Killing Pirates

No one had expected Ye Chen to suddenly make a move, and with a single strike, he knocked one of their companions unconscious.

"Sang Biao..." The three pirates beside him all cried out in unison. They called several times, but the pirate lying on the ground gave no response.

"Damn Ghost, who the hell are you?" A lean pirate glared at Ye Chen and demanded in a low voice, so furious that his beard stood on end. The other two also instinctively drew their sabers.

"I think I should be the angry one." Ye Chen snorted disdainfully. Before the three could surround him, he hurriedly turned and shouted to Olvia, "Olvia, go first."

Though frightened, Olvia did not abandon Ye Chen and flee alone. Ye Chen stomped his foot in frustration and clenched his fists. Kicking off the ground with his right leg, he charged forward first. He knew that he was alone; if all three attacked together, he might not be able to beat them. Besides, what if they had companions nearby? The one who struck first gained the advantage. He had to end this quickly, then get out of here at once.

Ye Chen sprinted at full speed, rushing toward the skinny man like a cheetah. The man froze for a moment, and Ye Chen suddenly barked, "Soru!" Before the words had even faded, he vanished from the spot. A cold wind swept across the ground. The skinny pirate hurriedly looked around, only to hear a slightly childish shout from above. "I'm up here."

The skinny pirate had just looked up when a dark shadow flashed overhead. Ye Chen descended like a flying arrow. As he neared the pirate, both hands shot out and clamped down on his neck. Borrowing the force of his rapid descent, he executed a takedown and slammed the skinny pirate hard into the ground. It felt as though the man's bones had been shattered, and he howled in pain. He had only just staggered back to his feet when Ye Chen followed with a sweeping kick. Looking closely, a faint black sheen glimmered over Ye Chen's leg.

Although he had not trained for long, Ye Chen's Armament Haki had already begun to take shape.

His kick whistled through the air, sweeping up a choking cloud of dust. Before the skinny pirate could steady himself, his ankle was struck as if by an iron bar. He let out a pained cry and crashed to the ground again.

The moment the skinny pirate fell, the other two charged in together. Ye Chen went with the momentum and flipped backward, lashing out repeatedly with both legs in midair. Bang! Bang! He kicked each of them once in the chest. Still, though Ye Chen's blows were powerful, the two pirates were large and strong. They merely took a step back, and his kicks caused no real damage.

"Ow, this kid's seriously strong! Be careful, both of you. This brat hits viciously!" The skinny pirate climbed up from the ground, grimacing and crying out in pain, yet he still remembered to warn his companions.

Ye Chen curled his five fingers into claws, his ten fingers like ten sharp talons. His body bent slightly forward, and his legs pressed hard against the ground, like a cheetah poised to pounce on prey at any moment. His bright black eyes radiated icy light. A cruel smile suddenly curled across his wicked lips. He kicked off with both legs, and his body shot toward the skinny pirate like a cannonball leaving its barrel, swift as a gale. Bang! Bang! Not only did he kick the skinny pirate twice in the chest, both hands also struck fiercely at his temples. Ye Chen seemed to be hanging from the pirate's body, his legs raining down kicks while his hands repeatedly hammered the man's temples. A cool, cold smile remained on Ye Chen's face throughout.

The temples were among the most vulnerable parts of the human body. Ye Chen struck with all his strength, and he was using the Eagle Claw Technique. Even if the skinny pirate's temples had been made of stone, they could not withstand Ye Chen's relentless blows. Before long, the pirate coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

Before the other two pirates could rush over, Ye Chen, still unsatisfied, swung his right hand like a blade and deliberately chopped down on the skinny pirate's neck in a taunting gesture. With a crack, the pirate died completely. Even his neck had been severed by Ye Chen's chop.

The palm technique Ye Chen was practicing now was the Iron Sand Palm. Though he had not yet mastered it, its power could not be underestimated.

The two pirates froze in fright. They exchanged a glance, then closed in from both sides. Ye Chen remained fearless, straightening his slender body once more. Just as the two were about to reach him, his hands swiftly moved behind his back. The next instant, two icy flashes burst forth. The pirates' vision blurred, and the dazzling light made both of them pause.

In an instant, Oto and Kogarashi were drawn together. Pfft! Pfft! Only when their hearts were pierced did the two men understand what had happened.

Only at the moment of death did they realize that Ye Chen was also a terrifying swordsman.

"Never bully children!" Sheathing his swords, Ye Chen stuck out his tongue at the two men, then turned and walked away. By the time his footsteps faded, four cold corpses lay on the ground.

After waves washed away the sand, any pirate who could reach Sabaody had endured the trials of the first half of the Grand Line. Even if these pirates were mere lackeys on someone else's ship, they still possessed considerable strength. They had lost to Ye Chen partly because they had underestimated him, and partly because Ye Chen had fought War Wolf to the death every day in Freezing Hell. Not only was he ruthless, his strength was wildly disproportionate to his age.

"Ye Chen, why did you kill them?" Even after they had walked far away, Olvia still felt uneasy.

"This world is just like this. The weak are prey to the strong, and only the strong survive." To Ye Chen, killing people was no different from killing War Wolf. If he did not want to be bullied, he could only eliminate his enemies.

Though he had come to this world less than half a year ago, Ye Chen no longer believed in so-called fairness and justice.

Could he report it to the authorities if someone bullied him? Would the World Government send people to protect him? They killed innocent civilians whenever they wished. After witnessing the horrific tragedy of Ohara, Ye Chen no longer held any illusions about so-called justice.

He was like this, and Robin was the same. Although Olvia knew many things, she did not want Ye Chen to continue like this and become a cold, merciless killing "demon."

"What's that..." The two continued searching for a restaurant when a group of people suddenly appeared on the street opposite them. They looked like prisoners being escorted, with collars around their necks and chains on their bodies. There were men and women, even children. There seemed to be quite a few of them, and they were being marched in this direction.

The escorts were not Marines, but vicious-looking, repulsive pirates. Ye Chen did not have a very good impression of pirates now. So far, apart from Basan and Whitebeard, every pirate he had encountered had been a brutish villain. These people were easy to identify. Whether by their clothes or their faces, Ye Chen was one hundred percent certain that the escorts were, at the very least, not good people.

Ye Chen stood by the roadside holding Olvia's hand, propping up his chin as he watched curiously. Since the escorts were not government officials, those being escorted might not necessarily be prisoners.

"Ah, how pitiful. More slaves captured for auction." An old man beside Ye Chen suddenly let out a long sigh.