A meal made from dinosaur meat seemed to provide an even greater energy boost than Sea Kings.
After a hearty feast, Maude had mostly recovered his stamina.
The next task was to properly bury the bodies of Dorry and Brogy.
Rather than doing it himself, Maude had one of his shadow clones wield a shadow shovel, diligently digging graves in the clearing.
"It's a bit of a waste..."
Maude gazed calmly at the fallen forms of Dorry and Brogy.
A bounty of 200 million wasn't much to him.
However, the bodies of giants held considerable value—especially those of formidable warriors like Dorry and Brogy. They were rare finds.
With the right shadows, their corpses could be transformed into two powerful giant zombie warriors.
But Maude had no interest in such an endeavor.
Subconsciously, he felt an aversion to using their bodies in this way.
Besides, the freezer aboard the Thriller Bark already held plenty of corpses...
Having finished cleaning up the meal remnants, Gaya silently approached Maude and looked at the giants' bodies with a calm expression.
Having witnessed Moria's use of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, she was well aware that these two giants were prime candidates for zombie soldiers.
She hadn't expected Maude to choose to bury them instead.
And then there was the matter of letting that group of bounty hunters go earlier today...
It seemed that something about Maude had changed after this battle with the giants.
Gaya observed the shadow clone still digging away.
"Maude, Philo and I estimated that it will take about a month..."
"That's fine. Take as much time as you need."
"Alright."
A slight smile appeared on Gaya's face.
Not far away, Cavendish overheard their conversation and let out a weary sigh in his heart.
They'd be stuck on this cursed island for another month.
Just thinking about it exhausted him.
Factoring in the time it would take to return Maude and the others to the Thriller Bark and then the additional days spent on Little Garden...
It would be at least three months before they could enter the New World.
"Whatever. I just have to endure it."
Cavendish lifted a hand, lightly tapping his cheek before taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"Hey, Little Cav, come give me a hand."
At the long table in the courtyard, Bailey waved Cavendish over.
He was helping Philo sort through the plants she had gathered today. But with so many different types, he was getting a headache trying to organize them all.
Seeing that Cavendish had nothing to do, he called him over to help.
"Don't call me 'Little Cav.'"
Cavendish slowly turned around, his face expressionless as he stared at Bailey.
It was bad enough that Maude and Gaya called him that, but now even a pet?
Where was his dignity?
"Then what should I call you?"
Bailey tilted his head in confusion.
Gritting his teeth, Cavendish enunciated each syllable: "Ca.ven.dish!"
"Oh, got it."
Bailey nodded in understanding and said seriously, "Alright then, Little Cavendish, come help me out."
"..."
A vein bulged on Cavendish's forehead as he fought the urge to draw his sword.
Forget it.
He just had to endure it.
Getting angry over something like this would only ruin his skin and hair!
Repeating this mantra to himself, Cavendish reluctantly walked over to the table and started sorting the plants with Bailey.
Seeing Cavendish so cooperative, Bailey nodded in satisfaction.
"Thanks for your help, Little Cavendish."
He then patted Cavendish's shoulder in a fatherly manner before promptly abandoning the task and scampering away, leaving all the work to him.
"That bastard!"
Cavendish stared in disbelief as Bailey happily trotted off.
Just then, Philo emerged from the small house. Upon seeing Cavendish helping with the plants, her blue eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Th-thank you, Little Cav..."
Without her usual crow mask, Philo stammered shyly.
Little Cav again!
Cavendish looked at Philo helplessly but simply waved a hand, indicating she didn't need to be so formal.
Philo responded with a bright, beautiful smile.
With her snow-white hair and sapphire eyes, she resembled a dreamlike, delicate blue rose.
Staring at her radiant expression, Cavendish was momentarily dazed.
...Fine. Little Cav it is.
He resigned himself to his fate.
Half an hour later.
Thanks to the shadow clone's tireless effort, Dorry and Brogy were properly buried.
A cairn of stones marked their graves, with their broken weapons serving as headstones.
It was a fitting tribute.
Retracting the shadow clone, Maude stretched lazily before drawing the black blade, Shusui, from his waist.
"I've recovered enough. Time for some training."
"Alright."
Gaya nodded.
She then watched as Maude strode a hundred meters away to an open clearing, where he unleashed a devastating Hakoku Sovereignty blast toward the sky.
The earth-shaking force sent shockwaves rippling across the island.
Terrified cries rang out from the nearby forest as birds scattered in panic, and even the ferocious dinosaurs and beasts fled in fear.
As the final echoes of the attack faded into the night sky, Maude immediately launched a second one.
The disturbance shattered the peace of the evening.
...
At the Coastline.
Rows of makeshift wooden houses gave the area a semblance of a small village.
Pirates and bounty hunters alike sat around campfires, drinking, laughing, and feasting on meat.
For now, they were at peace—after all, stranded together in this forsaken place, what use was there in fighting?
Before long, they might even have to join forces to find a way past the giant goldfish that guarded the island.
Suddenly, figures emerged from the forest's edge.
The people around the fires turned to look, quickly recognizing the newcomers as the bounty hunters who had gone off earlier to try their luck.
They had been gone all day, and many had assumed they'd been killed by Maude.
Under the flickering firelight, it was evident that the bounty hunters were injured, covered in dust, and looked utterly exhausted.
"You guys are still alive?" someone asked in surprise.
The returning bounty hunters had no words.
They hadn't expected to survive either.
"Well, you made it back. That's what matters. Come, have something to eat."
A pirate offered them food.
For now, the enmity between pirates and bounty hunters had been set aside. If they couldn't find a way past the goldfish, they might be stuck here forever, forced to build a new life together.
"I have to say, you guys are pretty incredible to escape from that monster."
"..."
The bounty hunters wore bitter smiles.
"Actually, we were all captured by Maude."
"Huh? Then how are you here?"
"He made us build him a house. Once we finished, he let us go."
"???"
Silence fell over the camp.
After a moment, a hesitant voice spoke up: "You know... Maude doesn't seem like the monster people say he is. Honestly, he was... kind of nice."
Everyone exchanged glances before immediately shaking their heads.
No way.
The words "kind" and "Maude" simply didn't belong in the same sentence.
Just then, a massive explosion echoed from the island's center.
Everyone froze in shock.
Looking up, they saw a devastating shockwave tearing through the sky like a comet, its sheer force sending chills down their spines.
What the hell was he doing now?
Just don't let it come this way!
They could only watch in stunned silence as the Hakoku blast pierced through the clouds, their hearts pounding with unease.
Tonight, few would find any rest.
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