Red-Haired Shanks…
One of the Four Emperors ruling the New World like a king.
Maude couldn’t fathom why such a prominent figure would come to this rundown shop.
He couldn’t immediately respond to Shanks’ greeting.
Shanks, used to such reactions, didn’t mind. He turned to the counter where Sunny was and waved.
“Hey, Sunny, long time no see.”
“Long, long time no see.”
“Why did you cut your hair?”
“Um, Thor said my hair was too long and it wasted water when washing, so he made me cut it.”
Sunny’s gaze dropped, her heart racing, as she gave a random excuse.
At that moment, Thor was leisurely walking down the street with a takeaway bag when he suddenly sneezed hard. Wiping his nose, he thought for a moment and had a sudden bad premonition, subconsciously quickening his pace.
Inside the shop, Shanks smiled helplessly and said, “Thor is as thrifty as ever…”
“Uh, what brings you here this time?”
Sunny changed the subject in a timely manner, asking about Shanks’ visit.
“Just the usual, came to buy some hometown liquor.”
Shanks laughed heartily, stepping past Maude and approaching the counter.
Maude finally realized and looked at Shanks’ back.
He almost neglected a big figure.
Luckily, Shanks’ personality was different from the other Four Emperors…
Curly-haired Yasopp gave Maude a quick glance before joining Lucky Roo, who was holding a drumstick, in following Shanks.
Maude watched their backs silently, composing himself. He casually closed the door and then stepped aside, observing Shanks and Sunny chatting.
From their conversation, it seemed Shanks was a regular customer at the shop.
What Maude found most exasperating was that Shanks came to the shop to buy liquor, not weapons.
Wait, does the shop even sell liquor?
Maude suddenly thought about the entrance to the basement.
Could it be a wine cellar down there…
Behind the counter, Sunny seemed out of character, appearing somewhat nervous.
However, when the topic of Shanks’ visit for liquor came up, she remembered Thor’s previous firm and heartbroken instructions, immediately strengthening her resolve as a member of Thor’s weapon shop.
She raised her head to look directly at Shanks and said seriously, “After you cleared out the liquor last time, Thor ordered that we can sell to anyone but you.”
“What?”
Shanks was surprised, turning to Lucky Roo with a puzzled look, “Didn’t we pay last time?”
“We did, but we took two extra barrels of the boss’s special stash when moving the goods.”
“…”
Shanks was silent for a moment, then sighed, “So that’s what happened.”
After sighing, he leaned closer to Sunny, changed his focus, and lowered his voice. “Is Thor at home?”
Sunny replied honestly, “No.”
“Then that makes things easier.”
Shanks said seriously.
“You…!”
Sunny’s eyes widened.
Before she could react further, Lucky Roo, understanding Shanks’ intentions, placed the money on the counter and then skillfully headed for the stairs.
Watching Lucky Roo head towards the wine cellar, Sunny instinctively wanted to step out from behind the counter to stop him.
Thud—
At that moment, there was a light sound from the counter.
Sunny looked over and saw Yasopp, in the middle of their conversation, had taken a long-barreled flintlock and a short-barreled flintlock from the shelf, placing them lightly on the counter.
“Sunny, how much for these two guns?”
Yasopp leaned forward, arms crossed on the counter.
The timing was impeccable, and his expression was serious, genuinely intending to buy the guns.
Sunny glanced at Lucky Roo’s back and then at the two guns on the counter, sighed internally, and quoted the price, feeling resigned: “120,000 Beli for the long-barreled and 380,000 Beli for the short-barreled.”
By now, Lucky Roo had disappeared from view, likely already in the wine cellar.
“Whistle—”
Hearing the price, Yasopp whistled, not arguing over the seemingly unreasonable prices, and straightforwardly took out the money.
Shanks looked at the flintlock on Yasopp’s back and asked, “Decided just like that? Maybe Thor can fix it.”
Yasopp replied, “Boss, do you want to wait for Mr. Thor to come back?”
“Haha.”
Shanks laughed indifferently, “No rush, we can move the liquor first and come back.”
“…”
Yasopp was silent for a moment, then shook his head, “Forget it, let’s end it here. It’s done its best.”
With that, he took off the flintlock from his back and placed it on the counter.
This gun was his first trusty companion from the village, but it couldn’t withstand the test of time.
Even though he had tried to nurture it with Haki, it was a futile effort.
Being a sniper, he specialized in Observation Haki, not Armament Haki.
Moreover, he only learned Armament Haki years after setting out to sea, realizing too late that nurturing his beloved gun with Haki was necessary.
Eventually, the old gun became a backup, now so worn out it could barely serve even that purpose.
During maintenance, Yasopp had long understood this fate.
With no other choice, he had to get a new gun.
Sunny glanced at the old flintlock on the counter and said calmly, “Sorry, we don’t accept second-hand guns, especially broken ones!”
She emphasized the word “broken.”
“It’s not broken, just worn out.”
Yasopp felt helpless at Sunny’s pointed remark.
“Worn out is no good either!”
“…”
“Haha.”
Shanks laughed happily.
Yasopp shook his head, “If we don’t sell it, just tell Thor it’s from me.”
“Can’t you just throw it away? It’s useless now.”
“No way!”
Yasopp said seriously, “Let Thor keep it. Maybe one day he’ll be interested and transfer the old mechanism to another gun. Then, it can continue in some form.”
“You actually have another option.”
The voice came from Maude, who had been watching from the side.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Facing their gazes, Maude, now calm, spoke earnestly and seriously.
“Give it to me, and I’ll carry it further.”
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