The Hider

Lagron was killed by a bullet from an unknown source.

After that incident, while Wolf Rat was on edge, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why that weapon shop would want to kill the navigator of the Sharp Horn Pirate Ship, thus causing a series of subsequent problems.

As far as he knew, the two parties had no connection.

If anything, the residence of one of the deceased was not far from the weapon shop.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore.

Because the main culprit had come knocking.

Wolf Rat calmly watched Kazt, who prided himself on not beating around the bush.

His demeanor, as steady as an old dog, and his seemingly casual fiddling with his wine glass, which subtly betrayed a murderous intent, all revealed a master's touch.

In that moment, the thirty individuals led by Kazt seemed like mere clay figurines and rotten dogs before him.

Listening to Wolf Rat's understated reply, and sensing the turbulent aura beneath his calm surface, Kazt, having finished his mental deductions, narrowed his eyes. While wary, a fighting spirit began to emerge.

The atmosphere instantly turned grim.

"Captain of the Sharp Bull Pirates, Kazt, right?"

Seeing Kazt momentarily speechless, Wolf Rat, while composed, felt a touch of helplessness, thinking how he was supposed to reveal the killer's identity if Kazt didn't respond.

"It seems..."

Kazt's gaze turned cold as he slowly activated his Devil Fruit ability.

The black beard on his face spread towards his cheeks and forehead like wildly growing branches.

In an instant, thick black hair covered his entire face, and a pair of yellow beast-like eyes glowed within the fur like lamps in the night, tinged with clear murderous intent.

However, Wolf Rat suddenly spoke with rapid speed, "Anything Captain Kazt wants to know, I will tell you everything, without reservation, and I won't even charge you."

"...?"

The scene took a sharp turn, and Kazt's brewing killing intent abruptly halted.

Ten minutes later, Kazt and his crew left the bar, having obtained the "complete" information.

After Kazt and the others left, Wolf Rat slowly dropped his smile, his expression turning sinister. He looked towards the doorway and said coldly, "I only offer free services to the dead."

Tatam glanced at Wolf Rat and said calmly, "That was very dangerous just now."

"It was manageable. I'm not some easy-to-deal-with shrimp, and besides, you were here, weren't you?"

"..."

Tatam really wanted to say that if a fight broke out, he would try to escape first.

Wolf Rat, unaware of this, continued:

"With just the two of us, we couldn't escape, but we could barely manage to kill them off one by one. And although Kazt looks like a bull, he acts with restraint and isn't as reckless as a bull."

"So as long as I cooperate honestly, especially with the auction about to start, I'm sure he won't act rashly."

Wolf Rat inverted his glass, looking closely at the remaining wine liquid slowly trickling down the inside of the glass. A cold smile touched his lips.

"As for what happens afterward, I just hope they don't die too miserably."

Tatam remained taciturn, making it seem as if Wolf Rat was talking to himself.

Wolf Rat was long accustomed to their way of interacting, knowing that due to Tatam's voice issues, he usually wouldn't speak unless necessary.

"Tatam, tonight's going to be lively. Aren't you even a little interested?"

Wolf Rat flipped his glass back over, signaling for Tatam to pour another drink.

Tatam shook his head, indicating his lack of interest, and then refilled Wolf Rat's glass.

"I'd love to go."

Wolf Rat tilted his head back.

"But I damn well don't dare!!"

The Sharp Bull Pirates emerged from the alley and headed towards the Mad Hatter Auction House on Cape Street.

Wells, one of the crew's officers, walked beside Kazt and said in a deep voice, "Information obtained through torture carries weight, but that rat was too cooperative. Should we trust the intel he gave us?"

He was an officer of the same rank as Lagron, but unlike Lagron, who was skilled in swordsmanship, Wells specialized in firearms.

Kazt looked straight ahead and said coldly, "The auction is imminent. I don't want any trouble. We'll deal with these messy affairs after the auction is over."

"Understood."

Wells said no more upon hearing this.

