One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Anyone bold enough to issue such a provocation was certainly no small fry.

In this town, only three pirate crews could be considered notable: Bloodshadow Pyke's crew, Gut-Hunter Yatari's crew, and Blackhand Hobson's crew.

As for who the culprit was, Maude didn't waste any effort trying to deduce it.

After all, if he planned to take action, there was no reason to spare any of the pirate crews.

Even if it meant wiping out every pirate in the town, it wouldn't trouble him in the slightest.

Gaya silently observed Maude's back, clearly sensing the cold, murderous intent emanating from him.

She had felt this same aura from him yesterday in the town.

But this time, it was even more pronounced.

"Kill them all…"

If the targets were pirates, she didn't see any issue.

Still, it was hard for her to imagine such words coming from Maude, who always wore a gentle smile.

Perhaps only when facing enemies or outsiders did this boy, younger than herself, reveal his cold and ruthless side.

Gaya shifted her gaze from Maude's back to the cluster of severed heads on the ground.

Dada's head wasn't among them.

"Maybe Dada is still alive," Gaya said.

"If he is, he should've tried to contact us," Maude replied. "But since he hasn't, he's likely in a bad way."

As he spoke, Maude kicked the corpse at his feet into the canal and walked about ten meters away to dig a hole with his bare hands.

Gaya sighed softly and stepped off the ship to help, moving the Turkey Pirates members' heads to where Maude was digging.

Before long, Maude had dug a pit. He carefully placed the severed heads inside and filled the hole with soil, creating a small mound.

When he was done, Gaya looked at him and asked, "What's your plan?"

Without hesitation, Maude replied, "We'll act as soon as Lafitte returns."

He paused, then turned to Gaya.

"Gaya, I'll need you to stay behind and guard the ship."

"Understood," she said with a nod.

She understood Maude's reasoning. If they were going to the town, someone needed to stay and protect the ship and the funds on board.

And when it came to dealing with pirates, Maude clearly preferred to have Lafitte by his side.

As night fell, the destruction of the Turkey Pirates didn't cause any noticeable stir. The town remained lively and well-lit.

Lafitte emerged from a building and strolled toward the central stone-paved avenue of the town.

Under the soft glow of the streetlights, traces of blood on Lafitte's face became visible.

Moments earlier, he had slaughtered everyone inside that building.

After all, they had dared to target him.

In the shady underbelly of society, betrayal and backstabbing were common. But targeting Lafitte had been a grave miscalculation. Seeing him as prey had sealed their fate.

"That should suffice," Lafitte muttered to himself, heading toward the outskirts of town.

What he had anticipated would take two days had been accomplished in just one.

It's amazing what money can do, he mused.

And right now, they were far from short on funds.

As he walked down the stone-paved street, Lafitte suddenly halted. His sharp eyes fixed on a stone sculpture in the middle of the road.

It was a replica of a tree bridge, the town's iconic monument, placed at the central intersection of the main road that spanned the entire settlement.

Lafitte stopped because he noticed something hanging from the sculpture—a man, tortured to the brink of death.

Under the glow of the streetlights, Lafitte recognized the face. It was Dada, who had been quite helpful to Maude the previous day.

Lafitte's gaze flickered briefly before he turned away and took a different route out of the town.

Ten minutes later, Lafitte returned to the ship.

Sensing Lafitte's presence, Maude was already waiting on the deck.

"All went well?" Maude asked, glancing at the blood on Lafitte's face.

Lafitte nodded. "As expected."

"Come inside," Maude said, smiling as he opened the cabin door and stepped inside.

Lafitte followed, while Jim remained outside on guard.

Once inside, the two took their seats.

"On my way back, I saw Dada hanging from the tree bridge sculpture," Lafitte began. "He's badly injured but still alive."

Maude's eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

Lafitte nodded.

Maude then recounted the events from earlier that day.

When he finished, a dangerous glint appeared in Lafitte's eyes.

The severed heads of the Turkey Pirates members delivered to their doorstep, coupled with Dada being hung and tortured, was a blatant challenge to the Maude Pirates' reputation.

Such an act infuriated Lafitte.

"Should we storm in?" he asked, his blood-streaked face radiating killing intent that matched Maude's.

"Of course," Maude replied. "But first, you need rest."

