Chapter 6 – Journey to Polestar Island

Ron gazed out at the endless expanse of the sea, lost in thought. "It's been a month since we departed from Goat Island," he mused to himself.

"Days feel like months without the internet, phone, and a job to keep me busy. But I'm surely loving this voyage." He leaned back, enjoying the cool breeze on his face as he awaited his Sea King overload meal like usual.

Fernis joined him, observing Mihawk and Lyra practicing Sword Zen. "They sure are intense trainees," he muttered, watching their focused meditation on deepening their understanding of the Iron cutting realm.

"If you want, I can also arrange a training method for you. But remember, Haki is all about willpower and talent. It'll only affect you when you truly want to improve," Ron offered as he reeled in another piece of Sea King meat.

"One thing's for sure, more swordsmen on the ship equals more Sea Kings we kill, which equals faster our growth is," Ron remarked casually, having already finished off seven Sea Kings in the past month and currently working on the eighth.

"So, why aren't we following the same route that you and Mihawk followed on the way to Goat Island? It could have saved us a month, but now we're navigating near the windless zone," Fenris inquired genuinely, not complaining about the extended journey but curious about the change in route.

"Well, Mihawk wanted to establish some reputation on islands and cities near the windless zone. In the future, we'll navigate on a route nearest to the windless zone on the Grand Line. It's all planned," Ron explained, confidence in their captain's decisions evident.

"Oh, here comes today's newspaper," Fenris exclaimed as he noticed a seagull carrying a newspaper in its beak. After paying the seagull with a hundred berries, Fenris petted it affectionately before retrieving the paper.

"Ohh, hahaha, Lyra, you've got to see this!" Ron burst into laughter, unable to contain his amusement at today's news.

"What!?" Lyra exclaimed in shock as she caught the newspaper that Ron threw to her. "That bastard!! How dare he fall into the hands of the Navy!" Her anger flared at the sight of the photo of the legendary Golden Lion Shiki Pirates captured by the Navy. Mihawk also broke from his Sword Zen, drawn by Lyra's outburst.

"Oh, I heard Shiki lost to Roger in the Battle of Edd War. Maybe this is Shiki's revenge against the Navy after the execution of Roger. If he had heard the news of Roger's execution earlier, he might have sunk Polestar Island on the day of the execution," Mihawk analyzed, his insight impressing Ron.

"Yeah, pride got the better of him. He could have dealt ten times more damage if Shiki had carefully planned his revenge," Ron remarked as he handed Lyra a skewer of Sea King meat and passed wine bottles to Mihawk.

"Sigh, my revenge... I don't think Shiki's getting out of Impel Down," Lyra exhaled a cloud of smoke, calming herself down. She sighed in relief, somewhat accepting the Hawk Pirates, not wanting to lose her new friends over her vendetta.

"Don't worry, I don't think Shiki's going down that easy," Ron reassured her.

"Yeah, I also think this will give the Navy some room to breathe. The fall of Shiki means heavy competition among the pirates in the New World to take over the space that Shiki left," Mihawk added, his observation echoing Ron's sentiments.

"Yeah, me too," Ron chimed in, feeling a sense of camaraderie among the crew as they continued sailing towards Polestar Island.

Soon another month passed, and they found themselves nearing Polestar Island. The crew had to be extra careful since Polestar was still heavily guarded by the Navy. Luckily, there was no Vice-Admiral stationed in Lougetown Navy Branch.

"Ron, there's a merchant ship coming towards us, but there's something fishy about it," Fenris alerted Ron, noticing the approaching vessel. It was odd since most merchant ships would change course upon seeing a pirate flag on their ship.

"Let them in. It's interesting," Ron said, sensing that there were only 37 crew members on the other ship and a few fit individuals among them.

'No matter how I look at it, this isn't some ordinary merchant ship,' Ron mused internally.

"Fenris, get your bow ready. You're handling this like usual," Ron calmly ordered.

During these months, the Lantern had been targeted by many small pirates, and Fenris would deal with those small fries while Ron would assist in case Fenris faced any difficulties.

