Saving People

At the same time, the eight bound women were drawn by that stern shout and all turned to look at Lu Ge. One of them lit up with joy when she saw him. "Ah! It's Lu Ge! Did you come to save us? That's wonderful! The men here are all so scary!"

Hearing that, Lu Ge looked over at the eight beauties and was briefly stunned. The artistry of those bindings was rather advanced. He recognized the older sister who had spoken; he had seen her in the bathhouse yesterday. Her looks and figure were truly beyond reproach. No wonder she had been targeted for kidnapping.

He had not expected the "door" to lead to this merchant ship. Could it be because he had been thinking about them, and subconsciously caused the door to connect here?

Lu Ge said, "Since I'm already here, I might as well save them."

"Huh? An enemy!!"

After hearing the beautiful woman's words, the four burly men were greatly alarmed and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Brothers! We're under attack! Grab your weapons!!!"

His shout immediately caught the attention of everyone outside the cabin. In an instant, they sprang into action and surrounded the area. "Well, well! You actually dared to come alone to save people. You've got some nerve!"

"That's not right! How did this guy get into the cabin without being noticed until now?"

When one of them saw Lu Ge, he even gave him a lecherous whistle. "Yo~ I've got to say, this little lady is really something. Just my type."

Lu Ge's brow twitched furiously. He immediately slashed out with his blade. Blood sprayed in the wake of the sword light, and the lecherous man's head rolled to the ground.

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone flew into a rage. "Bastard! You killed our brother! Brothers, grab your weapons and get him!"

Bang bang bang bang~~~!!!!

Gunshots rang out without end. With his Observation Haki activated, Lu Ge wielded his katana and deflected every incoming bullet amid a barrage of clangs. Then, moving as his will commanded, each flash of his blade claimed several lives. The lackeys were left dumbfounded. "Oh my god! Guns don't work on him? Is he even human? Run!"

"Run my ass! We're surrounded by the Calm Belt! Where can we run?"

"Then we can only fight!"

"Fight my ass! Can you beat him?"

With a thud, someone dropped to his knees.

"Big brother! Please don't kill me! Spare me! I'm willing to become your sworn son—no, no, I mean your underling!"

Once one person knelt and surrendered, the rest seemed to wake from a dream. They all threw down their weapons and fell to their knees in surrender.

However, Lu Ge paid no attention to their pleas. They were human traffickers; they deserved death and were unworthy of forgiveness. He showed no mercy as he swung his butcher's blade. Within a few breaths, he had slaughtered all forty-odd people aboard the ship.

Such a bloody massacre did not frighten the eight beauties from Amazon Lily. Instead, they all looked at him with faces full of admiration.

Sure enough, the people of this world had far greater mental fortitude than those from peaceful times. Even those living in the relatively peaceful Amazon Lily had long grown accustomed to life and death.

Yet as Lu Ge looked at the corpses covering the ground, his feelings were somewhat complicated. "Was this... really done by me?"

Before transmigrating, he had been afraid even of seeing a dead body. Yet now, after killing so many people, his heart remained utterly calm. It had been the same when he killed Ark, and it was the same now. "Th-this-this... is something wrong with my mind?"

He did not know why his temperament had suddenly become so bold and steadfast. "Could it be because I was influenced by the mentality of the 'me from a year later'?"

Just then, however, the beauty beside him interrupted his self-reflection. "Lu Ge! Can you untie us? My hands and feet are all numb."

Only then did Lu Ge come back to his senses. He cast aside his stray thoughts and stopped dwelling on it. Perhaps this was better. After all, this was a pirate world where people killed without batting an eye. If he could not adapt to it, how could he survive?

He stepped forward and untied them. The eight women immediately surrounded him, as if only that could give them a sense of security. Lu Ge got to enjoy slime attacks from all directions, and the feeling was... quite nice.

After leaving the cabin and reaching the deck, they happened to see Mana leading others as they sailed over.

Seeing that Lu Ge had successfully rescued them, Mana breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she was curious about how he had appeared here ahead of them. His ability to suddenly disappear and reappear was truly amazing. That Devil Fruit ability was really incredible!

When the eight women saw Mana and the others, they also rushed toward them, tearfully recounting their harrowing experience.

It turned out that while they were sound asleep, Lago had used the Door-Door Fruit's ability to quietly appear in their rooms and abduct them.

Fortunately, it had all ended without danger, and they had not suffered any inhuman treatment.

After comforting the eight women, Mana led her people in emptying the merchant ship of its wealth. Watching chest after chest of jewelry being carried aboard their ship, Lu Ge was dumbstruck. Damn it, these human traffickers were seriously fucking rich!

Not only had they rescued everyone safely, they had even returned with a full haul. This time, they had truly struck it rich.

Lu Ge rubbed his hands together and walked over to Mana. "Mana, I should get a share of this money too, right?"

Mana replied with a smile, "Of course. If you need it, you can have all of it."

"..." Lu Ge immediately fell silent. He suddenly realized that the women of Amazon Lily were truly fucking adorable! They were neither greedy nor scheming. They were completely unmoved by such wealth. Sure enough, women like this existed only in the world of anime!

"I have no use for that much. As long as I have enough, it's fine. Keep my share for me for now. I don't have anywhere to put it anyway. I'll ask you for it when I need it."

"Alright. You can come to me anytime you need it." Mana smiled and nodded. They did not care much about money. After all, life on Amazon Lily was self-sufficient. They never lacked food or clothing and had no need to worry about making a living. Money was useless to them, aside from when the Kuja Pirates went to other islands to purchase supplies.

From then on, Lu Ge became a publicly recognized great hero of Amazon Lily. Once word of his deeds spread, he gained the approval of the entire populace and could freely enter the villages and Kuja City.

However, he could still only live outside the villages. After all, Amazon Lily had its own rules, and even the Empress could not violate them.

But that was no longer what Lu Ge cared about. Right now, he was desperately eager to see the world beyond. Only that vast world outside would be the stage for his future.