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

Yelena didn't ask any further questions, and nodded. "Lead the way."

Captain Big Beard breathed a sigh of relief. He patted his man on the shoulder, signaling him to carry him on his back.

The group walked through the bustling pier and arrived at the beach on the west side. The further they walked, the fewer people they saw.

The bearded man would occasionally glance back to make sure the people behind him were keeping up.

He tried to observe Yelena's expression, but could only see the dark hood and couldn't guess whether she suspected anything. To ease the tension, he talked a lot along the way.

"Sir, we're almost there. There are many merchant ships coming and going at the dock. After loading and unloading cargo, the ships are not allowed to stay at the dock for too long. That's why I had someone move the ship to the front. After we get the money for you, we will continue our voyage."

After crossing the beach, there is a pile of rocks ahead.

Yelena looked up and saw the merchant ship anchored on the sea not far from the pile of rocks.

She carefully examined her surroundings. These oddly shaped stones were enormous, and from her perspective, she couldn't see anything hidden behind them.

The bearded man looked back again and found Yelena standing at the edge of the reef area, not taking a single step forward.

His heart skipped a beat. Could this person have actually discovered something?

But having already arrived here, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Sir, look, the merchant ship is right there. Small boats have been prepared on the beach. Let's hurry over there."

Yelena stared at the tense-looking bearded man, a hoarse laugh escaping from under his hood. "Heh heh, wait here. If you honestly hand over the money, I might spare your life."

The bearded man's pupils dilated in shock, his fingers gripping his subordinate's shoulders tightly. "What...what did you say? I don't understand. Sir, let's go quickly, the waves will get too high, and it will be difficult to sail."

He tried to make a last-ditch effort.

Yelena did not reply. She glanced at a certain rock and turned to back away.

"Eh, sir..."

"Hmph! Useless! Can't even do this simple thing right!"

A burly man with a dark complexion emerged from behind the rocks. He raised his axe and roared, "Chase him! Don't let that guy get away!"

At the burly man's command, dozens of pirates rushed out from the pile of rocks and followed him in pursuit of Yelena.

The bearded man lost his balance and slipped off his subordinate's shoulder. It was too late to escape, so he could only tremble and beg for mercy from the burly man who was getting closer and closer.

"Captain Iron Axe, this really isn't my fault! I almost led them into an ambush. Who would have thought he'd already gotten this far, and yet... Ah!!"

puff!

Before he could finish pleading for mercy, a gleaming axe swiftly swept across the bearded man's neck!

Iron Axe sneered and sheathed his weapon; his casual strike did not slow his steps in the slightest.

Anyone who dares to delay his important business doesn't deserve to live in this world!

Yelena did not return the way she came; as she ran, she turned and entered the woods north of the beach.

When Iron Axe and his men caught up, they could no longer see their target.

"Boss, what do we do?"

"He can't have gone far, go after him!"

Iron Axe charged into the woods first, his eyes filled with a burning desire to complete the mission. That black-robed bounty hunter was the key to whether he could join the White Bear Pirates!

We must not let him escape!

Yelena stood silently on a tree branch, watching the group of pirates run wildly through the forest until the last one ran past the tree, at which point she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me! I thought the Polar Bear Pirates had come in person."

Yelena knew her own limitations; with her current strength, she was no match for the renowned White Bear Pirates! Upon realizing they were lying in ambush, her first instinct was to run.

While listening to people chatting at the tavern yesterday, she remembered the bearded captain with whom she had an agreement and guessed that he might report what happened during the voyage to the White Bear Pirates.

But she still came today.

She felt that as a novice hunter, she shouldn't be targeted by a major pirate crew. After all, she had no conflict with Polar Bear and had even saved a merchant ship connected to him.

Of course, there are a few other reasons as well.

They couldn't bear to part with the money from selling ships and weapons.

Pirate ships aren't cheap; you can make a small fortune by selling them at a discount.

With this mindset in mind, she remained highly vigilant on her way to collect the money with the bearded captain, prepared to retreat immediately if things went wrong.

And indeed, they encountered an ambush!

To their surprise and delight, the people lying in ambush were not the White Bear Pirates!

Watching the pirates' retreating figures, Yelena drew her longsword and quietly followed them.

I can't beat the polar bear, but I can beat you, Iron Axe?

After landing, Yelena deliberately kept quiet as she gradually approached the pirates who were running at the back.

"Hurry up! The boss's about to get angry!"

Hearing his companions urging him on, the last pirate, panting heavily, cursed inwardly:

I'm a pirate, not a bandit. I'm good at swimming, but not good at riding a horse!

Just as he felt his lungs were about to explode, a hand reached out from behind and quickly covered his mouth!

The pirate shuddered, and before he could even struggle, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his back!

He tried to break free, but found that his strength was nothing in the eyes of the person behind him. He couldn't break free even a little bit before his consciousness completely disappeared.

"Hey, I said, hurry up... um!"

The pirate in second to last place turned to urge his companions on, but as soon as he turned around, a black hand reached straight for his throat, silencing him!

Yelena tightened her fingers, and a slight cracking sound came from her hand. The pirate in her hand immediately fell silent, following in the footsteps of her companion who had left the world before her.

With her speed and strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, Yelena silently dispatched more than a dozen pirates. Those ahead were only focused on following their leader and were completely unaware that their fighting strength was constantly decreasing.

After sprinting through the mountains for more than ten minutes, even the fittest Iron Axe was slightly out of breath, but they still couldn't find a trace of their target!

He had some doubts: was that guy really up ahead?

"Stop! Don't chase them anymore! If we keep chasing like this, we won't find them even by nightfall! That damn monkey! It's really good at hiding!"

Iron Axe stopped in his tracks and, in a fit of rage, swung his weapon at a large tree beside him!

Boom!

A tree so large it would take two people to hug it was snapped in half! It fell heavily to one side!

Staring at the results before him, Iron Axe smiled with satisfaction. Once he found that damned bounty hunter, he would chop him in two with a single axe blow!

"Minions, first..."

As soon as he turned around, Iron Axe's smile froze on his face.

The pirate closest to him was taken aback and looked in the direction of the captain's gaze.

hiss!

The pirate's pupils trembled violently, and his face was filled with disbelief.

Dozens of meters away, a person wearing a black cloak pierced their companion's chest with a sword!

Behind the shadowy figure, almost every ten meters or so, there was a person lying in a pool of blood!