Kazte had been in a foul mood for the past two days—extremely foul.
First, an important navigator under his command was suddenly taken out, followed by one of his trusted subordinates, Lagren, who had stayed behind to handle the aftermath.
Then came the disaster at the long-anticipated auction.
A Fishman slave, successfully bid for and acquired, was gunned down in an alley. Worse yet, half of the men stationed outside the auction house were either killed or seriously injured during the ensuing chaos.
One misfortune after another left Kazte feeling stifled.
He couldn't even pinpoint what he had done wrong to deserve being targeted like this.
Even the recent success in raiding a merchant ship from Platinum Guild couldn't ease the bitterness in his heart.
Still fuming, Kazte decided to settle the scores.
Based on information provided by Wolfrat, his first target was, naturally, the young man responsible for the killings at the weapon shop.
Kazte was eager to capture that boy, to subject him to the cruelest tortures while extracting the reason for such hostility toward him.
However, Lagren's bizarre death made Kazte cautious.
Caution had always been Kazte's guiding principle.
Even when he raided the Platinum Guild's merchant ship—an operation that could have succeeded with the help of one comparable pirate crew—he brought in an extra crew just to ensure success, showing no hesitation in splitting the spoils further.
Because of this careful approach, he didn't immediately attack the weapon shop after the auction but instead spent time investigating its background.
From that investigation, Kazte learned that the weapon shop's seemingly unremarkable owner, Sol, was actually a troublesome old man.
But that was the extent of it.
If not for the severe loss of manpower last night, Kazte might not have thought twice and would have followed his instincts to raze the weapon shop to the ground.
But now, with the risks potentially outweighing what he could afford, Kazte decisively abandoned the idea of destroying the weapon shop.
Yet, at his core, Kazte was still a pirate—a man who sailed out to sea to do as he pleased.
In this attack, if he didn't reclaim something, he wouldn't be able to quell the hatred festering in his heart.
So Kazte assigned a subordinate, skilled in surveillance, to stake out the weapon shop.
He wouldn't risk destroying the shop, but he was determined to eliminate Maude.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity came much sooner than Kazte had anticipated.
After receiving the scout's report, Kazte wasted no time and brought his entire crew straight to the Battleaxe Tavern.
The loud entrance and the abrupt intrusion of so many people immediately drew the attention of everyone inside.
Seeing Kazte lead a group of men into the tavern, Wolfrat' expression changed. This is bad, he thought.
He wasn't worried about his own safety but about Maude's.
Last night, he had first offered free information to Kazte and only later stumbled upon Maude eliminating those three pirates. This led him to realize that Maude might be his key to connecting with the infamous "Phantom Gun" Sol.
Now, Wolfrat found himself in a bind.
He had grossly underestimated Kazte's lack of restraint.
"Usopp, oh Usopp," Wolfrat muttered to himself. "If I'd known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have sold you out last night. Now look at you—stuck between Abby and Kazte. Tough luck, buddy."
Faced with this whirlpool of chaos, which threatened to consume anyone involved, Wolfrat made up his mind: self-preservation came first.
If it had just been Abby, he might have taken a chance, heroically intervening to win Maude's favor.
But with Kazte added to the mix?
Forget it. As for that hard-won lead to his mission?
To hell with it.
In mere seconds, Wolfrat' thoughts raced, and he decided to distance himself from the whole situation.
By sheer coincidence, the move he'd made earlier, stepping slightly away after assuming he'd been singled out by Abby, now worked to his advantage, helping him appear uninvolved.
"Fate," Wolfrat mused, "works in mysterious ways."
Before Kazte's attention could lock onto him, Wolfrat quietly moved further from Maude's table.
Given the distance, the action seemed natural and didn't draw suspicion.
To Wolfrat, Maude's fate was sealed.
If the "Phantom Gun" himself were present, it might be a different story.
After all, the Phantom Gun was someone even the Navy hero Garp would love to skin alive.
For pirates like Abby and Kazte, he could take them out in two shots—if he didn't mind exposing his identity.
But the Phantom Gun wasn't here.
As for Maude, based on what Wolfrat had seen of his strength last night...
"Try not to die too horribly, Usopp."
Turning his back to Maude, Wolfrat silently lamented.
Maude, still preoccupied with thoughts of escaping Abby, didn't notice Wolfrat's movements, let alone his shifting loyalty.
The commotion of Kazte's crew entering the tavern was impossible to ignore.
Hearing the noise, Maude instinctively turned toward the door at the same time as Abby.
The sharp, horned helmet and thick beard immediately caught Maude's eye.
It was unmistakably Kazte, with a bounty of 32 million berries.
"So, I finally meet him in person."
Maude mentally noted Kazte's appearance, completely unaware that the pirate was here for him.
As the instigator of the ambush, Maude was, ironically, the only one in the dark about the current situation.
Abby glared coldly at Kazte, recognizing his rival. With a bounty over 30 million berries as well, they had long been at odds, each eager for an opportunity to eliminate the other.
"Did this bull-headed idiot lose his mind and come here just to pick a fight with me?" Abby wondered, considering the possibility.
After all, they had only just entered the tavern when Kazte stormed in with his crew.
In this place, the only person Kazte might consider worth confronting was Abby herself.
Abby's previous interest in Maude faded instantly. She signaled her subordinates and prepared for battle.
Standing at the tavern door, Kazte scanned the room, ignoring Abby's open hostility. Guided by his scout, his gaze bypassed Abby and landed squarely on Maude.
Rage flared.
The simmering anger and unspent fury in Kazte's heart turned into cold killing intent, which surged toward Maude like a tidal wave.
Ironically, the first to react wasn't Maude but Abby's white pet skunk.
Time to run!
Without hesitation, the skunk darted under the table.
Maude, standing in the direct line of fire, felt the killing intent next.
"They're coming for me???"
His heart pounded.
In an instant, Maude pieced it together—the ambush on Red had been exposed.
But why had it taken this long for them to act?
There wasn't time to dwell on it.
Maude stood abruptly, stepping forward into Abby's reasonable defensive range—not too close, but not too far.
And then—
"Abby, big sister!"
Maude raised his voice, addressing Abby with utmost respect.
Then, his gaze shifted toward Wolfrat's back.
"Wolfrat, big brother!"
The abrupt proclamations stunned everyone.
Abby froze.
Her subordinates froze.
Kazte froze.
Kazte's men froze.
And Wolfrat, who had been ready to extricate himself from the situation, was utterly dumbfounded.
"Usopp, you son of a %@#%@#!…"
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