"Shadow Heart? I see... Hoho."
Given Lafitte's understanding of Maude's shadow abilities, he quickly grasped the intricacies behind the technique, his expression shifting slightly in realization.
Not far away, upon hearing the term "Shadow Heart," Law instinctively turned his gaze toward them.
"Lafitte, such a combination of abilities is quite fascinating, wouldn't you say?"
Maude tilted his head slightly, glancing in the direction of the prison cell.
"Hoho... Indeed, it is quite intriguing."
Lafitte remarked seriously, "With this, even if the Marines have thoroughly studied the principles behind 'Shadows' and 'Surgery,' they would only prepare to counter those specific abilities. They would never anticipate the existence of something like 'Shadow Surgery.'"
"Still, I'm curious, Captain... Did you implant this little mechanism inside a Celestial Dragon purely as a precaution, or... was it to kill him?"
When Lafitte spoke of killing a Celestial Dragon, his eyes gleamed with a dangerous excitement, like a single drop of water falling into a pan of hot oil.
He had never cared for the weak.
But Celestial Dragons were different.
Killing one would certainly be... entertaining.
That was Lafitte's thought.
Maude met Lafitte's gaze and answered seriously, "Both, I'd say. After all, we're dealing with the World Government and the Marines. It's only wise to have a contingency plan. But if they don't behave... I wouldn't mind killing a Celestial Dragon to send them a warning."
"Hoho, in that case..."
Lafitte performed a graceful bow, the tip of his crimson lips curling into a smile. "Let's sincerely hope the World Government and the Marines have the good sense to stay in line."
"Heh."
Maude's gaze remained calm and deep.
Celestial Dragons—worthless scum. If there were no consequences to consider, what harm would there be in killing one?
Half an hour later.
Maude returned to his room.
Law and the idle Perona soon followed.
Maude glanced at the open window.
With a mere wave of his hand, shadows unfurled like a curtain, blocking the sunlight that streamed through.
The room instantly darkened.
The flickering glow of candlelight soon took its place, casting eerie shadows across the walls.
Law leaned against the wall beside the door, arms crossed, watching Maude with curiosity.
Perona squinted slightly, seemingly enjoying the strange yet oddly comforting ambiance created by the candlelit room.
Moments later.
Lafitte arrived with the Celestial Dragon's heart, while Jim, as if carrying a sack of poultry, dragged the still-unconscious noble into the room.
Maude took the heart from Lafitte's hands.
Under the dim candlelight, the heart's shadow was cast onto the wall not far from Law.
Raising a finger, Maude extended a wisp of darkness from its tip, guiding it toward the heart's shadow before making a swift slicing motion at its edges.
Silently, the heart and its shadow separated.
Maude promptly stored the extracted shadow.
The heart remained in his hand, yet its shadow had disappeared from the wall, leaving an unnatural void where it should have been.
"Law, put it back."
Maude tossed the heart toward Law.
Law caught it effortlessly, activating his ROOM ability to seamlessly return the organ to its original place within the body.
The owner of this heart was none other than Charlos—the infamous Celestial Dragon who once coveted mermaid slaves and was subsequently punched into oblivion by Luffy.
Once Maude confirmed that the heart had been properly restored, he snapped his fingers. The shadow curtain covering the window peeled back, allowing golden sunlight to flood into the room, bathing Charlos in its warmth.
Everyone's eyes instinctively followed the light, focusing on the Celestial Dragon.
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
"No issues. It works."
Maude extended his right hand, and in his palm, the shadowy image of a heart pulsed into view.
With a slight motion of his fingers, he pinched the shadow heart, exerting a bit of pressure.
Charlos, who had been unconscious, suddenly twitched violently. Veins bulged across his forehead and the corners of his eyes, his pupils snapping open and bloodshot with agony.
"It hurts! It hurts so much!!!"
The moment Charlos awoke, he was overwhelmed by a searing pain in his chest. His high-pitched wails of suffering filled the room.
"Father! Father!!! Save me!!! It hurts!!! Somebody, please stop the pain!!!"
Charlos flailed on the ground, rolling in agony, snot and drool oozing from his face, making him look utterly pitiful and disgraceful.
