Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Sorry!!!
The massacre was complete.
Maude had left.
With no reason to linger, Lafitte calmly walked away under the wary gazes of the remaining pirates.
After Lafitte's departure, one pirate spoke in a low voice:
"Did you notice? All the members of the Abby Pirates were killed with their throats slashed by a single sword strike. Yet, Lafitte didn't have a single drop of blood on him."
"..."
"..."
A tense silence filled the air.
"I've always heard people say that 'Flower Sword' Abby's thrusts are incredibly powerful, capable of stabbing dozens of bloody holes into someone in a single second. But Usopp... Usopp took her down in just three strikes."
"Abby's bounty was 38 million, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Three strikes...?"
"..."
"..."
Once again, silence enveloped the surroundings.
Moments later, someone murmured: "Monsters... Both of them are monsters!"
On a rooftop far away.
Wolfrat silently observed the carnage on the long street below, now resembling a slaughterhouse.
The infamous underworld mafia and the Abby Pirates, with a bounty exceeding fifty million, had been annihilated together.
A cool night breeze blew from behind him, carrying the metallic tang of blood from the long street ahead.
After a pause, Wolfrat chuckled softly.
"Refreshing... Truly refreshing..."
"..."
Tatamu was silent, saying nothing.
Wolfrat laughed for a while longer before his expression turned serious. He looked sideways at Tatamu, hesitated, and then spoke.
"Tatamu, leave Mad Hat Town."
"Why?"
Tatamu turned to Wolfrat, confusion in his gaze.
After a long silence, Wolfrat replied evenly: "Don't ask why. Just trust me. Have I ever led you astray?"
"Why?"
Tatamu insisted, stubbornly pressing the issue.
"You're so...!" Wolfrat slapped his forehead hard, exasperated. "Just don't ask, alright? I'm not going to explain."
"Fine." Tatamu nodded. "I won't ask."
"Then will you go?"
"No."
"..."
Wolfrat's eye twitched.
"Tatamu, for the last time—can you just do as I say? Leave this place. I don't care where you go, as long as you're not here."
"Wolfrat."
Tatamu's serious tone made Wolfrat pause.
"I'm not leaving," Tatamu said firmly.
Hearing the finality in Tatamu's voice, Wolfrat frowned deeply.
"You'll die, Tatamu."
"Then..." Tatamus gaze sharpened. "What about Usopp? Will he die too?"
Wolfrat's eyes widened in surprise. Then his brows furrowed even tighter.
Seeing his reaction, Tatamu continued, breaking his usual reticence.
"Wolfrat, I know you're a Marine."
"..."
"And the woman from that night—she's a Marine too."
"..."
"What are you planning?"
"..."
"Who is Usopp, really?"
"..."
Wolfrat's lips moved, but no sound came. After a long moment, he muttered, "His name... isn't Usopp."
Tatamu was stunned.
...
Meanwhile.
A bloodstained Maude stepped into an alleyway 500 meters from the bar street.
From the shadows ahead, Sunny emerged, fully armed.
Tonight, she had served as backup, though her intervention was unnecessary with Sol present. She had merely waited, watching Maude fight his way through bloodshed, exacting revenge on the mafia and killing the notorious Abby in the end.
Sunny examined Maude's injuries closely, her eyes eventually settling on the messy lipstick mark on his face.
"Pervert."
"???"
Maude, just stepping into the alley, froze, his face a mask of confusion.
"Pervert?"
"Yes, pervert."
"You're calling me a pervert?"
"Yes, pervert."
"How exactly am I a pervert?"
"Pervert."
"..."
Maude was at a loss. Then he noticed her gaze fixed on the lipstick mark left by Abby.
"You mean this?" Maude asked, touching the mark.
"Pervert," Sunny replied, her eyelids drooping.
"Alright, fine." Maude sighed, wiping off the mark with his hand.
Why hadn't he wiped it off immediately? Reflecting now, it seemed he'd been caught up in Abby's final laughter, sensing some inexplicable emotion.
Shaking his head, Maude dismissed the thought. She was dead—there was no point dwelling on it.
Seeing him remove the lipstick mark, Sunny shifted her focus to Maude's wounds.
"I brought medicine. Should I treat your injuries now, or wait until we're back at the shop?"
"No rush. Let's go somewhere first."
"Where?"
"The dock." Maude smiled faintly.
Ten minutes later.
Maude and Sunny raced to the docks.
As they arrived, gunshots echoed from where the Abby Pirates' ship was moored. More gunfire and faint sounds of fighting came from another direction, where the mafia's ships were docked.
While the mafia's ships were undoubtedly more valuable, they were also highly contested.
Maude preferred to raid the Abby Pirates' loot instead.
Listening to the distant battle, Maude sighed. "These guys catch the scent of meat and rush in faster than anyone else."
"Hurry up!" Sunny urged, fearing someone else would claim the spoils first. She dashed ahead eagerly.
Maude, taken aback by her enthusiasm, could only follow.
When they reached the Abby Pirates' ship, a fierce fight was underway on the deck.
"Sunny, maybe you should stay back," Maude suggested.
"Don't underestimate me."
"Alright, but be careful."
Nodding, Maude leapt onto the ship. Sunny followed closely.
By the time they reached the deck, the battle was almost over.
The remaining Abby Pirate members, left behind to guard the ship, were no match for the scavengers who had banded together.
Their defeat was inevitable.
Maude and Sunny's arrival drew the attention of nearly a hundred pirates.
Initially, they assumed the newcomers were more competitors. But then they recognized Maude.
"It's U-Usopp!"
The pirates froze, panic spreading among them. It was as if they'd been caught stealing by a terrifyingly powerful homeowner.
And that homeowner could crush them without a second thought.
"Why... why is he here?"
The pirates on deck stared at Maude, trembling.
Maude smiled under their fearful gazes.
"Don't mind me. Continue what you were doing."
He gestured toward the remaining Abby Pirates members.
"Aren't there still a few left to deal with?"
"..."
The pirates laughed nervously, too terrified to respond.
The tense silence lasted only a moment.
"Sorry!!!"
One pirate suddenly shouted, then bolted like a sprinter, leaping over the railing and fleeing down the dock.
"Sorry!!!"
His escape triggered a chain reaction. One after another, the pirates shouted apologies before jumping ship and running for their lives.
Within moments, only the injured Abby Pirates members remained.
Sunny watched the fleeing pirates, then turned to Maude.
"You were right. They really do run faster than anyone else."
"Heh."
Maude chuckled as he dealt with the remaining crew members. Then, he and Sunny began looting the ship.
Elsewhere, at the mafia's ships.
The docks and decks were strewn with bodies.
"How... How could there be nothing?! Why is there nothing?!"
The victorious scavengers, drenched in blood, stared in disbelief at the empty cabins.
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