Chapter Fifty-Two: A Grand Scheme

Exposed? Waves surged in Mod's heart, but his face remained calm. He sat down on the chair, facing Tatam, pretending Lafitte wasn't speaking to him at all.

Seeing that Mod didn't react at all, Lafitte's lips, as red as if smeared with fresh blood, curled faintly at the corners. He then pressed down the brim of his hat with one hand, while placing his cane behind him with the other.

"Forgive my rudeness. Perhaps I should call you Mr. Usopp."

"......"

Well, now that he had been called out by name, Mod had no choice but to come clean. He turned his head to look at Lafitte, whose face bore a smile, and feigned confusion, "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes," Lafitte replied, his expression unchanged.

It was as if he didn't take Mod's feigned confusion seriously at all.

Mod then asked doubtfully, "Do I know you?"

"We've never exchanged names, so by rights, we do not," Lafitte replied straightforwardly.

"Oh, then never mind," Mod said, withdrawing his gaze and facing Tatam again. He picked up his wineglass, pretending to take a sip.

Lafitte didn't mind Mod's coldness in the slightest and continued on his own accord, "I heard a bit about what happened at the Battle Axe Tavern a few days ago. It's a pity I wasn't there at the time and missed a good show."

"......"

Mod remained silent, thinking that everyone had wanted to leave the scene of trouble as quickly as possible back then. If Lafitte had been there, he probably would have thought it wasn't chaotic enough.

Still smiling at the silent Mod, Lafitte said calmly, "Mr. Usopp, it amazes me that you came out unscathed in that situation and managed to pit the Spiked Snail Pirates against the Aibe Pirates. I can't help but admire you."

"......"

Mod really couldn't figure out Lafitte's intentions, so he could only keep silent.

Seeing that Mod was determined not to respond, Lafitte remained unconcerned and suddenly said something completely unrelated.

"This is truly a wonderful place."

When he spoke the words "wonderful place," there was an inexplicable note of satisfaction in his tone.

With that, he nodded slightly to Mod in a gesture of courtesy, then walked toward the bar's entrance.

Upon reaching the door, Lafitte stopped, his back to Mod.

"Mr. Usopp, my name is Lafitte. Next time we meet, let's consider ourselves acquainted."

With those words, Lafitte pushed open the door and left the bar.

Only after hearing the door close did Mod look toward the entrance, his brows knitting slightly.

What exactly is this guy thinking?

Not to mention that his disguised identity had been discovered.

For someone to connect his role as the undertaker on the night of the auction with his Usopp persona at the Battle Axe Tavern a few days ago—

There's no way he wasn't paying special attention.

Mod would never believe otherwise.

The thought of being watched by such an enigmatic and unpredictable person gave Mod a headache.

"I didn't even provoke him, did I?"

If anything, it was only that night at the auction when, to eliminate risk, he had taken the initiative to shoot and deal with two of Lafitte's pursuers.

But that shouldn't be enough for this.

Could it be that, like Wolf Rat, Lafitte is just short on friends?

Mod couldn't make sense of it.

"Achoo!"

Suddenly, a sneeze rang out from the alley outside the bar.

"Who's thinking about me?"

Wolf Rat's muttering voice drifted in from outside.

Inside the bar, Mod's mouth twitched.

If not for Lafitte, he would have already returned to the weapon shop by now.

He sighed inwardly and placed the Dark Crow on the chair beside him.

Creak—

Wolf Rat pushed the bar's front door open and came in.

Upon seeing Mod, Wolf Rat's face instantly lit up.

"Usopp, you're finally here!"

As he spoke, Wolf Rat closed the door behind him and strode over to Mod, sitting down beside him.

"I've been wanting to talk to you about the Spiked Snail Pirates and the Aibe Pirates these past few days, but I had no idea where you were staying. It was driving me crazy!"

At this, Wolf Rat turned to Tatam and asked, "Tatam, did you give Usopp the note I left?"

"I did."

"Good."

Wolf Rat nodded, then looked at Mod with a sigh, "Usopp, luck was on our side. After we escaped that day, both Kazt and Aibe were seriously wounded. They shouldn't be bothering us for a while."

"Yeah," Mod replied indifferently.

Seeing that Mod didn't seem as relieved as he'd expected, Wolf Rat turned back toward Tatam, raised a finger to signal for a drink, and then said,

"Tatam, I just saw Lafitte. Did he come to you for information?"

Tatam nodded.

With no professional discretion as a fellow intelligence broker, Wolf Rat asked curiously, "Tsk, which poor soul has he set his sights on this time? Come on, give me a hint."

"No."

Tatam refused.

"Tch, stingy," Wolf Rat muttered, then waved his hand and went on, "That Lafitte guy is a downright dangerous character. Since he came to Mad Hatter Town, there must have been at least a hundred people who've died at his hands."

Hearing Wolf Rat mention Lafitte, Mod stirred inwardly and couldn't help but glance over.

Speaking of the poor souls targeted, he wondered if he counted as one.

With that in mind, Mod took the initiative to join the conversation, "Why is that?"

Seeing Mod's interest, Wolf Rat perked up and explained, "Lafitte was exiled from his country for excessive violence. For him, killing usually doesn't require a reason. In fact, most of the people he's killed had nothing to do with him beforehand."

"There are really people that unreasonable?"

Mod feigned ignorance about Lafitte, pretending to be shocked as if he couldn't believe such a man existed.

Wolf Rat glanced at Mod's expression, his eyelid twitching slightly. His own face remained calm, but inwardly he thought, aren't you just like that?

He had looked into the pirates Mod had taken out, including the navigator from the Spiked Snail Pirates and the fish-man slave who escaped from the auction.

At first, he thought Mod's motives for killing them were rooted in personal grudges.

However, the results showed there was no connection at all.

Such results left Wolf Rat utterly baffled.

Still, whether it was Mod or Lafitte, as long as the ones dying were pirates, Wolf Rat, despite his confusion, could only applaud.

Especially in a place like Mad Hatter Town, a haven for pirates, the more people like Mod and Lafitte, the better.

Raising the wine that Tatam handed over, Wolf Rat sighed at the right moment, "There are plenty of unreasonable people in a place like this. Lafitte just stands out, that's all."

Mod nodded in agreement. "True, but dangerous types like Lafitte, who kill without reason, are best kept at arm's length."

Wolf Rat's eyelid twitched again.

Do you really have no self-awareness?

He couldn't bring himself to respond to Mod's comment and could only fall silent.

Mod, unaware of Wolf Rat's inner thoughts, suddenly asked, "Wolf Rat, how much do you know about the injuries Kazt and Aibe suffered?"

Wolf Rat raised his eyebrows. "Pretty much everything."

"How bad is it?"

"Kazt's wounds are mostly knife cuts, most of them on the inside of his thigh. But he's a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, so he should heal in less than half a month.

"As for Aibe, he took a direct kick from Kazt, suffered severe internal injuries, and probably won't be out of bed for at least a month. Why do you ask?"

Wolf Rat looked at Mod, puzzled.

Mod smiled slightly.

"Well... Wolf Rat, are you interested in pulling off something big?"