The most formidable aspect of Lao G lay in the devastating power of his "Geo-Fist."
While others grow weaker with age, Lao G only seemed to grow stronger.
Fortunately, Maude had chosen the path of a gun-and-sword wielder, relying on external weapons like Chidori and Dark Crow to enhance his defense and minimize risks.
Had he pursued a path focused solely on martial arts, though he might not have been overwhelmed by Lao G, it would've been much harder to gain the upper hand.
Especially in terms of defense—without external tools like Chidori, even blocking an attack head-on would inevitably result in some injuries.
Lao G's strength was undeniable, but he had an unavoidable weakness.
Setting aside his habit of loudly declaring the names of his moves, his true vulnerabilities lay in his stamina and endurance.
Maude was well aware of this.
Thus, once he adapted to Lao G's offensive patterns during the fight, the outcome was already decided.
With a single slash, Maude's blade tore across Lao G's chest, leaving behind a deep wound.
Lao G's upper body arched backward, his eyes rolling up to reveal the whites as the impact of Maude's Armament Haki-imbued attack left him momentarily dazed.
But Lao G was, after all, a master of martial arts with exceptional pain tolerance.
Despite the injury, he forced himself upright, stabilizing his stance.
"G~~~!"
Ignoring the wound on his chest, Lao G roared his trademark battle cry. His face, seemingly rejuvenated, flushed red, and thick veins like knotted ropes bulged across his bald head.
"Bacardi Mau—!"
Before Lao G could finish speaking, Maude pivoted smoothly mid-swing. With his left hand coated in the jet-black sheen of Armament Haki, he reached out and clamped it over Lao G's face.
Lao G's voice abruptly stopped. His eyes widened in shock as he met Maude's cold, unyielding gaze through the gaps of Maude's fingers.
"..."
Without a word, Maude applied force to his arm, slamming Lao G's head to the ground.
"Boom!"
Lao G's skull collided heavily with the stone-paved ground, sending up a cloud of dust. The immense impact fractured the stones beneath him into a spiderweb of cracks, creating a shallow crater.
As the dust settled, Lao G lay unconscious at the bottom of the crater.
Maude withdrew his hand and casually flicked his arm, shaking off the blood on Chidori's blade before sheathing it.
The smoke and dust enveloped both him and Lao G's unconscious form.
Unaffected by the haze, Maude summoned his Hunter's Notebook with a mere thought.
"Lao G," Maude murmured, plucking the quill from the spine of the notebook.
Standing amid the dissipating smoke, he quickly flipped through the pages and jotted down Lao G's name, along with the techniques Lao G had called out during their battle.
Snap.
Once the information was recorded, Maude habitually closed the notebook and dismissed it.
"All set," Maude said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. His gaze fell to the unconscious Lao G lying in the shallow crater.
As the dust cleared entirely, the pirates observing from a distance could now see Lao G's motionless body and Maude standing victoriously before him.
"That guy… he's taken down another officer of the Donquixote Family," one pirate murmured, trembling.
In the crowd, Arthur watched Maude's silhouette in silence. His eyes flickered briefly before he turned and slipped away toward the harbor.
This was no place to linger.
Meanwhile, Lafitte, who had been skillfully engaging the soldiers of the Ahab Kingdom, also noticed the outcome of the battle.
"Hoho…" Lafitte let out his signature chuckle, a playful grin spreading across his face.
On the Battlefield.
Maude stepped on Lao G's neck, the action deliberate and decisive.
Under the watchful gazes of the surrounding onlookers, he crushed Lao G's throat with a clean motion.
With the faint sound of Lao G's final breath escaping, Maude closed his eyes.
In the darkness of his mind, a notebook with glowing white edges floated into view.
On its cover, a new star formed—this one adorned with three sharp points.
As the new triangular star joined the others, all the stars on the cover descended to a designated area, merging to form a completed star frame.
[Physique: ★★★★★☆]
[Swordsmanship: ★★★★]
[Haki: ★★★]
The sixth star for Physique!
Opening his eyes, Maude's smile deepened.
With the completion of the sixth star frame, a portion of his previously depleted stamina and Haki had been restored.
"This is the first time I've seen a three-pointed star…" Maude mused quietly.
For someone like Lao G, a master of martial arts honed over decades, to produce only a triangular star, the likes of Doflamingo must be in the realm of four-pointed stars.
As for the five-pointed stars? Without a doubt, they would belong to the likes of Kaido and Big Mom.
Maude even suspected that individuals of Kaido and Big Mom's caliber might surpass the upper limit defined by the Hunter's Notebook.
Shaking his head slightly, Maude dismissed the thought.
"Not bad at all," he remarked, glancing at Lao G's lifeless body.
The triangular star exceeded his expectations, allowing him to break through to the next star frame.
The journey up to this point had rarely yielded such rewards. For instance, during his time in the Colosseum, the captain of the Savage Fang Pirates, Barton—who carried a bounty close to 100 million berries—had only provided a single-pointed star.
On the other hand, Baton's subordinate, the vice-captain Conan, with a bounty of 75 million, had contributed a two-pointed star.
Perhaps the difference lay in their respective Devil Fruit abilities.
Content with his haul, Maude turned to his crewmates and called out, "Enough playing around—it's time to go."
Hearing Maude's voice, Lafitte effortlessly broke free from the encirclement of soldiers.
Jim and Law followed suit, withdrawing from their fights with equal ease.
As for Bailey and Bepo, who hadn't participated in the battle, they quickly carried the unconscious Baby 5 toward Maude.
The soldiers of the Ahab Kingdom, still reeling from their overwhelming defeat, were left stunned by Maude's parting words.
"Enough playing around?"
Did that mean… they had been toying with them all along?
Lafitte and the others gathered around Maude, their eyes naturally falling on Lao G's lifeless body.
Law glanced at Lao G's neck, his emotions slightly conflicted.
The man beside him... had actually done it.
"Ugh..."
At that moment, Baby 5 began to stir and slowly regained consciousness.
Her gaze instinctively landed on Lao G the moment she opened her eyes.
"Jim."
Maude softly called Jim's name.
"Got it."
Understanding immediately, Jim swung his fist and delivered a clean blow to Baby 5's forehead.
Thud!
Baby 5, who had just opened her mouth to speak, was knocked unconscious once more.
"..."
Law's mouth twitched slightly at the sight.
Meanwhile, the soldiers from the Ahab Kingdom had begun to regroup and give chase.
King Degarth's orders were absolute: the Maude Pirates were to be executed on the spot.
Even if their strength was insufficient, the soldiers had no choice but to act.
Watching the persistent soldiers approach, Maude frowned slightly.
Shing!
Maude drew his sword, Chidori, and unleashed a slicing arc of energy toward the ground ahead, carving a deep, unmistakable scar into the stone-paved road.
The soldiers froze in their tracks, staring in shock at the ground and the calm yet menacing figure in front of them.
"Cross this line, and you die."
Maude's voice was cold as his bloodthirsty aura radiated around him, tangible and oppressive.
"..."
The soldiers, gripped by fear, found themselves unable to take another step forward, their bodies paralyzed by the sheer intensity of Maude's killing intent.
They dared not cross the line.
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