"Where's Ash?"
When Kirk found Tsuki, he saw him floating idly in midair while the trees below were planted in crooked rows.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid Ash will find out and beat you up?" Kirk asked curiously.
"Why would I be afraid? Bro Ash told me to do this."
Tsuki sounded listless as he spoke. Then he added, "Brother Kirk, fly a little higher and take another look."
Kirk rose higher as instructed. Looking down at the forest, he soon noticed something unusual. The trees below had been arranged to form a sentence.
"What's the name of the ship?"
Kirk looked back at Tsuki. "What does this mean?"
Tsuki pointed toward the ground.
"I'm practicing arranging the name of our Pirate Hunter crew."
Kirk stared at him in disbelief. "So that's what we'll be called from now on?"
"Not exactly. Bro Ash said the name he thought of might be hard to arrange, so he told me to practice with trees first."
Kirk's expression darkened.
"Forget it. When that guy gets into one of his strange ideas, normal people can't understand him. Where is he now?"
Tsuki pointed toward the direction where they had landed earlier.
"At the bow of the ship, where the big mouth used to be."
"Then keep playing with your trees."
After leaving those words behind, Kirk disappeared.
Tsuki clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. One after another. Just because you can teleport, you think it's such a big deal?"
He waved his hand lazily. The trees below shifted again. In an instant, the words "What's the name of the ship?" rearranged themselves into a new sentence.
"Is being able to teleport such a big deal?"
"Oh right, Brother Youki asked you to help out at the cemetery."
Kirk's voice suddenly rang out behind Tsuki again.
Tsuki's palm twitched instinctively. The trees that had formed the words "Is" and "deal?" immediately collapsed back into random positions.
"Got it, Brother Kirk!" Tsuki called out while looking around, but Kirk was already gone.
After confirming that Kirk had truly left this time, Tsuki sighed helplessly.
Being able to teleport really was a big deal.
He was honestly jealous.
---
Meanwhile, at the bow of Thriller Bark.
When Kirk teleported over, the ugly explosive mouth that had previously decorated the bow had already disappeared. In its place was a dragon head with a rather unusual shape.
Kirk could tell it was meant to be a dragon because it contained nearly every traditional feature of one. Deer antlers, a lion's head, tiger eyes, ox ears, a crocodile's mouth, shrimp whiskers, a turtle's neck, and carp scales.
However, when all of those elements were combined together, the result looked strange no matter how he viewed it.
Or more accurately, it looked ugly.
"You are trying to make a dragon head?" Kirk asked.
Ash nodded seriously.
"My technique is still a bit rough."
Kirk kept a straight face as he offered a suggestion.
"How about we hire a painter or sculptor later? If that doesn't work, we can take it to Water 7 and have the ship modified properly."
"Good idea."
Ash agreed immediately.
He clenched his hand in the air. The dragon head twisted and reshaped itself, returning to the original oversized figurehead.
"What did you need me for?"
"All the corpses on the ship have been gathered in the cemetery. Once you burn them completely, we can level the whole place."
Ash's expression became serious.
"That's important. Let's go."
He vanished instantly.
Kirk turned to look at the place where the dragon head had disappeared and could not help laughing.
---
Night soon fell.
After everyone's hard work, Thriller Bark had finally been completely renewed.
The nauseating zombies had all been destroyed and burned to ashes.
The unfortunate cemetery had been dug ten feet deep and flattened entirely. Fresh green plants now covered the ground.
The once decaying Thriller Forest had transformed into a lush woodland full of life, while the eerie castle that used to terrify intruders now shone brightly with warm lights.
Seven people sat together in the castle courtyard around a large bonfire, enjoying dinner.
For Perona and Brook, this was their first time tasting the cooking of the Kirk siblings. Both of them ate enthusiastically without restraint.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others were discussing something more important.
The name of their future crew.
