On Blackbeard's ship stood a man in a strange hat, holding an oddly shaped long rifle.
A thin wisp of smoke rose from its muzzle. He was the one who had just shot Werther.
"Wahahaha! Well, Van Augur? Did you get him? Pierce the Thunder Swordsman's heart and he'll die. He's not like Kaido—he doesn't have that monstrous recovery."
Jesus Burgess laughed, then looked at Van Augur expectantly.
The Blackbeard Pirates had brought four men, not three.
There was Blackbeard himself, the Devil Sheriff Lafitte, the Champion Jesus Burgess, and the Sound Van Augur, who had stayed out of sight until now. He was the sniper who had faced off against Yasopp at the Summit War.
Van Augur had remained hidden in the cabin. Blackbeard had clearly planned to catch Werther off guard from the start.
That was Blackbeard's way: hide himself, then strike his enemy from the shadows.
He had done the same to Whitebeard, lying low among the Whitebeard Pirates for twenty years as he waited for a chance to take Whitebeard's place. His patience was staggering.
Van Augur lowered his rifle, his face impassive.
"I didn't pierce the Thunder Swordsman's heart. I did pierce his chest."
The other Blackbeard Pirates' expressions changed.
"How is that possible? You wrapped your bullet in Observation Haki, didn't you? In that state, there's no way he could have sensed it."
Cold sweat beaded on the Devil Inspector Lafitte's face. Trying to assassinate the Thunder Swordsman was no joke. If the man survived by some stroke of luck, they would face his furious revenge.
Even in the New World, people trembled at the mention of him.
The Blackbeard Pirates were powerful together. But if the Thunder Swordsman caught one of them alone, the consequences...
A chill ran down Lafitte's spine.
Jesus Burgess