The muzzle quickly swung toward the figure.
Before he could make out its features, Maud decisively pulled the trigger.
Bang—
The bullet flew straight toward the figure's forehead.
The figure had not expected Maud to be so ruthless. Without giving him any chance to talk, he had simply opened fire.
Though caught off guard, the figure relied on his extraordinary reflexes and danger sense to jerk his head back, narrowly avoiding the bullet aimed at his forehead.
Even so, dodging the bullet left him drenched in cold sweat.
"F@#%#@%...!!!"
The figure was Wolf Rat, who had come out of the bar to investigate after hearing the commotion.
He had only been watching from the sidelines, yet he had nearly been killed. Enraged, he immediately started cursing.
Bang—
Another bullet flew out, aimed straight at Wolf Rat's body.
At that moment, Wolf Rat had just straightened himself.
But he was a Zoan Devil Fruit ability user, after all. Relying on his formidable physique, he forcibly twisted his body.
However, he was still too late to dodge. After the first shot missed, Maud had decisively aimed his second shot at the body, where it had a higher chance of hitting.
The second bullet struck the left side of Wolf Rat's abdomen, splashing out a spray of blood.
"You bastard! I was only watching from the sidelines. Was that really necessary?!"
Wolf Rat clutched his bleeding stomach and stared incredulously at the masked Maud.
If he had not "smelled" Maud's identity through his scent, he would not have wasted words. He would have simply taught Maud what it meant to be courteous before resorting to force.
Maud expressionlessly watched Wolf Rat, whom he did not recognize at all.
He casually tossed aside the two flintlock pistols he had snatched from the prey at his feet. Then he slowly crouched down and pulled the dagger from the lower back of the man carrying the knife.
"It misfired."
Then Maud lowered his voice and gave a perfunctory explanation as he slowly backed away.
"Misfired?"
Wolf Rat laughed angrily when he heard that.
If he had not instinctively beastified the area around his abdomen while dodging the bullet, thereby increasing his defensive power...
At such close range, that shot would have caused him serious trouble.
"You're quite something."
Wolf Rat watched Maud slowly retreat, his gaze complicated.
First, he completely transformed into a human-beast form. Then he used his fingers to dig out the bloodied bullet and pinched it between them.
He had not transformed into human-beast form to prepare for an attack, but to accelerate his body's self-healing and suppress the pain.
"A Zoan Devil Fruit ability user...!"
Seeing Wolf Rat suddenly transform, Maud became wary. But when he saw Wolf Rat's body visibly swell, a look of yearning immediately appeared in his eyes.
However, all five guns at the scene had been emptied of bullets. In this situation, he clearly had no opportunity to reload.
Without his crucial guns, Maud did not believe he could subdue this apparent Zoan Devil Fruit ability user with a single dagger.
In other words.
The timing was bad. He had better run first.
"What's with that look?!"
Under Maud's stare, Wolf Rat could not help shivering.
Perhaps his transformation had altered his habitual thought patterns. For an instant, he felt as though he had been treated as food.
Maud said nothing. Facing Wolf Rat, he continued slowly backing away.
Seeing this, Wolf Rat took a deep breath and slightly furrowed his brows when the movement tugged at his wound.
He struggled to calm the mindset Maud had nearly blown apart and did his best to soften his expression.
"I was in the wrong. I shouldn't have suddenly spoken from behind you, so I don't blame you. Besides, I mean you no harm."
"..."
Maud looked at Wolf Rat doubtfully and stopped retreating.
Noticing that Maud had stopped, Wolf Rat was delighted.
He truly bore Maud no ill will. As for suddenly speaking from behind him, that was merely a bad habit he had developed over the years.
Regardless, the moment Maud stopped meant that things had gotten off to a good start.
Next, he had to seize this opportunity to become friends with Maud.
If he could successfully make a friend, that would naturally be the best outcome!
"I really mean you no harm. Don't worry about me being transformed right now. I'm not trying to attack you or anything. It's just that transforming allows me to heal faster."
"Of course, I'm not explaining all this because I want you to take responsibility or anything."
"Because you were completely justified in shooting. Anyone would have fired in that situation."
"So I don't think it's a big deal, and there's no way I'd get angry over something so trivial."
"It's just that seeing how incredible your skills are gave me this feeling... Well, you know, that natural admiration one develops for the strong."
"I think I've become your admirer, so I wanted to get to know you, to, to, meet you...?"
Wolf Rat raised both hands, then stared blankly at Maud, who had completely denied him the chance to finish speaking and disappeared down the alley in a few quick steps.
The chilly night wind swept past, sending several scraps of paper whistling before his stiff face.
So, so that bastard had stopped not because he was willing to listen to him, but to retrieve the smoothbore flintlock he had thrown away at the beginning.
"F@%#*@#!"
Wolf Rat was furious and aggrieved.
Wasn't he the one who had been injured?
Why was Maud the one running away?
Was it really that hard to let him finish speaking?
At some point, Tatam had arrived outside the bar. Looking at Wolf Rat, who had nowhere to vent his emotions, he asked, "You're not chasing him?"
"Chase him my ass."
Wolf Rat glanced at Tatam, thoroughly depressed.
"That's not like you."
Tatam was somewhat puzzled.
Wolf Rat sighed. "Because that guy is the culprit the Sharp Bull Pirates are looking for. How could I possibly chase after him? Even if he fired another shot at me, I'd still have to endure it."
"..."
Tatam fell silent at those words.
He really wanted to ask Wolf Rat: Even so, you didn't need to suck up to him that much, did you?
After thinking it over, he decided that remaining silent was better.
Wolf Rat lowered his head and glanced at the gunshot wound in his abdomen. Then he gnashed his teeth and said:
"But that guy is seriously ruthless. Tatam, do you know what happened? I only spoke from behind him, and he immediately fired at my forehead without saying a word!"
"..."
Tatam nodded, indicating that he agreed with Wolf Rat.
People that ruthless were rare.
But it was precisely people like that who tended to live longer.
"Damn that guy. If my reflexes hadn't been fast enough, I'd probably be dead by now."
The more Wolf Rat thought about it, the more frightened he became.
"Forget it. Let's go back inside and keep drinking. Hmm, wait."
Wolf Rat suddenly thought of something and looked toward the three pirates who had already died on the ground.
A few seconds later, Wolf Rat searched the corpses and found a money pouch.
"Much better."
Playing with the money pouch, Wolf Rat let out a long breath of resentment.
"You really are going downhill with age, Ratty."
A woman's voice suddenly rang out in the alley.
It was not Tatam's somewhat girlish voice, but a more mature woman's voice.
In an instant, Wolf Rat sprang to his feet and stared in astonishment toward the direction from which the voice had come.
Tatam, still standing at the bar's entrance, narrowed his eyes and swiftly entered a battle stance.
When the voice sounded, neither he nor Wolf Rat had realized that there was a third person present.
Looking toward the source of the voice, they saw a woman wearing a hooded cloak that nevertheless outlined her figure.
A long blade hung at the woman's waist, and she had a tall, slender build.
Simply standing there, she radiated an intangible, domineering aura.
Tatam had lived in Mad Hatter Town for years, yet he had never seen anyone like her. All he felt was vigilance.
Wolf Rat, however, seemed to know the woman.
"You... how can you come here?!"
"Since when have you been the one who gets to decide that?"
The woman slightly raised her head, revealing a beauty mark on her chin.
Thanks to qingyinss, Tang 0, and Forgive My Fingers for the hundred-point tips~
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