187: Misty Island

Somewhere off the coast of Komoda City.

Hisoka and the others had been at sea for about an hour before reaching a tiny island. This was where they had agreed to meet the pirates.

A short time later, three speedboats were visible in the distance. The leading speedboat sported a pirate flag - a skull on a blood red flag. It was the Blackbeard Pirates.

Along with the 25 people they were holding as hostages, the pirates also brought 12 other people. Unfortunately, Edward Thatch, leader of the Blackbeard Pirates, was not present. After making sure that all the hostages were safe and sound, they agreed to trade with the pirates.

Although $500 million may seem a lot, it was all fake money anyway. Once the pirates finally got their hands on the money, they promptly freed the hostages and sailed away.

Matthias, who was watching them from a distance, immediately ordered several men to take the hostages back.

He then turned to Ryoichi and said, "How is it going, Ryoichi? Have you tracked their location?"

Ryoichi glanced up from the laptop and nodded, "Yes, the tracker is working. I'm tracking them as of now."

"Good, let's move now," said Matthias, followed by a chorus of agreement from the others.

They continued to follow the tracker for the rest of the day, and eventually came to a stop in front of an island that was shrouded in thick fog.

"Isn't this Misty Island?" Ryoichi said with a look of surprise on his face.

Misty Island was a remote island located south of the Kanto region. It lay between the Bear of Komoda and the Sevii Islands. Just like its name, the island was often covered in fog all year round.

Not too long ago, this island was infested by many pirates. More often than not, ships passing through this area would be robbed. It was only after the League took action that the pirates on this island were finally cleared out. They truly didn't expect the Blackbeard Pirates would make their lair here.

"Sometimes, the most dangerous place is also the safest place," Matthias said.

"True," Hisoka nodded.

"Sir! You have to see this."

Suddenly, Officer Jenny's voice rang out. They all looked at each other and hurried to the front of the boat. What they saw was a huge number of mines surrounding the entire island.

"Matthias? What should we do now?" Ryoichi turned to Matthias, who was the commander of this operation.

After thinking for a while, Matthias finally made a decision. He looked at them and said, "We are going to sneak in. Split up into four groups. Hisoka, Ryoichi, and I will be in one group. The other three groups will sneak in from other directions."

He then turned to Officer Jenny, "Jenny, you will stay behind to look after our boats. If anything happens, use the radio to contact us."

There was a general assent as everyone quickly went to put on their gear. Five minutes later, Hisoka, wearing a diving suit, dove into the water after Matthias and Ryoichi.

With Matthias in the lead, they slowly made their way to the island while keeping a careful distance from the mines. When they were only a stone's throw from the island, Matthias suddenly raised his hand, which made everyone stop.

Matthias turned to them and made a few hand gestures that meant, there are some people down by the shore. I'm going to take them out first.

Hisoka and Ryoichi nodded as Matthias grabbed his Pokeball and opened it. The next second, Gengar appeared.

Matthias then signaled Gengar to deal with the people on the shore. Gengar dipped its head, and under everyone's eyes, it flew to the shore before going invisible. Gengar came back a few minutes later to give them the all-clear.

Once they made it ashore, they saw five people lying face down on the beach.

"Good job, Gengar," Ryoichi gave a thumbs-up to the Gengar floating beside them.

"Geng-gar!" It grinned wickedly.

"Let's hide these guys first before we move ahead," Matthias said while looking around.

At this time, an airship was flying in the sky above Misty Island.

"Master J, are you sure you want to go alone? These Blackbeard Pirates are not that easy to handle."

A man with spiky red hair dressed like Neo from The Matrix was talking to a slim woman with short silver hair.

"Don't worry, Walker. I'm only here to rob Edward. I've heard that he has a lot of treasures with him. You don't expect us to return empty handed, do you?" Hunter J waved off the man's concern.

"As you wish, Master J," Walked sighed, though he still managed to sound respectful.

Hunter J didn't show it, but he knew she was fuming after the theft of their Gible egg. For her, this was more of an excuse to blow off some steam.

Several minutes later, Hunter J who was flying in the sky spotted a few people hiding down below.

'Trying to hide from me?' She thought with a smirk as she dropped behind those people.

"Got you now! Black… Hey! You're not one of them. Who are you?"

Unlike the pirates she had been expecting, these people gave her the wrong impression. Then, she noticed a tall man, who she was she was certain she had seen before.

"You're from the League, aren't you? She asked with a gleam in her eye. She may have just stumbled upon something interesting here.

"Hunter J," Yukimura said helplessly. "Why are you here?"

'Of all the places, why do we have to meet this crazy woman now,' he moaned to himself.

"Are you going to catch those Blackbeard Pirates? Great! Sign me up too," Hunter J said eagerly.

"Um, you haven't answered my question yet, Hunter J," Yukimura replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to rob these guys," Hunter J answered truthfully.

"Really? So, you're not here to attack us?" Yukimura regarded her with suspicion.

"Nope!" Hunter J replied, walking past them.

Then, she looked back at Yukimura and asked, "What are you waiting for? Come on, guys, let's go!"

Yukimura looked at the other police officers and just shrugged. There was nothing they could do about it. Hunter J was much stronger than them. They were lucky she didn't attack them straight away.