What kind of person is Lafitte?
In the original series, there isn't much information about him available to Maude.
If there's a memorable scene to recall, it's when Lafitte infiltrated the Holy Land Mariejois and attended the Shichibukai roundtable meeting all by himself.
At that meeting, the Shichibukai contingent included figures like Doflamingo, Kuma, and Mihawk, while the Marine side had Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru in attendance.
Yet, even faced with such a lineup, Lafitte remained calm and composed.
Putting aside how he infiltrated Mariejois, the sheer mental fortitude required for such an act was extraordinary in itself.
Apart from that, Maude's interactions with Lafitte in Mad Hat Town were few and superficial at best—more of a "mind your own business" dynamic than anything else.
It was as if the unspoken agreement was: You kill your targets; I'll hunt mine. As long as there's enough resources, we'll stay out of each other's way.
That's essentially how it was.
So, up until now, Maude had no idea why Lafitte suddenly showed up to block Aokiji's attack for him.
And to top it off, Lafitte had even said, "Let me follow you."
No wonder Maude couldn't help but suspect Lafitte's intentions—and his sexual orientation.
After all, love at first sight coupled with a romantic undertone can sometimes explain irrational behavior.
Lafitte was silent for a moment before saying nonchalantly, "I see, so that's a rejection?"
"..."
Lafitte's response made Maude instinctively take a step back.
This guy... could he really be... that?
Lafitte, observing Maude's reaction, maintained his composure and added, "Rest assured, my preferences are quite normal."
"Is that so."
Relieved, Maude wasted no time asking the key question:
"Then why do you want to follow me?"
At this, Lafitte's blood-red lips curved into an elegant smile. Tilting his head slightly, his eyes sparkled with an increasingly vivid light.
"Because I see great potential in your future..."
"Oh?"
Maude was somewhat surprised.
Lafitte took a step forward, resting his cane horizontally in front of him as he smiled. "And I am full of anticipation for it."
Hearing this, Maude finally understood Lafitte's motivation for stepping in to help.
He intended to place a bet on Maude's future.
But Maude wasn't Blackbeard…
And while Lafitte's words expressed loyalty, his attitude was ambiguous.
In other words, he was willing to expect great things, but it wasn't yet time to pledge allegiance.
Maude mulled this over.
Deciding whether or not to let Lafitte tag along wasn't entirely up to him.
Even if Maude agreed to Lafitte's request, Sol wouldn't allow an outsider to join them so easily.
Not to mention, Maude himself leaned towards refusal.
With this in mind, Maude turned to Lafitte.
Just as he was about to refuse, Sol suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Sol?"
Maude looked at Sol curiously.
But Sol ignored Maude, tilting his head up to look at Lafitte with narrowed eyes. "Lafitte, is it?"
Lafitte, maintaining caution, gave a perfunctory gentleman's bow as a response.
Sol stared directly into Lafitte's eyes and said flatly, "In the West Blue, your reputation precedes you. Even I've heard a thing or two."
"Reputation is nothing worth mentioning," Lafitte replied humbly.
He was well aware of the strength of the old man standing before him.
Even with broken limbs, Sol was not someone to underestimate.
Yet what Lafitte paid even more attention to wasn't Sol's strength, but the sharp glimmer hidden in those cloudy eyes.
"Humility taken too far becomes pretense. Come with me."
Leaving those words behind, Sol hopped toward the nearby forest.
Lafitte glanced at Sol, hesitating for a few seconds before following him.
Maude, watching Sol's retreating figure, was baffled.
He had no idea what Sol was planning, but leaving it to Sol did save him the trouble.
Shaking his head, Maude turned toward the shore.
Every time they stopped at an island during their voyage, they had to restock supplies.
Inhabited islands made it easy to buy essentials like fresh water, food, and alcohol—provided they had the money.
On uninhabited islands like this one, they had no choice but to forage for resources.
The Red-Haired Pirates, efficient as ever, quickly gathered materials and prepared to set sail.
Maude boarded the ship first.
About ten minutes later, Sol and Lafitte emerged from the forest, one after the other.
Then—
Lafitte boarded the ship as well.
Maude was stunned.
In those short ten minutes, had some kind of shady deal gone down?
Maude glanced at Lafitte, but the latter only smiled silently.
"What's going on here?"
Maude turned to Sol.
Sol, unperturbed, waved over Bailey from a distance.
Bailey immediately understood, rushing to deliver a lit pipe to Sol.
Taking the pipe, Sol took a leisurely puff before saying calmly, "Letting him join isn't a bad idea, so I agreed."
"This…"
Maude hadn't expected Sol to agree. He looked at Lafitte in disbelief.
Noticing Maude's gaze, Lafitte lightly tipped his hat and gave him another smile.
Well…
Maude shook his head slightly.
Since Sol had no objections, he wouldn't make a fuss about it.
Sunny quietly approached Maude, whispering, "How did Sol manage to convince him?"
"No idea."
Maude glanced at Sunny.
Sunny hesitated before lowering her voice further. "Also, I still feel like he's interested in you."
Maude replied, "I don't need you to feel—"
A few minutes later, the Red Force set sail, leaving the uninhabited island behind.
Sailing from the West Blue to the East Blue was no simple task, but it was nothing the Red-Haired Pirates couldn't handle.
Life at sea was often monotonous, and with limited space aboard the ship, there wasn't much to do while waiting to reach the next destination.
To expedite their journey to Monmon Island, the Red Force would only stop at islands to resupply when necessary.
During the dull voyage, Maude, with his injuries nearly healed, resumed his daily training routine to pass the time.
Meanwhile, Yasopp would occasionally pester Maude, clearly intent on persuading him to join the Red-Haired Pirates.
Despite Yasopp's persistent efforts, Maude's resolve remained unchanged.
After several failed attempts, Yasopp eventually gave up in resignation.
"Yasopp, since we're headed to the East Blue, why don't you check in on Usopp?"
Maude asked, wiping sweat from his brow with a towel. His gaze shifted toward Yasopp.
Yasopp had long since gotten over Maude using Usopp's name as an alias. Mentioning Usopp didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Not a chance."
Yasopp grabbed a bottle of strong liquor from the table and flicked off the cork.
"Though… if he's set out to sea by then, that'd be a different story."
"Set out to sea, huh? That's still years away, I'd bet."
"Ha, who knows?"
Yasopp chuckled and poured two glasses of liquor.
"Want one?"
"Sure."
Maude walked over and took the glass Yasopp handed him.
"You really want to go home, don't you?"
"Maybe."
Yasopp grinned.
As an officer of the Red-Haired Pirates, there were certain boundaries he had to maintain.
Noticing Yasopp's expression, Maude suddenly said, "How about this—when I have the time, I'll go in your place."
"What?"
Yasopp blinked, then gave Maude a suspicious look.
"You little punk…"
Though he could sense Maude's genuine intentions, for some reason, Yasopp couldn't shake the feeling that he was being set up.
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