Chapter 10: The Test
The arrival of Shanks the Red-Haired was something Maud had not expected at all.
Although the man had been very friendly since he entered, Maud planned to simply stay silent on the side and observe until he left.
But after hearing the conversation between Yasopp and Sunny, he couldn't keep calm.
Firearms were the upgrade tools he needed most at the moment.
Originally, he wanted to get one from Saul, but, as a newcomer, how could he get a weapon so quickly?
Then Yasopp arrived and gave him an opportunity.
At that moment, Maud could no longer stay on the side, so he spoke up to ask Yasopp for the old musket.
If he was rejected, he would lose nothing.
If he succeeded, it would be a great gain.
That was the thought he had before deciding to make his presence known.
"Who is he?"
Shanks turned his head to look at Sunny, who was frowning behind the counter, and asked with interest.
When they first met, the young man's reaction made him realize that the boy knew who he was.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was, who would have thought that the young man who had been consciously trying to reduce his presence would suddenly ask Yasopp for a weapon?
Such a big change made him interesting.
"He's Maud, Saul's new lab... employee."
Sunny answered Shanks' question.
Shanks nodded slightly and turned to Yasopp.
The latter was examining Maud.
"Do you know how to use a gun?"
That was the first question Yasopp threw at him.
"Yes!"
Maud answered without hesitation.
Yasopp's gaze suddenly became sharp.
He wasn't the sniper of a second-rate pirate crew. With his skill, how could he not notice that Maud was a weak young man who had never touched a gun?
"But I don't believe you."
With a forced smile, Yasopp's gaze was like a loaded gun.
Making fun of children had always been one of his hobbies, and, considering that Maud was an employee of Mr. Saul, he didn't mind wasting time with him.
Maud, for his part, looked directly into Yasopp's eyes, which seemed to want to burn all lies. He said seriously: "What do I have to do for you to believe me?"
Yasopp was a little surprised.
This was because Maud's expression and tone didn't seem to be lying.
But Yasopp wasn't going to doubt his judgment because of that.
He looked at Maud's eyes calmly, suddenly took the 3,800,000 berries pistol from the counter, and in a second completed the reloading process, which was quite complicated for a normal person.
"Prove it."
Yasopp handed the loaded weapon to Maud.
Maud didn't take the weapon immediately, but instead pointed at the old musket on the counter and asked: "After the demonstration, will you give me that weapon?"
"No problem."
Yasopp let out a hearty laugh.
Maud nodded, took a step forward, and took the expensive pistol from Yasopp's hand.
He knew that the success or failure of what he did depended on a single bullet.
So, how would he demonstrate it?
While he was thinking, Maud saw the door, which had just closed halfway, leaving a crack.
A thought came to his mind. Maud quickly walked to the farthest wall from the door and turned to look at the door.
Without warning, Maud quickly raised the weapon toward the door and, without any pause, pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A flare with smoke came out of the barrel. A red-hot lead bullet shot out, passing through the crack in the door with a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The smell of burnt gunpowder spread through the air, and Maud held a perfect shooting stance.
In this situation, he didn't have time to worry about injuring a passerby.
Shanks and Yasopp looked at the crack in the door. With their sight, they could see that the door was intact.
Besides, the crack was not very big. At most, only two lead bullets could pass through at the same time.
Apart from Maud's perfect shooting stance, the movement of raising the weapon and pulling the trigger was so fluid that it gave the impression that he hadn't aimed.
Despite the fact that it was only about ten meters, there was no doubt that Maud knew how to use a gun.
Inside the counter, Sunny looked at Maud, stunned.
She never thought that Maud would have such a good skill with weapons.
"Good shot."
The one who praised him was Shanks.
Of course, such a skill was nothing in the Grand Line.
But at that moment, it was worth praising.
Yasopp said nothing. As a man of action, he took the musket, which he called his old partner, and walked toward Maud.
"It's yours."
"Thanks."
Maud first returned the pistol to Yasopp and then took the musket.
'I finally have a weapon...'
"Yasopp, it seems that sometimes you are also wrong."
Shanks patted Yasopp on the shoulder from behind and consoled him in time.
Yasopp pursed his lips, not bothering to respond to his captain's sharp attack.
"Was I really wrong?"
He looked at Maud, who was turning the weapon over and over, and felt a sense of contradiction that did not fade.
On the one hand, it seemed that he had never touched a gun, but he had such a perfect shooting stance and the **"shooting instinct"** that was essential for a shooter.
"Forget it."
Yasopp shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
"Boss, we've already brought up all the wine."
At that moment, Lucky Roux's voice was heard from the back room.
"Good."
Shanks replied and then looked at Sunny, smiling: "Sunny, remember to say hello to Saul for me."
"No need!"
Before Sunny could speak, Saul's voice was heard from outside.
From the sound, it seemed that he was still some distance from the shop. Maud wondered how he had heard Shanks.
Hearing Saul's words, which came from afar, Shanks sighed: "This is a problem."
Just as he said that, hurried footsteps were heard approaching from outside.
In an instant, the wooden door burst open.
Saul rushed into the shop and saw Lucky Roux taking out a barrel full of wine. He immediately became furious.
"Damn Shanks, stealing my wine again!!!"
"What do you mean stealing? We paid for it. Ask Sunny if you don't believe me."
"Don't blame the girl! I won't sell it to you!"
"Haha, anyway, the transaction is already done. It's too late for you to regret it."
"Get out, get out! I don't want to see you again!"
"That can't be done, unless you sell me the location of your wine stash."
Shanks had an expression of "you can't do anything to me," and Saul became so furious that he almost threw himself to the ground to fake an injury.
Yasopp and Lucky Roux didn't intervene. Sunny covered her forehead and remained silent.
As for Maud, he had retreated to the back room as soon as Saul had shouted his first sentence.
However, he did not go up to the second floor, but instead stayed at the top of the stairs, paying attention to what was happening in the shop.
Although it was hard to believe, Saul and Shanks seemed to be old acquaintances.