A newcomer with limitless potential.
There was no reason for the Four Emperors' pirate crews to overlook him.
It didn't matter what methods they used—what mattered was ensuring that this newcomer became a part of their forces.
However, those factions eager to recruit Maude had no idea that he had already assumed the title of Warlord of the Sea.
Inside a slave trading shop on the Sabaody Archipelago—
Maude had his eyes on the shop's only three pirate captain slaves.
Purchasing them was inevitable, but he showed no intention of buying outright. Instead, he left the bargaining to the shrewder Udyr.
"Jonathan—22 million berries, Freeman—15 million berries, Thompson—9 million."
Leaning against a wall near the counter, Maude lowered his gaze to the files provided by the slave traders.
The documents were detailed, even listing the captains' heights and weights.
As for pricing—Jonathan was set at 28 million, Freeman at 21 million, and Thompson at 15 million.
Since these were bounty-bearing captains, their pricing couldn't possibly be compared to the 500,000-beri market rate of ordinary human slaves.
After all, some exceptionally beautiful female slaves, despite having a starting price of 500,000 berries, could be sold for several million if presented to the right buyers or sent to auction.
And these pirate captains, already carrying bounty values, naturally started at prices exceeding their bounties.
"The asking price is about 6 million higher than their combined bounties."
Maude glanced up at Udyr, who was haggling aggressively with the shop owner.
Before coming here, Udyr had confidently assured Maude that he could lower the price by about 3 million per captain.
If Udyr could deliver on his promise, they would save 9 million berries on these three pirate captains.
Hopefully, Udyr could pull through.
Maude thought to himself.
If the negotiations succeeded, he would spend a total of 55 million berries to acquire these three pirate captains.
Afterward, he planned to kill them to extract experience points and then cash in their bounties through the channel provided by Shakky. He estimated he could recover around 20 million berries this way.
All in all, this meant an expenditure of roughly 30 million berries.
But since this money originally came from pirate bounties, he was essentially reinvesting it.
"The funds I have now aren't limitless, but they should last for at least seven or eight rounds."
While Udyr bargained, Maude calculated how best to maximize his resources and grind for experience points.
If conditions allowed, he planned to clear out all the pirate captain slaves on the island.
According to Udyr, pirate captains were among the more commonly stocked slaves in the Sabaody Archipelago.
This was because, in this environment, slaver squads preferred to capture pirate captains. Unless a captive had some defacing injuries, they would never turn them in for bounty rewards.
The reason was simple—cashing in a bounty through the Marines involved an excessively complicated process, and the final payout would be reduced by at least 20%.
Meanwhile, the slave market offered a payout between 90% to 95% of a pirate's bounty value—and paid instantly.
As a result, many slaver squads focused their efforts on targeting pirate captains arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago.
If Maude wanted to completely buy out all the pirate captain slaves on the island, he would need substantial funds.
But Maude wasn't in a rush.
Now that he had officially assumed the title of Warlord of the Sea, he planned to station himself in Sabaody for the long term.
While there, he would continuously purchase pirate captain slaves to farm experience while also waiting for pirate crews to come to him voluntarily.
This was one of his temporary plans.
As Udyr continued to negotiate, Maude walked toward the restroom inside the shop.
He intended to jot down relevant information about these three captains in his Hunter's Notebook.
At the shop's center, Udyr flung the slave catalog back at the shop owner, clearly irritated by how the discussion was going.
Udyr glared coldly at the owner and said, "Don't think I don't know that you've driven down the acquisition price to 90% of their bounties. Even if you cut 3 million off, you're still making several million in pure profit per head."
The shop owner caught the catalog and sighed. "Udyr, do you have any idea how much I have to spend on labor and rent each month? There's no way I'm making several million per sale."
"Besides, these three are my store's crown jewels. If I sell them at a discount, where am I supposed to find replacements on short notice?"
"How is that my problem?" Udyr folded his arms. "Just say whether you'll sell or not. But I should remind you—"
Taking advantage of the moment while Maude was in the restroom, Udyr stepped closer to the owner, his voice dropping into a low, menacing whisper.
"This customer of yours? He's not as patient as I am."
"..."
The shop owner trembled slightly and wiped the sweat from his forehead, cautiously glancing toward the restroom.
