Task

Under the blazing sun, Werther was practicing swordsmanship bare-chested on the back mountain. His two swords sliced through the air, making the hair on one's body stand on end.

At thirteen, Werther was nowhere near as tall as the famous figures of the pirate world. He was only around 1.4 meters tall, and he might never grow to two or three meters.

His bare upper body looked thin and frail, yet it was covered in smooth muscle lines. He did not look particularly muscular, but he gave off a sense of strength.

While Werther was practicing with great enthusiasm, he heard someone calling him from afar. Looking up, he saw Senior Brother Roy at the Sword Hall's back door. He sheathed his swords at his waist, picked up his clothes, and walked toward Roy.

Roy did not say much. He only told Werther that there was a mission and that they would discuss it in the Secret Room.

When they arrived at the Secret Room, their master and senior sister were already inside.

"The target this time is an East Blue merchant named Steve Louis. On the surface, he is a clothing merchant, but his real business is human trafficking. He is mainly responsible for capturing slaves in East Blue and eventually supplying them to JkeR's auctions in the Sabaody Archipelago. Due to certain business conflicts, the client hired us to kill Steve Louis and his entire family. The price is twenty million Beli." After Longliang finished speaking, he took a sip of tea and waited for questions.

"Master, if we kill someone belonging to JkeR, that mad dog will not come to East Blue looking for us, right? He holds the title of Shichibukai and can legally cross the Red Line above." Werther asked first. He had no desire to face Donquixote Doflamingo before he had grown strong enough. That would be suicide. He was not Luffy.

Hearing Werther's question, Longliang gave him a surprised look. This disciple seemed far from simple; his intelligence was remarkably detailed. Longliang did not ask how Werther knew so much. Even if Werther claimed his mother was an intelligence broker, Longliang would not believe it. Still, having someone so well-informed nearby was quite good, especially when that person was his disciple.

"We do not need to worry about JkeR. The client has already bribed JkeR. More specifically, JkeR has long been dissatisfied with Steve Louis's greed. Now that they have found a suitable replacement, there is even less reason for Steve Louis to remain alive. Killing his entire family is merely punishment for his greed over the years. Oh, and when the time comes, do not focus solely on killing. Look for anything valuable. If they refuse to talk, hand them over to your second senior sister. You leave tomorrow. The three of you will go together. This is Werther's first mission, so let him handle it. You two will observe. If anything unexpected happens, act immediately." With that, Longliang led the three of them out of the secret chamber.

Back in his room, Werther still felt somewhat excited. After all, he had been an ordinary person in his previous life. Not to mention becoming an assassin, he had never even seen one. Then he suddenly realized that he did not know how to infiltrate anywhere. What would he do when the time came? He got up and went to Roy's room to ask about the details.

Before long, Werther returned with a speechless expression. Roy had told him there was no need to infiltrate at all. When they killed people, they usually just charged straight in. If there were bodyguards, they killed the target if they could. If they could not, they killed the bodyguards first, then killed the target. Infiltration was entirely unnecessary. The stronger someone was, the sharper their five senses became, and with Devil Fruit users whose abilities were unknown, spending time practicing assassination was less reliable than improving one's strength.

After hearing his senior brother's words, Werther found them quite reasonable. He lay on his bed, studying the Thunder Core to pass the time as he waited to set sail for the island where the target was located tomorrow.

Three days later, at the docks of Mita Island in East Blue, Werther finally arrived at the target's island. He also realized how difficult it was to be an assassin in the pirate world. Just to kill someone, he had to spend three days on a ship. This was still considered close; running into targets that took more than ten days to reach in the future was entirely possible.

After going ashore, the three of them found an inn to stay in. They would first inspect the target's estate during the day, making it more convenient to act at night.

After obtaining the address, Werther walked alone through the streets and wandered around the bustling city. He casually stopped a passerby and asked what local foods were worth trying and where to find them.

