The blue-hole mask was what allowed Maud to recognize Killer.
Thinking of how Kid was also in Mad Hatter Town, she became even more certain.
"What did he come here for? To buy a gun for Kid? But that gun... seems to be the flintlock Yasopp bought yesterday."
Maud discreetly sized up Killer, guessing at his motive for coming to the shop.
The moment a customer entered, Sunny put down the Auction Manual and quickly adjusted her emotions. By the time she lowered and raised her head, she was already staring expressionlessly at Killer as he pushed open the door.
A shop like theirs had no need to provide service or smiles.
Buy if you want. Get lost if you don't.
A very humane principle.
Killer entered the shop and, seeing that the troublesome old man Kid had mentioned was nowhere to be found, showed a hint of surprise. He did not pay it much mind, though.
He had come to buy something. Who was there did not matter, so long as someone was present.
He strode to the counter, casually pulled out four stacks of Beli, and placed them on the counter before getting straight to the point. "Four million. I'm buying Keanu's Pistol."
"Keanu's Pistol costs 3.8 million."
"Whatever. Do as you please with the extra two hundred thousand."
"Oh, but the gun has already been bought by someone else."
"?"
A question mark slowly rose above Killer's forehead.
If it was already bought, why didn't you just say so? Why waste my time with all this nonsense?
He suddenly understood why Kid had gotten angry in this shop.
Since setting out to sea, when had they ever encountered a merchant like this?
But then Killer thought that it was actually good the gun had been bought. They could simply rob it from the buyer afterward.
If they wanted something, they robbed it. If someone displeased them, they killed them. That was their way of doing things.
Just like these four million Beli, which they had only robbed last night.
With his thoughts flowing freely, Killer pressed on. "Who bought the gun?"
Sunny had been around for many years. How could she fail to see why Killer was asking who the buyer was?
He obviously intended to find the buyer and carry out a robbery—something entirely natural for pirates.
Under normal circumstances, Sunny would never reveal a customer's information. That was a seller's bottom line.
But this time was different, because the buyer was Yasopp of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Looking at Killer, she said calmly, "The gun was sold yesterday afternoon. The buyer's name is Yasopp."
Upon hearing this, Killer seemed to regard another word as a waste of life. He snatched up the Beli and turned to leave.
He vaguely felt that he had heard the name Yasopp somewhere before, but did not think much of it.
The gun had been bought yesterday afternoon, so the man named Yasopp was very likely still in Mad Hatter Town.
Killer left the weapon shop and headed straight for the tavern where Kid was staying.
What happened next went without saying. They would find the buyer, seize the gun, and then there would be no need to remain here.
Maud walked to the door and leaned half his body outside, watching Killer's departing back with pity.
But when he thought of how far Shanks and the others had already gone, he could not help feeling regretful.
Otherwise, he really wanted to see Kid's crew try to rob Keanu's Pistol.
He pulled the shop door nearly shut and turned back toward the counter. He had intended to tell Sunny how wicked she was, but saw that she had once again buried her head in the Auction Manual.
With her habit of reading and rereading a single newspaper for three or four hours, who knew how much time this little auction booklet would consume?
Maud was somewhat interested in the auction. He quietly stood behind Sunny and began peeking at the list of auction items.
"A famous sword among the fifty Ryo Wazamono? By the time I learn how to use a sword, who knows when that'll be."
"Hm? There are even Fish-Man slaves. The starting price is one million Beli... What a pity I'm broke. Otherwise, I could buy one and test whether the Hunter's Notebook works on the Fish-Man Race."
"Fragrant Weasel? The description says... a never-before-seen mutant skunk that can give off a fragrance? What the hell is that? They can auction off something like this too? And classify it as a rare and exotic beast..."
"Uh, looking through it all, most of the auction items are weapons. Forget swords—they even have flintlock pistols."
"Come to think of it, most potential buyers are pirates. Naturally, the demand for weapons would be higher, unlike the auction houses favored by nobles, where slaves are the main items."
