The Scourge of One Piece - Chapter 5

Mad Hat Town, a chaotic mix of all sorts, is a notorious pirate haven in the West Blue.

Simultaneously, forces from the underground world, like roots entwined, firmly occupy Mad Hat Town, allowing various black-market industries to flourish.

The main reason for this boom was the Great Pirate Era, which was ignited by Gol D. Roger’s words before his death.

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

For instance, rampaging pirates plunder money from good citizens.

Then, underground bosses find ways to make pirates willingly spend their loot.

Consequently, Mad Hat Town, as a lawless area, has sprouted various industries.

Slavery,

Organ trade,

Weapons,

Red-light districts,

All sorts of things that can easily provoke a common person’s nerves are available here.

Among the many black professions in Mad Hat Town is the **Undertaker**.

Their primary job is handling corpses, occasionally doubling as doctors, and working closely with organ traders.

Arthur, who Sunny called to handle the corpse, is one of the undertakers in Mad Hat Town.

His skill isn’t top-notch, but he is among the best.

When Thor brought Maude back, it was Arthur who treated him.

And now, as the person in charge of treatment, he was very surprised to see Maude awake.

“What do you mean, he actually woke up?”

Thor sensed something off and glared at Arthur.

Arthur had assured him that Maude’s chances of waking up after treatment were over fifty percent, which is why Thor agreed.

At the time, he thought that even if Maude didn’t wake up, he could still sell him on the black market to minimize losses, so he agreed.

Now it seemed that Maude’s actual chances of waking up were less than fifty percent.

Caught by the seasoned Thor with just a slip of the tongue, Arthur admitted frankly, shrugging.

“If I hadn’t said that, how could I have gotten the business from you?”

“You scoundrel, you deserve a bad end!”

Thor immediately cursed.

“Same to you.”

Maybe it was the mask, or maybe he was just thick-skinned, but Arthur remained calm.

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

“Maude isn’t a slave.”

Sunny suddenly corrected him.

There was a follow-up she didn’t say—Maude is a laborer.

Arthur glanced at Sunny but didn’t reply, instead walking toward Maude.

Seeing Arthur’s approach, Maude became wary.

This guy clearly wasn’t trustworthy.

Arthur, tall and burly, stood in front of Maude, towering over him.

He looked down at the bandage on Maude’s forehead and suddenly reached out to grab it.

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

“Oh?”

A strange light flashed in Arthur’s eyes.

He moved quickly and unexpectedly, never thinking Maude could avoid it.

Based on his initial diagnosis, he believed that even if Maude woke up, his motor skills would be impaired, and he couldn’t recover so quickly.

But the facts were before him.

Setting everything else aside, Maude’s self-healing ability was extraordinary.

Arthur’s strange light quickly faded, replaced by a thoughtful gleam.

This was a valuable asset, the kind special clients loved, selling well above market price.

With that thought, Arthur took a step forward, wanting to further assess Maude’s condition.

But the next moment, he stopped abruptly.

He turned to look at Thor, who was puffing on his pipe with a blank expression behind the counter. The look in Thor’s eyes was piercing.

At the same time, Arthur realized that this seemingly ordinary kid had already caught Thor’s eye. Turning him into a product was now impossible.

Regrettably.

But he could only silently drop the idea of negotiating a deal with Thor.

“Sorry, sorry, seeing a patient I treated wake up, I got a bit excited and forgot I’m here as an undertaker.”

Arthur made up an excuse for his previous inappropriate behavior and then returned to the corpse to continue his interrupted work.

Thor’s gaze finally softened.

Although being tricked by Arthur was unpleasant, Thor didn’t doubt Arthur’s professional ethics, knowing every penny spent was genuinely for treatment.

Otherwise, he would have made sure Arthur left horizontally, not just out of their long acquaintance.

Maude watched Arthur’s back.

Arthur, huh…

Beside him, Sunny looked at Maude’s profile, puzzled.

By the corpse, Arthur examined the wounds and pulled out a threaded needle from his collar.

“The heart has several stab wounds, so I’ll only give you 60% of the market price.”

“Fine, just hurry up and leave.”

Thor blew out a puff of smoke impatiently.

Arthur said no more, his right hand creating a flurry of movement over the corpse’s wounds.

In a moment, the messy wounds were neatly stitched.

Watching Arthur’s skillful technique, Maude couldn’t help but recall a formidable woman from his previous life who used needles as weapons.

Damn.

This guy, who wasn’t even mentioned in the original story, had such skills?
And Thor, though short, was undoubtedly strong.

This was just in the West Blue…

What would the Grand Line and the New World be like?
Maude’s thoughts grew heavy.

He realized he needed to be more cautious when choosing targets.

One wrong move, and he’d become the hunted instead of the hunter.

In truth, Maude was overthinking.

Birds of a feather flock together, and those associated with Thor wouldn’t be weaklings.

And an old pirate like Thor, retired from the previous era, was a rarity in a place like Mad Hat Town.
After stitching the corpse, Arthur left a small stack of money and carried the body out.

Once Arthur left, the shop door was closed, ending the day’s business early.

As for the bloodstains, it was naturally Maude’s job to clean up.

Despite being hungry and thirsty, Maude had to comply.

Fortunately, Sunny already considered him a colleague and gave him a piece of bread and a cup of water.

After swallowing the bread and drinking the water, Maude felt somewhat better and immediately started cleaning.

At this time, Thor went upstairs to his room, and Sunny stayed behind.

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

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

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

Finally, when Maude finished cleaning, she asked her question.

“How did you dodge that?”

“Huh?”

Maude looked at Sunny, puzzled.

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