Maude could see that Lafitte hadn't rested at all while gathering intelligence.

Rest and recovery were essential before taking action.

At Maude's words, Lafitte's killing intent faded. He produced a stack of intel and bounty posters.

The intel ranged from pirates with bounties as high as 80 million Berries to as low as 10 million.

Initially, Lafitte had identified around 300 targets. After careful selection, he had narrowed the list to just 83.

Maude reviewed the intel, impressed by the sheer volume of information Lafitte had gathered in such a short time.

As for the large sums of money spent, Maude didn't mind at all.

"Impressive work," he said, giving Lafitte a thumbs-up.

Lafitte simply smiled in response.

Maude immediately summoned his notebook and began sketching portraits based on the bounty posters, jotting down details of the gathered intelligence.

When he finished, he closed the notebook, his eyes gleaming with determination.

"If we take them all out, it'll be a significant step forward."

"Hoh hoh…" Lafitte chuckled, looking forward to the carnage.

He needed Maude to grow stronger quickly. Only then could he proceed with his plan to make Maude a contender for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

The next day dawned bright and clear.

In the center of the town's main street, many noticed the figure hanging from the tree bridge sculpture, battered beyond recognition.

"Isn't that Turkey Dada?" someone managed to identify him.

The previous night, the destruction of the Turkey Pirates had gone largely unnoticed.

However, many had witnessed Pyke slaughtering members of the Turkey Pirates in a tavern.

Now, with Dada displayed so publicly, the pieces began to fall into place.

"The Bloodshadow Pirates are targeting the Maude Pirates?"

A few people began to suspect what was happening, their gazes shifting uneasily to Dada hanging on the sculpture.

Suddenly, commotion erupted in the distance.

The onlookers turned toward the source of the noise and were met with a shocking sight.

The Bloodshadow Pirates, the Gut-Hunter Pirates, and the Blackhand Pirates were all marching together in unison.

The sheer scale of their combined forces drew startled gasps from the crowd.

"An alliance? This is…"

Many couldn't hide their shock.

These three pirate crews, typically at odds with one another, had formed an alliance.

What could possibly drive them to do this? Could it be... to confront the Maude Pirates?

As this possibility crossed their minds, many of the pirates who had been bystanders, along with bounty hunters lurking in the shadows, began scheming.

If the opportunity to intervene presented itself, they wouldn't hesitate to seize it.

Whether it was Bloodshadow Pyke, whose bounty soared to 80 million, or the rising star Maude, both were tempting targets.

While the crowd reeled from the unexpected alliance of the three pirate crews, on the other end of the cobblestone path, Maude strode forward with confident steps.

Following behind him were Lafitte and Jim, flanking him on either side, with Bailey perched on his shoulder.

The moment Maude and his crew entered the town, Pyke's scouts stationed at the entrance spotted them.

As a result, the three pirate crews had arrived in advance, fully prepared.

A massive force of 600 stood at the opposite end of the Tree Bridge, coldly watching as Maude and his companions approached.

As the three allied pirate crews and the Maude Pirates, who had arrived on Spring Island only days earlier, formed an invisible standoff, many onlookers who sensed the brewing storm wisely chose to distance themselves from the conflict.

However, a few hopeful spectators remained, unwilling to leave entirely.

They kept their distance, ensuring their own safety while observing the imminent clash.

"How long has it been since something this exciting happened?"

Some thrill-seekers couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.

At the forefront of the pirate alliance stood Hobson, a hulking brute resembling a bear. He was the first to step out from the group, his gaze cold as he walked toward Maude.

"Let me handle him first."

The "him" in question was, of course, Maude.

Bloodshadow Pyke watched the bold Hobson's back with an impassive expression.

Meanwhile, Gut-Hunter Yatari let out a coquettish laugh, as though cheering for Hobson.

But beneath her heavy eye shadow, her gaze was ice-cold.

Neither Pyke nor Yatari, the leaders of the alliance, stopped Hobson.

Among the three of them, only Hobson, with his tough build and thick skin, was deemed suitable to test Maude's strength.

Hobson strode toward Maude, fully aware of what today's battle signified.

If he could claim Maude's head...

Fame would follow.

With that, his journey to conquer the second island would officially begin.

