Maude glanced at Viola while simultaneously manipulating his shadow to sweep up the four burly men who had collapsed, along with the five others who had been taken down by the burning-hot tear-made whale.
That made for a total of nine new laborers.
Viola stared at Maude in a daze, utterly perplexed.
"What?"
Maude looked at her curiously.
He recognized this woman—she was the user of the Glare-Glare Fruit.
As for her identity, he couldn't care less.
However, the Glare-Glare Fruit was a rare and valuable ability for support.
Unfortunately…
She didn't meet his criteria for taking action.
At Maude's repeated inquiry, Viola finally snapped back to reality. Although countless words and questions swirled in her mind, in the end, only the simplest and most heartfelt words escaped her lips.
"Thank you..."
She spoke sincerely.
If not for this man standing before her, the country she loved might never have broken free from the darkness cast by the Donquixote Family.
Despite the chaos reigning within the city, peace and prosperity would eventually be restored.
Maude quietly gazed at Violet without responding.
Under his steady gaze, Viola's eyes trembled slightly, and her heartbeat quickened.
A few seconds later, without acknowledging her gratitude, Maude simply turned and walked away.
His trip to Dressrosa was solely to claim the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and eliminate the remnants of the Donquixote Family—not to save her or her country, as she mistakenly believed.
Dragging along nine unconscious laborers, Maude set off in search of his next target.
Passing by a store engulfed in flames, he paused briefly. The shadow beside him surged like a tide, swiftly smothering the fire before he strode away.
"Maude..."
Viola's gaze remained fixed on Maude's retreating figure, paying no heed to his seemingly trivial act of extinguishing the fire.
She wanted to speak of repayment, but in the end, the words caught in her throat, leaving her to watch him silently as he disappeared down the street.
Even after Maude vanished at the end of the road, Viola continued to track his presence using her ability, standing there for a long time.
Moments later, faint rustling noises came from within the charred remains of the store.
The sounds gradually grew louder.
Drawn by the noise, Viola turned her gaze toward the fire-blackened shop.
Two figures, covered in soot, stumbled out, supporting each other.
Despite the grime obscuring their faces, the raw relief and overwhelming joy of having escaped death were unmistakable.
Viola stared, stunned.
She hadn't heard any cries for help and had been unaware that two people had been trapped within the raging inferno.
"That small act of putting out the fire... was for them?"
She recalled Maude's seemingly insignificant gesture and realized that he must have noticed the two people trapped inside, prompting him to extinguish the flames.
But—
This man was an infamous pirate, his reputation spreading fear across the world.
Even though his actions had saved this country, his status as a wanted pirate couldn't be erased in the eyes of the world.
"Would anyone believe me if I said that Bacardi Maude did something like this?"
Her eyes shimmered with disbelief.
Who would ever buy such a story?
Yet, contrary to his bloodstained reputation as a ruthless killer, Maude never harmed civilians needlessly, no matter his objectives.
Under Sunny's influence, he had even intervened to save captives aboard slave ships on occasion.
His so-called murderous reputation was primarily built on the corpses of fellow pirates.
Not because of some lofty sense of righteousness—simply because cutting down villains made it all the more justifiable.
In the end, the world's perception of any great pirate was dictated by the headlines printed in newspapers.
And newspapers, driven by circulation and notoriety, always prioritized fear-mongering over uplifting news.
In this chaotic and lawless era of pirates, stories of peace and prosperity rarely found their way into print.
Every major news outlet thrived on reporting explosive, anxiety-inducing events.
And the root cause of such chaos? Naturally, it was always the "evil" of pirates.
Leaving the streets behind, Maude activated his Observation Haki, swiftly dealing justice to the lawless pirates and criminals wreaking havoc across the town.
Before long, the number of captives bound by his shadow ropes and dragged across the ground exceeded a hundred.
And so, under the bewildered gazes of countless civilians and kingdom soldiers, Maude became the most peculiar sight in the midst of the town's turmoil.
"The 116th one."
Maude glanced at his latest unfortunate captive, now bound tightly.
Everyone he encountered had met one of two fates:
Immediate death, or capture.
"Let's round it up to 500 and call it a day."
