I, Arthur, Never Take Advantage of Others

Saving fish-men to kill fish-men.

As an observer, Clara couldn't have imagined such a peculiar logical connection.

Therefore, she purely thought Maud was stepping in to save the fish-man.

While finding it incredible, doubt about Maud's identity followed closely behind.

On the long street, the fish-man slave who desperately wanted to return to the sea also noticed this.

Someone is helping me?

The fish-man was instantly caught in the same thought process as Clara.

Who is it?

How could anyone possibly help me in a place like this?

The fish-man shook his head violently, having no time to ponder so much, and buried his head in escape.

However, he wasn't stupid.

Having experienced firsthand what it was like to be a moving target, how could he continue running down the long street?

He suddenly turned, heading for the alleyways between the buildings.

The pirates who had come out for some fun saw the fish-man slave getting smarter. Regretting they couldn't shoot a few more times, they weren't foolish enough to chase after him.

Because they knew very well that the fish-man slave was merchandise from the Mad Hatter Town auction house.

When there were many people, everyone would shoot a few times for fun, and if he died, everyone would share the blame.

In that situation, they wouldn't have to worry about the auction house finding trouble afterward.

As for helping the auction house capture the fish-man slave alive?

The risk and reward were not proportional; only an idiot would do that.

Seeing the fish-man slave escape into the alley, the pirates who were spectating shifted their attention to the three companions who had been killed by someone, and to the brawl in front of the auction house entrance.

On top of the building, Maud saw the fish-man turn into the alley, a satisfied smile appearing beneath his mask.

That's more like it...

The thought of being able to verify whether the Hunter's Notebook would also work on fish-men made Maud's heart burn with excitement.

When he designed his abilities, the original intention was to leverage the intelligence advantage of a transmigrator.

Thus, subconsciously, the Hunter's Notebook, as its name suggested, was intended for [hunting] and [people].

And within Maud's initial expected prey range, there were no fish-men or giants.

But whether it was fish-men or giants, they were somewhat connected to [people].

Therefore, Maud felt the possibility of it being applicable was extremely high.

As long as it was applicable, the scope of his prey could be further expanded.

At that time, fish-men and giants would be even more rewarding prey.

However, although the rewards were high, compared to the pirates scattered across the four seas, fish-men and giants were more like rare monsters.

Unless one directly went to their lairs, they were basically elusive.

"The physical condition of the fish-man race is truly astonishing. After suffering so many injuries, he can still maintain this speed."

Maud followed closely behind the fish-man slave.

"If I hadn't killed those three pirates tonight, I might not have been able to catch up now."

Seeing that the fish-man slave's sprinting speed showed no signs of decreasing, Maud was surprised yet very calm.

It was best to let the fish-man run a bit longer like this.

First, let him lose a lot of blood.

Then, let his stamina drop drastically.

After that, it would be much easier to make a move.

Maud had seen the fish-man slave's performance of killing many people in the crowd earlier.

At this moment, he was like a lone wolf patiently waiting for its prey to become tired and weak, sticking closely behind the fish-man slave.

Considering the possibility of troublesome individuals appearing, Maud slowed down, reloading his ammunition as he pursued.

Even though his physical condition wasn't bad now, only firearms could bring him a sense of security.

As long as the enemy couldn't withstand bullets, Maud was confident he could handle them.

After letting him run for about ten minutes like this, the side effects of the fish-man slave's injuries finally began to manifest.

First, there was excessive blood loss, leading to weakness in his limbs.

Then, his speed decreased significantly.

To guard against any unforeseen circumstances, Maud felt it was almost time to act.

He suddenly accelerated, making a few high-speed leaps, and landed in front of the fish-man slave.

The Fish-Man slave suddenly startled and stopped abruptly.

His body, weakened by excessive blood loss, couldn't support such a sudden halt and he stumbled forward.

This is bad...!

The Fish-Man slave's heart pounded wildly.

To his surprise, the human before him didn't seize the opportunity to strike a killing blow.

Hastily steadying himself, the Fish-Man slave, filled with lingering fear, gasped for air and warily eyed the human who had suddenly appeared.

His gaze swept over the dagger in the human's hand and the long barrel of a gun peeking out from his shoulder. He was startled and immediately forgot about his physical condition, charging forward with all his might.

First strike, best strike!

Bang—

The Fish-Man slave stopped dead in his tracks again.

A lead bullet landed at his feet, wisps of gunpowder smoke rising.

"Foolish human."

Seeing that Maud had wasted the single shot from his flintlock pistol, the Fish-Man slave's heart settled.

In this terrain, he feared guns the most, which was why he had risked charging when he noticed the flintlock pistol Maud carried on his back.

As it turned out, the other party had deliberately missed.

He didn't know why, nor did he need to think about it.

The Fish-Man slave no longer felt the urge to attack immediately and silently adjusted his breathing.

After using the single shot to stop the Fish-Man slave's charge, Maud tossed aside the now-empty Usopp.

"Even though you are of the Fish-Man Race, I, Arthur, have never been one to take advantage of weakness."

Maud tilted his head slightly, his eyes within the mask's eyeholes fixed intently on the Fish-Man slave's body.

"I see you are quite seriously injured and your breathing is erratic from your escape. I will give you five minutes to rest."

"..."

The Fish-Man slave's eyes widened.

So that's how it is.

No wonder that shot was deliberately missed.

Hmph, a boring character trait.

Humans are like this, which makes them especially foolish.

Five minutes?

It will only take him less than three minutes to recover.

The Fish-Man slave thought to himself, taking the opportunity to adjust his breathing.

Once his breathing recovered, how could he possibly wait for five minutes?

He would strike directly and leave this troublesome place as quickly as possible.

Maud watched the Fish-Man slave struggling to regain his breath and said seriously, "I do not kill nameless individuals. State your name."

After speaking, he raised his dagger and held it horizontally in front of him.

The Fish-Man slave glanced at the dagger and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Even injured, in close combat, he was confident he could dispatch this human holding only a dagger in an instant.

"Hidon Sam."

The Fish-Man slave spat out the name coldly without a second thought.

He had intended to add a harsh threat, but felt it unnecessary.

After all, he would be able to crush this self-righteous human's head later.

"Hidon Sam, is it?"

Maud chuckled, examining the blood-stained contours of the Fish-Man slave's face.

After a moment, Maud suddenly retreated, sheathing his dagger.

The Fish-Man named Sam was taken aback, wondering what trick Maud was up to.

After putting away his dagger, Maud directly summoned the Hunter's Notebook.

"What? Could he be a Devil Fruit user?!"

Seeing the notebook appear out of thin air, Sam suddenly felt a sense of crisis. He could no longer afford to regulate his breathing and decisively lunged at Maud.

Unflustered, Maud, like a judge, rapidly wrote Sam's name and the astonishing grip strength he displayed in the previous battle in the notebook with a quill.

"No matter what your ability is, as long as you let me get close...!"

As Sam charged, he raised his right hand, his webbed palm open and ready, preparing to crush Maud's face with his bare hands once they were in close quarters.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

He saw the notebook Maud held in his hand vanish, replaced by a flintlock pistol drawn from inside his clothes.

Bang—

Maud pulled the trigger.

A shot hit Sam.

Blood splattered, and the impact of the lead bullet made Sam's body jolt, bringing him to a halt.

"You...!"

Sam collapsed in disbelief.

Maud then drew a second flintlock pistol and fired another shot into Sam's body.

"Shameless Arthur, Arlong, Arlong will definitely...

Before he could finish speaking, Sam breathed his last.

"Arlong?"

Hearing Sam's dying threat, Maud raised an eyebrow.