Mad Woman

Things were getting worse by the minute.

Seeing that Kazt and Boss Ebe were on the verge of fighting, the uninvolved pirates in the tavern began to fidget.

They wanted to leave, but could only stare longingly at the 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 call out and ask Kazt and the others, who were clearly on the verge of exploding, to move aside, could they?

It wasn't that doing so was impossible. The problem was, who would step forward?

As for the other exit—the kitchen passage beside the counter—there should be a back door leading outside.

However, to get there, they would inevitably have to pass through the point where Kazt and Boss Ebe's lines of sight crossed.

So the question remained.

Who would step forward?

No one was willing to, so they could only retreat as close to the walls as possible, lest they be caught in the crossfire later.

If they had no chance of leaving through either the main entrance or the back door, then breaking through the wall would be their only option.

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

Coincidentally, Maud's thoughts were exactly the same as those pirates'. He had not the slightest awareness that he was the instigator of all this.

Breaking through the wall and escaping was also one of the options he had considered.

As for the nearby kitchen passage, he had no intention of using it.

It wasn't because he was worried about accidentally injuring the people from the Battle Axe Tavern, but because he was taking into account the trouble he would face afterward from the people behind Mad Hatter Town.

"Why don't you two just start fighting already?"

While guarding against Boss Ebe, Maud glanced from the corners of his eyes at Kazt's group by the entrance and the dozen or so burly pirates who had come with Boss Ebe.

Compared to the furious Kazt, Maud felt that the Boss Ebe before him was more dangerous.

That sword thrust that had come without warning had given him an even clearer understanding of Boss Ebe's ruthlessness.

Using a lunatic like her to block the bullets was simply a last resort.

Boss Ebe stared at Maud with a smile as beautiful as a flower, as though she could read his thoughts.

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

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

The crisp sound was exceptionally distinct in the tense atmosphere.

At the sound of the snap, her dozen or so subordinates abruptly drew their blades. Ignoring the skunk hiding beneath a table, they moved toward Boss Ebe.

At a time like this, a pet wasn't worth distracting themselves over.

On Kazt's side, everyone had already drawn their weapons when Kazt entered his beast form.

Several of them, led by Wells, an officer of the Sharp Bull Pirates, were even more direct. They raised their guns without hesitation and aimed them at Boss Ebe's group.

Virtually every pirate crew had members proficient in marksmanship, and the Sharp Bull Pirates were no exception.

By contrast, none of the people Boss Ebe had brought carried guns. Every one of them primarily used melee weapons.

In this environment, the Sharp Bull Pirates held an advantage over Boss Ebe's group in both numbers and weaponry.

The tense situation was like a stretched rubber band, nearing its limit.

A battle was about to erupt.

Seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Wolf Rat immediately put away his emotions.

In this calm before the storm, he didn't want to draw the attention of either group by crying too professionally.

He quietly moved toward Maud's position.

He kept the distance just right—not close enough to enter Boss Ebe's attack range, but not too far from Maud either.

At this distance, he could ensure that he would be able to rescue Maud at any moment.

"Ugh, why do I have to do this?"

Wolf Rat was unwilling, but helpless.

He had already cried. If Maud failed to escape this disaster, then not only would he have cried for nothing, he would also get dragged into trouble for no apparent reason.

So even though he felt as awful as if he'd eaten shit, he had to endure the disgust and assist Maud's escape plan.

Everything was for the sake of completing the mission as quickly as possible!

That was what he told himself.

Maud had no time to appreciate Wolf Rat's "kindness." After Boss Ebe snapped her fingers, he no longer even had the energy to pay attention to Kazt's group.

Because Maud realized that although Kazt's group had put pressure on Boss Ebe, she completely ignored them. Her eyes contained only him.

"Boss Ebe, staring at me like that is pointless. It'll only make your subordinates die faster."

Maud's warning struck the core of the matter.

"I feel the same way, Usopp."

Boss Ebe's smile grew increasingly seductive, and the arm holding her sword swelled slightly.

"But then, who told you to provoke me?"

Before her voice had even faded, Boss Ebe stepped forward. The rapier in her hand transformed into a streak of light and attacked Maud once again.

Resonant Triple Strike

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

The streak of sword light split into three, aimed respectively at Maud's throat, chest, and lower body.

"That crazy woman..."

The pressure arrived with the sword light. Maud's expression shifted slightly as he barely managed to turn sideways, attempting to evade the thrusting blade tip.

The three streaks of sword light swept past, so fast that only afterimages could be seen.

Riiip—!

The clothes on Maud's chest and at his navel split open almost simultaneously.

If the strikes had gone even a little deeper, blood would certainly have been drawn.

Maintaining the sideways posture he had taken to dodge the sword strikes, Maud smoothly drew his flintlock and fired without hesitation at Boss Ebe's face, which was only inches away.

Bang!

The lead bullet shot through the smoke straight toward Boss Ebe's face.

However, it struck only an afterimage.

The bullet passed through the afterimage and hit an unlucky pirate.

Boss Ebe's speed startled Maud.

In a place like the West Blue, Boss Ebe's reputation as someone worthy of a 38-million-berry bounty was well deserved.

Realizing that he could not gain any advantage against Boss Ebe with his current strength, Maud decisively changed his approach. As he retreated rapidly, he put away the flintlock.

He would not use the other flintlock, which was already loaded, so easily.

From then on, he could no longer afford to worry about the other threats. He prepared to focus on defense with all his strength.

As long as he kept Boss Ebe pinned down, Kazt's group would surely wipe out her subordinates in a short time.

The longer this dragged on, the worse Boss Ebe's situation would become.

When that happened, even if Kazt figured out something from the fact that Boss Ebe was willing to sacrifice her subordinates just to kill him, he would certainly finish her off while he was at it.

He had to force Boss Ebe to give up attacking him.

In the blink of an eye, Maud's thoughts became clear, and his concentration on Boss Ebe reached its peak.

Heartbeat Listening

As his concentration increased, Maud used a technique with an effect similar to beginner-level Observation Haki.

His gaze locked onto Boss Ebe.

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

Every piece of information was gathered into Maud's vision in an instant.

Just as Boss Ebe's eyes contained only Maud, Maud's eyes now contained only Boss Ebe, her body, and her sword.

He could only do this.

That was because the prerequisite for using Heartbeat Listening was to gather all one's thoughts onto a single target.

Boss Ebe keenly sensed something.

For an instant, she had the strange feeling that Maud had seen through her completely.

But she didn't think much of it. Guiding her rapier, she launched the three thrusts of Resonant Triple Strike at Maud in rapid succession.

Her true trump card was her ability to unleash high-speed consecutive attacks without pause.

To kill Maud as quickly as possible, she didn't slack off in the slightest.

A sword storm like a violent downpour instantly enveloped Maud.

Yet Maud shifted back and forth within the sword storm, dodging every thrust Boss Ebe sent at him.

In only a few seconds.

All of Boss Ebe's dozen-plus sword strikes missed.

Her expression changed.

Not far away, Wolf Rat wore a look of shock.

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

All he could do was watch helplessly as the sword storm Boss Ebe wove covered Maud.

At that instant, Wolf Rat seemed to foresee Maud being stabbed until he was riddled with holes.

Yet what appeared before his eyes was Maud effortlessly dealing with the sword storm.

"Paper, Paper Arts? No, it isn't Paper Arts...!"

"And that bastard was actually hiding his strength!"

At the thought of deliberately getting close to someone like that, a trace of inexplicable chill welled up in Wolf Rat's heart despite his shock.

He was clearly the one hiding in the dark, so why did he feel this way?