**Chapter 6: It Must Be a Special Fate**
Having served as a Marine for several years, Allen had accumulated some sailing experience, but this was his first attempt at sailing completely alone.
Without anyone to talk to, the prolonged sense of loneliness greatly amplified the various physical and psychological discomforts that came with voyaging.
After just two days, he was starting to feel overwhelmed.
Setting foot on land and feeling the soft sand under his feet, Allen felt an unparalleled sense of relief.
The first thing to do upon landing was, of course, to have a proper meal.
Allen first took out some rations from his backpack, munching on them to stave off the hunger. Then, he found a rock to secure his boat, gathered his weapons and some personal tools.
Naturally, his little boat didn't have a refrigerator. Fresh ingredients weren't easy to preserve. Although he had brought enough dry rations, if he wanted to eat something good, he'd have to rely on hunting or fishing.
After finishing all this, Allen turned his gaze inland.
Not far from the beach was a lush, dense forest. It seemed this was a deserted island.
"In that case, there should be plenty of wild beasts on the island."
Allen thought to himself, hands in his pockets, as he started walking towards the forest.
At the same time.
Deep within the shadowy woods, several pirates were working together to carry a wild boar nearly two meters long, arguing as they walked about who had contributed more during the hunt.
Suddenly.
"Shh, look outside. Someone's come ashore."
The pirate squad leader leading them, who was carrying a hare, made a silencing gesture and crouched lower, peering out of the forest.
Hearing this, the others hurriedly followed suit, crouching and hiding in the thick bushes.
Following their captain's gaze, their line of sight passed through the layers of tree shadows, finally landing on a man wearing a Marine uniform.
On the empty beach, Allen's moving figure was extremely conspicuous.
"A Marine?"
"Could he be here to pursue us?"
"How? Has our plan to raid Syrup Village been exposed?"
"This... what should we do?!"
Seeing Allen's figure, the pirates immediately panicked, all looking towards their captain.
However, the lead pirate disdainfully slapped the back of his subordinate's head and scolded in a low voice:
"Idiot, there's only one of him. When have you ever seen a single Marine take on an entire pirate crew by himself? It's obvious he probably got separated from his teammates."
"Oh, oh, sorry, haha. As expected of our captain!"
The slapped pirate chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
He didn't seem very bright.
"Captain, look over there."
Just then, another underling suddenly spoke up, pointing towards a small boat behind a rock, his tone carrying a hint of pleasant surprise.
Looking in the direction he pointed, they could vaguely see a huge backpack placed on the small boat, packed to the brim.
Seeing this, the pirates' eyes instantly lit up. They already had an idea about this Marine who had 'drifted to this deserted island after getting separated from his teammates.'
A moment later.
Allen finally entered the forest, humming a tune and strolling casually, hands in his pockets, looking completely unprepared.
"Tch, looks like he's still a rookie seaman. He's practically covered in openings from head to toe."
Seeing this, the lead pirate in the bushes chuckled coldly, his tone laced with mockery.
This made his several underlings' eyes grow even more fanatical, as if the outcome of killing the man and seizing his supplies was already a foregone conclusion.
The pirates held their breath, their gazes tightly locked on the gradually approaching Allen, mentally counting down the shrinking distance.
"Six... five... four..."
Finally, when Allen stepped within two meters of the ambush!
The lead pirate's eyes turned fierce. He crouched, then pushed off the ground with his legs, his whole body shooting out from the bushes with a "Whoosh!"
"Jie ha ha ha! Bad luck for you, stupid Marine!"
The leaping pirate snarled a laugh, both hands grasping a large blade as he thrust it forward. The blade shimmered with a cold gleam, aimed straight for Allen's chest!
However, the next second, a large hand abruptly appeared in his field of vision.
*Smack!!*
The anticipated scene of the blade tip piercing flesh and drawing blood did not appear.
Accompanied by a crisp slapping sound, under the pirates' stunned gazes, their captain seemed to have suffered some blow. For some inexplicable reason, he was sent flying sideways at high speed!
*Thud!*
The pirate's body slammed heavily into a tree trunk, then slid down like mud. A red handprint swelled on his face, his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious on the spot.
Allen withdrew his hand and slipped it back into his pocket, then turned to look at the several pirates who had stood up from the bushes.
They each held weapons, frozen in their ambush-ready postures, their bodies trembling and rigid in place.
What in the world just happened...?!
How was the captain defeated?! We couldn't even see his movements!
It's just like Captain Kuro back in the day!
This guy is too terrifying!!
At this moment, the pirates were screaming frantically in their hearts. Their eyes looking at Allen were as if staring at a monster.
Allen looked at them for a few seconds, then asked:
"Who are you guys?"
A pirate answered shakily: "Pi... pirates..."
"Nonsense! I know that."
*Thump!*
Allen kicked over a pirate, snapping angrily:
"Looking for death, huh?! I'm asking which crew you belong to!"
"Wait!"
"We're members of the Black Cat Pirates!"
"Please don't kick!"
The remaining pirates hurriedly raised their hands and knelt down, begging for mercy.
"Black Cat...?"
Hearing this, Allen frowned. "The pirate crew formerly led by 'Kuro of a Hundred Plans'?"
"Y... yes, but... our captain now is Jango."
A pirate nodded repeatedly in reply, afraid that speaking too slowly would earn him another kick.
Allen stroked his chin, thinking it over.
Kuro of a Hundred Plans, the former leader of the Black Cat Pirates. A powerful and cruel pirate, quite notorious in the East Blue.
Later, Kuro grew tired of being harassed day and night by the Marines. During one battle, he killed everyone on a Marine warship, sparing only a single Marine soldier.
Then, he had his crew's hypnotist, Jango, hypnotize that Marine, making him believe he had defeated Kuro. They then captured a scapegoat to be taken back and executed.
Kuro himself faked his death and went into hiding. The hypnotized Marine used that 'battle merit' to get promoted to Captain and become a branch base commander.
That's right. That Marine was our 'Axe-Hand'—Captain Morgan. The very base commander Allen had just gotten rid of a couple of days ago.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Allen suddenly felt very interested.
This must be a special kind of fate, for our paths to cross and make us enemies like this.
"Wait, I remember you guys had disappeared for quite a while. What are you doing here?"
Allen asked, puzzled again.
Hearing this, the pirates looked at each other in panic.
Seeing this, Allen seemed to remember something. He took out the detailed map of the Moonlight Archipelago he had just brought along and glanced at it.