"Still, after looking through everything, only the Devil Fruit and the Ryo Wazamono sword can be considered major auction items."
"The latter is certainly less valuable than the Devil Fruit, but it is still something that could only be encountered by chance."
Maud browsed through the auction items, whose starting prices varied widely, and his eyes were thoroughly opened.
Compared with the auctions in Hunter's World, where all kinds of antiques were the main merchandise, the auctions in the pirate world were much more interesting.
Those odd and assorted goods easily stirred up Maud's desire to buy.
After nearly finishing his look at the auction items, Maud quietly left the counter and continued exercising in a corner of the shop.
This form of training could not increase his strength in a short time, but it had the advantage of gradual accumulation. Given his current circumstances, it was better than nothing.
"It's already past mealtime, but Saul still hasn't come back."
Maud checked the time.
He wondered if Saul had been angered too badly by Shanks yesterday, which was why he seemed especially young today.
After all, he had to vent his frustration properly.
For some reason, Maud felt he had figured out why Saul had not returned yet.
Inside the noisy tavern, Kid waited for Killer to return empty-handed.
"They wouldn't sell it to you either?"
Kid's gaze turned icy, and his rising anger transformed into a destructive urge that might erupt at any moment.
That gun had nearly driven him to exhaustion.
Killer shook his head. "It's not that they wouldn't sell it. It was bought by someone named Yasopp."
"Oh? When did he buy it?"
Kid immediately perked up, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He could not afford to provoke the unfathomable Saul, but surely he could deal with the man who had bought the gun.
"Yesterday afternoon."
"Find him."
Kid abruptly rose and headed for the door.
Killer tossed down the money for the drinks and followed closely behind Kid.
Mad Hatter Town did not strictly prohibit fellow travelers from killing one another, but there was one openly enforced rule.
Namely, they could not harm the legitimate interests of the merchants.
In other words, if they spent money in a shop, they had to pay whatever they owed.
Trying to skip the bill?
Then they could wait to die.
The two left the tavern one after the other and arrived on the street.
Every snake had its path, and every mouse had its way.
To find Yasopp's whereabouts as quickly as possible in town, they had no choice but to take a shortcut and seek out the dealers who specialized in this sort of business.
As they hurried along the street, Killer suddenly said, "I keep feeling like... the name Yasopp sounds familiar."
"Then think harder."
Kid shot him a glance.
But after hearing Killer say that, Kid felt the same way.
Yasopp...
The two suddenly stopped walking.
Kid still wore a murderous expression that warned others to keep their distance, but the aura emanating from him had clearly plummeted.
As for Killer, his mask made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After a long while, Killer said blankly, "What should we do next?"
"Leave!"
Kid ground his teeth.
He loved collecting weapons, but some weapons were not indispensable.
Keanu's Pistol was different. It was one of the short blade and short gun he intended to carry on him.
It was meant for combat, not a collectible bought merely to satisfy his desire to collect.
That was the fundamental reason for his persistence, even to the point of remaining in Mad Hatter Town for so long.
But now that he could no longer obtain Keanu's Pistol, there was no reason to stay.
Just then, a male head-down walker approached Kid from the front while reading an auction booklet.
Just as they were about to collide...
Kid did not move at all, allowing the man to run into him.
Bang...
Although it was clearly the head-down walker who had collided with him, the man staggered back two steps, and the auction booklet fell from his hand.
"You bastard, are you blind..."
The head-down walker's temper suddenly flared.
Before he could finish, Kid punched him with all the frustration he had been holding in. The man was sent flying and landed more than ten meters away, his life or death unknown.
"Trash no different from scum, and you still dare to go out to sea?"
Kid spat onto the ground.
Then he suddenly noticed the auction booklet.
Sorry, I had something to do today, so the update was late.
Thanks to Tang 0 for the 1,900-tip, and thanks to Jiu Jiu 778, Chatting Monk, Book Friend 20191203002707609, Book Friend 20180621183945093, and Book Friend 20170612174531455 for the 500-tips, as well as Who Knows What It Is for the 100-tip.
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