Expressionless, Maude maintained his grip on the shadow heart, controlling the intensity of the pain.
Law, Jim, Perona, and Lafitte silently observed Charlos's misery.
In this world, how many had ever witnessed a Celestial Dragon reduced to such a wretched state?
Moments later.
Charlos screamed himself into unconsciousness.
A life of absolute luxury had left him utterly incapable of withstanding pain.
"That should do it."
Maude nodded slightly, satisfied with the test results.
Perona glanced at the unconscious, filth-covered Charlos, then at Maude—her expression one of bewilderment.
This was the first time in her life she had ever seen someone treat a Celestial Dragon like a mere plaything.
And that someone was standing right in front of her.
A man both powerful and ruthless—yet deeply gentle to those he considered his own.
A short while later, Maude repeated the process, removing the shadow hearts of the remaining four Celestial Dragons before having Law return their physical hearts to their bodies.
"I never thought... abilities could be 'designed' like this."
After completing the procedure, Law looked at Maude with a complex expression.
The more time he spent around Maude, the stronger his admiration grew—an admiration he struggled to suppress.
If he could, he would love to use the Op-Op Fruit's powers to dissect Maude's brain just to see what kind of mind could devise such tactics.
"Quit looking at me like you're about to perform an autopsy."
Maude shot Law a glance.
Law turned away, sighing. "Maude, you're the most 'extraordinary' person I've ever met."
...
Ten days later.
Somewhere in the New World.
Dark clouds churned across the sky, heavy with rain yet to fall.
Fierce winds roared from all directions, whipping up towering waves.
Amidst the treacherous sea, a small boat with a thatched roof bobbed precariously over the tumultuous waters, seemingly on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Yet, no matter how violent the waves grew, the boat always managed to ride them at just the right angle.
Rumble—
A deep, rolling thunder echoed from the dense storm clouds above.
As flashes of lightning illuminated the sky, a figure with wings appeared, hovering high in the air.
At the bow of the swaying boat, an elderly woman draped in robes slowly lifted her head, her gaze locking onto the shadowy silhouette hidden within the stormy night.
Rumbling thunder continued to crash across the heavens.
A burst of lightning momentarily illuminated the entire sea.
"Hmm?"
The old woman squinted as if trying to get a clearer look at the figure before her. Her wrinkled face twitched several times.
Another flash of lightning split the sky.
She instinctively blinked.
And in that brief moment—someone had appeared right in front of her.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, the old woman let out a startled cry and stumbled backward. She kept retreating until her back hit the wooden door of the cabin, forcing her to stop.
The ship rocked violently, and it was a small miracle she hadn't tumbled straight into the sea.
"You… you are…!"
Her frail, twig-like fingers trembled as she slowly raised a hand, pointing at the figure who had suddenly materialized on the bow of her ship.
But the words caught in her throat, as if she were choking on thick phlegm.
She was terrified.
So terrified that she felt like a part of her soul had left her body.
She had spent a lifetime scaring others—never once had she imagined that, on a stormy night she had long since grown accustomed to, a ghost-like figure would suddenly appear before her.
Boom—!
Thunder rumbled endlessly.
In the flickering lightning, she finally saw the intruder's face clearly.
It was an undeniably handsome face—one she recognized instantly. A face that had recently been making waves across the sea, appearing in countless newspapers.
"Ba… Bacardi Maude…!!!"
The old woman, already panicked, now felt outright dread.
His dramatic entrance, combined with his identity, gave her a very bad feeling.
It felt like she was about to be robbed—or worse.
If he had just been some ordinary pirate with a bounty in the hundreds of millions, she might have been able to handle it.
But Bacardi Maude?
Even if there were a hundred of her, it wouldn't be enough.
"Do you sell umbrellas?"
Lost in fear, the old woman suddenly heard this unexpected question and froze.
In the New World, there existed a type of wandering merchant vessel known as a drifting shopboat—small, roofed ships that drifted aimlessly across various seas, like rootless duckweed.
Their numbers were few, but they were shrouded in mystery.
The owners of these shopboats were often elderly women, dressed like witches, exuding an eerie, enigmatic aura.