That said, he wasn't naive enough to believe he could defeat Maude alone. However, he was equally confident that Maude wouldn't easily defeat him either.

His only goal was to claim the honor of the first strike.

Under countless gazes, Hobson crossed the Tree Bridge and stopped in his tracks, coldly sizing up Maude as he steadily approached.

"Bacardi Maude, I... Blackhand Hobson!"

Hobson raised a fist the size of a cooking pot. His fingers flexed, causing the leather glove on his hand to stretch taut, gleaming under the light.

"Today, I'll make sure your body remembers my name."

"..."

Maude stared indifferently at the overly confident Hobson.

Stealth Walk!

Maude's toes tapped swiftly against the stone pavement, and his figure vanished into the wind, heading straight for Hobson.

The sudden disappearance made Hobson's eyes narrow. He could only see faint ripples of dust rising from the stone road.

Suddenly, an intense sense of danger washed over him.

Relying on instinct, Hobson didn't hesitate to throw a full-strength punch at the air in front of him, creating a series of muffled sonic booms.

Where his fist landed, a figure materialized out of thin air.

"Ha! This is my strength!"

Seeing Maude seemingly caught by his fist, Hobson was ecstatic, already envisioning Maude being sent flying.

Boom!

But Maude calmly raised his left hand, spreading his fingers wide, and caught Hobson's full-force punch effortlessly.

The collision of fist and palm sent shockwaves rippling outward, causing their clothes to billow violently.

"What?"

Hobson was stunned to see Maude completely unaffected by his punch.

Without hesitation, Hobson tried to pull his arm back, intending to launch a barrage of close-range attacks.

However...

His fist wouldn't budge.

Maude's open hand had locked onto it.

With no time to react, Maude infused his hand with Armament Haki and crushed Hobson's fist.

Crack—!

The sound wasn't like bones breaking but rather the screech of metal being compressed.

Iron fists?

No wonder it felt so strange.

Maude remained expressionless.

Hobson's face contorted in shock.

"Such... strength..."

Despite his shock, Hobson's survival instincts kicked in. He raised his other hand to strike at Maude's face.

Maude sneered coldly. Before Hobson could act, Maude yanked his arm downward with overwhelming force, throwing him off balance.

Hobson's heart raced, his entire body breaking into a cold sweat.

The figure before him vanished once more.

"Huh?"

Before he could process what happened, his vision spun.

When his surroundings stabilized, Hobson found himself staring at his own headless body.

What... happened?

Confusion froze in Hobson's eyes as his consciousness faded.

Maude held Hobson's severed head in his hand. Behind him stood Hobson's headless corpse, just a step away.

"What was it you wanted me to remember again?"

"..."

In his final moments, Hobson heard Maude's disdainful words.

The pirate alliance and the opportunistic spectators fell silent, staring in shock at the sight of Maude holding Hobson's head.

They had all witnessed it—Maude effortlessly passing Hobson and claiming his head with his bare hands.

"Blackhand Hobson, with a bounty of 48 million... just like that?"

"This... is the strength of someone with a bounty over 100 million."

The surrounding pirates looked toward Pyke and Yatari at the front of the alliance with uneasy expressions.

At that moment, both leaders' eyes were filled with trepidation.

In the world of pirates, stepping on others to rise was a gamble.

Succeed, and fame would follow.

Fail, and you'd only become a stepping stone for your opponent.

Dragging his dark-red blade, Pyke took a few steps forward.

What had seemed like a guaranteed victory suddenly felt uncertain.

Maude watched Pyke approach and calmly drew Chidori, once again vanishing with Stealth Walk.

Dust rippled across the cobblestone path like the undulating motions of a jellyfish.

"He's coming!"

Pyke's grip on his blade tightened, veins bulging in his arm.

"Huh?"

But the ripples in the stone path bypassed him entirely.

Then, screams erupted from behind him.

Parker whipped around.

What met his eyes was a scene of utter chaos.

There was no flash of a blade, no sound, and no sign of Maude.

Yet, one by one, his comrades fell, inexplicably struck down.

Blood sprayed into the air amidst the cries of pain.

On a nearby rooftop, Dale, his face battered and bruised, froze, forgetting to press the camera shutter.

Beside him, the pirate tasked with guarding him was equally stunned, watching the eerie scene unfold below.

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