Chapter 158: Dragon Hunter Pirates
About three hours later, a black pirate flag was raised on Ian's ship.
The design on this pirate flag was also a crossed skull pattern, but with a difference: this skull was that of a dragon, with a sharp sword thrust down through the top of the dragon's skull.
This was the flag design for Ian's pirate crew, drawn by Margaret.
Moreover, even the name of the pirate crew was given by Margaret, called the Dragon Hunter Pirates!
There was no helping it; Ian had a bit of a naming disability, and the other members were much the same. Suggestions like Ian Pirates, Masked Pirates, 76-Man Pirates, Bear Ear Hat Pirates, and so on were all terribly uncool. In the end, Margaret chimed in with this name, and after hearing it, everyone exchanged glances, then surprisingly agreed to use it unanimously.
Because everyone now knew that their captain, Ian, had killed a Celestial Dragon—an unprecedented feat. Using this name not only highlighted Ian's achievement but also represented everyone's hatred for the Celestial Dragons.
Although the brand had been erased, no one could forgive those arrogant Celestial Dragons.
Even though using this name really attracted hatred, it no longer mattered to the current group. Even without this name, the Celestial Dragons wouldn't let them off.
Margaret had a great talent for drawing, and this pirate flag was quite well done. In Ian's words, it was a high-definition, no-blur pattern that could be clearly seen from far away. So when the pirate flag was raised, everyone on the deck couldn't help but cheer.
"Haha! It's established! Our pirate crew is finally established!"
Don't underestimate a name and a flag; they represent a sense of belonging. At the moment the flag was raised, the people on the ship truly considered themselves members of the pirate crew.
Many people, after becoming pirates, often regard the pirate crew as another home, and the other members are like family. They gather under one pirate flag, sailing forward together on the pirate ship.
So, even though some pirate crews seem to do all kinds of evil, internally they are exceptionally united. This is also a unique pirate culture.
Next, it was naturally time for the banquet. Matthew spoke slowly, but that was his usual state. This guy was truly a top-tier chef. When making dishes and food, he seemed like a different person—his dead fish eyes were gone, replaced by sharp, focused eyes. He brought along two other helpers and quickly prepared enough food for everyone on the ship.
Ian smelled the aroma and ran to the kitchen, where he saw this scene. He was extremely surprised and felt like this guy had a split personality...
However, after eating what Matthew made, Ian realized he had found a treasure. When he first woke up, he had eaten some liquid food made by Matthew and hadn't thought much of it. But now, when various meat dishes and seafood dishes were brought out, Ian couldn't stop eating once he started.
Matthew, this guy, was indeed a court chef. His skill was no joke; the whole ship ate to their hearts' content.
One crew member, excited, patted Matthew's hand, wanting to praise him, but instantly fell asleep, making everyone laugh heartily.
However, Matthew also had his troubles. While chatting with everyone, he slowly revealed his hardships in his slow tone.
Since eating the Devil Fruit, he couldn't sleep anymore. To be precise, his sleep time had become too little; he could only sleep for one hour a day!
That was the origin of the two big dark circles under his dead fish eyes.
Ian and the others were very surprised and asked him why he didn't use his hand to touch himself to sleep. But he told them that he was now immune to his own ability.
Dorry felt sorry for him, walked behind him, raised his bear paw, and directly knocked Matthew unconscious with one hit.
"Now he can sleep!" Dorry said, scratching his head innocently. "And we don't have to listen to his slow talking anymore..."
Pfft! Everyone burst out laughing, not expecting this simple-minded black bear Mink to have such a method.
That night, everyone partied until very late. After arranging the night watch, the whole ship fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Ian yawned and got up. When he came to the deck, he found that Dorry was on the last watch.
"Dorry, how much do you weigh?" Ian asked him.
"I don't know either!" Dorry scratched his head. "Probably over 600 kilograms!"
Ian nodded and said, "Alright! Later, when I do push-ups, you sit on my back!"
"Isn't that a bit much?" Dorry said, a little embarrassed.
"Less nonsense!" Ian said. "I told you to sit on my back, so sit on my back."
He had taken a liking to this guy's weight. Having such a guy around saved Ian the trouble of finding training equipment.
Ian started training. He lay on the deck with Dorry on his back and began doing push-ups with standard form.
It had to be said, weighted training was the best way to exercise. Although Ian only did 300 push-ups with Dorry on his back, he was already sweating profusely. At the same time, the proficiency of his Physical Combat skill was skyrocketing.
