"This is Kami-sama's order!"
Bill sprinted through the hallway, roughly shoving aside anyone or anything blocking his path, just to gain a few extra seconds.
When he learned that a gap had been blasted open in the forest, he immediately remembered the hostage Reddy had specifically instructed them to treat well.
As for Reddy... even if those rampaging beasts destroyed the castle, the almighty Kami-sama would surely remain unharmed.
Bill believed this with absolute conviction.
"Did the hostage escape during the chaos?"
When Bill arrived at the room where Sivedia was being held, he saw the door wide open and panicked, rushing inside.
Then he saw Kami-sama standing on the balcony and was moved to tears.
As expected of Kami-sama, finding him so quickly.
"It's you!"
Sivedia had been overjoyed at Reddy's sudden appearance, but when he turned and saw Bill charging into the room, he nearly fainted from fright.
Why did this damn pirate have to show up now? So annoying.
Sivedia scrambled to Reddy's side on all fours, pleading, "Hero, save me."
Reddy looked at Bill and smiled. "Do you want to stop me?"
Stop?
A question mark popped up in Bill's mind. What did that mean?
Reddy chuckled, sat down on the sofa, and motioned for Sivedia to join him.
At this point, Sivedia didn't care why Reddy was doing this—he'd obey anything he said. He immediately jumped onto the sofa.
Then the clone slapped the sofa, activating his ability.
The sofa floated into the air.
Sivedia was ecstatic, his admiration for Reddy reaching new heights.
Meanwhile, Bill, witnessing Reddy's clone using Golden Lion Shiki's Float-Float Fruit powers, dropped to his knees and cried out devoutly, "Please allow me to follow you, Kami-sama!"
Reddy: ???
Sivedia: ???
"He seems to want to follow you... though maybe my ears are broken." Sivedia dug at his ear with his pinky and kept staring at Bill.
"If it's not a case of two different people having simultaneous ear malfunctions, then we probably heard correctly." Reddy's expression was strange.
Wasn't this guy already his errand boy?
How did he end up seeing him as Kami-sama?
Did he really have such overwhelming charisma, capable of inspiring instant devotion with just a glance?
"Kami-sama, don't abandon me!"
Bill looked up at Reddy like a puppy abandoned by its owner, pleading pitifully, "I'm willing to pay any price, even my life!"
Sivedia opened his mouth, then hesitantly said, "Maybe you should agree, even though he's a damn pirate."
The sofa turned around.
Reddy smiled and asked, "Why should I agree?"
Bill froze, and memories surged from the depths of his heart.
...
"Dad!"
After returning from a fishing trip with the villagers, before the boat even reached shore, a two- or three-year-old boy stumbled forward with outstretched arms, followed by a woman with a happy smile.
"Be careful."
Bill couldn't wait for the boat to dock. He jumped off and waded ashore, lifting the boy high and spinning him around.
The boy giggled.
"Hey, Bill, hurry up and tell your son the good news!"
Someone on the boat shouted, and the other villagers burst into laughter, their faces full of happiness and hope for the future.
Bill held his son and laughed loudly. "Dad caught a terrifying sea beast today!"
The woman gasped, covering her mouth. "Bill, are you hurt?"
"Dad is the strongest fisherman in the world, he can't get hurt." The boy hugged Bill's head and pouted, protesting his mother's underestimation.
Bill laughed heartily, lifting his son again and declaring confidently, "That's right, I'm the strongest fisherman in the world. Next time, I'll catch the Nearshore King!"
"Dad is amazing!"
Bathed in his son's admiration, Bill felt as confident as the king of the world.
...
"No!"
Bill, his face covered in blood, knelt on the ground wailing, clutching his dying son. Beside him lay a thick wooden club.
The club was smeared with dark red blood and grayish-white brain matter, even a few bone fragments embedded in it.
The boy weakly opened his eyes, his small hand trying to touch his father's cheek but unable to lift it.
Bill, tears streaming down his face, grabbed his son's hand and pressed it to his cheek, sobbing uncontrollably.
The boy's chest was a mangled mess of flesh and bone, clearly on the verge of death.
"Dad..."
The boy's eyes slowly lost focus as he struggled to ask, "Why did those people destroy our village?"
Bill clutched his son's hand tightly, crying, "It's because Dad was useless, not strong enough to protect you or the village."
The boy managed a faint smile, murmuring weakly, "Dad will become really, really strong someday..."
His voice grew fainter until his eyes dimmed completely.
Bill hugged his son tightly, kneeling on the ground and howling like a wounded beast.
"No!"
...
Two new graves stood on the cliff, one large and one small.
Bill stood before them, a massive war hammer propped beside him.
Behind him, two bandaged men hesitated, but in the end, they said nothing.
"I'm leaving."
Bill crouched by the graves, touching the crosses with both hands, staring at the sea ahead as he said quietly, "When you see my ship return, I'll be stronger than ever."
"Bibo, Dad will become the strongest man in the world."
"Prui, wait for me."
Bill stood up, his expression firm as he turned around.
He hefted the hammer onto his shoulder and strode toward the shore.
"Let's go. Once we've conquered the Grand Line, we'll come back to protect our village."
...
"I want to get stronger, Kami-sama!"
Bill wept openly, pressing his forehead to the floor in reverence.
Sivedia wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, sniffled, and turned away, muttering coldly, "For the sake of your son and wife, I forgive you."
"My dream is to build a peaceful, prosperous utopia."
Reddy was moved but refused.
Making Bill stronger was simple. He could just extract genes from a Devil Fruit user, refine them into a genetic serum in the biochemical lab, and inject Bill with it.
This serum, derived from Devil Fruit powers, could turn Bill into a Devil Fruit user.
Combined with Bill's own strength, defeating a Marine rear admiral shouldn't be difficult.
This was just a spur-of-the-moment idea, but its feasibility was high.
He could even combine two or more Devil Fruit abilities, using his golden finger to create dual-ability users.
But realizing his own dream would require an astronomical amount of energy. There was no reason to waste energy on a man whose ideals didn't align with his.
Right now, he didn't even have a flying pirate crew to hunt Sea Kings for him.
"Are you a devil?"
Sivedia shouted angrily at Reddy. What was wrong with wanting to get stronger to fulfill his son's dying wish?
Reddy shook his head with a smile. "There's nothing wrong with wanting strength to fulfill your son's wish. But placing your hopes in someone else... If you could become stronger, but the price was becoming someone's slave, would you agree?"
Sivedia was speechless. Of course he wouldn't.
What would be the point of strength gained that way?
Bill suddenly raised his head, his expression resolute. "I want strength to protect my village, at any cost. If you can truly create that paradise, I'm willing to be your slave."