Chapter Two: Kid

If it had been before his soul transmigrated, Maud could have easily withstood a bullet.

But now...

The black muzzle of the gun loomed before him like the scythe of death hanging high overhead; should it fall, he would surely die.

“I mean no harm.”

Facing the gun barrel, Maud had no room for hesitation and quickly stated his position.

The barrel had immediately targeted him the moment it was thrust through the door, indicating that the person wielding the gun had already detected his subtle movements even before entering.

In this situation, Maud had no option but to declare himself harmless.

Ultimately, it was all because his current body afforded him no means to respond otherwise.

Outside the door was utter silence; the gun remained coldly unmoving.

After a few heartbeats, a slightly hoarse female voice sounded from outside, “Stand in front of me.”

“Alright.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Maud stepped in front of the door, the gun barrel following his every move.

Once there, he finally saw his armed visitor—a slender girl clad in coarse linen.

She wore her hair short, sharp, almost boyish, and three scar-like marks, as if left by claws, slashed from her left brow diagonally to the right corner of her mouth.

Had he not heard her rough voice earlier, he might well have mistaken her for a boy at first glance.

“I mean no harm,” Maud reiterated, slowly raising his empty hands to show he was unarmed.

He glanced at the burlap sack the girl held in her left hand, his eyelids twitching ever so slightly.

Compared to her steady, professional grip on the gun, it was the presence of that sack that unsettled him most.

Sunny fixed her gaze on his eyes, her tone flat. “Behave. If we meant you harm, do you really think you’d still be here talking?”

After this brief warning, Sunny put away her flintlock with practiced ease.

She understood that Maud’s small movements had been instinctive, a matter of self-preservation.

Otherwise, she would have pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing that the situation wasn't as dire as he’d feared, Maud exhaled in relief.

“Since you’re awake, this is no longer needed.”

Before Maud could react, Sunny tossed the sack aside.

Counting the return journey, this fellow had been unconscious for a full seven days.

According to Saul, if he didn’t wake up, he’d be sent for disposal—sold off to recoup some of the medical expenses spent on him.

Never had they expected him to wake at the very last moment.

Maud glanced at the sack, his lips moving slightly. “If I hadn’t woken up, was that sack meant to hold me?”

“Yes. If you hadn’t woken, I’d have stuffed you in that sack and sold you on the black market. Then the ‘Undertaker’ would have disassembled you into at least a dozen parts, turning you into merchandise for whoever could afford it.”

A chilling smile crossed Sunny’s lips.

Maud remained silent.

Dismantling, parts, trafficking...

Her words were still somewhat euphemistic, but the nature of this dark trade was clear enough.

And the earlier gunshots suggested this place was anything but safe or lawful.

He could tell Sunny wasn’t joking. Yet, as she had said, if they truly meant him harm, he would never have woken.

In other words, while the future was uncertain, for now, he was at least safe.

As long as his circumstances weren’t dire, he still had a chance to make use of the Hunter’s Notebook and grow stronger.

“What should I call you?” Maud asked, shifting the topic to the girl’s name.

Sunny’s eyes narrowed as she grinned. “You’re pretty calm, aren’t you? Just call me Sunny. As for your name, I believe I know it already.”

Maud paused, puzzled, until Sunny pulled a bronze pocket watch from her pocket.

At the sight of that familiar yet distant watch, Maud raised an eyebrow.

It was his. Or rather, it had belonged to this body’s previous owner.

Back when his predecessor had been transferred to the slave ship, the watch had been casually pilfered by a man.

Now, it was in Sunny’s hand.

Meaning—the ones who attacked the slave ship were Sunny and her group?

Maud pondered in silence.

If memory served, the watch contained two photographs—one full-length portrait taken at his predecessor’s sixteenth birthday, complete with a handwritten signature in the lower right corner.

No wonder Sunny said she knew his name.

The other photograph—a family portrait of three...or was it four?

A sudden stab of pain shot through his head.

Maud frowned.

Sunny, absorbed in the watch, didn’t notice his expression.

“This watch is yours, but right now it’s my ‘trophy.’ Still, since we might be colleagues in the future, I suppose I can return it to you.”

With that, Sunny tossed the watch to Maud.

He caught it, ignoring the pain, and flipped open the lid to reveal the motionless hands and the two photographs tucked inside.

His gaze drifted over his own full-length portrait and then settled on the family photo, where all four were beaming.

Four?

Wasn’t it just his predecessor and his parents?

Fragments of memory began to stir, making the pain in his head intensify.

Quickly, Maud snapped the watch closed and fell silent.

He was grateful this body had granted him a new life, but he didn’t wish to be swayed by its lingering memories.

Sunny noticed his change but had no interest in probing. She simply reminded him, “As someone who’s been through this, I suggest you destroy the signed photo and come up with a new alias.”

Maud looked up at her, didn’t ask for an explanation, and said, “Thank you, I’ll consider it.”

She nodded, then glanced at the bloodstained bandages wrapped about his head, and cut to the chase.

“Come. You’re going to meet Saul.”

Maud had no grounds to refuse. He pocketed the watch and followed Sunny without protest.

They walked one behind the other down the corridor, then descended the stairs to the first floor.

As soon as they reached the bottom, a loud crash erupted ahead—a door being kicked open and slamming hard against a wall.

Sunny halted at the sound; Maud stopped as well, looking toward the commotion.

As the noise faded, an old, raspy man’s voice rang out, sounding like a hoarse drake.

“Kidd, you little bastard, you kicked my shop door again! Want me to rip out your tendons?”

“Enough already! I brought the money. Now hand over Keanu’s gun.”

The reply was a distinctly rebellious young man’s voice.

“Get lost! I’d rather break it up and toss it in the dump than sell it to you.”

“Oh? Go ahead. I’ll find it anyway.”

“Get out!”

The exchange came from up ahead, at the end of the corridor—apparently a small shop.

Listening to the argument flaring in the front parlor, Sunny sighed with resignation.

The bickering continued, growing more heated.

“Let’s go,” she said, quickening her pace.

Maud followed in silence.

The corridor wasn’t long; soon they reached the shop at the front.

There was no time to take in the shop’s layout or wares, for Maud’s attention was immediately seized by the confrontation between the old man and the youth—one that could erupt into violence at any moment.

Just as their voices suggested, it was an old man and a boy.

Maud guessed the elder must be the Saul that Sunny had mentioned, while the unruly youth was likely a customer.

He looked at the boy’s striking spiky red hair, then to the goggles perched on his forehead, and finally to that vaguely familiar face.

Suddenly, memories clicked into place.

“Kidd?”

Maud’s heart gave a little jolt—he recognized the spiky-haired youth.

Hearing his name earlier hadn’t triggered the association, but seeing him in person, Maud was certain: this was the world of One Piece.

Yet, compared to his recollections, this Kidd was clearly younger, more raw.

Almost instinctively, Maud marked Kidd as potential prey.

After all, the Hunter’s Notebook was a tool meant to target those whose fates were revealed in the original story.