At Maud's two forms of address, the tavern fell silent once again.
The pirates around them, who had originally intended to stay out of it, sensed that something was wrong.
If the Sharp Bull Pirates hadn't blocked the entrance, they would have slipped away long ago.
The Battle Axe Tavern's manager was quite experienced. He gestured for the employees to retreat to the relatively safer bar area.
Kazt was the first to recover. His murderous gaze shifted away from Maud, swept over Wolf Rat, and finally settled on Ebe's face.
With Maud's forms of address for Ebe and Wolf Rat, along with the positions of Maud and Ebe...
Kazt's many tangled suspicions suddenly dispersed, as though the clouds had parted and the sun shone through, leaving behind a single straight line.
Why had Maud, who had no grudge against the navigator, tried to kill him?
Why had the cautious Lagron been shot dead on the very night after seeking out Wolf Rat?
And why did Ebe, Maud, and Wolf Rat know one another?
Before this Assassination Incident began, Kazt had been certain that the Sharp Bull Pirates had no connection with Maud or Wolf Rat, much less any grudges.
So, with neither a connection nor a grudge, what motive could Maud have had to kill the navigator?
It made absolutely no sense.
But if Ebe, their rival, had been involved...
The motive and reason became more or less plausible.
Kazt's gaze toward Ebe immediately filled with hostility.
How could he have known that the true instigator, Maud, possessed an ability called Hunter's Notebook?
He had no way of knowing that Maud's actual target was Red, and that the navigator, who was so important to the Sharp Bull Pirates, had merely been an unlucky victim caught in the crossfire.
Seeing Kazt shift his attention to Ebe, Maud calmly considered his next escape route.
When Kazt had focused his killing intent on him just now, Maud had reacted almost instantly, using Ebe, who had happened to walk right up to him, as a shield.
As for his brother Wolf Rat, he had simply been dragged along with the flow.
If Maud had known the names of the pirate brothers at the nearby table, he wouldn't have minded shouting a few more names.
His act of dragging people into the water had instead subtly linked several things together, creating this highly dramatic scene.
Maud had no idea what role Wolf Rat played in this affair, but it was precisely Maud's impulsive cry of "Brother Wolf Rat" that became the final straw crushing Kazt's reasoning.
No wonder Wolf Rat, who knew the whole story, was cursing Maud furiously in his heart.
He simply wasn't human.
However, Maud didn't think that two emotionally charged forms of address alone could create an opportunity to escape.
He first had to see how Ebe reacted, then respond accordingly.
Ideally, he would get Ebe and Kazt to fight, then use the opportunity to run.
If that didn't work, he could only struggle for his life.
The intense sense of danger only made Maud calmer.
Ebe met Kazt's hostile, murderous gaze.
Although she didn't know what had happened, she wasn't stupid.
She immediately understood the sinister intentions of the unfamiliar young man behind her. He intended to use her as a shield.
But what she found unbelievable was how this stupid bull, Kazt, had managed to fall into the trap without even thinking.
As his rival, she was happy to call Kazt a stupid bull, but she knew he wasn't actually stupid.
She had no interest in investigating the reason.
She was simply very displeased that Maud had used her as a shield.
In truth, if Ebe hadn't intended to attack Maud and walked over of her own accord, what chance would Maud have had to use her as a shield?
Swish—
Ebe's face was full of displeasure, and without saying a word, she abruptly drew her rapier.
She turned and thrust.
The standard motion carried a cold killing intent.
The needle-thin tip of the sword shot toward Maud's heart like a streak of light.
She didn't care what grudge existed between Kazt and Maud.
Nor did she disdain to explain anything to Kazt.
Killing Maud with one sword thrust was what she most wanted to do right now.
"Ruthless."
Facing the unexpected thrust, Maud slammed his right foot against the ground. Using the instantaneous burst of recoil, he sent his body flying backward and narrowly dodged the attack.
Ebe's thrust had been fast, vicious, and completely unexpected.
If he hadn't hunted the fish-man Sam last night...
If he hadn't been paying attention to Ebe's reactions at all times...
Maud would probably have been finished here.
Ebe's attack was something Kazt, Wolf Rat, and the others had never expected.
It had happened too suddenly.
But what they found even more unexpected was that Maud had actually dodged such a sudden and lightning-fast sword thrust.
After all, Ebe's bounty of 38 million berries was partly due to her swift, gale-like thrusts.
"He actually dodged?"
Ebe looked in surprise at Maud as he retreated.
Had turning around slowed the thrust, giving Maud the chance to dodge?
Maud didn't care about that anymore. As he widened the distance between them, a sorrowful expression appeared on his face.
"Boss Ebe, you clearly said that if Brother Wolf Rat and I each took down a member of the Sharp Bull Pirates, you would allow us to join your crew. We did it, but not only did you refuse to take us in, you even tried to kill me and end things once and for all after the Sharp Bull Pirates came looking for us!"
Maud's voice was filled with despair.
He sounded like a general who had repeatedly accomplished great deeds but had never received recognition.
Hearing Maud drag him into it again, Wolf Rat's lips twitched violently several times.
He understood now.
This guy was simply a disaster.
Whoever provoked him was doomed to suffer!
Yet he had to be the one to provoke him.
Since he had already been dragged into the water...
For the sake of completing the mission as quickly as possible!
Wolf Rat steeled himself. As though Maud had touched upon some painful memory, he suddenly burst into tears.
With snot and tears streaming down his face, he cried, "Exactly, Boss Ebe! We admired you so much that we were even willing to risk our lives for you, but you, you... Why are you treating us like this?!"
Wolf Rat looked so heartbroken that the surrounding pirates began looking at Ebe strangely.
Although betrayal and abandonment were perfectly ordinary in the pirate world...
An act of using someone and then casually discarding them was still highly contemptible.
Seeing that Wolf Rat had not only cooperated willingly but had also immersed himself so deeply in the act, Maud couldn't help feeling secretly startled.
As she sensed the strange gazes from everyone around her, Ebe's eyelid twitched repeatedly.
At the entrance, Kazt had already activated his ability and transformed into his beast-human form.
He glared furiously at Ebe and spoke one word at a time.
"Good, very good! Newtman Ebe!"
After Kazt spat out those words through clenched teeth, the tavern instantly fell into a tense, explosive atmosphere.
Ebe, who had been completely uninvolved in the matter, took a deep breath.
Having been dragged into it like this, she felt neither innocent nor aggrieved.
She ignored Kazt's fury and instead looked seriously at Maud. Her red lips parted, revealing a dangerous smile.
"You've made my heart flutter, young man. So, surely you can tell me your name?"
"Boss Ebe, please give Wolf Rat and me another chance!!!"
"..."
"Boss Ebe, please give Usopp and me another chance!!!"
After being dragged into it several times in succession, Wolf Rat naturally wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity. He spitefully dragged Maud's name into it.
"Hm?"
Ebe smiled.
"So your name is Usopp, young man..."
She looked at Maud and ran her tongue around her lips.
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