The Terror of the Pirates

Recognized?

Ripples of unease rose in Alex's mind, but his face remained calm.

He sat down in his chair, facing Tatamu, and pretended that Lafayette wasn't talking to him.

Seeing Alex's lack of response, Lafayette's blood-red lips curved slightly upward. He lifted his hand to press down the brim of his hat while placing his cane behind him.

"Out of courtesy, perhaps I should call you Mr. Usopp."

"..."

Alright, it was by name. Alex had to acknowledge it now.

He turned his head toward the smiling Lafayette and said blankly, "You're talking to me?"

"Yes."

Lafayette's expression remained unchanged, as if oblivious to Alex's feigned bewilderment.

Alex feigned confusion, "Do I know you?"

Lafayette replied gently, "Having not exchanged last names, it's only natural that we don't know each other."

"Oh, that's all right then."

Alex withdrew his gaze and continued to face Tatamu, picking up his wine glass and pretending to drink.

Lafayette, however, didn't mind Alex's coldness at all and continued, "I heard a little about what happened at the Tomahawk Tavern a few days ago. It's a pity I wasn't there to witness the good show."

"..."

Alex remained silent, thinking to himself that everyone had wanted to escape the chaos as quickly as possible. If Lafayette had been there, the situation might have been even worse.

Lafayette still smiled as he looked at the silent Alex and calmly said, "The fact that Mr. Usopp was able to remain unharmed in that situation and even caused the Spiked Bull Pirates and the Abbey Pirates to fight each other truly makes my heart yearn for more."

"..."

Alex couldn't figure out Lafayette's intentions and chose to remain silent.

Seeing that Alex was determined not to respond, Lafayette remained unbothered and suddenly uttered a cryptic sentence.

"Here, it's really a good place."

When he said the words "good place," his tone was filled with inexplicable satisfaction.

After speaking, he gave a slight nod of his head as a salute to Alex and then walked toward the door of the bar.

Just before leaving, Lafayette stopped and turned his back to Alex.

"Mr. Usopp, my name is Lafayette. Let's consider ourselves acquainted the next time we meet, shall we?"

With that, Lafayette pushed the door and left the bar.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Alex frowned slightly as he looked toward the doorway.

What on earth was this guy thinking?

Not only had Lafayette recognized his disguised identity, but he had also connected Alex's identity as the undertaker from the auction night to his alias, Usopp, inside the Tomahawk Tavern.

To say that Lafayette hadn't been paying attention on purpose—Alex couldn't believe it.

The thought of being targeted by such a treacherous person with unknown intentions gave Alex a headache.

"I haven't messed with him, have I?"

If anything, it was during the auction night when Alex had taken the initiative to eliminate two revenge seekers to stifle potential risks.

But that alone shouldn't have drawn Lafayette's attention.

Could it be that, like Wolf Rat, Lafayette was also short on friends?

Alex couldn't figure it out.

"Achoo!"

A sudden sneeze came from the alleyway outside the bar.

"Who's thinking of me?"

Wolf Rat's muttering voice drifted in from outside.

Inside the bar, Alex's mouth twitched.

If it weren't for Lafayette, he would have been at the weapon store by now.

Sighing softly to himself, Alex placed Dark Raven on the chair next to him.

Crunch—

Wolf Rat pushed open the door of the bar and walked in.

Upon seeing Alex, Wolf Rat's face lit up with delight.

"Usopp, you're finally here!"

With that, Wolf Rat closed the door behind him, strode over to Alex, and sat down on a chair.

"I've been wanting to talk to you about the Spiked Bull Pirates and the Abbey Pirates for the past few days, but I didn't know where you lived. I've been anxious to death!"

Wolf Rat then looked at Tatamu and asked, "Tatamu, did you show Usopp the note I left behind?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Wolf Rat nodded and then turned to Alex, sighing, "Usopp, our luck is quite good. After escaping that day, Kazet and Abbey were each seriously injured. They shouldn't be looking for trouble with us anytime soon."

"Yeah."

Alex responded indifferently.

Seeing that Alex wasn't as celebratory as he had imagined, Wolf Rat turned back to Tatamu and held up his index finger, signaling for a glass of wine.

"Tatamu, I just saw Lafayette. Did he come to buy information?"

Tatamu nodded.

Wolf Rat, lacking any professional ethics as a fellow intelligence worker, asked curiously, "Tsk, which unlucky person was targeted by him this time? Give me a hint."

"No."

Tatamu refused.

"Tch, stingy."

Wolf Rat waved his hand dismissively and said, "That said, Lafayette is a downright dangerous person. Since he came to Mad Hatter Town, the number of people he's killed is at least a hundred."

Hearing Wolf Rat mention Lafayette, Alex's interest was piqued, and he couldn't help but lean in.

Speaking of unlucky people who were targeted, Alex wondered if he counted as one.

Thinking this, Alex took the initiative to join the conversation.

"Why is that?"

Seeing Alex's interest, Wolf Rat was energized and explained:

"Lafayette was once expelled from his country for his abuse of violence. To him, killing people rarely requires a reason. Most of those who died at his hands had no prior connection to him."

"And someone so unreasonable exists?"

Alex feigned ignorance of Lafayette, looking surprised as if he couldn't believe such a person existed.

Wolf Rat watched Alex's expression, his eyelids twitching slightly. Outwardly, he remained calm, but inwardly, he thought, Aren't you such a person?

Wolf Rat had specifically investigated the pirates killed by Alex, including the navigator of the Spiked Bull Pirates and the fishman slaves who had escaped from the auction.

Initially, he thought Alex's motive for killing those people was personal grudges.

However, the investigation revealed no connections.

This result left Wolf Rat puzzled.

But whether it was Alex or Lafayette, as long as the people they killed were pirates, Wolf Rat would only applaud, even if he didn't understand their motives.

Especially in a pirate-infested place like Mad Hatter's Town, Wolf Rat hoped there were more people like Alex and Lafayette.

Raising the glass of wine Tatamu handed him, Wolf Rat sighed, "In this place, there are more than enough unreasonable people. Lafayette is just more conspicuous."

Alex nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but dangerous people like Lafayette, who kill for no reason, are best avoided."

Wolf Rat's eyelids twitched again.

Don't you have any self-awareness at all?

He could hardly respond to Alex's words and remained silent.

Alex, unaware of Wolf Rat's internal monologue, suddenly asked, "Wolf Rat, how much do you know about Kazet and Abbey's injuries?"

Wolf Rat raised his eyebrows, "Basically everything."

"How serious are they?"

"Kazet suffered a stab wound, mostly on his inner thigh. But he's an Animal Fruit user, so he'll heal in less than half a month.

"As for Abbey, he took a direct hit from Kazet's hoof. His internal injuries are severe, and he won't be able to get out of bed for at least a month. Why do you ask?"

Wolf Rat looked at Alex suspiciously.

Alex smiled slightly.

"Well, Wolf Rat, are you interested in doing a big job?"