Chapter 5

Mad Hat Town is a melting pot of fish and dragons, a notorious den of pirates in the Western Sea.

At the same time, various forces from the underground world, like roots, tightly hold onto Mad Hat Town, making all kinds of black industries flourish here.

The main reason for this prosperity is that Pirate King Roger, before his death, opened the Great Age of Pirates with a single speech.

However, the fundamental reason is the simple and clear relationship line woven by human desires.

For example, rampant pirates plunder money from law-abiding citizens.

Then, the bosses of the underground world try every means to get the pirates to take money out of their pockets.

As a result, various industries have emerged in Mad Hat Town, a lawless den of debauchery.

Slaves,

Organs,

Weapons,

Red-light districts,

All kinds of things that can easily stimulate the nerves of ordinary people are available here.

Among the many black professions in Mad Hat Town, there is the profession of a "mortician."

Their main job is to collect bodies, and occasionally they also work as doctors, having a direct cooperative relationship with organ dealers.

Arthur, who was called by Sonny to collect a body, is one of the morticians in Mad Hat Town.

His skills are not top-notch, but he is among the best.

When Maud's predecessor was brought back by Sol, it was Arthur who was responsible for the treatment.

And now, as the person in charge of the treatment, he was very surprised to see Maud wake up.

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

Sol sensed something was wrong and glared at Arthur.

At the time, Arthur had guaranteed that Maud's chances of waking up after treatment would be over 50%, which is why Sol had decided to go ahead with it.

He had thought that even if Maud didn't wake up, he could still sell Maud to the black market to minimize his losses, and ultimately agreed.

Now it seems that the probability of Maud waking up was definitely less than 50%.

Caught in a slip of the tongue by the old fox Sol, Arthur admitted it with a shrug.

"If I hadn't said that, how could I have taken on your business?"

"You scoundrel, may you die a thousand deaths!"

Sol immediately burst into a tirade.

"Pot calling the kettle black."

Perhaps because he was wearing a mask, or perhaps because he had a thick skin, Arthur remained calm.

"Anyway, you made a profit. You know, the starting price for a human slave is 500,000, and you only spent 50,000 on treatment. You should be satisfied."

"Maud is not a slave."

Sonny suddenly corrected him.

She didn't say the next part out loud—Maud is a laborer.

Arthur glanced at Sonny, didn't respond, but instead left his work and walked towards Maud.

Seeing Arthur approach, Maud became wary.

This guy doesn't look like a good person.

Arthur was tall and stood in front of Maud, towering over him.

He looked down at the bandage on Maud's forehead and suddenly reached out.

Maud, however, was prepared. The moment Arthur made a move, he quickly stepped back, evading the grab.

"Oh?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Arthur's eyes.

He had moved quickly and unexpectedly, never thinking Maud could dodge.

Based on his initial diagnosis, Arthur believed that even if Maud woke up, his motor skills would definitely be affected and wouldn't recover to this level in such a short time.

But the facts were right there.

Without mentioning other aspects, Maud's self-healing ability was already extraordinary.

The surprise in Arthur's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a glint of interest.

This is a good catch, and it's the kind of product that special customers love. Not only is it easy to sell, but the price can easily exceed the market rate.

Thinking of this, Arthur took a step forward, wanting to further examine Maud's condition.

The next moment, he suddenly stopped.

He turned to look at Sol, who was smoking a pipe and had a blank expression, and felt the gaze was piercing.

At the same time, he realized that this seemingly ordinary little guy had already caught Sol's eye, and it was impossible to turn him into a commodity.

He felt a bit regretful.

But he could only quietly abandon the idea of negotiating a deal with Sol.

"Sorry, sorry. Seeing a patient I treated wake up made me a bit excited, and I almost forgot my role as a mortician."

Arthur casually made up an excuse for his overstep, then returned to the body and continued his interrupted work.

Sol's expression softened.

Although he was uncomfortable with being tricked by Arthur, he didn't doubt Arthur's professional ethics, knowing that every penny spent was indeed used for treatment.

Otherwise, he could have let Arthur walk in and carry him out, and it wouldn't have been a waste of their long friendship.

Maud watched Arthur's back.

So, Arthur, huh...

Beside him, Sonny tilted her head, looking at Maud's side face, her eyes filled with confusion.

Next to the body, Arthur examined the wounds, pulling out a thin needle with a thread from his collar.

"Your heart was stabbed several times, so I can only give you 60% of the market price."

"Fine, get it over with and get lost."

Sol exhaled a puff of smoke, impatiently.

Arthur didn't say more, his right hand, holding the needle, moved in a series of quick motions over the body's wounds.

In just a moment, the messy wounds were sewn up tightly.

Seeing Arthur's skill, Maud couldn't help but think of a woman from his past who used needles and thread as weapons and was extremely formidable.

Damn.

Could this guy, who doesn't even have a name in the original story, have such skills?

And Sol, though short, is definitely not weak.

This is just in the Western Sea...

So, what is the situation in the Grand Line and the New World?

Maud's mood became a bit more serious.

It seems that choosing prey needs to be more cautious.

Don't accidentally become the prey yourself.

In fact, Maud was overthinking.

People who gather with Sol are not weaklings.

And how many old pirates from the previous era can be found in a place like Mad Hat Town?

After sewing up the body's wounds, Arthur threw down a small stack of money and left with the body.

After Arthur left, the shop door was closed again, ending the day's business early.

The blood on the floor was naturally cleaned up by Maud.

Despite being hungry and thirsty, given his situation, Maud could only endure.

Fortunately, Sonny, who now considered him a colleague, gave him a pancake and a cup of water.

After eating the pancake and drinking the water, Maud finally managed to fill his stomach a bit and immediately started cleaning the blood.

At this time, Sol went upstairs to his room, and Sonny didn't leave.

There were two stools, one high and one low, inside the counter.

The low stool was for Sol to stand on, and the high one was for sitting.

She sat on the low stool, propping her cheek, watching Maud clean the floor.

Finally, after Maud finished cleaning, she asked her question.

"How did you manage to dodge?"

"Eh?"

Maud looked at Sonny, confused.