One Piece: I'm a Hunter on the Grand Line

"A skilled bounty hunter has arrived on the island, dressed as..."

"Send someone to kill him as soon as possible!"

The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi listened to Colonel Varucha for a long time without much reaction, until they heard his last sentence and then they laughed.

"Did you hear me right? You're ordering me around? Hahahaha!"

Colonel Varucha's face still held an urgent expression of urging, but he was choked by the contemptuous laughter and choked on his words.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only uttered a dry sentence: "We have a cooperative relationship."

"Just kidding. I'll send someone to take care of that hunter. Congratulations, Colonel, on making another fortune. Don't forget to treat me to a drink once the Navy Headquarters allocates funds."

clack.

The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes, and the other end cut off the connection.

"Damn pirates!" Colonel Varucha returned to his desk with a gloomy expression.

However, the pirate reminded him that he could take this opportunity to apply for another round of military funding from headquarters. Once the bounty hunter was dead, the money would naturally go into his pocket.

In a secluded bay in the northwest of Nottis, a huge three-track sailing ship is moored.

Pirate flags fluttered in the wind atop the deck, and pirates gathered in twos and threes on the deck, some drinking and others sunbathing.

A creaking sound came from the ship, and the pirates turned to look. A middle-aged man with a strong, ox-like build, wearing a white cloak, walked out of the cabin.

Upon seeing him appear, all the pirates immediately stood up and gave up the best spots.

As soon as the man sat down, his men immediately brought him fine wine. As he drank, he said, "That Vulture guy has been going too far lately."

The captain spoke, and the pirates on deck immediately echoed him.

"Exactly! Doesn't he realize that without you, Captain, he wouldn't be alive today?"

"That bastard even dared to order us around! Next time we see him, we'll break his leg!"

"If you ask me, we should just kill that kid!"

The pirates chatted and laughed, completely disregarding the Marine branch captain.

The man downed his wine in one gulp, and when he heard his men discussing how to kill Colonel Varucha in the most ruthless way, he smiled and shook his head.

"Find a chance to beat him up. Keep him alive, or the Navy Headquarters will definitely send a new colonel, who might be a troublesome fellow!"

Colonel Varucha was incredibly greedy, but he was also very pragmatic and extremely useful.

He's been having such a smooth time lately that he's lost his sense of proportion; it's good to teach him a lesson.

The pirates were chatting idly when a noise came from the lookout room above: "The first mate and the others are back!"

Soon after, a group of pirates returned to the ship with a large amount of supplies.

The first mate walked straight to the man and sat down. "News has come in that a skilled bounty hunter has just landed on Nottis Island."

The man frowned. Another bounty hunter?

Listening to the first mate's description of the man, an interest flashed in his eyes. Coincidentally, it was the same person the navy had mentioned.

However, the intelligence we received was more detailed.

He single-handedly wiped out an entire pirate crew, without sustaining a scratch from start to finish!

This guy is something else!

The two of them compiled the information they each knew.

The first mate looked thoughtful. "This man boarded the ship on Swaro Island. A lot of pirate crews have been lost there recently. Now it seems that it might not just be the Navy's doing."

"He appeared on Nautilus Island because he's after the bounty-hunting pirates in the nearby waters, and we could be his targets too!"

The man nodded in agreement, but there wasn't a trace of worry on his face.

So what if he has some strength? Would he be afraid of a mere bounty hunter?

The first mate continued, "Leaving someone like this on the island is still a bit unsettling, but we're about to set sail, so we probably won't have time to deal with him."

Every overseas raid is planned in advance, involving the interests of multiple parties, and the journey cannot be delayed because of a minor character.

"Let Iron Axe do it! Didn't he want to join us? Bring us that bounty hunter's head, and I'll make him join the White Bear Pirates!"

Meanwhile, Yelena quietly slipped back into the hotel through the window.

She removed her cloak, recalled what had just happened, and made slight adjustments to her plans.

The officer named Varucha was clearly less reliable than Colonel Lind, and the overall atmosphere of the naval branch on this island was not as good as the place where she had stayed for several months before.

Aside from the bounty settlement, she didn't want to have anything to do with these naval personnel.

Without intelligence from the naval system, she would have to personally gather information about pirates in the future.

For the next period of time, I need to choose a place to stay that is convenient for daily training but not too far from people.

Yelena changed into her everyday clothes, slung her violin case over her shoulder, and left the hotel.

Following the directions she got from the hotel owner, she planned to go to the residential area to see if there were any suitable houses for sale or rent.

As Yelena passed a tavern, a look of interest flashed in her eyes. She immediately changed direction and turned to walk inside.

The tavern was quite large, about three or four hundred square meters, with dozens of tables filled with people.

Yelena couldn't find a seat, and she couldn't even squeeze in at the bar, so she could only walk to the wall and carefully examine the bounty poster on it.

Polar bear, warhammer, boulder, mad dog...

They were all notorious pirates in the surrounding waters.

"Have you heard? Iron Axe challenged White Bear not long ago!" In the tavern, someone, having had a few drinks, started showing off the news he'd heard to the people at the next table.

"Really? Who won?"

"Of course it's Captain Polar Bear! He's a legendary Devil Fruit user; even the Marines aren't a match for him!"

"All the captains under his command defected after being defeated by him, and Iron Axe should be no exception!"

"Yes, including the merchants and nobles associated with them... The White Bear Pirates are growing bigger and bigger. If they continue like this, who can destroy them?"

"Shh! You can't say things like that!"

The sounds from the tavern gradually reached Yelena's ears, and as she listened, her expression changed.

The White Bear Pirates?

It sounds very familiar.

Before coming to Nottis Island, Colonel Lind mentioned that their size and strength were among the best in the entire North Sea.

Of course, he was referring to the One Piece fandom.

The merchant ship they arrived on also had an ambiguous relationship with this pirate crew. Captain Big Bear even tried to scare away the enemy with the name of the White Bear, though he was unsuccessful.

Thinking of this, Yelena couldn't help but pause slightly.

Is that guy reliable?

The next morning, Yelena arrived at the dock on time and found the agreed location, where Captain Big Beard was being helped by several of his men and was waiting there.

"You've arrived."

Compared to yesterday, his mental state was worse now; his voice trembled, and cold sweat occasionally broke out on his face.

"The pirate ship and weapons have already been sold, sold. There are too many people and too many eyes around here, it's not suitable to bring them. Please come back with me to the ship to get them!"

Yelena's eyes, hidden beneath her hood, scrutinized him carefully. "You seem a little nervous?"

The bearded man looked miserable, wishing he could tear himself to pieces from yesterday!

Serves you right for being so talkative!

Yesterday, when he went to the black market to sell stolen goods, he encountered members of the White Bear Pirates.

As is customary, these merchant caravans, which have ties to the pirate crew, not only offer tribute when they come to Notis Island, but also report the secret information and special observations they have collected, thus enriching the White Bear Pirates' intelligence network.

This isn't the first time he's done this.

Unexpectedly, shortly after he reported the information, he received orders from above to cooperate with the Iron Axe Pirates and take down the black-robed bounty hunter!

Did you make a mistake!

Should we send him to deal with his benefactor?

Details...

There is no psychological burden.

The key is to prevent him from getting directly involved!

But he couldn't refuse the orders from above. Pirates weren't exactly reasonable people; if they dared to disobey, they'd be killed on the spot!

Looking at his savior, Big Beard's mind kept flashing back to images of the man killing people, and his legs suddenly went weak.

"No, no, no, don't be nervous! Ouch! It's just that my injury from before hasn't healed yet. Let's go, let's get... get the money!"