Zephyr didn't take anyone to stay at the Marine Base; instead, he found a hotel in the town. Their budget was quite sufficient, as the navy spared no effort in training elites, with instructors being former Admiral.
Everyone's accommodations were arranged, two people per room. Vic and Barnett shared a room, while Rebecca and Wendy shared a room. The hotel owner was all smiles; it was quite a rare treat to have so many guests at once.
" Vic, I want to go out for a walk, will you come with me?" Rebecca called out sweetly from outside Vic's room.
"Okay, I'll be right there." Vic was in the room talking to Barnett about the fruit's development.
Vic and Rebecca walked side by side on the street, just the two of them. Wendy didn't follow. It wasn't very late yet; it had just gotten dark, and the street was quite lively, with various colored lights scattered on both sides.
" Vic, if you really want to... I can!"
A buzzing sound came from the side. If Vic hadn't been so acutely aware of his senses, he wouldn't have heard it. Ever since witnessing that awful scene in Xift, Vic has basically stopped using Observation Haki after dark in town. It's just too embarrassing.
Vic turned to look at Rebecca. Rebecca had her head down, and her long hair covered most of her face, but Vic could still see her red cheeks.
Vic slowly moved closer to Rebecca, and Rebecca felt Vic bending down to get closer. She was very nervous, but also somewhat expectant of what would happen.
"Slap"
"What are you thinking about? Your little brain isn't focused on anything important. Did Wendy say something to you again?"
After confirming that Rebecca was indeed blushing, Vic slapped Rebecca on the back of the head, causing Rebecca to stumble from the unexpected blow.
Wendy and Vic are the same age, but Wendy knows a lot, and no one knows where she learned it from, as she always imparts strange and wonderful knowledge to Rebecca.
"Ah! Vic, you hit my head again! I'm going to bite you to death!" The ambiguous atmosphere was ruthlessly shattered by a slap. Rebecca was now extremely embarrassed and angry, her face flushed red. All she could do was throw a tantrum to divert the attention of the two of them.
Vic slammed his hand on Rebecca's head. Compared to Rebecca, Vic had long arms and legs, so Rebecca, pinned to the top of her head, couldn't get any closer to Vic and could only stand still.
Vic was somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected Rebecca to call him out to talk about this. She was still a sixteen-year-old girl; how could he possibly be such a pervert?
He was, after all, a model young man who had received nine years of compulsory education. If nine years wasn't enough, he continued his studies for another seven years, which should have been enough to suppress his perverted desires.
"Stop right there, you brat! You thief! Someone come and catch that brat!"
Just then, a loud shout came from the street, followed by the chaotic footsteps of a group of people running.
"Ah!"
Just then, a cry of pain came from Rebecca's feet. Rebecca felt something bump against her calf. She stopped playing and looked down to see a child lying on the ground at her feet, his body still trembling.
Vic also looked at the child on the ground, who was struggling to stuff something into his mouth, trembling as he ate, as if he was choking.
Vic's gaze fell on the last small piece he put into his mouth. Vic eyes narrowed. That peculiar pattern?
"I never imagined that this child ate Devil Fruit, and it was completely swallowed?" The moment Vic saw the peculiar pattern, he knew what the child had eaten: the Devil Fruit, a treasure of the sea.
The child tripped over Rebecca's playful antics, and the pursuers seized the opportunity to close in. After eating the Devil Fruit, the child got up, tears welling in his eyes, and hid behind Rebecca, looking at the pursuers with a terrified expression.
Vic snapped out of his thoughts about the Devil Fruit and turned to look at the group of tall, burly pursuers.
There were quite a few people, more than a dozen. So many people chasing after a child was really giving the child too much credit. But then he remembered that the child had eaten Devil Fruit, so he understood. Devil Fruit certainly deserved such attention.
"You two, get out of the way! We're going to arrest that thief and punish him!" the burly man in the lead shouted. He was shirtless, tall, and muscular, with a gun tucked into his waistband; he was clearly no good.
Rebecca felt bad for tripping the child, so she knelt down to brush the dust off the child and comforted him as she did so.
The child's face was dirty, and although his eyes were filled with fear and tears, he didn't cry. He just kept staring at the group of people chasing him, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"What did this kid steal? What valuable things could a kid steal? Name your price and I'll pay for it," Vic said calmly.
The child was dressed in tattered clothes and had many scars on his body. He was probably an orphan who had simply stolen and eaten an unfamiliar fruit because he was hungry.
"Are you going to stand up for that thief? He's the thief who stole our things!" The burly man at the head of the group emphasized that the child was a thief when he heard Vic say that, and then looked Vic and Rebecca up and down.
"You can tell this kid is an orphan just by looking at him. He probably doesn't have anything valuable on him. There's no point in you catching him; I might as well pay for your losses."
Vic could tell that these people didn't seem to know the child had eaten Devil Fruit; their expressions were relaxed, and they didn't seem particularly eager to retrieve what they had eaten.
"This little guy stole fruit from our fruit stand. As for how much it cost, I don't know. You'll have to ask our fruit shop owner. Since you want to pay, come with us. We'll discuss the price with our boss!" The burly man in the lead had a strange look in his eyes and a smile on his lips.
Vic had already sensed something was amiss. What was just an ordinary fruit to them didn't seem like a need to ask the owner directly.
How expensive can your fruit be? Most people would just ask for a high price, but these people want them to negotiate with the owner.
Vic immediately unleashed his Observation Haki. He sensed the evil aura emanating from this group of people. Although he couldn't detect it without Observation Haki, it still indicated that these people were definitely not good people. Vic decided to follow them and see what tricks they were up to.
"Alright then, you lead the way," Vic said calmly, without any change in emotion.
Upon hearing Vic's words, the group burst into laughter. Several men came up behind Vic and his companions, as if afraid they would escape, while the burly leader turned and led the way.