The tavern was noisy and crowded, almost every seat occupied. Even the seats in front of the half-circle bar were packed without a gap.
The strength of its business was obvious.
After circling around the room, only a few inconspicuous seats remained in the adjoining corners.
Maud was sitting in one of them. On the small round table in front of him sat the rum and snacks the waiter had just brought over.
He did not touch the food or drink. Instead, he focused on listening to the noisy conversations around him.
"I heard something happened at the auction last night?"
"What, you didn't know?"
"I drank too much last night. If I hadn't heard people talking about it on the way here, I really wouldn't have known. What exactly happened?"
"Apparently, several major gangs caused trouble fighting over a Devil Fruit. After all, it was a Devil Fruit. Who wouldn't want one?"
"Oh, did it get stolen?"
"No. Gangster killed everyone who started the trouble, and Gang Bege ate the Devil Fruit after buying it."
"Tch, how much was the final price again?"
"I heard it was over a billion. No idea whether that's true."
"Hiss—"
The sound of people sucking in cold air.
"That much? If I had over a billion, there wouldn't be anywhere under the heavens I couldn't go."
"Idiot. If you had that much money, I'd be the first to rob you."
"What did you say?"
Bang.
The sound of a wooden cup being slammed onto the table.
Immediately afterward came the dull thuds of fists trading blows against faces and bodies.
A disagreement had turned into an exchange of punches. It was a unique kind of romance among men.
Maud withdrew his gaze and thought silently, Gang Bege? Is he in Mad Hatter Town too? But Sunny's Notebook had no information about him. Did he come here from somewhere else specifically to obtain the Devil Fruit?
So this was when he ate the Devil Fruit.
Information about Begg and the Devil Fruit's ability immediately surfaced in his mind.
After listening to nearly everyone around him discuss the Devil Fruit incident and learning about Gang Bege's reputation and status, Maud could not bring himself to entertain any ideas about him for the time being.
It was hard to imagine that a man with such status and influence would ultimately choose to set out to sea.
All one could say was that everyone had their own ambitions.
"Did that fish-man slave manage to escape in the end?"
At a table not far from Maud, several pirates were discussing the fish-man slave.
Maud could not help following the sound and discreetly looking toward the customers at that table.
"He didn't. He died in an alley. I heard he was killed by an Undertaker."
"An Undertaker? What, have Undertakers expanded their business to include fish-man corpses now?"
"That I don't know. Besides, when the auction house found the fish-man's corpse, it wasn't missing any parts."
"You mean...?"
"Hey, if it's something that can spread everywhere, don't take it too seriously. I could say that fish-man slave was killed by a prostitute. Would you believe me?"
"Hahaha, drink, drink."
Listening to their conversation, Maud slightly furrowed his brow and could not help sighing inwardly.
He was not surprised that someone had discovered him.
After all, whether on the streets or around the buildings near the alleys, there had been no shortage of people at the time.
The reason he sighed was that after killing the fish-man slave, his mind had been completely immersed in the joy of his substantial gains. He had not considered cutting off several important "parts" from the fish-man's corpse to better match his disguise as an Undertaker.
He would have to pay attention next time.
Maud committed the lesson to memory and subconsciously picked up his wine cup, taking a light sip.
He remembered that he was currently a patron. It would look strange if he did not raise his cup and drink for such a long time.
What Maud did not know was that, because of the fish-man slave, the auction house's people had followed the clues and found Arthur, who owned a similar work mask.
If Arthur himself had not been at the auction at the time, he probably would have been invited to the auction house for tea and a little conversation.
However, Arthur had consequently learned that someone had been impersonating him to commit some unsavory deeds.
Putting down his cup, Maud observed the surrounding patrons without showing it.
With his limited information channels, this was the only way he could obtain useful information.
Every time the tavern door opened, he would glance over subconsciously.
Creak—
The somewhat aged wooden tavern door was pushed open.
Maud looked over instinctively. When he saw that the newcomer was Wolf Rat, he quickly withdrew his gaze.
That lunatic from last night who seemed desperately short of friends?
Looking down at the food and drink on the table, Maud was slightly startled.
He had clearly shot him last night, yet he was acting as if nothing had happened. And he was dressed so flamboyantly?