The old woman was one of them.
Within the cramped space of her little boat, she stocked an assortment of rare and peculiar goods—she even had Sky Island's exclusive Dial products.
Whenever she encountered a potential customer, she would boldly approach, regardless of the dangers, to peddle her wares.
But almost no one ever actively sought her out—much less appeared out of nowhere on her deck.
Even for someone as seasoned as she was, it took a moment to process the situation.
"You don't have any?"
Seeing her remain silent, Maude's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
The old woman snapped out of her daze.
"I-I do! What kind of umbrella are you looking for?"
"You've heard of Faijin Island, right?"
Maude asked.
The old woman immediately understood, rubbing her bony hands together as she responded eagerly, "Ah! You need umbrellas that can withstand lightning storms? I have those. Yes, I do!"
"How many?"
"Ten."
"I'll take them all. How much?"
"One…"
She almost blurted out one hundred million berries, but the terrifying scenario she had imagined—of Maude killing her and looting her ship—made her abruptly stop mid-sentence.
As her mind scrambled to recover, Maude prompted her again.
"How much?"
"…100 berries."
She was so nervous she answered purely on instinct—giving a price so absurdly low that she immediately wanted to slap herself.
"You're joking, right?"
Maude stared at the trembling old woman in surprise.
Even though the original manga had never mentioned the price of thunderproof umbrellas, an item with such a unique function couldn't possibly be this cheap, could it?
"I'm not joking."
Lowering her gaze, the old woman steeled herself and said, "In fact, you misunderstood. It's not one umbrella for 100 berries… it's ten umbrellas for 100 berries."
"…?"
The price was so ridiculously low that Maude was momentarily speechless.
He had specifically brought along a bag of gold, fully prepared to pay a premium for rare items.
Yet these umbrellas—capable of withstanding continuous lightning storms—were practically being given away.
And he had no idea why.
"You're sure it's ten umbrellas for 100 berries?"
"Yes, absolutely! If you'd like to purchase them, I'll fetch them right away!"
The old woman was desperate to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
"Go ahead."
Maude nodded.
As she turned to retrieve the umbrellas, he casually added, "You're not running some kind of special promotion, are you?"
"Ah! Yes! Today's prices are… uh, special discounts! Lucky you!"
She hastily made up an excuse as she opened the cabin door.
She had been so afraid that if she kept acting weak, Maude might just rob her outright.
Watching her retreating figure, Maude stroked his chin and mused, "Do you have any other discounted goods?"
"…"
The old woman froze in place.
Ten minutes later.
Standing at the bow, the old woman looked down at the tiny gold ring Maude had left in her hand, then up at the pirate himself, who was now flying away through the storm.
She had feared that this infamous pirate—known throughout the Grand Line for his ruthless reputation—would simply plunder her boat and sink it.
But then… Maude had paid for everything.
A legitimate trade.
Not like those other pirates who made a habit of dining and dashing—or outright replacing payment with a punch to the face.
To be fair, she had once done business with Gol D. Roger himself.
That transaction had involved an item worth fifty million berries—which Roger had somehow convinced her to trade for a random rock.
It seemed that famous pirates, in their own way, always had some kind of "pirate-style" dishonesty when it came to business.
But Bacardi Maude?
Compared to them, he was like a breath of fresh air.
A deep bitterness welled up inside her.
If she had just named a reasonable price, she was sure Maude would have paid in full.
"At least I gave him a piece of my Vivre Card… If he ever needs anything again, he'll come back. And then—"
Her eyes glinted coldly.
"I'll make him pay through the nose next time!"
Meanwhile, Maude soared through the air, carrying bags of newly acquired goods toward the Thriller Bark.
He wasn't even thinking about the ten thunderproof umbrellas in his bag anymore.
His mind was now fixated on something else—Sky Island's Dial technology.
Specifically, the Sound Dial, which could record and playback audio.
While the old woman had been explaining it to him earlier, a new idea had sparked in his mind.
What if he could combine a Sound Dial with the Tone-Tone Fruit he had stored inside his Shadow Casket?
Perhaps…
He could create a sonic bomb.
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