Kirk's suggestion of "Delicious Hunters" had been rejected by the other four members immediately. Even his own sister refused to support him, so he reluctantly gave up.
"How about the Flying Hunters?" Youki suggested. "All the Devil Fruits Bro Ash gave us allow us to fly."
"Brother Youki, did you forget about Shiki and his Flying Pirates?" Tsuki reminded him.
"The name is already taken."
Youki slammed his palm with frustration.
"Damn that Golden Lion."
He took several large gulps of wine before making another suggestion.
"Then how about we use the name of our village? The Cathay Hunters."
Ash shook his head immediately.
"No, that won't work."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"My homeland, Cathay, is a land that values etiquette. We are not trying to act like some world police force. Besides, forming this hunter crew is my personal decision. It has nothing to do with the nation itself."
"What kind of strange reasoning is that?" Youki waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, you decide."
He quickly joined Brook and Perona in their enthusiastic eating.
Saff smiled gently.
"You should choose the name yourself, Ash. All of us joined because of you. Since it's your ship, the name should come from you."
Tsuki nodded immediately.
"That's right, Bro Ash. Our powers all came from you. Without you, there would be no Pirate Hunter crew. Of course you should name it."
Ash smiled.
"Actually, I already thought of the name when I met Tsuru."
Everyone leaned forward with curiosity.
"We will be called the Dawn Hunter Pirates."
"Dawn?" Kirk repeated.
"Does that mean the sunlight in the early morning?"
Ash nodded.
"Exactly."
He looked into the bonfire flames as he continued.
"I have no interest in being the world's police, interfering in every conflict. I also have no desire to become some kind of savior who travels the world punishing evil and helping the weak."
He paused briefly.
"But I don't mind being a ray of light after dawn."
His voice remained calm, yet firm.
"As long as people who see us remember that light still exists, that is enough. And if darkness chooses to stand in our way, I will shatter it completely."
Everyone stared at him silently.
Then Ash suddenly grinned.
"The most important thing is freedom. Living however we want and enjoying life."
Youki and the Kirk siblings immediately rolled their eyes.
This guy really could not stay serious for long.
"So," Kirk asked with a smile, "have you thought about the design of the flag?"
"Of course."
Ash answered confidently.
"Since we sail across the seas under the name Dawn, our flag will be a golden blazing sun rising from the ocean."
"A sun rising from the sea..." Saff murmured thoughtfully.
"A blazing sun breaking through the night and lighting the sea and sky with golden light. That does sound beautiful."
Ash laughed.
"Right? The main sail will have that design. The smaller sails can use a simpler sun with flame patterns."
"Sounds impressive," Kirk said.
"So we still need to find a reliable painter."
Ash rolled his eyes.
"Relax. I won't draw it myself. Professional work should be left to professionals."
"So you plan to recruit a painter as a new crew member?" Kirk asked.
"Not necessarily. We just need someone to design the flag. But if we meet an interesting person, recruiting them isn't impossible."
As he spoke, Ash suddenly remembered someone.
Marianne, better known as Miss Goldenweek from Baroque Works.
According to the original timeline, when Monkey D. Luffy met her at Little Garden, she was sixteen years old. That meant she would currently be only nine.
Ash chuckled inwardly.
What a ridiculous thought.
Her Color Trap ability was certainly interesting, but searching the vast seas for a child just to paint a flag would be absurd.
Even Eiichiro Oda had only stated that Marianne came from the North Blue, without specifying which island.
Finding her now would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
It would actually be easier to intercept Nico Robin two years later at Twin Capes.
While Ash was still considering where he might find a painter, Tsuki suddenly shouted.
"That's not right, Bro Ash!"
Ash jumped slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"No wonder you had me practice spelling with trees this afternoon. The characters for Dawn are too complicated to arrange with trees!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Haha. Relax," Ash said while laughing. "I was just teasing you because you looked bored while planting trees. Do you really think I would spell out our crew name using trees?"
===
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