The Terror of the Pirates

Flower Street?

Isn't that the modern-day Red-Light District?

Saul goes to that kind of place for morning exercises?

With that kind of body and age...

Alex felt speechless.

The shops had started to open for business, but there were no customers.

Sunny didn't ask Alex to do anything, and Alex didn't take the initiative to do anything either.

He leaned against the corner of the wall, closed his eyes, and continued to sort through his memories of One Piece.

Once he had finished sorting through his memories, it was time to pick up the [daily exercise] that had been abandoned for a long time.

After all, the Hunter's Notes could not provide substantial assistance in the short term, unless there would be a second Evan Watt to come knocking on the door.

Time passed by bit by bit.

Two hours passed, during which no customers came.

Alex glanced at Sunny, who was sitting behind the counter, reading a newspaper over and over again.

Judging from her calm reaction, business must be slow at this weapons shop.

And it's a bit too quiet.

Alex turned to look at the half-open wooden door.

In an area where armed fights break out at any time, he could only hear the faint sound of footsteps walking past the shop after a few hours.

Curious, Alex walked towards the shop door.

Seeing that Sunny didn't react, Alex pulled open the wooden door with confidence and then peeked out to take a look.

After a moment, Alex retreated and silently closed the door.

Alex, isn't this an alley in a residential area?

No wonder it's so quiet most of the time.

If you open a weapons shop in this location, anyone who doesn't know any better would think you sell alcohol.

Alex thought to himself, mouthing the fragrance.

The level of quality of Mad Hatter's Town, which had been conceived based on simple information, was gradually declining.

He suddenly felt an urge to go out and explore the streets, but quickly suppressed it.

If he had time to think about that kind of thing, he might as well be figuring out how to get a gun from Saul.

Alex turned around and walked towards the corner.

He had only taken a few steps when the shop door suddenly swung open.

Alex instinctively looked back, and when he saw who was coming, surprise immediately filled his eyes.

There were three men standing in front of the door, looking like they were walking side by side, but in fact, the men on the left and right sides habitually lagged behind by half a body position, thus highlighting the identity of the person in the middle.

The man on the left had curly hair parted down the middle, carrying a long-barreled smoothbore musket on his back, and a five-finger-wide earth-colored belt slung diagonally around his waist. On the left side of the belt hung a cloth bag full of ammunition.

The man on the right is fat, but he towers over the other two men.

He has a green bandana tied around his head, a pair of small burgundy sunglasses that don't match his face, and a half-eaten piece of meat in his hand.

The wooden double doors were pushed open by the man in the middle.

The man looked at the unusually responsive Alex and laughed heartily, "Young man, I didn't touch you, did I?"

Mad Hatter's Town, Cape Street

This is adjacent to the pub street and is also the location of the black market.

Any kind of transaction that cannot be seen in the light of day can be carried out here openly and honestly.

Cape Street is centered on the largest auction house in Mad Hatter's Town, and various establishments linked to the black industry radiate out in all directions.

Arthur's employer, the "Home of Beauty," is also on the list.

As a funeral director, he is constantly busy.

Of course, most of this business comes to him through his "ability."

Today is his rare monthly day off, and he has planned his day in advance to make the most of it.

However, as he is about to go for a walk in the flower district after a good meal, he gets a bad feeling when the phone buzzes.

Half an hour later, he is back at work.

Working for someone else is never easy.

He sighs to himself as he puts on his work clothes:

Uniform, mask, and armband with the word "death" on it.

These three items are the standard equipment for a funeral director after they start working.

After changing into his work clothes, Arthur waited for his next order.

One after the other, his colleagues hurried back to the "Home of Beauty," presumably called back by the boss at the last minute.

"Why are you guys back here? Could it be that there's been another mess at the 'Pig Factory'?"

"Yes, what happened this morning was another slave riot."

"So how many slaves were killed or injured this time?"

"I'm not sure, but they say it's worse than last time."

"Pfft, I thought we were getting a big order, but it's just more of that shitty work over there,"

a mortician grumbled.

The lead mortician glanced at his colleagues and said calmly, "We'll leave when everyone's here."

Arthur sat in an inconspicuous corner, listening to his colleagues' conversation in silence.

It turned out that there had been another incident at the Pig Factory, and a lot of slaves must have died or been injured.

In other words, it was going to be a busy day.

And it was work that paid little for much.

Arthur sighed inwardly.

A rare holiday...

"I heard that there are a few heavy auction items at the end-of-the-month auction."

"What auction items?"

"A devil's fruit, a famous sword, and a fishman slave."

"Really? Where did you hear that? You already know about the auction before the auction catalogue is even sold?"

"I swear on my honour!"

"Then it's a lie."

"?"

"Oh, I almost forgot that I'm a ruthless undertaker. I ditched my honour when I started working here. How about I swear on something else?"

In the corner, Arthur's ears twitched and he took an imperceptible look at a few colleagues who were whispering not far away.

Demon fruit and a famous sword?

Arthur was a little surprised, but he would not easily believe the authenticity of this news.

Although in this mixed place, thanks to things like alcohol, it is possible for some gossip to spread faster than formal news, demon fruit is an extremely rare thing.

If it was obtained at an auction, I'm afraid it would have been announced long ago.

"A devil's fruit..."

Arthur's eyes shone with desire.

At his income level, he would have to go without food and drink for decades before he had a chance to compete.

If there really was a devil's fruit at the end-of-the-month auction, even if he wasn't eligible to bid, he could still go and join the fun.

As for the famous sword, the old man Saul would probably be interested.

A Tavern on Bar Street

It was noon, but the tavern was bustling with people.

As one of the biggest money-spinners, the bar has always been one of the preferred places for pirates to spend their money, so it's not surprising that there would be this kind of customer phenomenon.

Kid was alone at a table, looking a little out of place in this slightly crowded tavern.

Despite this, no one bothered him.

Because the dozen or so pirates lying on the ground were a warning.

Just then, a man wearing a blue mask walked into the tavern, looked around, and then walked straight to the table where Kid was sitting.

When he arrived at Kid's table, the masked man sat down directly.

Kid looked up at the masked man and said, "You're here."

The masked man nodded and asked, "Did you buy the gun?"

"No,"

Kid shook his head.

"Did someone else buy it?"

"No, the owner wouldn't sell it to me,"

"Not sell you? What happened?"

"I don't know."

Kid drank the wine in the bottle with some annoyance.

The masked man, however, probably guessed what happened, and said, "Then give me the money and I'll go buy it."

"I've already spent almost all the money."

"..."

The masked man was speechless.

Kid, however, looked indifferent.

In his opinion, money is something that can be obtained by robbing at will.