One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

After Maude was grounded, Sol unexpectedly stopped his morning training trips to the pleasure district.

Instead, he spent entire days at the weapons shop, constantly supervising Maude's training.

The reason was, of course, the fledgling sword flourish Maude had performed that morning.

Sol trusted Sunny's judgment implicitly, so it could only mean one thing: in just one day after obtaining the Dark Crow, Maude had stepped into the realm of swordsmen and had even blooded the blade.

In that moment, Sol saw in Maude a rare and precious thing—talent.

Not only talent for firearms but also for the sword.

This revelation left Sol both astonished and deeply unsettled. Outwardly, he remained calm and collected, but inwardly, he was panicking.

Driven by personal reasons, he didn't want Maude to walk down a path of no return. Instead, he wanted him to follow the way of the gunman.

And so, the Dark Crow was tossed onto a shelf, marked as a weapon for sale.

Thankfully, Sunny showed some restraint by secretly pricing the Dark Crow at 2,000,000 Berries—an outrageously steep price that would deter any potential buyers lacking the necessary discernment. This ensured the blade wouldn't be sold off easily.

From that day onward, Maude had no choice but to stay obediently in the weapons shop.

Under Sol's supervision, Maude spent almost every daylight hour undergoing intense physical training—particularly leg training, which reached insane levels.

Whether by coincidence or deliberate design, Maude found that the sudden increase in training volume perfectly matched the limits of what his physique, enhanced to one-star, could endure.

After several days of grueling and varied exercises, Maude realized that Sol had likely noticed something. The meticulously tailored training routines made this clear.

Otherwise, the basic exercises he'd been doing before his confinement would have been utterly useless for someone with his current physical enhancements.

At first, upon realizing this, Maude hurriedly devised numerous explanations in preparation for an inevitable confrontation.

But to his surprise, Sol simply supervised his physical training without ever bringing up the subject.

Even during the nightly lessons on firearm modifications and ammunition reloading speed, Sol never questioned him about his apparent physical changes.

This continued for some time, leaving Maude feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

Frankly, he'd have preferred if Sol addressed the issue directly. He could at least attempt to deflect or obscure the truth.

Even if he failed to convince Sol, it would still be better than this silence.

Time passed.

Two months flew by in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Sol never once returned to the pleasure district, devoting almost all his time to Maude and fulfilling his role as a mentor to perfection.

Under such comprehensive training, Maude's physical strength improved significantly, even though he couldn't venture out to earn experience points.

However, compared to the tangible benefits provided by the Hunter's Notebook, this high-intensity yet monotonous training felt comparatively slow.

Ideally, Maude wanted to balance both—training and hunting simultaneously.

Yet he dared not sneak out.

For two months, he had been practically cut off from the world, relying on Sunny's newspapers each day to stay connected.

Still, thanks to Sol's dedicated teaching, Maude gained substantial knowledge about firearm modifications, maintenance, and repairs. He could now perform basic modifications on flintlock pistols.

His reloading speed had also seen remarkable improvement.

According to Sol, the Marines required their soldiers to reload within ten seconds—a bare minimum standard.

By contrast, Sol demanded that Modder reload a smoothbore gun within three seconds and a rifled gun within five seconds.

When Modder finally met this standard, Sol didn't push him to further refine his reloading speed.

Instead, the crafty old man demonstrated the meaning of "beginner's mind" with one action.

In front of Maude, Sol performed a flawless demonstration of instant ammunition reloading.

Modder couldn't even see how Sol measured and loaded the gunpowder. All he saw was Sol using a single finger to press a soft lead bullet perfectly into the rifled barrel.

It was over in a blink.

The reloading was complete.

This masterful technique was comparable to Yasopp's prowess.

Perhaps it was even the fastest reloading speed possible.

At that moment, Maude thought to himself that even if he couldn't achieve instant reloading, a reloading time of 0.5 to 1 second would suffice to drive his enemies to despair.

With this idea in mind, Modder truly began to understand the importance of leg training for a gunman.

Escaping when outmatched was one thing—it wasn't true combat.

But being able to shoot while on the move? That could genuinely render close-range opponents hopeless.

One day, Maude modified two rifled pistols to slightly enhance their power.

He then attempted to upgrade [Usopp], only to find himself at a loss.

Realizing his own lack of expertise, he brought [Usopp] to Sol, hoping the old man could improve its overall performance.

At Maude's request, Sol merely glanced at [Usopp] before making his judgment.

"This gun's design is too outdated. After all the refinements Yasopp made to it, there's no room left for further modification."

"Oh, I see," Modder said, visibly disappointed.

Having delved deeper into firearms, Maude had grown dissatisfied with [Usopp]'s power and range.

Since it couldn't be modified, he began considering the idea of replacing it.

Maude knew Sol was generous when it came to firearms. If he asked, he could probably pick any gun off the shelf.

But Sol's keen eyes had already discerned Maude's intention before he even voiced it.

"Don't even think about switching guns. As old and worn as this one is, it's still more reliable than anything on that shelf."

"That's impossible," Maude countered.

By now, he was no longer a novice. Just judging from the rifles on the shelf, their power and range far surpassed [Usopp].

"What do you know?" Sol barked, grabbing [Usopp]. "Changing guns is inevitable for you, but now is not the time."

"Why not?" Maude asked, puzzled.

He had used [Usopp] numerous times and was fully aware of its shortcomings in power and range.

"You ungrateful brat. Do you even realize how many novice gunmen would kill for a weapon like this—one that's been tempered by a master marksman? This gun was Yasopp's trusted companion for years."

"Do you think Kid is obsessed with the Keanu pistols for no reason?" Sol continued. "Keanu and Yasopp's gun are both rare 'old guns,' refined over time by their previous masters to develop a 'special feel.'"

Sol cast a sidelong glance at Modder. "When you use this gun, don't you find it extraordinarily smooth? Doesn't it feel like it hits exactly where you aim?"

"Now that you mention it…"

A thrill coursed through Maude's body, and his eyes lit up with newfound understanding.

No wonder the first time he used [Usopp], it felt so comfortable in his hands.

No wonder his marksmanship was unaffected, even though he'd never handled a smoothbore gun before.

Only now did Maude grasp the true value of [Usopp].

As his thoughts raced, an idea struck him. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Sol.

"Master!"

"…"

Sol's face twitched. This was the first time Maude had called him "Master," so it was bound to lead to trouble.

Sure enough, Maude earnestly asked, "Can I see your 'old gun'?"

He even used a respectful tone.

"My gun was ruined years ago by some idiot," Sol replied with a blank expression.

"Who was it?" Maude asked, obliviously pressing further.

Sol's face instantly darkened.

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