Invitation

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Half an hour later.

Corvin leaned against the wall of a secluded alley and tilted his head back, breathing lightly.

The exchange with Aibe had drained too much of his stamina. After leaving the tavern, he had run without stopping for another twenty minutes.

Even after resting here for more than ten minutes, he still had not fully recovered.

His mind was worse. Overusing Listening with the Spirit had left him dull and tired.

If he had not done that, though, Aibe would have turned him into a pincushion.

"That was close."

Corvin drew in a deep breath and finally had time to take out his flintlock and reload it.

Thinking back to the danger inside the tavern, he realized that without Wolf Rat's last bit of support, he probably would have fallen there no matter how badly he stirred the mess.

"Lucky. Very lucky."

Corvin still felt a faint aftershock of fear.

Fortunately, he had Listening with the Spirit, and his body was not bad. That was why he had managed to handle Aibe's sword.

At the very least, he had now personally seen what a bounty over thirty million looked like.

"Kazt and Aibe..."

Corvin summoned the black ledger and wrote down the intelligence he had experienced firsthand.

After writing, he put away the quill and silently stared at Aibe's and Kazt's names.

"If I fought her head-on, I'd probably have to pay a price to kill Aibe. As for Kazt, if I rely only on guns, I have no chance in a frontal fight. Even an ambush might not kill him in one shot."

Corvin dismissed the ledger and murmured to himself.

The events of the day had made him deeply understand the weakness of a gunman.

Once an enemy closed in and stuck to him, the only thing he could do was create distance as quickly as possible.

If he was fast enough, he could kite an enemy, frustrate them, and even kill them.

But if the firearm's killing power was not enough to threaten the enemy, then even if he could keep himself alive, he still could not accomplish anything.

If he could not kill the prey, Hunter's Ledger could not take effect.

And this was only a fight around the thirty-million level.

Later, once he reached battles over a hundred million, what could a gunman do with the firearms available in the world of pirates?

The only reference Corvin could think of was Usopp.

That seemed to leave support as the only remaining path for a gunman.

Even if that was true, Corvin had no teammates, which made support meaningless for now.

Thinking of that, Corvin suddenly wanted to go back and ask Sol.

He wanted to ask how Sol had fought throughout his life.

If he faced a powerful enemy alone, what methods and ideas did Sol use to solve the fight?

"Physical techniques and blades really are more reliable."

Corvin sighed softly. He was not about to abandon guns. Having more skills never hurt, and with an experienced old veteran like Sol teaching him, marksmanship could still become a reliable trump card even if it was not his main strength.

For now, though, he wanted to master a close-combat method as soon as possible.

"Time to go home. I didn't find a suitable target, but at least I got intelligence I can use later."

After his stamina recovered enough, Corvin no longer dared wander the streets at this hour.

The aftereffects of Listening with the Spirit were also making him uncomfortable.

His skill in that area was only at an entry level, he had no Nen to reduce the burden, and his current body was still weak.

Under all those conditions, being able to use the technique completely in that situation had already been difficult.

"Where am I, anyway?"

Corvin looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

He had focused only on running and had no idea which district he had ended up in.

After a moment of silence, he looked toward the roofs.

It was still early. Traveling over the rooftops would be a little too conspicuous.

He considered waiting there until dark.

Corvin was considering it when hurried footsteps came from the corner ahead.

His gaze tightened. He immediately drew his pistol, ready to shoot.

The footsteps quickly approached, and a figure came around the corner.

After seeing that it was Wolf Rat, a subtle look passed through Corvin's eyes.

"Brother Wolf Rat, I'm so glad you're all right!"

He quietly hid the pistol behind his back. Before Wolf Rat could speak, Corvin struck first with his words.

Hearing Corvin, Wolf Rat looked utterly miserable and forced down the urge to beat him half to death.

"I was lucky enough to escape."

Wolf Rat gave an awkward laugh. His bloodied right hand was holding a white skunk.

The skunk seemed injured. Its lower body hung limply, and its overall state was no better than Wolf Rat's.

Corvin glanced at the skunk and explained without changing expression.

"Brother Wolf Rat, I'm truly sorry about earlier. While I was running, I suddenly heard you shouting behind me. I thought an enemy had caught up, and I got so scared I flinched. By the time I came back to my senses, the skunk I had just saved had somehow flown out of my hand."

Wolf Rat's jaw worked once.

The skunk lowered its head. Pain had left it too listless to curse Corvin's shamelessness.

Wolf Rat reacted quickly and hurried to support Corvin's explanation.

"I understand. I understand. If it had been me, I would've done even worse."

After saying that, he failed to notice the disbelief appearing in the skunk's eyes.

'Is this human stupid?'

The skunk thought silently.

Corvin also failed to notice anything unusual about the skunk. He looked at Wolf Rat and sighed.

"No harm done. No harm done. It's over, and we're both fine. That's what matters."

"Exactly. That's... yes. Ha. Exactly."

Wolf Rat felt as if he had swallowed something foul, yet he had to pretend it tasted wonderful.

"Right. This is what you dropped. If I hadn't wanted to return it to you, I would probably be back treating my wounds by now."

As he spoke, Wolf Rat lifted the lifeless skunk.

That was his reason for chasing Corvin.

It was a little forced.

But he wanted to press his advantage and get Corvin to lower his guard.

"Oh, isn't that Aibe's pet?"

Corvin corrected Wolf Rat with a serious face.

Wolf Rat suddenly looked enlightened.

"Ah? So this is Aibe's pet? I thought it was yours. That's why I carried it all this way."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he threw aside the skunk, whose usefulness had just expired.

The skunk hit the ground on its broken area and let out a pained hiss. It nearly spoke human words, but managed to hold them back at the last moment.

'You two shameless bastards. May lightning strike you both one day.'

The skunk suppressed its pained whine and cursed Corvin and Wolf Rat viciously in its heart.

Wolf Rat did not care how the skunk felt. He looked around and put on a surprised expression.

"This place is close to where I live. Brother Usopp, why don't you come over and treat your wounds... uh, rest for a while?"

He had originally wanted to say treat your wounds, but Wolf Rat realized Corvin, that bastard, was not injured at all. Wolf Rat himself was covered in wounds, and both his hands were nearly ruined.

"Heh."

Corvin smiled faintly.

Wolf Rat froze. After a long pause, he asked cautiously, "Does that heh mean... you agree?"

"Fine. I'll rest at your place for a while."

Corvin had meant to refuse, but after thinking it over, he agreed.

He could tell that Wolf Rat had some kind of problem, but back in the tavern, if Wolf Rat had not blocked Kazt...

Because of that, Corvin did not mind seeing what Wolf Rat was really planning.

Seeing Corvin agree, Wolf Rat was ecstatic. All his effort felt worthwhile.

He did not show it on his face. Calmly, he said, "Follow me."

Then he walked forward.

Corvin put the pistol away without drawing attention and followed.

After a few steps, he suddenly looked back at the white skunk slowly crawling along the ground, trying to leave.

"Brother Wolf Rat, can people eat skunk meat?"

Hearing Corvin, Wolf Rat stopped and looked back at the white skunk. He could not help falling into thought.

Two malicious gazes stabbed into the skunk. Its whole body stiffened, and it lay flat on the ground, not daring to move at all.

'Animals. Absolute animals.'

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