The Three Great Pirate Crews of Wind Island

The bartender, who had been polishing a wineglass, gave a professional smile upon hearing this. After glancing at the wanted poster, he said to the pirate:

"There's no problem with the wanted poster. How could a wanted poster issued by the World Government be fake?" With that, the bartender continued polishing the glass.

In that instant, the pirates at the bar all sucked in sharp breaths.

A bounty of one hundred million Beli would make him the fourth-largest pirate crew on Wind Island. Yet such a big shot was only sixteen years old—it was unbelievable.

The commotion on their side drew the attention of pirates throughout the tavern, and they all turned to look.

Once they learned about Mark from the wanted poster, the entire tavern erupted into a stir.

They had not gone out to sea in a long time. They had never expected such a powerful figure to have emerged on the seas.

Only one person paid no attention to the wanted poster. He sat alone at a table by the window, taking occasional swigs of liquor.

He wore a black cloak, and his face seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black mist. Only a pair of seemingly glowing eyes was visible, making it impossible to see his features.

As he drank, he occasionally glanced at the pirates seated at the other tables, an indescribable look in his eyes.

That person was Mark!

He had been here for about a day. During that time, he had been gathering useful information.

By now, he had more or less figured out the situation across the entire island. All that remained was to make his move. The first place he chose was Merck Tavern, hailed as the largest tavern on Wind Island.

There were numerous pirate forces on Wind Island, with dozens of crews large and small.

The largest were three pirate crews. These three crews were also the true rulers of Wind Island.

Viper Pirates: Captain Viper Links, bounty of 140 million Beli. Cunning and ruthless as a venomous snake.

Green Lizard Pirates: Captain Giant Lizard Jack, bounty of 160 million Beli. A burly man afflicted with lizard scale disease, with skin as thick as a lizard's and tremendous strength.

Collision Pirates: Captain Quilado, bounty of 190 million Beli. Wielded a battering ram as a weapon, stood nearly five meters tall, and was exceptionally fierce.

That was the information he had obtained.

And it was not limited to Wind Island. He had also acquired intelligence on Snow Island.

Before coming here, he had assumed Wind-Snow Twin Islands were two separate islands. In truth, that was not the case.

They were one island, but like Ice-Fire Island from the original story, it was divided into two islands by two different climates.

One half was dry and windy year-round, while the other was a frozen world of ice and snow.

Wind Island was controlled by its three largest pirate crews, and Snow Island was no exception. It too was controlled by three major pirate crews.

Red Star Pirates: Captain Red Star Jialimu, bounty of 110 million Beli. A ruthless woman whose weapon was a slender sword.

Evil Spirit Pirates: Captain Evil Spirit Pajedo, bounty of 210 million Beli. He looked as vicious as an evil spirit and possessed the Dog-Dog Fruit, Hyena Model.

Sword Demon Pirates: Captain Sword Demon Pukesen, bounty of 150 million Beli. A murderous swordsman who had made his name by slaughtering civilians. His actual strength was average, though he was still a powerful Swordmaster.

That was all the information Mark had gathered.

Though none of their bounties were low, and everyone except Red Star Jialimu had a higher bounty than his, Mark did not fear them. He even looked down on them somewhat.

These people had been pirates for many years. When they were young, they had entered the Grand Line and made a name for themselves, but they had not dared to enter the New World, that true demon sea. Fearing pursuit from Marine Headquarters as well, they had gathered on Wind-Snow Island.

Later pirates had been intimidated by their reputation and did not dare cause trouble here. Gradually, the current structure of Wind-Snow Twin Islands took shape.

The six major pirate crews grew increasingly powerful.

But Mark did not think highly of their combat strength.

These people had not fought in years. Their strength might not even match that of some Supernovas. Mark was completely confident he could deal with them.

They simply had superior numbers while he was alone, so he could only break them one by one and take them down individually.

As for the reason... he lacked money, and he also lacked experience fodder.

As for money, these people had occupied this place for many years. According to the intelligence he had gathered, their assets amounted to two or three billion Beli. That would be more than enough for Mark to build a new pirate ship.

As for experience...

He had always lacked it. On the path to becoming stronger, the faster the better.

Especially when he had encountered so many excellent prey, there was no reason for him not to make a move.

The tavern was extraordinarily noisy.

Mark merely sipped his drink calmly. He was waiting for someone.

Viper Links!

The captain of the Viper Pirates. This tavern belonged to him.

According to the information Mark had received, Links returned to inspect the tavern at this time every day. He was extremely suspicious by nature. He feared that the pirates in the bar might steal some of his Beli, and he also feared that someone might cause trouble at the tavern.

Mark had just taken a gulp of strong liquor when he sensed the surrounding clamor grow much quieter.

Then he heard the bartender say respectfully, "Lord Links, you're back!"

A gloomy voice sounded.

"Mm."

Then there was no more conversation.

Following the voice, Mark saw a tall, thin man walk behind the bar. His face was pale, his narrow phoenix eyes carried a sinister air, and a faint scar ran from between his brows to the corner of his lips. He was speaking with the bartender.

The surrounding pirates all looked at the man with reverence and fear.

Viper Links had arrived.

Mark gently set down his wineglass, rose to his feet, and slowly walked to the bar.

At that moment, Links was flipping through the recent accounts at the bar while the bartender waited respectfully beside him. The other pirates paid it no mind and continued drinking.

Mark walked up to the bar and spoke to Links, who was examining the accounts.

"Captain Viper, hello."

Links, who was checking the books, frowned and slowly raised his head. His expression was unpleasant.

He did not like being disturbed while checking accounts. Everyone on this island knew that.

Being interrupted so suddenly irritated Links.

Seeing the man in the pitch-black cloak before him, he said impatiently:

"What do you want?"

Mark paid no attention to his attitude and said with a sincere expression:

"Lend me some money."

"What?" Links suspected he had misheard. This man wanted to borrow money from him? Was he looking to die?

The surrounding pirates also revealed mocking expressions.

Even the professional bartender wore a strange smile.

Borrowing money from pirates—had this man been beaten stupid?

"And while you're at it, lend me your head too." Mark smiled faintly, completely unconcerned.

Whoosh! In an instant, Links sprang back two steps like a cat whose fur had stood on end.

A man in a cloak, his face hidden behind black mist, whose first words were to borrow money and demand his head, was definitely no ordinary person.

The cautious Links reacted quickly, but Mark gave him no opportunity!

"Dark Water!"