As the merchant ship approached the Lantern within 400 meters, Fenris fired a few arrows, silently taking down 12 scouts on the merchant ship without alerting the others. Then, he jumped into action, diving towards the merchant ship.

Observing Fenris calmly preparing for the ambush, Ron fired a few shots from his barreled rifle, diverting the attention of the other party to him. Meanwhile, Fenris silently dispatched the remaining crew with his backstabbing knife. One by one, only six individuals were left on the merchant ship: one slave, one captain, one navigator, one vice-captain, and two sailors. They soon surrendered, intimidated by Fenris and Ron's deterrence.

"So, what's the deal with the slave? Some sort of noble or what? Also, where's the treasure you guys are hiding?" Ron asked calmly, sensing that this merchant ship was a disguised slave ship, possibly a tribute vessel from a kingdom or town to the World Government.

"NOO, you can't save him! He's favored by a World Noble! Our town wouldn't survive if we don't deliver him on time," the aggrieved slave captain pleaded, regretting his greed to capture the Lantern ship full of monsters.

"Oh, we can, and we will. Don't you see? His beautiful red eyes are full of life, and I sense his desire for vengeance," Ron remarked sarcastically as he fired bullets at the other five, leaving only the slave alive. Meanwhile, Fenris brought back treasure boxes filled with gold jewelry and a devil fruit box.

"Ohh, what a surprise, it's the Animal Fruit Cat-Cat Fruit Leopard Model," muttered Ron as he examined the fruit resembling the head of a leopard, complete with spots and ears. The fruit also had a green T-shaped stem that curled up at one end.

"Oh, boy, what's your name?" Ron inquired, intrigued by the slave's boy appearance, red eyes, rare white hair, and the demeanor of someone of about sixteen years old. No matter how Ron looked at the boy, he seemed to carry an air of nobility or royalty.

The slave looked up with a mixture of fear and gratitude in his eyes. "My name is Kaito, sir," he replied, his voice trembling slightly.

"Full name?" Ron asked, as he scrutinized Kaito. He had made a decision to shoot him on the spot if his name contained the initial 'D,' as he was not having any of the 'D' Shit among the Hawk Pirates.

"Kaito Suguru," Kaito replied, slightly puzzled but still reporting his name honestly.

"Well, Kaito, you're free now," Ron said, offering a reassuring smile. "No more serving World Nobles or being treated as a slave."

Kaito's eyes widened in disbelief. "Truly? But... what will I do now? I have nothing, no home, no family..." he trailed off, his voice laced with uncertainty.

"You're welcome to join us," Ron offered without hesitation. "We're the Hawk Pirates, and we're always looking for new crew members. You'll find a family among us, and we'll help you find your place in this world."

Kaito's expression softened, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. "Thank you, sir. I... I would be honored to join your crew."

With that, Kaito became the newest member of the Hawk Pirates, welcomed with open arms by Ron, Fenris, Mihawk, and Lyra.

"Welcome aboard, Kaito," Fenris said warmly, clapping him on the back.

"Indeed, welcome," Mihawk and Lyra added with a nod of approval.

"So, what about the Devil Fruit? Selling it?" Mihawk asked, turning to Ron for guidance on what to do with the newly acquired fruit.

"Can I have it?" Fenris chimed in from the side, his eyes gleaming with ambition. He believed that with the power of a Devil Fruit, he could narrow the gap between himself and monsters like Mihawk, Lyra, and Ron.

"No, if you do, you would never catch up to us. Devil Fruit take away the personality of the user, and taking one when you already have other ways to get stronger means giving up on yourself," Ron stated firmly.

"Okay, just asking, you know, it never hurts," Fenris conceded.

"Hmph," Ron grunted in response.

"We can decide to give it to Kaito after observing him for a few months," Lyra suggested, studying Kaito's age and physique.

"Sounds good. We'll take turns teaching him the Six Forms and other skills," Mihawk suggested. The others nodded in agreement, ready to put Kaito through his traini... ahem torture... diligently.