The passerby he stopped was initially quite unhappy, but after Werther paid ten thousand Beli, he even received a map drawn on the spot by the passerby, with every district marked with notes about its best food.

Holding the map, Werther first went to a food street and sampled a bit of everything. Then he went to a famous local restaurant specializing in Sea Kings caught near the coast, where Werther ate his fill.

As Werther grew stronger, perhaps because of Lightning Thorn, his appetite had begun to increase as well. It was nothing much at first, but now he could eat a great deal. In one meal, he could finish food meant for ten ordinary people.

When he reached the local commercial district, he bought many varieties of local specialty tea as gifts for his master.

Carrying a large bag, he arrived at the target's home—or rather, it was an estate.

The estate was luxurious and guarded. Other than forcing his way in, there was no way Werther could enter. Seeing no opportunity, he turned to leave.

After only a few steps, he saw a beautiful girl of seventeen or eighteen approaching him. She had long pink hair and wore a luxurious white dress, giving her a delicate appearance. Several bodyguards followed beside her.

"Sir, have you come to my home to see my father? Or is there something else?" the beautiful girl asked.

Because the target's home was on the edge of the city, with no other buildings nearby, Werther's intentions were easy to see through.

"No, I am just a passerby who got lost and happened to walk here.

What, is this your home? You are really rich." Looking at the beautiful girl before him, Werther remembered the target's photograph. The man was not ugly, but his appearance was utterly ordinary, and he was somewhat overweight. Werther had not expected him to have such a beautiful daughter.

"Oh, so you are lost. Where are you going? I can have a bodyguard take you there. Getting lost in a big city can be quite troublesome." The girl seemed warmhearted and innocent.

"Thank you for your kindness, miss, but I will just keep looking around on my own. What a pity." Without waiting for her reply, Werther headed toward the inn.

"What a strange person. He is so young, yet he is wandering around the city by himself. Forget it, I should go home. I went out to buy Mother a gift this time. She will definitely like this necklace." With that, she walked toward the estate, humming one of her favorite songs like a carefree butterfly.

After circling the town several times and confirming that no one was following him, Werther returned to the inn.

"How was it, Junior Brother?" Roy asked as soon as Werther entered.

"Not bad. Quite good, in fact," Werther answered naturally.

Roy was completely confused, unable to understand what his junior brother meant. Had he encountered a strong opponent? Or would the mission go smoothly? So he asked what exactly was good.

"Of course, the food on this island. What did you think I meant? The women on the island? I did not expect you to be into that, Senior Brother. Does Senior Sister not mind?" Werther had known all along that Roy was asking about the estate, but with Senior Sister present, Roy, who was somewhat afraid of his wife, generally did not dare to joke around too much.

Roy looked as though he had eaten shit. Even Senior Sister, who was usually not very talkative, was left speechless.

"Hehehe, hehehe, I am just teasing you, Senior Brother. I went to take a look. The estate's security is very tight, and there was no way to get inside to check the situation. Behind the estate is the sea. I did not spot any large ships, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the target will risk putting out to sea if his life is threatened, so someone needs to guard the rear of the estate." Once Werther began discussing the mission, he stopped joking with Roy.

"Then we act tonight. The sooner we finish, the better, so nothing changes. An will guard the rear, while I will stay at the front gate and support Junior Brother if necessary." After saying that, Roy began wiping his blade as he waited for nightfall.

Werther glanced at Roy's blade. It was a good blade, but probably not a famous one. His senior sister's blade, however, might be a famous blade.

Senior Sister also saw what Werther was thinking.

"Ryo Wazamono, Blood Scorpion. I took it during a mission. A wound from this blade causes excruciating pain, as though one has been stung by a scorpion." After speaking, she tossed the blade to Werther.

Drawing Blood Scorpion, Werther found that it had the same standard dimensions as most Skillful Grade Blades. However, the blade itself was not smooth. Instead, raised vein-like patterns ran across it, making it appear uneven. Only the edge was smooth.

He returned the blade to An, then went back to his room to rest and wait for nightfall.