He couldn't afford to offend someone with that kind of reputation.
The owner sighed internally.
Seeing the subtle reaction, Udyr realized that soft negotiation was useless compared to direct intimidation.
If he had just mentioned Maude's name from the start, he wouldn't have wasted so many words.
Truly, Maude's name alone was power!
Thanks to Udyr's efforts, Maude ultimately secured the three pirate captains for 9 million berries less than the asking price upon returning from the restroom.
The transaction was completed in a swift and efficient manner.
With the three shackled captains in tow, Maude left the shop, with Udyr following closely behind.
At the entrance, the shop owner forced a smile while bidding Maude farewell, though his heart bled from the loss.
He had just lost out on 9 million berries—and if Udyr had pressed harder, he might have been forced to sell at an even bigger loss.
Had Maude demanded a 12-million discount, the owner would have had no choice but to comply—out of sheer fear.
As Maude led the captains down the street, they quickly drew attention.
Many onlookers made the same assumption as the shop owner:
Maude was purchasing strong pirate captains as hired muscle to strengthen his crew.
However, a small handful found the situation puzzling.
Given Maude's reputation, he could recruit plenty of pirates simply by making an announcement. Why waste money on slave captains?
Most concluded that it was due to the Marine presence on the island.
Though the Marines generally avoided the lawless zone, any pirate who openly declared recruitment would immediately become a target.
And with Marine Headquarters so close by, no pirate would risk attracting that level of attention.
Just as the onlookers felt they had figured out Maude's motives, he suddenly did something that stunned them all—
They watched as Maude suddenly removed the slave collars from the three pirate captains, leaving them momentarily stunned.
Those collars contained built-in explosives, strong enough to kill or severely injure, making them an effective means of controlling slaves. Yet Maude had taken them off without hesitation?
The onlookers couldn't comprehend his actions, and the three pirate captains, now freed from their collars, were even more bewildered.
Udyr, however, remained relatively calm, having a deep understanding of Maude's strength.
When Maude had asked him to find human trafficking shops that sold pirate captain slaves or Fishman and Giant slaves, Udyr had realized that Maude intended to expand his crew on the island.
To Udyr, spending money to buy strong pirate captains as slaves and then personally removing their collars seemed like an obvious way to win them over.
That was his assumption, so he wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, Maude was powerful enough to afford such a move.
But in the next second, Udyr's expectations were completely shattered.
"I'm giving you a chance to regain your freedom."
Maude looked calmly at the three bewildered pirate captains and continued, "If you can survive ten attacks from me while working together, I'll let you go."
"Really?"
Jonathan, Freeman, and Thompson's eyes lit up with excitement.
After being enslaved, their greatest desire had been freedom.
Now that such an opportunity was in front of them, they naturally cherished it.
Maude gestured toward the discarded slave collars on the ground and asked indifferently, "Isn't it obvious?"
Jonathan, the one with the highest bounty, narrowed his eyes slightly before asking again, "And if we fail to last ten moves?"
Maude's response was cold and simple: "You die."
"..."
Jonathan, Freeman, and Thompson instantly felt a chill run down their spines.
What lay before them was both an opportunity for freedom and a desperate battle with no way out.
They had no choice but to fight with everything they had…
"We haven't had a proper meal in a while, so could we…"
Perhaps because Maude seemed easy to talk to, Jonathan attempted to push his luck.
Maude cut him off mid-sentence, his tone now carrying a chilling killing intent: "Do you think you're in a position to negotiate with me?"
Feeling the weight of Maude's murderous aura, Jonathan's expression stiffened, and he immediately shut his mouth. Freeman and Thompson, too, were shaken to their core, their eyes growing solemn.
Off to the side, Udyr was completely dumbfounded.
Spending a fortune to buy pirate captain slaves, only to kill them on the spot?
What kind of logic was that?
Udyr's sharp mind struggled to process it.
His subordinates, who had accompanied him, were equally baffled.
Maude had no intention of explaining his motives to them. Instead, he glanced at the weapons hanging from Udyr's men and ordered, "Udyr, give them a blade."
"Huh?"
Udyr had no idea what to say at this point.
Oh well, whatever the boss says, he would just follow.
Why even bother thinking about it?
