Preparation

New chapter is live.

Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

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Looking at the whole incident, Ragren had died by Sol's hand, but strictly speaking, Corvin had indirectly caused his death.

Corvin, however, knew nothing about that.

So after a moment, he naturally thought of the man who had walked with Red in the alley that night.

'Did I accidentally kill a very valuable target?'

No wonder Kazt had cared so much about that matter.

Thinking of that, Corvin felt a small pang of regret, but he pretended to ask casually, "Oh? How did this Ragren die?"

"Shot dead."

Corvin pressed a hand to his forehead and said calmly, "I see."

Wolf Rat quietly watched Corvin's reaction.

He realized that in this matter, Phantom Gun had killed Ragren for Corvin without letting Corvin know.

That kind of hidden protection further proved that Corvin carried a certain amount of weight for Phantom Gun.

In other words, Corvin might be qualified to become leverage against Phantom Gun. Add the little girl in that shop to the equation...

Wolf Rat considered this without showing anything, then continued.

"Kazt didn't only lose a skilled man like Ragren recently. Because of the fish-man slave's escape during the auction a few days ago, more than half of his people were killed or injured."

"Oh?"

Corvin's interest sharpened.

"Aside from Ragren, Kazt still has two cadres worth noting."

"One is Wells, a decent gunman with a bounty close to ten million. The other is Gabton. His bounty is fourteen million. He isn't as good as Ragren, but he's also a swordsman who shouldn't be underestimated."

"Kazt is also a Zoan user. Give him a few more days, and even if his injuries aren't healed, he should at least be able to get out of bed and move freely."

"So personally, I suggest we strike the Sharp-Horn Pirates first."

As a Marine, Wolf Rat also believed the assassination would bring more benefit than harm. So even though Corvin had set a trap, once Wolf Rat understood the situation, he was willing to dive into it.

Since he had already gone in, he had to find a way to make the plan succeed.

And intelligence served that purpose.

"As for Aibe's crew, it's best not to provoke them again."

At this point, Wolf Rat's expression turned grave.

Corvin asked in confusion, "Why?"

"Aibe's crew doesn't have many members, but every one of them is elite. Also, among the pirates with bounties over thirty million who are still in town, one of them is pursuing Aibe."

"Pursuing her? With that kind of..."

Corvin stopped himself before the comment got worse.

Wolf Rat knew what Corvin wanted to say and answered coldly.

"Calling him a suitor is generous. He probably just wants to swallow Aibe's crew that way. As for Aibe's special tastes, what do those matter?"

"In short, if you move against Aibe, you may give that suitor an opening."

Wolf Rat's advice not to attack Aibe actually had another, crucial layer of consideration.

The person who had slapped Aibe was Corvin, not him.

Hiding that thought, Wolf Rat naturally hoped Corvin would move against the Sharp-Horn Pirates first.

After all, the only ones who threatened Wolf Rat were the Sharp-Horn Pirates. That was why he had described their current situation in such detail.

After listening to Wolf Rat's explanation, Corvin also felt that attacking Aibe was not suitable.

But that was not entirely because of the suitor. What he currently needed most was Kazt's physique and the swordsman named Gabton.

"Then we strike Kazt first. By the way, do you have bounty posters for the people in the Sharp-Horn Pirates?"

After making the decision, Corvin asked for the most important item.

Wolf Rat did not think much of it. After all, they needed to know what the targets looked like in order to match the intelligence.

He looked directly at Tatamu.

Tatamu understood and opened another drawer.

Under Corvin's surprised gaze, Tatamu took out a thick stack of bounty posters.

Once Corvin remembered that Tatamu dealt in information, it made sense.

Noticing Corvin's reaction, Wolf Rat explained on Tatamu's behalf.

"People who do business here usually have bounty posters for all kinds of pirates. Anyone with a bounty is rarely easy to deal with. Recognizing them first can only help."

"Especially places like the pleasure district. Their workers are required to recognize customers' identities at all times."

Corvin nodded in understanding. He had not expected that reason.

The main issue was that Sol's shop did not have any of these things.

Then again, that made sense. The weapon shop's location barely had any customer flow to begin with.

Even if customers did come, dangerous people like Kid had to behave in front of Sol anyway.

After learning that Tatamu had such a complete collection of bounty posters, Corvin thought that he should come sit here often when he had nothing else to do.

Tatamu was very familiar with the posters. Before long, he pulled out three of them.

They corresponded to Kazt, Wells, and Gabton. As for Ragren's, it had already been removed.

Corvin accepted the posters and studied them carefully, memorizing the appearances of the other two targets.

If they acted tonight, killing Kazt directly would be the best result.

As for the Sharp-Horn Pirates, they would fall into a certain amount of chaos once their captain died.

The possibility of a power struggle alone was enough to make them fight among themselves.

After memorizing their faces, Corvin's view of Wolf Rat's ability had completely changed. He wanted to coax out even more useful information.

"I wonder what specific abilities these three have."

"Wells won't be hard to deal with. Kazt and Gabton are the troublesome ones..."

Wolf Rat stepped into the opening at exactly the right time and began explaining Kazt's and the others' abilities.

Corvin was secretly pleased and listened carefully.

Half an hour passed.

After listening to the explanation, Corvin looked at Wolf Rat as if he were seeing the man in a new light.

Wolf Rat ignored the look and said seriously, "Usopp, I hope tonight's operation goes smoothly. I don't want anything to happen to you."

The words were sincere.

Corvin could feel that, and he paused.

His guesses about Wolf Rat's motives became even harder to untangle.

But as long as it was not a bad thing, he could accept it for now.

"As a friend, I feel the same."

Corvin raised his glass to Wolf Rat and drained it.

Wolf Rat naturally finished his own glass too, thinking that he had finally taken a major step forward.

Afterward, Corvin and Wolf Rat agreed to meet at midnight. Then Corvin left Nightfall with Dark Crow.

After Corvin left, Wolf Rat drank while thinking.

Tatamu wiped glasses as usual, as if he had an endless supply of them to clean every day.

Ten minutes later, Wolf Rat suddenly stood and went upstairs to his room.

Inside the room, he took out a well-hidden Den Den Mushi and dialed.

At Marine Headquarters, inside Garp's residence.

"That brat actually became a pirate!"

Inside the room, Garp clutched a newspaper, veins standing out sharply at his temples.

While he was still furious, someone opened the door without knocking and walked in.

"I heard you shouting from far away. What happened?"

"Tsuru..."

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