One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Mad Hat Town was a chaotic melting pot, notorious across the West Blue as a haven for pirates to squander their riches.

At the same time, various underground factions entrenched themselves in this lawless town, creating a thriving network of illicit industries.

The boom in these dark trades was largely attributed to the Pirate King Roger's final words, which ignited the Great Pirate Era.

But at its core, it was all driven by human greed—a simple chain of cause and effect:

Pirates plundered gold and wealth from ordinary citizens.

Then, the underworld bosses devised countless schemes to drain the pirates of their loot.

As a result, Mad Hat Town evolved into a lawless den of indulgence, teeming with black-market trades.

Slaves,

Organs,

Weapons,

The red-light district,

And other vices designed to jolt the nerves of the average person—all were commonplace here.

Among these black-market professions was the role of the Undertaker.

The job primarily involved corpse collection, with occasional duties as a doctor depending on the circumstances. Undertakers often worked closely with organ traffickers.

Arthur, summoned by Sunny to retrieve a corpse, was one of the undertakers in Mad Hat Town.

His skills weren't the best, but they ranked among the top tier.

When Maude was brought back to life by Sol, it was Arthur who oversaw his treatment.

Now, as the one responsible for Maude's recovery, Arthur seemed genuinely surprised to see him awake.

"What do you mean, 'he actually woke up?'"

Sol immediately sensed something was off, glaring at Arthur.

Back then, Arthur had sworn that Maude's chances of waking up were over 50% after treatment. It was on this promise that Sol decided to go ahead with it, reasoning that even if Maude didn't wake up, he could sell him on the black market to recoup most of the costs.

Now it seemed Maude's odds of recovery had been lower than promised.

Caught by Sol's sharp instincts, Arthur didn't bother to deny it. Shrugging, he admitted, "If I didn't say that, how else could I have secured your business?"

"You scoundrel! You won't die a decent death!" Sol cursed immediately.

"Likewise."

Perhaps it was the mask he wore, or maybe it was just sheer audacity, but Arthur remained calm and unbothered.

"Besides, you made a profit. A human slave's starting price is 500,000, and you only spent 50,000 for treatment. You should be satisfied."

"Maude isn't a slave."

Sunny interjected abruptly, correcting Arthur.

She stopped short of adding the final part of her thought: Maude was more of a laborer.

Arthur glanced at Sunny but didn't argue. Instead, he put down his tools and walked toward Maude.

Seeing Arthur approach, Maude instinctively tensed.

This guy didn't look like someone trustworthy.

Arthur was tall and broad, looming over Maude by half a body's height. He glanced at the bandages wrapped around Maude's forehead, then suddenly reached out to grab them.

But Maude was prepared. The moment Arthur moved, Maude stepped back swiftly, dodging the grab.

"Oh?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Arthur's eyes.

His movement had been quick and sudden, yet Maude avoided it.

Based on his previous diagnosis, Arthur was convinced that even if Maude woke up, his motor skills would be impaired and wouldn't recover anytime soon.

But the evidence was clear.

At the very least, Maude's self-healing ability was extraordinary.

Arthur's surprise quickly faded, replaced by a gleam in his eyes.

This was premium merchandise—the kind of "product" special clients adored. Not only easy to sell but also likely to fetch a price far above market value.

With that in mind, Arthur took another step forward, intending to assess Maude further.

Then, suddenly, he stopped.

Turning his head, he met Sol's gaze. The old man, smoking a pipe at the counter, wore a blank expression, but his eyes were as sharp as daggers.

Arthur realized that the boy before him had already caught Sol's interest. Any plans to turn Maude into merchandise were now impossible.

A regretful sigh escaped him, but he squashed the thought of negotiating a deal with Sol.

"My apologies," Arthur said, fabricating an excuse for his earlier behavior. "Seeing a patient I treated recover so well made me momentarily overzealous. I almost forgot my role as an undertaker."

With that, he returned to the corpse he'd been working on and resumed his interrupted task.

Sol's glare softened.

Though still irritated by Arthur's earlier deceit, Sol didn't doubt his professional ethics. Every penny spent on Maude's treatment had been well used, which was why Arthur was still in one piece.

Otherwise, Sol wouldn't hesitate to ensure Arthur left horizontal.

Maude watched Arthur's retreating figure, etching his name into memory.

Arthur, huh…

Nearby, Sunny glanced at Maude's profile, her gaze tinged with curiosity.

Meanwhile, at the corpse, Arthur examined the wounds. From his coat, he pulled out a fine needle threaded with surgical thread.

"The heart's been punctured in several places, so I can only give you 60% of the standard price," Arthur said matter-of-factly.

"Fine. Just hurry up and finish," Sol replied impatiently, exhaling a puff of smoke.

Arthur didn't argue further. His right hand moved in a blur, stitching the wounds shut with precision and speed.

In moments, the messy gashes were seamlessly closed.

Watching Arthur's handiwork, Maude couldn't help but recall a woman from his previous life who wielded needles as weapons—a fearsome opponent.

Damn.

Even a no-name character in this world could possess such skills?

And Sol—despite his short stature—was clearly no weakling.

And this was just the West Blue...

What kind of monsters awaited in the Grand Line and the New World?

Maude's thoughts grew heavier.

It seemed he would need to be even more cautious when choosing prey.

One wrong move, and the hunter could easily become the hunted.

In truth, Maude was overthinking.

As the saying went, "Birds of a feather flock together." Those who associated with Sol were unlikely to be weaklings.

Veteran pirates like Sol, retired from the previous era, were a rare breed in a backwater place like Mad Hat Town.

After finishing his work, Arthur tossed a small stack of bills onto the counter and carried the body away.

Once Arthur left, the shop's doors were closed, signaling the end of business for the day.

The bloodstains, of course, were left for Maude to clean.

Though hungry and parched, Maude had no choice but to comply.

Fortunately, Sunny regarded him as a colleague now and offered him a piece of bread and a cup of water.

After wolfing down the bread and draining the water, Maude picked up the tools and began cleaning the blood.

As Sol went upstairs, Sunny stayed behind.

There were two stools behind the counter—one short, used by Sol for standing, and one tall, meant for sitting.

Sunny sat on the shorter stool, resting her cheek on her hand as she watched Maude mop the floor.

When Maude finally finished, Sunny voiced her earlier curiosity.

"How did you dodge him?"

"Uh?"

Maude looked at Sunny, puzzled.

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