With that thought, Udyr promptly ordered his subordinates to toss their weapons to the three pirate captains.
Jonathan, Freeman, and Thompson were no ordinary pirates; they had survived countless battles and made it all the way to the Sabaody Archipelago.
The moment they caught their blades, they immediately launched a surprise attack on Maude, slashing at him without hesitation.
They weren't foolish enough to announce their intentions beforehand.
"You bastards…!"
Seeing their betrayal, Udyr was instantly enraged.
But Maude simply took a light step back, effortlessly evading their attacks as if it were nothing.
"Screw your ten-move rule! If we kill you, we're free all the same!"
Jonathan's eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he unleashed his strongest attack on Maude, who had just landed from his dodge.
Freeman and Thompson did the same, launching their own killing blows without hesitation.
As Maude observed their strikes—attacks completely lacking any real threat—a look of disappointment flickered deep in his eyes.
Without a word, he drew Shusui and, with a simple flick of his wrist, sent out a flying slash that cleaved through their weapons—and their bodies.
"Urgh…?"
The three pirate captains, who had fought desperately for even a sliver of hope, suddenly froze in place, staring blankly as Maude calmly sheathed his sword.
Shnk—
A faint sound echoed as their blades, now severed in two, slowly fell apart.
And so did their bodies.
As blood pooled beneath them, they collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Maude looked down at their corpses, expressionless.
He was somewhat disappointed.
He had originally planned to use these pirate captain slaves as live training dummies, hoping to squeeze some real combat experience out of them while farming battle experience.
However, even Jonathan, with a bounty exceeding 20 million, wasn't even worth using for practice.
His initial disappointment faded the moment he felt the surge of battle experience integrating into his body.
"The payout was better than expected."
Maude's eyes gleamed slightly. Thanks to the detailed information provided by the human trafficking shop, the experience yield was significantly enhanced.
That was one of the advantages of purchasing slaves from a trafficking ring.
"In that case, I might as well stay here for a while."
His temporary plan was becoming clearer—perhaps he should serve as a 'righteous gatekeeper' in the lawless zone of Sabaody for a while.
Udyr and his men glanced back and forth between Maude and the three corpses, their expressions complicated.
Just like that, millions of Berries were gone in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, the bystanders, who had been watching ever since the pirate captains had been freed, stood dumbstruck, staring at the fresh corpses on the ground.
They had initially assumed that Maude had bought the pirate captain slaves to expand his crew. A few pirates who considered themselves strong had even thought about volunteering to join him.
But in the end, Maude had shattered their expectations in the most brutal way possible.
Now, they were left utterly confused.
Still, after considering how Maude had willingly removed the pirate captains' collars and even handed them weapons, some of them began to piece things together.
"…Was it to hone his skills?"
"Hah? If that's true, isn't it way too insane?"
"You idiot, don't you get it? That's exactly why he's so strong!"
"…Well, you're not wrong."
"To go this far just to get stronger… that's the kind of man I admire!"
The onlookers' gazes slowly shifted from the fallen pirate captains to Maude himself—some filled with shock, others with respect, and some with admiration.
In just under two days, Maude had already become synonymous with power in this lawless land, unknowingly gathering a small following.
Had it not been for their various concerns, some of the pirates who worshipped strength might have even approached him by now.
Just as Maude was about to ask Udyr to take the bodies to Shakky, Udyr's Den Den Mushi suddenly rang, causing Maude to stop mid-sentence.
Udyr pulled out the ringing snail and answered. The moment he did, an anxious voice blared from the other end:
"Boss! Bad news! That skeleton guy who was asking random women for their panties in the shopping district on Grove 30 just got targeted by the Human Auctioning House's slave-hunting team!!!"
"What!?"
Udyr's face paled as he turned to Maude and repeated frantically, "Boss Maude! Bad news! That skeleton guy who was asking women for their panties just got targeted by the Human Auctioning House's slave hunters!!!"
Of course, by 'skeleton guy,' he meant Brook.
"..."
Maude was speechless for a moment before asking, "What's the Human Auctioning House?"
He wasn't particularly worried about Brook's safety—Udyr's reaction, however, had piqued his interest.
Udyr's expression turned grim. "It's the largest human auction in all of Sabaody—and the only one that the Celestial Dragons personally attend!!!"
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