Madwoman

Things were getting worse.

Watching Kazt and Ebe on the verge of a fight, the pirates in the tavern who had nothing to do with the matter started to get restless.

They wanted to leave, but could only stare longingly at the main entrance, which was blocked by members of the Sharp Bull Pirates.

With the entrance blocked, they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.

They couldn't exactly ask Kazt and the others, who were clearly on the verge of exploding, to move aside, could they?

It wasn't impossible to do so, but the question was, who would step up?

As for the other exit, the back kitchen passage next to the counter, there should be a back door leading out from there.

However, to get there, they would inevitably have to pass through the line of sight between Kazt and Ebe.

So, the question arose again.

Who would step up?

No one was willing, so they could only retreat to the wall as much as possible to avoid being caught in the crossfire later.

If they couldn't find a way out through the main entrance or the back door, then breaking through the wall would be the only option left.

Although the tavern walls were harder than ordinary wood, they were still wood, so breaking through them wouldn't be difficult.

Coincidentally, Maud's line of thought was the same as these pirates, with no awareness of being the instigator.

Breaking through the wall was also one of the escape routes he was considering.

As for the back kitchen passage, which was closer, he had no intention of using it.

It wasn't that he was worried about accidentally injuring the people in the Battle Axe Tavern, but rather he was concerned about being troubled by the people behind Mad Hatter Town afterward.

"Just fight already?"

While guarding against Ebe, Maud's peripheral vision swept over Kazt's group by the entrance, and the dozen or so burly pirates who came with Ebe.

Compared to Kazt in his rage, Maud found Ebe in front of him more dangerous.

The sword that had suddenly stabbed at him without any warning gave him a further understanding of Ebe's ruthlessness.

Using such a freak to block a bullet was a last resort.

Ebe stared at Maud with a smile as beautiful as a flower, as if she could read Maud's thoughts at that moment.

Although she was smiling, her eyes were filled with icy killing intent.

With her back to Kazt and the others, she held a rapier in her right hand and slowly raised her left hand, snapping her fingers.

The crisp sound was exceptionally loud at this moment.

With that snap, her dozen or so subordinates suddenly drew their long swords and, without regard for the skunk hiding under the table, moved to surround Ebe.

At a time like this, a pet wasn't worth their distraction.

Kazt's side, on the other hand, had already drawn their weapons when Kazt entered his beast-like state.

Led by Wells, a cadre of the Sharp Bull Pirates, several of them unceremoniously raised their guns and aimed them at Ebe's group.

Basically, any pirate crew would have members skilled in marksmanship, and the Sharp Bull Pirates were no exception.

In contrast, none of the people Ebe brought carried guns; they all relied on cold weapons.

In this environment, Kazt's group had an advantage over Ebe's group in both numbers and weaponry.

The tense situation was like a stretched rubber band, about to snap.

The battle was imminent.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Wolf Rat immediately withdrew his emotions.

In this calm before the storm, he didn't want to attract the attention of the two groups by crying too professionally.

He quietly moved closer to Maud's location.

He maintained a subtle distance, not entering Ebe's attack range, nor getting too far from Maud.

This distance ensured that he could rescue Maud at any time.

"Sigh, why do I have to be like this."

Wolf Rat was unwilling but helpless.

He had already cried. If Maud couldn't escape this calamity.

Then not only would his tears be in vain, but he would also get into trouble for no reason.

So, even though he felt as bad as if he had eaten shit right now, he had to endure the nausea and assist Maud in his escape plan.

It was all for the sake of completing the mission as soon as possible!

He told himself.

Maud didn't have the luxury of appreciating Wolf Rat's "good intentions" at this moment. After Ebe snapped her fingers, he didn't even have the energy to pay attention to Kazt's group anymore.

This was because Maud realized that even though Kazt's group was putting pressure on Ebe, Ebe seemed to ignore it. Instead, her eyes were only on him.

