Chapter Twenty-Nine: Nothing Left

The muzzle snapped swiftly toward the figure. Without even seeing the face clearly, Maud decisively pulled the trigger.

Bang—

The lead bullet shot straight toward the figure’s brow.

The figure hadn’t expected Maud to be so ruthless, not even leaving room for conversation before opening fire. Though the attack came suddenly, relying on an extraordinary sense of danger and swift reflexes, the figure jerked backward, barely dodging the bullet aimed at his forehead.

Even so, having narrowly avoided the shot, a cold sweat broke out across his body.

“What the—!!”

The figure, who had come out from the bar to check on the commotion, turned out to be Wolf Rat. He had only meant to watch, but nearly got killed, and now, furious, he unleashed a torrent of curses.

Bang—

Another lead bullet whistled through the air, this time aimed at Wolf Rat’s torso.

At that moment, Wolf Rat had just straightened his body, but as a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, he managed to twist himself aside with the strength of his physique. Still, he was too late to dodge completely; after missing with the first shot, Maud had aimed the second at the larger target of his body to guarantee a hit.

The second bullet struck Wolf Rat’s left abdomen, bursting a flower of blood.

“Damn it, I was just watching! Was that really necessary?!”

Clutching his bleeding stomach, Wolf Rat stared in disbelief at the masked Maud.

If not for recognizing Maud’s scent, he wouldn’t have wasted words; he’d have taught Maud a lesson then and there about courtesy before violence.

Maud looked impassively at the stranger before him. He tossed aside the two flintlock pistols he’d taken from his prey’s corpse, then slowly crouched, drawing the dagger from the belt of the man with the sword.

“It was an accident,” Maud said, his voice deliberately lowered, offering a perfunctory explanation while retreating step by step.

“An accident?”

Wolf Rat gave an incredulous, angry laugh.

If he hadn’t instinctively transformed part of his abdomen in time to harden it while dodging, that close-range shot would have been a serious wound.

“You’re quite something,” Wolf Rat remarked, his gaze complex as he watched Maud retreat. Transforming fully into his human-beast form, he dug the bloody bullet out with his fingers and held it between them.

He hadn’t transformed to attack, but to accelerate his healing and suppress the pain.

“A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user...!” Maud, seeing Wolf Rat’s sudden transformation, grew even more wary. Noticing how much bulkier Wolf Rat had become, a look of longing flickered in Maud’s eyes.

But all five guns at the scene were now empty, and there was no chance to reload. Without a working gun, Maud didn’t believe he could subdue a Zoan-type with just a dagger.

In other words, it was not the right time. Best to slip away.

“What’s with that look?” Wolf Rat shivered under Maud’s gaze. Perhaps his animal instincts were affecting his mind, but for a moment, he felt as if he’d become prey.

Maud said nothing, facing Wolf Rat as he continued his slow retreat.

Wolf Rat drew a deep breath, wincing as the movement tugged at his wound. Struggling to rein in his anger, he tried to make his expression more friendly.

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken up behind you so suddenly, so I don’t blame you. I mean no harm.”

Maud looked at him, puzzled, and stopped backing away.

Seeing Maud pause, Wolf Rat felt a surge of hope. He truly meant no ill will; speaking from behind was just an old habit. In any case, Maud stopping was a good sign. Now was the time to seize the opportunity to make friends.

If he could manage that, it would be ideal.

“I really mean no harm. Don’t let my transformed state fool you—it’s not for attacking you. It just speeds up my recovery. And I’m not explaining this to make you feel responsible,” Wolf Rat continued. “You were right to shoot. Anyone would have in your place. So I’m not upset about it, and I wouldn’t get angry over something so trivial. It’s just, seeing how skilled you are, I can’t help but feel, well, you know, that kind of admiration one feels for the strong. I think I’ve become your admirer, so I’d like to, um, get to know you...?”

He raised both hands high, but before he could finish, Maud had already vanished down the alleyway.

A chill night wind swept past, rustling scraps of paper that flew by Wolf Rat’s stiff face.

So he hadn’t stopped to listen at all—he’d just come back to retrieve the flintlock pistols he’d discarded at the start.

“Damn it!” Wolf Rat was both angry and aggrieved.

Wasn’t he the one who’d been shot? Why was Maud the one running away? Was it so hard to let him finish?

At some point, Tatamu had appeared outside the bar, and, seeing Wolf Rat’s frustration, asked, “Not going after him?”

“Chase him? What for?” Wolf Rat shot him a glance, thoroughly depressed.

“That’s not like you,” Tatamu said, puzzled.

Wolf Rat sighed. “Because that guy is exactly the one the Spiked Snail Pirates are after. How could I go after him? Even if he fired at me again, I’d have to grit my teeth and bear it.”

Tatamu fell silent. He wanted to ask: Even so, did you really have to grovel like that just now? After a moment’s thought, he decided silence was best.

Wolf Rat glanced at his wounded belly and gritted his teeth. “But that guy really is ruthless. Tatamu, you know? I just spoke up behind him, and he shot me right between the eyes!”

Tatamu nodded in agreement. Such ruthlessness was rare, but perhaps that’s how one survived for long.

“Damn, if I hadn’t reacted so quickly, I’d be dead by now,” Wolf Rat thought, growing more fearful the longer he considered it.

“Forget it, let’s go back for another drink—wait a minute.” Suddenly recalling something, Wolf Rat turned to the three dead pirates on the ground. After a few seconds, he rifled through the bodies and found a money pouch.

“Much better,” he said, playing with the pouch and exhaling a long breath.

“You really are regressing, Mousey,” came a sudden woman’s voice from the alley.

It wasn’t Tatamu’s girlish voice, but one far more mature.

Startled, Wolf Rat sprang to his feet, staring in shock toward the source of the voice. At the same moment, Tatamu, still at the bar’s entrance, tensed for combat.

Neither of them had realized there was a third person present until she spoke.

Looking toward the sound, they saw a woman standing there, cloaked and hooded, but with a figure that could not be concealed. A longsword hung at her waist; she was tall and slender, exuding an unspoken aura of strength.

Tatamu, who’d spent many years in Mad Hatter Town, had never encountered such a person before and was on full alert. But Wolf Rat seemed to recognize her.

“You... how can you be here!” he exclaimed.

“And since when do you get to decide that?” the woman replied, tilting her chin slightly to reveal a beauty mark just below her jaw.