Sabo didn't follow Mumu's advice to leave Sabaody Archipelago immediately.
Instead, he followed the sound of Kizaru's laser blasts, tracking their source.
When he arrived at the spot where Mumu had vanished, both Kizaru and Mumu were already gone. All that remained was a crater blasted into the ground by Kizaru's laser.
In the center of the crater, a charred piece of pipe caught his attention.
Sabo jumped down into the crater and picked up the burnt pipe. After examining it, he realized it was the same pipe Mumu had taken from him earlier, and his mood sank.
Back on the ship.
Takumi crushed the book in his hand and rose from his bed, a dark expression on his face.
It was past midnight, which meant he could summon a shadow clone again!
Even though he could only summon one shadow clone per day, that didn't matter. He was too angry to let it go without a fight.
Without wasting time, Takumi gathered his chakra. In the blink of an eye, a shadow clone identical to him appeared in front of him.
Before Takumi could say a word, the clone placed its left hand over its right chest and nodded respectfully. With a calm smile, the clone greeted Takumi, "Greetings, boss. If there's anything you need me to do, please just say the word."
Takumi: "?"
This shadow clone… felt different from the previous one.
"Boss, did you forget? Your Shadow Clone Jutsu is already at Level 2," the clone politely reminded him. "At Level 2, you can summon two shadow clones."
Takumi: "!"
He had actually forgotten about that…
He focused again, gathering his chakra to try summoning another shadow clone.
Sure enough, another clone appeared, identical to the first.
"Yo, boss! Long time no see!" Mumu grinned and waved.
"Mumu." Takumi's expression darkened as he cracked his knuckles.
The first clone smiled gentlemanly and offered, "Boss, do you need help? The skill I received is swordsmanship. I can slowly slice off his flesh, piece by piece, and make him experience the longest, most painful death possible."
"Uh… Are you some kind of maniac? We're both clones here, no need to make it worse for each other…" Mumu chuckled nervously.
Takumi handed the first clone the Sandai Kitetsu sword without a word.
Mumu realized things were serious and immediately started running.
But he barely took a step before an immense pressure slammed down on him, causing him to stumble and fall.
Takumi walked over and gave Mumu a good whack on the head with a heavy iron fist.
"I'm sorry, boss!" Mumu whimpered, close to tears. "I swear I'll never do it again!"
"Your promises are worthless!" Takumi snapped. The biggest issue was that Mumu had even let Sabo see him in his disguise, which only made things worse.
"Boss, let me handle it," the other clone said with a sinister smile. "No need to dirty your hands. I'll take care of everything."
Takumi glanced at the other clone before giving Mumu one more kick. Then, he grabbed him by the collar and said, "Take him outside."
The clone with Sandai Kitetsu grinned wickedly, his voice carrying a hint of malice. "With pleasure, boss."
"No, wait—" Mumu cried out in despair. "Boss, I swear I've learned my lesson! Please, I promise I won't dress up again! I swear!"
Takumi didn't bother responding and dragged him outside the ship.
The clone with the sword followed closely behind.
Not long after they left, Kaku, clutching a well-worn shipbuilding book, peeked into Takumi's room.
Seeing no one inside, Kaku scratched his long nose and muttered, "Weird. Did I imagine hearing things?"
He then went to check on Enel, but that big guy was sound asleep, snoring like a log.
Takumi threw Mumu into a nearby mangrove grove and gave a nod to the other clone.
The clone smiled as he approached Mumu, the blade of the Sandai Kitetsu glinting menacingly under the moonlight.
"Wait, don't come any closer…" Mumu wanted to run, but Takumi's Conqueror's Haki had already locked him in place, leaving him unable to move or use any of his abilities.
"It'll only take an hour or so. Just endure it," the other clone's eyes gleamed with a hint of red as his expression grew more excited.
Mumu: "…"
For the next hour, the area was filled with Mumu's screams of agony.
The clone slicing him up didn't seem to feel anything—if anything, he found it insufficient.
At first, Takumi was indifferent. But as things became bloodier, his brows furrowed more and more.
He had thought this new clone would be somewhat normal, but clearly, he had been wrong.
This system was something else, assigning him the most "interesting" clones each time.
Was it really so hard to get a clone that wasn't so… odd?
When Mumu finally expired, his blood-splattered remains vanished, leaving no trace behind—not even on the blade of Sandai Kitetsu. It was as if nothing had happened at all.
"Here's your sword, boss," the clone said cheerfully, handing the Sandai Kitetsu back with both hands, clearly in a great mood.
If Takumi hadn't just witnessed the clone's sadistic behavior firsthand, he might've believed this clone was normal.
Stowing away Sandai Kitetsu, Takumi waved him off. "You can go now."
The clone nodded and smiled before vanishing as Takumi released the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
On his way back to the ship, a figure swiftly passed by.
Takumi noticed the presence but didn't pay it much attention and continued walking.
"Takumi! I finally found you!" Sabo called out breathlessly as he ran up to him, looking exhausted. "There's something I have to tell you… I… I got your sister killed…"
Takumi: "…"
I don't have a sister, thanks!
"I'm so sorry!" Sabo blurted, bowing deeply to express his guilt, his face full of remorse.
Takumi stopped in his tracks and looked at Sabo.
He wanted to just ignore him and walk away, but doing that would undermine Mumu's earlier lie. After all, what kind of brother would leave his sister for dead?
Anyone with common sense would see the issue, especially someone as sharp as Sabo.
If he denied having a sister, Sabo might even start wondering if Takumi had a personal taste for cross-dressing…
Before Takumi could speak, Sabo continued, "Mumu's death is entirely my fault. I'll take responsibility for it. I'll do whatever it takes to make up for it, even if it means my life."
After a moment of silence, Takumi replied, "She's not dead."
"Huh?" Sabo raised his head, startled. "Not dead? Really? But I saw her get hit by Kizaru…"
"She's not dead," Takumi repeated. "She's already back."
Though hard to believe, coming from Takumi, Sabo found it surprisingly credible.
The look of despair and guilt on Sabo's face faded away as he stood up straight and smiled. "That's great! So where is she now? Is she hurt? Let me thank her in person for saving my life."
************
Please support me on Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/gered to read up to chapter 224!