He muttered before shifting his gaze in a particular direction.
Under his Observation Haki, Fujitora's aura burned as brightly as the sun.
Originally, Fujitora had been pursuing him, but after witnessing the devastation throughout the city, he abandoned the chase in favor of protecting the endangered civilians.
"Typical Issho…"
Maude chuckled softly.
Unbothered by the shocked stares surrounding him, he walked toward the next street.
Twenty minutes later.
Maude finally reached his quota of 500 laborers. Without lingering any longer, he left the town and returned to the port.
The handful of Marines stationed at the town's entrance gawked at the sight of Maude dragging 500 captives behind him.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Wasn't Admiral Fujitora chasing him?"
"Who are all those people?"
"No clue…"
Exchanging uneasy glances, the Marines instinctively stepped back, increasing the distance between themselves and Maude.
Ignoring them entirely, Maude regrouped with his crewmates.
In the battlefield.
The fight between Aokiji and Marco was still ongoing.
Aokiji remained dominant, but he struggled to land a decisive blow.
The resilience of the Phoenix Fruit was truly formidable.
Meanwhile, during the half-hour Maude had spent gathering "laborers" in Dressrosa, his crew had followed his orders and retrieved bodies from the ruins.
A total of 200 corpses, all relatively intact and physically exceptional.
"That should do it."
Scanning the assembled corpses, Maude casually tossed his 500 captives onto the pile.
With that, he turned to Gaya.
"Gaya, get these laborers and bodies onto the ship."
Then, he shifted his attention to Lafitte.
"Lafitte, contact the crew and have them prepare to receive the cargo."
"Understood."
Lafitte pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed the ship.
Meanwhile, Gaya activated her Float-Float Fruit powers.
Rumble—
Cracks formed around the pile of bodies and captives, and with a deep rumbling sound, the ground beneath them lifted and drifted toward the floating Thriller Bark.
Maude watched the mass ascend toward the ghostly ship.
After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward the still-fierce battle between Aokiji and Marco.
If left unchecked, those two could fight for half a day without a clear winner.
"Forget it…"
Maude pondered for a moment before taking decisive action.
Shadow Flow – Veil Blade!
A massive surge of shadows rapidly expanded, descending like a curtain from the sky. It tore through the ravaged battlefield, forcibly separating Aokiji and Marco.
"Ara ara."
Aokiji tilted his head, glancing at Maude in the distance before slowly tucking his frost-coated hands back into his pockets.
The moment the shadowy curtain fell, he knew there was no need to continue fighting.
Compared to Aokiji's calm demeanor, Marco took a cautious step back, distancing himself from the ominous black veil.
After all, Maude was well-known for launching sudden, unpredictable attacks from within his vast shadows.
Having fought him before, Marco was naturally wary.
However—
Just as Marco braced himself for a two-on-one battle, the dark curtain that had just cleaved the ground began to dissipate like melting snow, vanishing into scattered fragments.
"Huh?"
Marco furrowed his brows, silently watching as Maude withdrew his shadows.
Unconcerned with Marco's reaction, Maude turned to Aokiji and called out, "Let's go, Kuzan."
"Ara ara, looks like it's over."
Aokiji scratched the back of his head before stepping toward Maude.
"Yeah, it's over."
Maude gave Aokiji a slight nod, his gaze briefly sweeping over Marco before shifting away. He then turned and walked toward his crew.
Aokiji followed behind Maude with his usual lazy gait, as if he would doze off the moment he lay down.
Once the crew had regrouped, Gaya activated his ability, raising the ground beneath their feet.
Rumble—
The detached rock carried Maude and his crew steadily upward toward the looming Thriller Bark.
Drip, drip…
The storm clouds that had been brewing finally released their rain.
Large droplets fell past Maude's vision, landing on Marco's face as he gazed up at them. But before they could linger, the raindrops evaporated into wisps of blue smoke, seared away by his phoenix flames.
"Damn it…"
Marco clenched his fists, his eyes filled with frustration.
He lacked the strength to reclaim his father's body and had no right to pursue Maude's crew.
Forcing himself to look away, he rushed toward Vista.
