a short time, using it to recruit more underlings and expand his crew's territory.

To the World Government, this was betrayal... What they wanted was stability, discretion, and a fixed supply—not the biggest slave boss in the Sabaody Archipelago.

The Paike Crew had originally consisted of five people. After the power shift and the recruitment of new members, it had grown to forty-five, nearly twice its original size.

Marcus's greed and deception had caused the higher-ups to lose trust in him... Someone so ambitious was not suited to working with them.

Who knew whether, after his influence grew in the future, he might make other demands or turn around and threaten to expose their secrets... That was how the higher-ups saw it.

People in the slave trade were no fools... They understood the principle of a cunning rabbit having three burrows.

Thus, Reg, who was of suitable age and had awakened Observation Haki, and Jabra, who had eaten a Devil Fruit and possessed formidable combat power, were selected—to secretly eliminate all forty-five of them. Whether they were original members or newly recruited ones... every last one was to be killed!

And that was not all... The relatives and friends of Marcus's crew would also be monitored and investigated by P Organization. At the slightest irregularity, they would be eliminated as well.

It was just that the follow-up work would not require the two of them... They only needed to complete the mission assigned to them.

Reg's mission was to disguise himself as a slave and infiltrate their base, learn the situation inside, destroy the Paike Crew's secret escape routes, and finally join forces with Jabra to kill every member of the crew.

As for this mission, Reg could only think that a pillow had arrived just as he was getting sleepy.

Although this kind of passive infiltration and investigation was highly dangerous... one careless mistake could put his life in grave danger.

Reg would not run from this either... he was mentally prepared for it.

First came the infiltration... thanks to his long-term meditation, he had exceptional control over his body. His muscles would not bulge, so outwardly, he looked no different from a child his age.

As for how to play the part of a kidnapped child... any member of the Ninth Tower could handle that without issue.

As long as they could infiltrate successfully and map out the terrain and personnel distribution... Marcus and his gang were doomed to be wiped out.

For the time being, Reg had not mentioned his plan to fake his death to Jabra... he did not trust Tower Forest Island, nor did he trust the warship they were currently on.

Only after reaching the Sabaody Archipelago would Reg lay everything out for Jabra... he did not want all their efforts to fail when they were only one step away.

In Reg's plan... he would desperately complete the mission, then "die." Jabra would complete the mission, pass the assessment, and enter P9.

Then, on the return journey to Enies Lobby, they would pass through Water Seven, where Jabra would report Reg's faked death to his teacher, Colin.

Reg believed Colin would understand what he wanted. Enies Lobby's P9 could not cultivate a true powerhouse... the darkness here tested humanity far too harshly. He needed a broader world.