Gather the prey, then slaughter them all.
This method of strengthening himself was nothing short of exhilarating for Maude.
In terms of efficiency, it was unmatched.
One decisive slaughter, coupled with the foundation laid by the East Street Night Massacre, had elevated all of his abilities significantly.
His physique was just shy of forming a sixth star frame, and the advancements in both swordsmanship and Haki had unlocked two powerful ranged attacks.
Having tasted such fruitful gains, Maude was now determined to organize similar events in the future.
A single shot, taking down eight enemies.
A single slash, cutting down thirty.
After verifying his growth, Maude glanced at the pirates who had lost their will to fight, feeling an overwhelming sense of boredom.
"Enough..."
With a flick of his blade, Chidori, he sheathed it without hesitation.
He had no interest in enemies who lacked the spirit to resist.
More importantly, killing these defeated pirates would yield no experience for him.
Tucking away his sword, Maude turned and walked toward Lafitte and Jim.
He had already obtained what he came for—the experience and the Devil Fruit. It was time to leave this island.
The defeated pirates remained silent, watching Maude's retreating back.
That one shot and that one slash had shattered their last glimmer of hope.
The soldiers guarding the colosseum's exits were equally silent, their gazes fixed on Maude.
Unless orders from above changed, they had no choice but to try and stop him, no matter how strong he was.
Lafitte greeted Maude with a smile as he approached. "That went even smoother than expected."
"Yeah."
Maude's lips curled into a grin.
Smooth? It was an absolute windfall. This slaughter had catapulted him into the realms of both a sniper and a swordsman.
Suppressing his excitement, Maude turned to Jim. "How does it feel?"
"Not bad."
Jim nodded, raising his broad, fan-like hand.
With a thought, his right hand underwent a sudden transformation, its surface becoming covered in a layer of deep green, leathery skin, and his fingers shifting toward a hoof-like shape.
As the rumors suggested, the Devil Fruit he consumed was indeed a Zoan-type.
"Let's save the details for the ship."
Noting the subtle partial transformation, Maude stopped Jim from demonstrating further.
Jim nodded again and returned his hand to normal.
Nearby, Bailey watched the exchange, then tugged the unconscious Baby-5 closer, saving Jim the trouble of retrieving her.
"This woman's dead weight. I'm not hauling her," Bailey grumbled, unceremoniously tossing Baby-5 toward Jim.
Jim reached out and caught her effortlessly.
Lafitte twirled his cane, his cold gaze settling on a group of soldiers guarding an exit. "It seems these soldiers won't let us leave so easily."
The soldiers by the passageway had already taken aim with their firearms, their intent unmistakable.
"Let's go over the top," Maude suggested, pointing upward.
With his mastery of Moonwalk and Lafitte's flight capabilities, leaving the colosseum was hardly an issue.
Lafitte nodded, his back sprouting a pair of pure white wings.
Jim moved closer, ready to assist, while Bailey leapt onto Maude's shoulder, preferring the convenience of a ride despite knowing Moonwalk himself.
Boom!
Maude led the charge, stepping into the air as though ascending invisible stairs.
Lafitte followed, his wings carrying him and Jim skyward.
The soldiers, already prepared, opened fire, unleashing a volley of bullets at the ascending group.
Their mission was to eliminate those who disrupted the colosseum, and they wouldn't allow Maude and his crew to leave unchallenged.
A hail of bullets shot toward them.
Maude frowned, twisting midair and stepping forcefully downward twice. The sudden change in direction sent him plummeting toward the ground, easily dodging the bullets.
Just before hitting the ground, he flipped forward gracefully, landing with precision.
"Lafitte, follow me."
Without hesitation, Maude charged at the soldiers who had fired.
If they didn't want him to leave through the air, he would simply walk out through the front gate.
The soldiers guarding the passageway tensed, their faces pale.
Though they had no desire to provoke Maude, orders were absolute.
"Prepare to engage!"
The commanding officer barked the order, gripping his weapon tightly.
As Maude leaped toward them, a ghostly blue slash erupted from his blade, racing toward the soldiers.
"Dodge!"
The officer's face twisted in alarm, but his warning came too late. The energy slash tore through the formation, scattering dozens of soldiers like leaves in a storm.
Those caught in its path were gravely injured, their survival unlikely.
Clearing the way with his opening strike, Maude landed on the colosseum's stands, his cold eyes fixed on the soldiers below.
Stealth Walk.
Maude vanished.
"Where is he?!"
The soldiers panicked, their eyes darting around for any sign of him.
Before they could react, one of their comrades collapsed, a fatal wound appearing as if out of thin air.
"Wha—?"
The panic intensified as another two soldiers fell in quick succession.
Unable to see or hear Maude, the soldiers swung their weapons and fired blindly into the air, but it was futile.
One by one, Maude's Chidori cut through them with deadly precision.
Every second, three more soldiers dropped.
It wasn't until Lafitte and Jim joined the fray that Maude finally reappeared, stepping into view before the remaining terrified soldiers.
By this point, resistance was meaningless.
Before reinforcements could arrive, Maude, Lafitte, and Jim had dispatched the hundreds of soldiers in their way and calmly entered the passage.
In the VIP box, Degarth watched the scene unfold, his face twisting with rage.
"Kill them!"
He issued the order, his voice trembling with fury.
If the Maude Pirates left Leviathan Island unscathed, it would be a humiliating blow to the Ahab Kingdom's reputation.
Degarth would not allow it.
At his command, the soldiers in the colosseum swiftly finished off the remaining pirates and began pursuing Maude's crew through the passageway.
Outside the colosseum, Maude and his crew exited through the main gate.
Boom!
As they stepped outside, a figure was sent flying, slamming into the wall before collapsing to the ground.
"Law?"
Maude's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Trafalgar Law, battered and bloodied.
Based on the Revolutionary Army's intelligence, no one on the island should have been capable of reducing Law to such a state.
"Cough... Maude... you guys..."
Law coughed up blood as he looked up, his gaze shifting briefly to the unconscious Baby-5 in Jim's grasp, his surprise evident.
Before he could process it further, his attention snapped back to the figure approaching from the shadows—Lao G.
"Is that... Baby-5?"
Lao G, dressed in his signature red and blue tights, immediately noticed the unconscious woman. His expression darkened.
The mission had failed.
And where was Buffalo?
Realizing the implications, Lao G's gaze turned icy as he stared down Maude's group.
Maude met his glare with a calm understanding.
So, there was still a senior officer of the Donquixote Family left—a far stronger one than Baby-5 or Buffalo.
No wonder Law had been defeated so badly.
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