Just then, the gates of the compound opened, and a young man with grayish-white skin walked out.
"We have all the ingredients you need in our factory. Please follow me, you two..."
Hearing that the ingredients they needed were available, Mark smiled faintly and entered with Daisy.
Beyond the large iron gates lay a pitch-black path. Single-story buildings lined both sides, their grayish-white walls showing faint patches of peeling paint. Rotten stinks occasionally wafted from the corners, making Mark frown slightly.
"Where are you two from?" the man leading the way asked.
Mark scanned his surroundings and replied, "Cocoyasi Village."
"Cocoyasi Village? That's a large village too. Why would you come all the way here to purchase supplies?" Although the man's tone was calm, Mark still detected a trace of probing in it.
Why was he probing them?
Though puzzled, he still made up an excuse. "We're a merchant ship from Cocoyasi Village. We need to restock some supplies after traveling this far..."
The man raised his brows, gave an acknowledging sound, and said nothing more.
Mark naturally had no desire to speak with him either. The three continued in silence past the single-story buildings until they stopped before a rather spacious sheet-metal factory.
"Please wait here for a moment. I'll inform our boss." With that, the man turned and entered the factory.
After he left, Daisy suddenly took Mark's hand and whispered, "Mark, I feel like something is wrong with this place."
Something was wrong?
Hearing that, Mark looked around. It did seem like something was off.
It was too quiet.
A slaughterhouse should not have been like this.
Only then did he notice how strange the atmosphere around them was.
Mark narrowed his eyes slightly and spread his Observation Haki through the surrounding area.
A moment later—
His eyes suddenly snapped open. Just as he was about to speak—
A man about as tall as Mark walked out through the metal doors and stopped before him. He wore a black-and-white fur coat, with two Flintlock Pistols and an enormous longsword hanging from his waist.
More than twenty people gradually emerged from the sheet-metal factory behind him. Every one of them looked hostile, and the savagery radiating from their bones gave Mark a faint sense of danger.
Instinctively, he stretched out his left hand to shield Daisy behind him while his right hand quietly gripped the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
Pock approached with several subordinates and stopped in front of Mark, a wicked smile curling across his lips.
"Little brother, don't be so nervous. We aren't bad people."
Pock's gaze wandered over Mark and Daisy. When he saw Daisy's face clearly, a flash of amazement appeared in his eyes, followed immediately by undisguised greed.
Daisy's expression turned angry under his stare.
Seeing Pock's unconcealed greed, Mark's face darkened. He was now absolutely certain that these people were no good.
This bunch... was trouble!
Noticing Mark's expression, Pock gave a light cough.
"Hello, little brother. My name is Pock, and I'm the owner of this slaughterhouse. As for this little sister..." Pock introduced himself as he reached out with his right hand toward Daisy.
Whoosh!
The Mountain-Splitting Axe in Mark's hand blocked Pock's outstretched hand, and a cold smile tugged at his lips.
"Boss Pock, my sister and I came here to buy ingredients! Where are they?" Mark's tone was far from friendly.
His outstretched hand had been blocked, and a trace of anger appeared on Pock's face.
Before he could speak, one of the men behind him shouted at Mark, "Brat, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Let me tell you the truth—this is the territory of our White Ghost Pirates. If you don't want to die, leave behind your money and the woman behind you!"
After saying that, he gave Pock a flattering smile.
At least his subordinate understood him. Pock's lips slowly curled upward as he looked at Mark with amusement.
The White Ghost Pirates!
Mark frowned slightly. He had heard a little about this pirate crew.
The captain of the White Ghost Pirates was named Pock. His bounty was seventeen million Beli, making him something of a big shot in the East Blue.
A look of understanding immediately appeared in Mark's eyes as he looked at Pock.
"So you're Captain Pock." Mark's tone remained calm, as though Pock's identity meant nothing to him.
Pock raised his brows and was just about to speak when Mark said coldly,
"So that means you don't have any high-quality ingredients here?"
"Hey! You little—" The man who had just flattered Pock impatiently snapped, then strode toward Mark. Raising an iron rod as thick as his wrist, he smashed it down toward Mark's head.
Slash!
But the instant he raised the iron rod, a gleaming black arc of axe light cut it in two. Flesh and bone were split apart in an instant by the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
Gurgle!
Blood erupted like a fountain, instantly dyeing the fur coat of Pock, who stood closest to him, crimson red.
Everyone fell silent.
Pock stood frozen in place. One of his pirate crewmen had just been killed right in front of him?
"You pieces of trash, wasting my time!" Mark sheathed the Mountain-Splitting Axe, gently took Daisy's hand, and headed outside.
The members of the White Ghost Pirates stared blankly as Mark walked away.
Then an extremely sinister voice came from Pock's mouth.
"Brat, who gave you the guts to kill my crewman?"
With a cold expression, Pock drew the longsword from his waist and swung it. A bright slash shot toward Mark from behind.
The blade tore through the air!
Mark sensed the danger behind him with his Observation Haki. He turned aside and dodged Pock's incoming blade.
"Looks like you all want to die here!" Mark had failed to buy suitable ingredients and felt that they had toyed with him. Moreover, Pock's gaze toward Daisy disgusted him.
Killing one of their crewmen to intimidate them should have been enough.
He still needed to hurry and buy ingredients before heading to Cocoyasi Village as soon as possible. For now, he had not wanted to bother with them.
But some people simply could not recognize the situation!
"You're young, but you sure talk big. I'm the White Ghost Swordsman with a seventeen-million-Beli bounty!" Pock twisted his wrist and slashed again.
"You killed my crewman. Neither of you is leaving this place alive today!"
Swordmaster? Mark raised a brow, but disdain surfaced in his heart when he saw the incoming longsword.
Pock's strength behind the blade was ordinary, and a swordsman's conviction was so weak it was practically nonexistent. He was a hundred thousand miles away from being a Swordmaster. Even Buffettla was countless times stronger than him.
Mark's lips curved slightly. "Swordmaster? Self-proclaimed, right? You probably learned that title from somewhere and dared to wear it yourself. What a pathetic weakling!"
Letting go of Daisy's hand, he lightly stamped the ground. Fruit power swiftly wrapped around the massive Mountain-Splitting Axe.
Against someone this weak, there was no need for him to use Haki.
Whoosh!
Slash!
An arm was severed, and the enormous longsword fell to the ground along with it.
"Ah!" Cold sweat poured from Pock's forehead. He clutched the stump of his arm with his left hand, disbelief written all over his face.
He had lost so easily?
"What are you staring at? Get him!" Seeing that his crewmen behind him were still stunned, Pock endured the agonizing pain and roared.
At his shout, several men behind him quickly snapped out of their daze. They drew the weapons they carried and charged at Mark.
"Kill him!"
"He cut off one of the captain's arms! We have to kill him!"
"We absolutely cannot let him leave this place!"
They were all nothing but fodder!
Buzz!
Mark became a black blur and rushed at the attackers.
The giant axe in his hand swung rapidly.
One black axe shadow after another streaked through the air and cut into the incoming men.
With one strike, a head was severed.
With two strikes, half a body was chopped away, flesh and shattered bone spraying everywhere.
With three strikes, he cleaved straight down, splitting the man in two and spilling his organs all over the ground.