Aokiji

When it came to the upper and lower limits of a pirate's professional conscience, there was plenty to discuss.

The bad ones committed every evil imaginable—murder, arson, looting, and worse. Nothing more needed to be said.

The better ones were adventure crews flying pirate flags. Such ships gathered like-minded companions, had a good atmosphere, and were generally quite capable.

After all, if they were not strong enough, their chances of dying would definitely be far higher than those of pirates with no moral bottom line.

Representative crews included the Rumbar Pirates and the future Straw Hat Pirates.

Speaking of which, those two pirate crews shared a bit of a connection: one was Brook's pirate crew while he was alive, and the other was the pirate crew he joined after becoming a skeleton.

But honestly... neither of them was much like proper pirates.

There was no need to mention the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy, their protagonist captain, was an idiot, while the other two main combatants were a directionless fool and a perverted kappa.

The rest included a thief, a liar, a scheming archaeologist woman, a perverted shipwright, a mascot, and a pile of bones.

Though they all had their own quirks and less-than-glorious professions, they shared one common trait.

Well... to sum it up, they were basically a whole ship full of kindhearted idiots...

Their values were far more upright than those of certain corrupt Marines.

And from East Blue all the way to the New World, they never stopped doing good deeds. As for bad deeds...

Eh, breaking Impel Down prison should have been the greatest evil Luffy ever committed, right?

After all, he had let out so many prisoners.

Anyway, speaking of the Rumbar Pirates, their pirate flag was a broad-faced skull with horns.

Their ship's figurehead was shaped like a bull skull.

Their slogan was: "Make even crying children smile through their tears."

Just look at that! Did that sound like pirates to you?!

There was too much to say about a pirate's professional conscience, and Dawn did not want to keep pondering it.

Still, not having to gamble his own life on the other party's unknown choice was the best possible outcome for Dawn.

After all, having his life in someone else's hands was not a pleasant feeling.

As he relaxed, Dawn could not help sighing over his connection with the Marines.

He had been rescued by the Marines after being captured as a slave before, and now that he had ended up stranded on a deserted island, he had run into a Marine warship again.

As the warship approached the beach, its full appearance entered Dawn's view. When he saw the person standing at the bow, Dawn could not help but stare in astonishment.

The man was tall, yawning unconsciously as though he were sleepy. He wore a green eye mask on his forehead, along with a white suit vest and a dark blue shirt.

Seeing that outfit, how could Dawn fail to recognize him? He was Aokiji, one of the future three Admirals of the Marines!

But why had Aokiji come to this island??

Dawn's expression turned uncertain after seeing Aokiji.

"Hahaha, Dawn, I knew you were still alive!"

The instant Yukimura stepped onto the bow, he spotted Dawn standing on the shore. Before the ship could even dock, he used Geppo to rush over.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Accompanied by the muffled booms of Geppo kicking the air apart, Dawn felt a tall figure descend upon him and scoop him up in an embrace.

"Mmph, put me down, Uncle Yukimura." Although Dawn was grateful that Yukimura had come all this way to look for him, being held by a man still made him uncomfortable.

"Hahaha, I got carried away, I got carried away. I never thought you'd actually survive in this godforsaken place.

On the way here, I kept worrying that you had become food for this island. After all, you were thrown overboard so suddenly, and the battle was too intense for us to look after you. You also didn't know what this island was like, so it would have been easy for you to get caught up in something..."

Yukimura set Dawn down and patted him on the shoulder, his expression full of relief and joy.

"Oh my, so this was the little brat you mentioned—the one who was exceptionally skilled at surgical suturing? Surviving on this island was no easy feat. It looked like you had grown quite a bit stronger."

As Aokiji spoke, he could not help yawning. He also began to regard Dawn with a trace more seriousness.

Dawn had grown much taller than before. Combined with the muscle definition exposed on his bare body and the wildness he unconsciously exuded, he looked more like a primordial youth who battled beasts than a small child who knew medicine.

"Ah, Vice Admiral Aokiji, if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed. Dawn, how did you get so tall??" Only after Aokiji pointed it out did Yukimura belatedly notice Dawn's changes.

"Maybe it was because the island had such abundant nutrition. After I arrived, the island fed once, and I learned its secret. So, in order not to get fat and be eaten by the island, I could only train desperately."

Dawn rubbed his nose and told a half-truth. After all, he could not exactly tell them the truth. He still looked like a child, after all. Being mature was one thing, but an ordinary child would not have his foresight.

And by saying this, he could also provide the most suitable explanation for the changes in his body.

After all, no matter how great the changes were, they were understandable if they had been made to save his life.

"Haha, then you were really lucky to happen upon the Stomach Baron feeding."

Yukimura laughed. "If the Stomach Baron had fed only after you had eaten yourself into a fatso, you probably would have lost your life."

That was true. For someone who knew nothing about the Stomach Baron, the first feeding was the hardest to survive.

But as long as one survived it once, they would definitely train and lose weight desperately for the sake of their life.

After saying that, Yukimura laughed and slapped Dawn on the back. Bang, bang—the blows made Dawn bare his teeth in pain.

"Yeah. After that, to resist the temptation of all that delicious food, I had no choice but to alternate between eating and eating and eating, then training nonstop. Otherwise, I would have become a huge fatty long ago."

Remembering his initial struggles against the island's food after arriving here, Dawn wore an expression of lingering fear.

He was not pretending. He genuinely still felt frightened by it.

The island's food was as addictive as the future Four Emperor Big Mom's dependence on sweets. That feeling of being driven mad when one could not eat it was not easy to endure.

"I've really made you suffer." Seeing Dawn's lingering fear, Yukimura could not help feeling guilty.

Ever since being rescued, this child had been obedient and sensible. Yukimura had even regarded him as a future Marine prospect and intended to send him to headquarters for training.

But afterward, the pirate crew's attack had prevented them from searching for him in time, forcing them to abandon him. Yukimura still felt deeply guilty, while also hating his own lack of strength.

"It's okay. Aren't I perfectly fine?"

Hearing Yukimura's words, Dawn smiled and comforted him. "Besides, I became stronger because of this misfortune."

After a pause, Dawn continued with a shocking revelation. "Not only that, I also ate a Devil Fruit!"