"Big Sister Ebe, staring at me like this is pointless. It will only make your subordinates die faster."

Maud's warning hit the mark.

"I feel the same way, little brother Usopp."

Ebe's smile grew more seductive, her sword-wielding arm bulging slightly.

"But who asked you to provoke me?"

Before her words fell, Ebe lunged forward, her rapier turning into a streak of light as she attacked Maud once more.

[Resonant Triple Strike]

The slender blade sliced through the air, vibrating with a buzzing sound.

The flowing light of the sword split into three, each pointing towards Maud's throat, chest, and lower body.

"This crazy woman..."

The pressure arrived with the sword's glow, Maud's expression shifting slightly. He narrowly dodged to the side, attempting to evade the directly thrusting sword tip.

The three sword beams swept past, too fast to see anything but afterimages.

Chira—!

The clothes on Maud's chest and around his navel ripped open almost simultaneously.

A little deeper, and blood would surely have been drawn.

Maintaining the sideways posture from dodging the sword strikes, Maud drew his flintlock pistol in one fluid motion and fired without hesitation at Ebe's face, which was just inches away.

Bang!

The lead ball shot from the gunpowder smoke straight towards Ebe's face.

However, it struck an afterimage.

The lead ball passed through the afterimage and hit an unlucky pirate.

Ebe's incredible speed startled Maud.

In a place like the West Blue, Ebe, worthy of a 38 million bounty, was indeed living up to her reputation.

Realizing he couldn't gain any advantage against Ebe with his current strength, Maud decisively changed his strategy, retreating rapidly while putting away his flintlock pistol.

He wouldn't use his other loaded flintlock pistol lightly.

From now on, he couldn't afford to worry about other threats and prepared to focus all his efforts on defense.

As long as he could tie Ebe down, her subordinates would surely be annihilated by Kazt's group in a short time.

The longer he stalled, the more disadvantageous Ebe's situation would become.

By then, even if Kazt discerned something from Ebe's willingness to sacrifice her subordinates to kill him, he would undoubtedly go all out and finish Ebe off as well.

He had to force Ebe to give up attacking him.

In a flash, Maud's thoughts became clear, and his focus on Ebe intensified to the extreme.

[Heartbeat Listening]

As his concentration peaked, Maud employed a technique similar to the effects of a beginner-level Observation Haki.

His gaze locked onto Ebe.

The flow of killing intent, the vibrations of her limbs, the trajectory of her sword strikes.

All information was instantly gathered in Maud's eyes.

Just as Ebe's eyes were solely on Maud, Maud's eyes were now solely on Ebe, her sword.

This was the only way he could do it.

Because the prerequisite for activating [Heartbeat Listening] was to focus all one's mental energy on a single target.

Ebe keenly sensed something.

For a moment, she had the illusion of being completely seen through by Maud.

But she didn't dwell on it, driving her rapier forward and unleashing the three consecutive thrusts of [Resonant Triple Strike] at Maud.

Her ability to unleash continuous, high-speed combo attacks was her true trump card.

To eliminate Maud as quickly as possible, she held back nothing.

A tempestuous barrage of sword strikes immediately enveloped Maud.

However, Maud weaved and dodged within the onslaught, evading every single thrust from Ebe.

In just a few seconds.

Ebe's dozen or so sword strikes all missed.

Her expression changed.

Not far away, Wolf Rat looked on in shock.

He had been ready to support Maud at any moment, but he hadn't expected Ebe's sword to be so fast and sharp.

He could only watch helplessly as Ebe's woven sword-net enveloped Maud.

In that instant, Wolf Rat seemed to foresee Maud being riddled with holes.

However, what appeared before his eyes was Maud effortlessly countering the sword's momentum.

"Kami-e? No, it's not Kami-e...!"

"And this bastard actually hid his strength!"

Just thinking about having to deliberately approach such a guy.

Wolf Rat was shocked, and a chill inexplicably surged in his heart.

He was the one in the shadows, so why did he have this feeling?