Vista was unconscious, his breathing weak, as though he could perish at any moment.
"Hang in there, Vista…"
Marco's heart clenched as he hastily applied first aid, coating Vista's wounds with his regenerative blue flames in a desperate attempt to stabilize him.
But it seemed too late.
Meanwhile—
Ace slowly regained consciousness.
The first thing he saw was the floating rock carrying Maude's crew high into the sky. His expression changed.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he struggled to sit up.
In doing so, he suddenly noticed a gaping, hollow square in his chest.
"My heart… it's been taken."
Staring at the empty space in his torso, Ace's breath hitched.
The rain grew heavier, pouring down in torrents.
Cold raindrops mercilessly extinguished his flames.
Inside Dressrosa—
The timely rainfall doused the raging fires consuming the city.
The chaos gradually settled.
And so—
As peace began to return, the citizens finally turned their attention to the massive warship hovering over the harbor and the floating rock carrying Maude's crew.
One by one, countless gazes filled with mixed emotions pierced through the rain, locking onto the figures standing on the rising stone platform.
Among them, Hina, Chaton, and even Fujitora stood silently in the downpour, their eyes fixed on the Maude Pirates as they vanished into the rain.
Raindrops trickled down their faces, sliding along their noses and cheeks before splashing onto the ground, forming rippling puddles that mirrored the turmoil in their hearts.
At the center of the city—
Soldiers stood tall, forming a protective barrier around the royal family of Dressrosa.
Viola was among them.
She gazed up at the rain-soaked sky, her eyes fixed on the fading silhouette standing atop the floating rock.
Unlike the others, she could still see everything with perfect clarity.
"Aunt Viola…"
Rebecca, who had now learned the full truth, approached her side.
Hearing Rebecca's voice, Viola slowly retracted her ability, her heart stirring with an impossible thought.
Shaa—
The rain intensified.
The floating rock carried Maude and his crew back to the Thriller Bark.
At the same time, on the nearby sea, several pirate ships emerged from the veil of rain.
They were Whitebeard Pirates' ships—five in total.
Though the Whitebeard Pirates had suffered heavy losses at Marineford, the world had since learned of Ace's true lineage as the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
As a result, many pirates had flocked to join Whitebeard's remnants, drawn by the name.
While some of Roger's old enemies had also resurfaced, their numbers were few.
After all, Roger's era had ended over twenty years ago, and only a handful of his foes remained.
With Blackbeard's rise abruptly crushed by Maude, the remnants of Whitebeard's crew still held a slim chance of regaining their former glory in the New World.
High above—
The Thriller Bark retracted its sails and flew into the distance, disappearing into the rain.
Leaving the handling of corpses and captives to his crew, Maude eagerly led Law and Lafitte back to his quarters, not forgetting their latest prey—Jack the Drought and Catarina Devon.
Back in his room, he followed his usual routine, extracting the Devil Fruits from Jack and Catarina Devon's bodies.
As expected, he kept the severed heads for himself.
The moment Jack and Catarina Devon drew their last breaths, Maude's body trembled at an astonishing frequency.
An overwhelming surge of experience coursed through him.
In that instant, his muscles, veins, and cells seemed to quiver with exhilaration.
For the first time since his repeated ascensions, Maude experienced this sensation and slowly closed his eyes.
Within the darkness of his mind, a familiar hunter's notebook materialized, its edges glowing faintly.
His mastery in Swordsmanship, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities—each represented by star icons—had been steadily accumulating since Marineford.
And now, in this pivotal moment, all three simultaneously reached nine stars, filling their respective frames to the brim.
Four disciplines at nine stars—
A boundless surge of power roared through his body.
The sensation was so profound that Maude involuntarily unleashed an overwhelming aura of sheer terror.
At the same time, arcs of black and red lightning crackled across his skin.
This was the manifestation of Conqueror's Haki, fusing directly with his aura, engulfing the entire Thriller Bark.
Even Aokiji and Shakky felt a tremor in their souls.
"This is…?!"
Then, without discrimination, the sheer force of his Haki erupted, knocking out the weaker crew members one by one.
After all, Jack was also a "swordsman."
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