One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Thanks to Sunny's detailed intel on the "neighbors," Maude identified ten targets.

Target One was, of course, the now-dead Red, while Target Two was Gadden, whom Maude had just assassinated.

What Maude hadn't expected was Gadden coming with a "buy-one-get-one-free" bonus, a bargain he happily took.

Physically speaking, the two musclebound brutes who'd been sharing a bed that night were undoubtedly superior to Watt and Red. Yet, the returns Maude reaped from them weren't as significant as the earlier hunts.

Maude wasn't surprised.

He understood that the rewards from his Hunter's Notes functioned much like experience points in a game.

At the start, a novice player can easily level up a few times just by killing a couple of slimes. But as their level increases, the experience gained from slimes diminishes.

To maintain a steady upward trajectory, they need to hunt higher-level targets or ones matching their current level.

For example, if Maude could take down monsters like Kaido or Big Mom right now, the physical gains would be astronomical—enough to propel him to the heavens.

But that was a dream for another day.

Of course, he could continue hunting low-level prey like slimes. Although the returns would diminish, sheer quantity could lead to qualitative changes.

He'd done this before.

Back in the Hunter World, he had leveraged his position within the penal system to personally execute numerous death row inmates.

During that time, he farmed experience non-stop until the returns dwindled to virtually nothing. Only then did he stop.

While this method was a safe way to farm experience, it came at the cost of the blank pages in the notebook.

Using this approach in the Hunter World was acceptable, but applying it in the world of One Piece would be shortsighted.

The difference lay in the nature of the two worlds: exceptional Nen users were rare in the Hunter World, whereas in One Piece, powerful individuals roamed in droves.

In other words, the pool of potential prey in One Piece far exceeded that in the Hunter World.

So while Maude had considered purchasing slaves to farm experience, he wasn't eager to rush into it.

Returning to the weapon shop, Maude washed up and went to bed.

The days passed.

By the eve of the auction, Maude had claimed Targets Three, Four, and Five.

Regrettably, while the neighboring targets carried decent bounties, their experience quality fell short of expectations.

After all, bounty assessments weren't solely determined by a target's strength but also by the severity of their crimes and the level of threat they posed.

These neighbors, while not weak, were clearly in the category of "heinous criminals."

As a result, despite multiple hunts, Maude's physicality had only climbed from 15 times that of an ordinary human to 20 times.

Even so, Maude was satisfied.

He felt his current capabilities were enough to mingle in the outer circles of the auction.

The next day dawned with clear skies.

After nearly a month of hype, the auction had drawn people from all walks of life.

Pirates, underworld figures, daring bounty hunters in disguise, and even undercover Marines were among the attendees.

The port at Mad Hat Town was packed to capacity, with ships of all sizes and flags fluttering in the sea breeze.

Any Marine witnessing this scene might well fantasize about taking them all down in one fell swoop.

Despite the influx of people, the Sol's Weapon Shop remained as quiet as ever.

As usual, Sunny sat at the counter, staring blankly at the door.

"It's the end of the month already…"

Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the Devil Fruit being auctioned.

But she knew it was something she could never obtain.

Meanwhile, Sol had uncharacteristically skipped his morning training at the pleasure district.

Perhaps the area was too crowded, or maybe he'd remembered his duty as a mentor.

Today, he finally assigned Maude an introductory training regimen.

"Why are we focusing on leg training?"

Maude's legs were bound with weights made of some strange, pitch-black metal.

They were undeniably heavy, and Maude couldn't fathom where Sol had dug them up.

He had assumed a sniper's training would focus on hand stability, so he was puzzled by the emphasis on leg exercises.

"Do you know the ultimate realm of a sniper?" Sol asked in response to Maude's question.

"No idea," Maude replied.

"Listen up—the ultimate realm is firing one shot and not needing to run."

"Huh?"

"Do you know the next highest level?"

"No…?"

"Firing ten shots and not needing to run."

"What??"

"And below that?"

"Just tell me already."

"Firing one shot, then running immediately."

"WHAT???"

"And there's still one more level below that!"

"…"

"Seeing the situation turn bad and running right away."

"???"

Maude stood there, stunned.

Was this supposed to be some grand sniper philosophy in the One Piece world? No, this had to be something Sol made up.

But… it somehow made a weird kind of sense.

Taking a drag from his cigarette, Sol said calmly, "So, what level are you at now?"

After a moment's hesitation, Maude muttered, "Seeing the situation turn bad and running right away?"

"Exactly!" Saul barked.

Maude was speechless.

Now he was starting to understand these "sniper realms."

With that, he obediently began his leg training.

He just hoped he wouldn't end up like Usopp, only to train himself into another Sanji.

The surge of people transformed the already chaotic Mad Hat Town into a festival of madness.

Gunfire echoed constantly, like celebratory salvos ringing throughout the town.

Bloodshed and killings became so commonplace that they seemed normal.

Yet, instead of sparking chaos, it fueled the pirates' revelry.

On the gambling street, a group of men clad in black suits marched in formation.

Leading them was a short middle-aged man with a black hat, striped suit, and cigar clamped in his mouth.

Despite his small stature, he exuded an aura of intimidation.

The towering men behind him followed his every move with deference.

"It's Bege of the Mafia!"

"Don't let him see you—step back!"

"Those guys will kill you without batting an eye!"

The crowd quickly parted, giving way to the mafia entourage.

Meanwhile, on the liquor street, a different scene played out.

The corpses of more than a dozen men, all bearing knife wounds, lay scattered on the ground.

Standing before them was a man in a black hat, with ghostly pale skin, twirling a cane in rhythm as he whistled nonchalantly.

The onlookers on both sides of the street stared in horror as he walked away.

"What just happened?"

"It was over in an instant…"

"I remember now—that man is… Laffitte, the Demon Sheriff!"

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