Chapter 1

"Looks like the haul this time was pretty good. I didn't expect such a small village to hide such a large sum of money. It seems I can have a good time in the next town, ha." A pirate with a large machete on his back laughed maniacally.

"Ha, that's right. Life at sea is so boring, I wonder if there will be any blind little pirates or greedy hyenas who will come to add some fun to our lives." Another pirate took a big gulp of alcohol, his expression becoming somewhat dazed.

"You idiot, what kind of joke is that? Who are we? We are the feared Giant Axe Pirates, even the Marines can't do anything to us. Our captain is a ruthless pirate with a bounty of 120 million beri, destined to become the next Pirate King."

"Is that so? Then the next Pirate King must be quite pitiful, suddenly having an extra man." A rather frivolous voice reached the pirates' ears, instantly alerting them and causing them to draw their weapons. After all, they were seasoned pirates, and if they didn't have this kind of reaction, they wouldn't last long.

A pirate who seemed to be a minor leader cautiously walked to the edge of the deck and looked down, then revealed a contemptuous smile: "Ha ha ha, a little brat dares to show up in front of us, truly fearless to the point of being reckless."

Floating on the sea was a small wooden boat, like a speck of dust, seemingly able to be capsized by a single wave. Compared to their pirate ship, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. The pirates looked down from above, and the young man on the wooden boat seemed as insignificant as an ant.

"Brat, the sea is a place for men to explore. A kid like you who hasn't even been weaned should hide under a woman's skirt."

"Ha, look at his dumb face, he must be scared stiff."

"Considering he brought some fun to my boring life, I'll kill him a bit less cruelly. I just hope he doesn't wet his pants, that would dirty my sword."

The young man on the wooden boat didn't react to the pirates' insults, as if he was already used to it, or as he would say, there's no need to argue with the dead.

Suddenly, the young man on the wooden boat vanished in a flash, reappearing in front of the pirates before they could react. This time, they got a clear look at the young man's face.

He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, but his face was not at all childish. His gentle features and sharp eyes gave off an indescribable feeling, and a heavy pressure made some of the pirates who hadn't seen much action almost drop their weapons. The young man was dressed in black, with a long sword at his waist, not yet drawn, but it seemed as if a cold light would flash at any moment.

The pirates weren't fools; seeing the young man's incredibly swift movements, they knew he wasn't someone to be trifled with. Some even wondered if their demon-like captain could do the same, but they quickly pushed that terrifying thought out of their minds, not daring to think further.

The minor leader signaled the pirates to spread out in a surrounding formation and said in a deep voice, "Kid, no matter who you are or what your purpose is, you'd better be careful. Otherwise, don't blame our guns for being blind. Our captain is a pirate with a bounty of 120 million beri. If you leave now, we can pretend this never happened. Otherwise, when the captain comes out, you won't be able to leave."

His words showed that he was a man who had seen many storms, knowing that in the sea, one must never show weakness. The only correct approach is to show your strength to the enemy. The weak never last long at sea, and he believed no one could survive such concentrated firepower, let alone their monster-like captain.

"Clang!" Suddenly, the sound of a weapon falling was heard. A pirate's long sword had dropped, and he fell to the deck, his face filled with fear, pointing at the young man as if he had seen a ghost.

The minor leader looked at the pirate with displeasure, recognizing him as a new recruit. He felt even more anger, thinking that he would have to hang this scum after this was over. The Giant Axe Pirates were not a place for cowards.

The pirate who had fallen to the deck was already in tears, his disgusting snot running into his mouth without him even realizing it. He shouted in a state of collapse, "You devil, why won't you let me go? You've already destroyed the Hundred Ghosts Pirate Crew. I was just a sailor on that ship. Why are you still after me?"

"Hundred... Hundred Ghosts Pirate Crew, the powerful pirate crew with a bounty of 150 million beri? They were said to have been defeated by a bounty hunter, and even their captain, Ghost Torres, had his head taken for the bounty."

"I... I remember now. The bounty hunter's name was Roy, the nightmare of pirates, the Phantom Sword—Roy."

The pirates muttered to themselves, suddenly realizing something, looking at the young man in front of them in disbelief, their throats making choking sounds. More weapons fell, and the pirates, as if all their strength had been drained, fell to the deck.

Roy stroked his smooth chin and looked at the first pirate who spoke with a teasing expression: "What was it, right, I'm really sorry. Please don't misunderstand, you're overthinking it. I have no interest in a small-time pirate like you. But since we met, it's a kind of fate. I'll send you to meet your former captain. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

The pirate's expression of relief after the ordeal froze, as if Roy's words had awakened the demon within him. He picked up a gun that had fallen from another pirate, holding it with both hands and looking at Roy with a fierce gaze.

What puzzled the others was that with Roy's ghost-like speed, stopping the pirate's actions should have been easy, but he didn't stop and instead had a look of amusement, giving the others a glimmer of hope. They thought, maybe this kid isn't as terrifying as they thought, considering his age, he doesn't look like a strong person.

With two pistols in hand, the pirate seemed to gain infinite confidence, sneering, "This is all your fault. Go to hell, scum."

Two bullets shot out instantly, at a speed beyond human visual nerves. The other pirates didn't even react before the bullets were gone.

"It worked, at this close range, even a god couldn't avoid it." The pirate kept encouraging himself.

But the voice he least wanted to hear rang out: "Is this your last struggle? How boring. Goodbye, then."

As Roy's last words echoed, the pirate felt a sharp pain in his body and then fell into eternal darkness.

Blood stained the deck, and the others were snapped back to reality by the crimson color. Their eyes filled with blood, they went mad, firing at Roy with dense gunfire, instantly filling the small space.

What terrified them was that this time, they finally saw how Roy avoided the bullets. He walked through the hail of bullets as if taking a leisurely stroll, simply tilting his head or lifting his foot to dodge all the bullets.

The pirates even had a ridiculous feeling that maybe what they held in their hands were not deadly weapons but children's slingshots.

Roy walked through the hail of bullets to the pirates, and in their terrified faces, a silver-white light flashed, sending them into eternal sleep.

"Damn, it's so noisy. You damn bastards, don't you know that the great Captain Hoshus is resting? I'll have to hang you all..." A door was rudely kicked open, and a small giant, nearly 4 meters tall, walked out, still cursing. But seeing the gruesome scene on the deck, he was momentarily speechless.

The black figure standing in the red river of blood was particularly striking. The black figure turned his head and smiled brightly: "The 120 million beri bounty Giant Axe Captain Hoshus, right? Nice to meet you. I am a bounty hunter, Roy."