After finishing the push-ups, Ian jumped into the sea and swam a lap. He was trying every way to increase his physical stamina.
After Ian swam thirty kilometers and incidentally killed a sea beast that tried to make him its breakfast, dragging it back as food supplies, the people on the ship gradually woke up.
Margaret handed Ian a piece of clothing to put on and passed him a towel to dry his hair.
"Where are we going next?" Ian asked Margaret.
She took out a Log Pose—the one Jinbe had left, specially for the New World, with three needles pointing to three islands.
"The one on the left has the lightest vibration!" Margaret said. "This island should be relatively safe. We need to go there to replenish fresh water and food. Oh, Captain, we don't have much money."
Ian nodded, found a crew member who had once been a pirate, and asked him, "How do pirates usually make money?"
"Mostly by robbing!" the crew member said. "But Captain Ian, we'd better not rob ordinary people now."
"Oh?" Ian smiled. "Why?"
"I'd feel bad about it!" the crew member scratched his head. "Thinking about the companions who escaped with us, many of them were ordinary people like that, I just can't bring myself to do it."
"Is it just you who thinks this way, or do most people feel the same?" Ian asked him.
The crew member thought for a moment and said, "Probably everyone feels the same."
Ian patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we won't rob ordinary people. If we rob anyone, it'll be other pirates!"
The crew member grinned.
"Besides robbing, are there other ways?" Ian asked.
"Of course!" the crew member nodded. "There are plenty of things to do: smuggling, arms dealing are good ways to make money, even trading works. As long as you can safely escort the goods to their destination, you usually won't lose money."
Ian nodded, understanding clearly.
In this world, there were still many ways to make money. For one thing, with the arrival of the Great Pirate Era, many original trade routes had become unsafe, and merchant ships were often robbed by pirates. But if a pirate crew did it themselves, it was much easier. The pirates on the ship acted as guards, and anyone who dared to rob them would be wiped out.
However, most pirates were used to robbing; they were accustomed to easy money and didn't bother doing such things themselves.
In Ian's estimation, running this pirate crew shouldn't be a problem.
But... they couldn't go to the island Margaret mentioned.
Through the Log Pose, Ian and the others could tell that island wasn't very dangerous. But the Marines knew that too. They were now hunting Ian, the mastermind, and the escaped slaves, so they might guess that Ian would land there.
If they set an ambush, Ian and the others would be walking right into a trap.
"Adjust the course. Let's go to this island!" Ian said, pointing to an island that trembled slightly more intensely, and instructed Margaret like that.
This was a middle-ground choice—not the safest, but not the most dangerous either.
Margaret didn't say much, nodded, went to the helm, and told the helmsman to change course.
On the deck, some idle crew members had already brought out chairs to sunbathe, while others were playing cards. Sea voyages were like this; most of the time, it was very boring.
Ian didn't join in. He went to the bow of the ship and silently studied his skills.
The Flying Shadow Card had finally been upgraded to a five-star Red Card. This was Ian's first Red Card, and the ultimate skill, Flame Killing Black Dragon Wave, could be used. However, Ian discovered that the Black Dragon Wave could be nurtured in advance!
That is, Ian could use his free time, when his Psychic Power was full and recovering, to gradually summon a Black Dragon from the demon world on his right arm.
And now, Ian was doing just that, slowly injecting his Psychic Power into his right arm.
The injection speed of Psychic Power was controlled by Ian himself. As he injected, he observed his Psychic Power recovery, trying to keep the injection and recovery balanced.
However, when Ian started using this move, his right sleeve instantly turned to ash again.
Speechlessly looking at his sleeve—this was a new piece of clothing Margaret had just put on him—it was gone just like that. Would he have to destroy a piece of clothing every time he used the Black Dragon Wave?
Thinking it over, Ian tore off the sleeve of his left arm as well, revealing his muscular arms.
From now on, he might as well wear sleeveless clothes.
As the Black Dragon Wave gradually took shape, Ian felt his entire right arm begin to emit astonishing heat.
When he faced Aokiji, he hadn't noticed it much, but now he felt how high the heat of the Black Dragon Wave was. He just tried reaching his hand toward a chair, and before even touching it, the chair caught fire!
The people on the ship looked at Ian in amazement, but no one dared to come close.
This left Ian speechless. After nurturing the Black Dragon on his arm like this, could he not touch anything with this hand?
He would have to buy the exclusive item for Flying Shadow! Ian sighed, thinking this.