For famous Pirate Crew Captains such as Whitey Bay, Little Oars Jr., Thunder Lord McGuy, and the Decalvan Brothers, the transformation process naturally drew plenty of attention and discussion from the crowd.
As for Whitebeard's earlier crew members, now serving as various captains, including Epoida, Andre, the Seal Man Elwan, Jin, Elmy, Ramba, Delacu, and the octopus headed Karma, the newly recruited members had been too excited during the battle to pay close attention to details such as body shape and appearance.
Fortunately, these people already looked rough around the edges to begin with, so unless someone inspected them too carefully, very few would notice anything unusual.
Because of that, the final transformations mostly focused on matching facial features. To Ash, that was already more than enough.
As for the hundreds of pirate ships belonging to Whitebeard's thirty eight allied Pirate Crews...
Dealing with them was just as troublesome now as burning them had been satisfying back then.
Fortunately, many members of the Dawn Faction possessed Wood related abilities, so they could slowly seize pirate ships and alter their appearances over time.
Besides, who would dare walk up to Whitebeard and ask, "Why are all your sons' ships missing?"
Final rewards from the battle against the Yonko, the Whitebeard Pirates:
Unique Mission: Devil Fruit Collection Count [72 / 500]
...
The day after the battle ended.
The Moby Dick sailed boldly across the sea, carrying a full crew of imposters. Any Pirate Crew unfortunate enough to appear within sight suffered immediate destruction, their ships seized and repurposed.
Meanwhile, the Dawn sailed on its own separate course.
Ash waited until Sali had completely recovered before leaving the ship and returning to the Sabaody Archipelago.
After all, he had promised the children he would see them the next day. Since he had made the promise, there was no reason to break it.
As expected, the moment Ash arrived at the ice cream stall from the previous day, he was met by a Marine blockade.
A stern looking Marine Major noticed Ash's arrival, immediately raised his hand in salute, then handed over a Den Den Mushi.
Ash sighed the moment he saw it.
Sure enough, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's call was just like Marine justice, delayed perhaps, but unavoidable.
Just as expected, Sengoku's call was about the details of the battle.
The moment the line connected, Sengoku did not even bother asking whether it had been Ash and the Dawn fighting the Whitebeard Pirates. Instead, he immediately demanded:
"Why did you fight? Didn't you promise me you would avoid unnecessary battles?!"
Looking at the Den Den Mushi wearing Sengoku's furious expression, one that practically screamed you tricked me, Ash resisted the urge to roll his eyes and calmly explained that it had been self defense.
"Whitebeard surrounded my ship with hundreds of vessels and tens of thousands of men. If we didn't fight back, were we supposed to sit there and wait to die?"
Sengoku paused.
Thinking about it, Ash actually had a point.
After all, Sengoku himself had informed Ash that Whitebeard was mobilizing his Pirate Crews. There was no reason for Ash to deliberately seek trouble.
This was completely different from the earlier incident where three Shichibukai challenged Kaido.
This time, Ash had only been traveling with the Dawn.
In the end, Sengoku only asked how the battle had concluded.
After all, Whitebeard had gathered tens of thousands of men in a grand show of force, only for the battle to end in less than half a day. Yet somehow, the Dawn was still openly sailing through the New World.
Clearly, something had happened that outsiders did not know.
Ash casually explained that he had destroyed most of the Whitebeard Pirates' ships with fire, forcing Whitebeard to reconsider.
If the battle continued, not only would avenging Squard's grudge become impossible, but Whitebeard's allied Pirate Crews would also suffer devastating losses.
Because of that, Whitebeard had no choice but to end the fight early.
Ash's half truth perfectly aligned with the theories formed by Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru, and even matched Marine intelligence reports from the New World.
It explained why the Whitebeard Pirates had been reduced to only four remaining ships, including the Moby Dick.
It also explained why they had attacked every Pirate Crew they encountered and seized their ships.
So that was it.
Ash had burned their fleet, forcing Whitebeard to retreat.
And attacking passing Pirate Crews was simply Whitebeard venting his frustration while rebuilding his forces.
Everything suddenly made sense.
"Fine," Sengoku finally said. "Stay quiet for a while. In less than a year, you've fought Kaido, Red Hair, and Whitebeard. The higher ups in the World Government are already extremely dissatisfied with you."
Ash raised a brow.
"Did I remember wrong? Isn't fighting pirates part of a Shichibukai's job?"
"Hmph!"
Sengoku snorted before hanging up.
The meaning could not have been clearer.
Ash understood that Sengoku was not angry at him personally.
Instead, he was venting frustration toward the World Government and even the Gorosei, but since he could not openly criticize them, all he could do was express his annoyance indirectly.
Ash had no intention of reading deeper into it.
After ending the call, he handed the Den Den Mushi back to the waiting Marine Major.
The stern faced officer instinctively prepared to salute again, but Ash raised a hand to stop him.
"You're a Marine. You don't have to salute me. Besides, saluting a Shichibukai might damage the Marine image, right?"
The officer froze for a moment before answering seriously.
"I know the Shichibukai do not have a good reputation because of their legal right to plunder. But people should be judged individually."
He paused, looking directly at Ash.
"I only know that you and the Dawn have never harmed ordinary people. Instead, you've hunted pirates across the Four Seas, Paradise, and even the New World."
"That is justice worthy of respect."
The Marine Major glanced toward the nearby children, who had already gathered after noticing Ash's return.
A smile appeared on his usually stern face.
"And besides, how could someone loved by children possibly have a bad reputation? In the Four Seas and Paradise, the fame of you and the Dawn is already comparable to Sora, Warrior of the Sea."
Ash blinked, momentarily surprised, before laughing.
"So I'm that famous already?"
He grinned.
"Fine, then today's on me. Every child here gets ice cream!"
Then he pointed toward the Marine Major.
"That includes you too."
The Major allowed himself a rare smile.
"Then I won't refuse."
The children erupted into cheers the moment they heard Ash was paying.
The ice cream stall owner had clearly been prepared. The instant he spotted Ash earlier, he had already begun making extra cones in different flavors.
Now, all of them proved useful.
The owner smiled so widely it looked like his face might split apart as he hurriedly handed out ice cream to the excited children.
Even the stern Marine Major eventually received his own cone, after every child had gotten theirs first.