Chapter Sixty-Five: Usopp

After putting Maud under house arrest, Saul actually stopped going to the Flower Street for his morning exercises. Instead, he stayed in the weapon shop all day, supervising Maud’s training at every moment. The reason, of course, was the embryonic sword blossom Maud had performed that morning. Saul never doubted Sunny’s judgment, so it could only mean that after obtaining the Dark Crow, Maud had stepped into the threshold of swordsmanship in just one day, and had even let the Dark Crow taste blood.

At that moment, Saul saw the precious thing called talent shining from Maud—talent not only for marksmanship, but for the blade as well. While this realization alarmed Saul, outwardly he maintained a calm and easygoing air, though inwardly, he was in utter panic. Out of personal motives, he didn’t want Maud to tread a path of no return; he wanted Maud to walk the road of the gunman.

So, he tossed the Dark Crow onto the shelf, turning it into a product for sale. Fortunately, Sunny had a conscience and secretly priced the Dark Crow at two million Berries—a figure so outrageously high that it would deter any potential buyer without an eye for value, ensuring no one would take the Dark Crow away.

From that day on, Maud could only behave and stay inside the weapon shop. Under Saul’s watchful eye, Maud spent nearly all his days undergoing high-intensity physical training. The focus on leg training was so extreme it bordered on madness. Whether by coincidence or Saul’s design, Maud found that this sudden surge in training volume was the very peak his body could withstand after his physical constitution had risen to one star.

After several days of varied, grueling training, Maud realized Saul had certainly noticed something, hence these perfectly tailored routines. Otherwise, the rudimentary exercises from before his house arrest would have been utterly useless for his improved physique.

Initially, upon confirming this, Maud hurriedly came up with numerous explanations in his mind. But, to his surprise, Saul merely supervised his physical training each day. Even during the evening lessons on firearm modification and loading speed, Saul never once questioned him about his physical changes.

As time wore on and Saul remained silent, Maud felt increasingly uneasy. Truth be told, he would have preferred Saul to confront him directly, so he could try his best to dodge the questions. Even if he couldn’t convince Saul, it would be better than this unnerving silence.

Time slipped by. Two months passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Saul never once visited the Flower Street, devoting almost all his time to Maud and perfectly fulfilling his duties as a mentor. Under such comprehensive training, although Maud couldn’t go out and harvest experience, his physical strength did improve to a certain degree. However, compared to the immediate benefits from the Hunter’s Notebook, this kind of high-intensity, tedious training felt much slower.

In truth, Maud wished for both: to train and hunt at the same time. Unfortunately, he dared not sneak out. If not for Sunny’s newspaper every day, these two months would have been total isolation from the world.

Under Saul’s attentive guidance, Maud mastered considerable knowledge about firearm modification, maintenance, and repair, and was now able to perform basic modifications on flintlock pistols. His loading speed had also improved significantly. According to Saul, the Navy required its soldiers to load in under ten seconds—a basic qualifying line. Saul’s standards for Maud, however, were far stricter: three seconds for a smoothbore, five for a rifled gun.

When Maud finally reached these standards, Saul didn’t press him to further improve. The old man demonstrated the meaning of “never forget your original intention” with a single action—by performing his own instantaneous reloading technique before Maud’s eyes.

Maud couldn’t even see how Saul poured in just the right amount of powder, only that, with a single finger, Saul pressed the soft lead ball perfectly into the barrel of the rifle. In the blink of an eye, the loading was done. Such consummate skill was nearly on par with Yasopp. Perhaps, this was already the fastest reloading speed possible.

At that moment, Maud thought, even if he couldn’t reach true instantaneous loading, as long as he could load within half a second to a second, he could utterly torment his enemies. The birth of this fighting style made Maud truly appreciate the importance of leg training for a gunman. Fleeing at the first sign of trouble was one thing, but that wasn’t real combat. But running while firing—that could truly drive close-combat enemies to despair.

One day, Maud modified a pair of rifled pistols, increasing their power slightly. He then tried to enhance “Usopp,” but found himself at a loss. Knowing his own skills were lacking, he brought Usopp to Saul, hoping his mentor could improve its overall performance.

Facing Maud’s request, Saul only glanced at Usopp before making his judgment. “This model is too old. After Yasopp’s modifications, there’s no room left for improvement.”

“I see,” Maud replied, disappointed.

With a deeper understanding of firearms, Maud was no longer satisfied with Usopp’s power and range. Since it couldn’t be improved, he started thinking of switching weapons. He knew Saul was always generous when it came to guns, so if he asked, he could probably pick any rifle from the shelf.

Saul’s eye was as sharp as ever. Even if Maud hadn’t shown any desire to change weapons, he could see Maud’s intention at a glance.

“Don’t even think about it. Even if this gun is old and worn, it’s still more useful than any of those on the shelf.”

“That can’t be,” Maud protested. He was no amateur anymore. From what he could tell, the rifles on the shelf far outclassed Usopp in both power and range.

“You don’t know a thing,” Saul snapped, picking up Usopp. “For you, changing guns is inevitable, but now is not the time.”

“Why not?” Maud was puzzled. He’d used Usopp many times and knew well its limitations.

“You really don’t know how lucky you are,” Saul said. “Do you realize how many novice marksmen dream of owning an ‘old gun’ that’s been forged and refined by a top marksman? Not to mention, this was Yasopp’s companion since his debut.”

“Why do you think Kid is so obsessed with the Keanu set?” Saul continued. “Because, like Yasopp’s gun, it’s a rare old firearm, possessing the unique feel that only comes from years of use by its previous master.”

He shot Maud a meaningful look. “Haven’t you found this gun unusually comfortable to use? Doesn’t it feel like it shoots wherever you point?”

“Now that you mention it…” Maud felt a current race through his limbs, surprise dawning in his eyes. No wonder the gun had felt so right the first time he’d used it. No wonder he could wield a smoothbore so naturally, despite never handling one before.

Only now did Maud truly understand Usopp’s value. As his thoughts shifted, he suddenly had an idea and looked at Saul with bright, eager eyes.

“Master!”

Saul’s face twitched. This was the first time Maud had ever called him ‘Master’—that couldn’t be a good sign.

Maud asked earnestly, “Then can I see your ‘old gun’?”

He even used an honorific.

“My gun was ruined years ago by some bastard,” Saul replied, his expression blank.

“Who was it?” Maud asked, undeterred.

Instantly, Saul’s face fell.