The group arrived back in Mad Hatter Town almost precisely on time.

Upon their return, they heard that Lagron had been sniped in a tavern, immediately realizing that a tough opponent had set their sights on them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have killed their navigator first and then killed Lagron, who stayed behind to handle the situation.

Although Kazt advocated for steady development and avoiding trouble, it didn't mean he was afraid of it.

However, he had his eye on several items at the auction, one of which was a Fish-Man slave, a crucial asset for successfully navigating the Reverse Mountain Current.

To compete for the items he desired, he used the sale of information as a bridge for cooperation, joining forces with two other pirate crews of similar strength to take down Bolgin's fleet, thereby acquiring sufficient funds for the auction.

With such meticulous preparation, how could he allow anything else to disrupt his plans?

Furthermore, after several rounds of investigation, finding Wolf Rat was already a race against time. Any further delay might cause him to miss the auction.

The Sharp Bull Pirates moved with extreme speed, their group quickly arriving at the grand entrance of the Mad Hatter Auction House.

There were still about half an hour until the auction began, but most potential buyers had already entered.

Despite this, the area outside the auction house was still bustling with people.

Adhering to the auction house's regulations, Kazt only brought two cadres with him.

He chose not to hand over the money he brought to the Hider, the auction house's partner, but instead walked directly into the venue with the funds.

The so-called Hider could be roughly understood as a profession dedicated to safeguarding items for others, with pirates naturally forming the primary client base.

In this world, there are tens of millions of islands, large and small, many of which are uninhabited.

These deserted islands are often used by pirates to hide treasures, fine spirits, and other items of extreme value to them.

The downside of this practice is the complete lack of security for their property. They might hide their hard-earned treasures one moment, only to have them accidentally discovered and taken by fellow pirates the next.

Under these circumstances, Hiders emerged, providing paid safekeeping services to pirates, much like banks, by charging a reasonable fee.

The Hiders cooperating with the auction house at this time were primarily responsible for holding the buyers' funds.

If a buyer chose to entrust their bidding funds to a Hider, they would be able to collect their purchased item on the spot after a successful bid, bypassing some of the more cumbersome handover procedures.

If the target of the bid was something like a Devil Fruit...

Of course, it would be safer to consume it on the spot.

In summary, based on their individual considerations, some buyers chose to entrust their funds to a Hider, while others opted to bring their money into the auction house.

Kazt was among the latter.

Inside a tavern near the Mad Hatter Auction House.

"Hiders, this place has such a bizarre variety of professions."

Maud, wearing a mask, occupied a table by himself, silently listening to the information provided by the "concerned citizens" around him, learning quite a bit about Mad Hatter Town.

The reason he could occupy a table alone wasn't because he had fought for it like Kid.

The fundamental reason was his Undertaker attire.

In the eyes of the pirates of Mad Hatter Town, an Undertaker was, at best, a corpse collector, at worst, a cleaner.

Such an unlucky profession naturally meant no pirate wanted to sit at a table with Maud.

Maud, however, welcomed the peace and quiet.

He ordered drinks and food but didn't touch them. Whenever he heard any conversation related to names, he would quickly glance over, then subtly look away.

Every pirate he quickly "scanned" would inexplicably shiver, feeling a strange sense of unease without knowing why.

Time ticked by.

Some pirates occasionally got up to leave, and occasionally new ones would push open the door to enter.

Every time the tavern door opened, Maud would discreetly cast a glance.

Creak—

The door opened again.

A blonde-haired youth wearing a black top hat walked into the tavern.

He stood at the entrance and scanned the seating situation inside, instantly locking onto Maud's relatively empty spot.

I have some business to attend to, so today's third bonus chapter will be a bit late.

Also, thank you to Yong Bu Zhui Jie for the 200-coin reward, and to Tang 0, Huan Tie, Shui Wu Niao, Zhui Sui Ni De Ling Dao, Feng Kuang丶Xiao Shuo, Ji_Ying Hua Yu, and others for their 100-coin rewards.