So this is the recovery power of a Zoan...
Maud's heart began to burn faintly with excitement.
He had slipped away decisively at the time because he had not been confident.
But things were different now. After obtaining the proceeds from Fish-man Sam, with his current strength and thorough preparation, he had at least a fifty percent chance.
Maud began calculating inwardly.
At the tavern entrance, Wolf Rat swept his gaze across the room and quickly spotted Maud sitting in the corner.
Compared with the bare-armed men around him, who were drinking and spitting as they shouted, Maud looked young and tender. Even sitting in the corner, he still stood out a little.
I found you. And... heaven is helping me too.
Wolf Rat walked toward Maud without revealing his intentions.
Only a few seats remained in the tavern. Maud's table was small, but it had been designed for two people.
Under these circumstances, choosing to sit beside Maud would not seem overly deliberate.
Otherwise, if there were wider and more comfortable seats nearby, yet he insisted on squeezing in at Maud's table, anyone who did not know the truth might assume he was gay.
"He's coming this way?"
Maud noticed Wolf Rat's movements and instinctively glanced at the empty seat in front of him, feeling somewhat exasperated.
It seemed the same thing had happened at the tavern last night.
The difference was that Lafitte's reputation and presence had been so powerful that he could attract the attention of most of the pirates in the tavern.
This Zoan ability user, whose eyes carried a cold, sinister air but whose overall appearance leaned more toward the sleazy side, was not nearly as eye-catching.
Fortunately, I wore a mask last night and deliberately lowered my voice. But I'm never coming to a nearly full tavern like this again.
Maud thought in silence.
Although the clothes he had worn last night had not been the Undertaker's work clothes, he had deliberately dressed in a bulky manner to conceal his figure.
Therefore, Maud felt the possibility of Wolf Rat recognizing him was very low.
Footsteps drew near.
Maud looked up at Wolf Rat as he approached, then calmly sat down in the seat opposite him.
Seeing that the other man's reaction was normal, Maud became even more certain that he had not been recognized.
"Yo, little brother, you're pretty handsome."
After sitting down like a stranger, Wolf Rat immediately looked at Maud with an awestruck gaze. The exaggeration in his expression made it seem as if he had never seen such a handsome man before.
At the same time, he thought inwardly: Start with a compliment. That'll build an indestructible bridge for the conversation to come!
Hearing the slightly awkward remark, Maud gave Wolf Rat a polite smile but had no intention of responding.
This guy really is short of friends, isn't he?
Maud thought to himself.
Seeing that the opening had gone well, Wolf Rat first raised a hand to signal the waiter over, then looked at Maud again and forced out a specially trained, amiable smile.
He believed this smile was practically guaranteed to win people's favor.
Little did he know that, to outsiders, the smile looked as if he were about to suffer a cramp the next second.
"Little brother, let's get acquainted. My name is Wolf Rat. And you?"
"..."
Looking at Wolf Rat's indescribably awkward smile, Maud's eyelid twitched slightly as he simply gave his name.
"Usopp."
"So your name is Usopp. How should I put it? Wonderful. Truly wonderful."
Wolf Rat immediately clapped his hands, his face filled with amazement.
"What's so wonderful about it?"
"..."
Wolf Rat was momentarily speechless.
Just then, the tavern door was pushed open.
Hearing the sound, Wolf Rat took the opportunity to turn and look toward the entrance.
A tall woman walked in. She wore revealing clothes and bright red lipstick.
She held a white ferret by the leash, and more than a dozen muscular men followed behind her.
"Tch, Usopp, look quickly. There's a beautiful woman."
Seeing the woman, Wolf Rat's pupils narrowed slightly as he used the opportunity to steer away from the previous awkwardness.
The corners of Maud's mouth curled up slightly. He did not pursue the previous question and instead followed the flow, looking toward the woman entering the tavern.
At the same time, he keenly sensed the atmosphere inside the tavern changing.
Another pirate with a reputation like Lafitte's?
And a woman at that.
Could she be...
Maud recalled the information in the Notebook.
400 from reader 20191029065858260, 500 from reader 20171225141047421, 200 from Xingluo Wuxian, Shiguang Ranran Shiguang Chongchong, Feizhou Lizhuang GO, and 100 from Naobie de Agua.
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