One Piece: Reborn in God's Valley

Half a month later, at the Kano Shipyard.

This was Ashen's second visit to the place.

After the banquet at the royal palace, Chinjao had personally brought him here, to the kingdom's official shipyard.

Martin Greg, the shipyard's chief designer, had proudly showcased over a dozen model ships, each representing the shipyard's finest achievements.

But after carefully examining each model, Ashen found none of them matched what he envisioned.

So, he shared his own idea for a pirate ship design.

At first, Greg was clearly offended, thinking Ashen was looking down on his shipbuilding prowess. 

But the moment he saw Ashen sketch out a rough blueprint on the spot, his demeanor changed completely, he was instantly hooked.

What Ashen had drawn was essentially the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

In his previous life, he had watched the series several times and had a deep impression of the ship, he loved it.

With his Devil Fruit ability sharpening his soul and memory, Ashen's recall had strengthened considerably, allowing him to recreate a reasonably accurate structure based on memory.

He also made some custom additions, such as a training chamber, integrated into the ship's design.

And instead of the original figurehead of a maiden at the bow, he replaced it with a skeletal warrior holding a sword, the design based on his sword, with plans to embed gemstones into the blade, just like the real one.

Greg and the other designers held a brief discussion based on Ashen's sketches and quickly agreed to begin construction. They estimated it would take around two weeks.

So, with the main hull now complete, Greg had immediately invited Ashen for an inspection.

When Ashen arrived, Greg excitedly led him to the newly built ship.

Standing beside his creation, Greg beamed with pride. 

"Lord Ashen, this ship is destined to become one of the finest pirate vessels on these seas.

The streamlined hull and pointed keel you proposed, brilliant design. At full speed, no ship should be able to catch her."

"Thanks, but I only provided the concept. Without your team's craftsmanship, this ship wouldn't exist."

Ashen examined the ship closely. It matched his vision exactly, every detail aligned perfectly with what he imagined. He gave Greg a sincere nod of approval.

"Based on your design, we equipped her with thirty-two cannons, fourteen on the top deck, eighteen below.

Also, pirate ships usually don't go without bow or stern cannons, so we took the liberty of installing a main gun at the bow, hidden beneath the figurehead."

Greg pointed to the cannon as he continued, "For materials, we used iron birchwood from the Ice Continent, tough as steel. It's second only to the Treasure Tree Adam.

Any other requests? If not, we'll move on to furnishing the interiors. She'll be seaworthy in two days."

"No changes needed. I'm very satisfied. Once everything's ready, please have her docked at the harbor, I'll be leaving Kano in two days," Ashen replied, even more pleased than before.

"Of course, Lord Ashen. And if you ever come up with any new ideas, please bring them to me, I'll design for you free of charge."

Seeing that Ashen was about to leave, Greg hurried to walk with him.

"No problem. If there's another chance, I'll come to you again."

Then, Ashen turned to Chinjao. "So, are we continuing today?"

Ever since the banquet, Chinjao hadn't let him go. That very night, he'd challenged Ashen to a spar, insisting he wanted to see the true extent of Ashen's strength.

Ashen had readily agreed. He'd long been interested in the Hasshoken of Chinjao Family.

Ever since his training began on the deserted island, mastering the Hasshoken had been one of his goals. Chinjao's challenge had saved him from having to negotiate for it. 

If Emission and Internal Destruction were specialized forms of Armament Haki, then the Hasshoken was a unique application of raw physical power, a martial technique with armor-breaking force.

Over the past two weeks, they spared daily in Kano's training grounds.

Each time, Ashen would avoid using speed to dodge Chinjao's drill-head attacks. Instead, he met them head-on, determined to fully grasp the principles behind the technique.

At first, Chinjao had been thrilled, thinking Ashen simply enjoyed the feeling of flesh meeting fist like he did.

But in the past two days, he began sensing something disturbingly familiar in Ashen's strikes. That's when it dawned on him, he'd been tricked.

So, upon hearing Ashen suggest another spar, Chinjao's face instantly soured.

"Hmph. I'm not feeling well today. Go find someone else."

"Hahahahaha."

….

Two Days Later at the Kano Country Port

It was finally time for Ashen to leave. After a farewell drink, the group arrived at the docks.

"Mr. Ashen, we've already loaded your provisions onto the ship. According to pirate tradition, only the captain may unveil the ship and give her a name," the King said warmly.

He had personally come to see Ashen off.

Over the past half-month, the bond between them had clearly grown.

Though the King was a shrewd ruler, everything he did was for the sake of his country, Ashen didn't resent his closeness.

"All right, I won't lie, I've been looking forward to this moment."

Ashen stepped forward and gave the red rope a firm pull.

As the curtain rose, the ship's sleek hull came into view.

"I'll call you Blackthorn."

Ashen stared at his very first pirate ship, unable to hide his excitement.

With everything in place, he wasted no time. He leapt aboard the Blackthorn and turned to address the people of Kano.

"Well then, farewell, everyone. Thank you for your hospitality. If anything comes up, contact me through Den Den Mushi."

"Wait. Catch it Ashen."

Chinjao, seeing Ashen about to depart, hastily tossed over a box. 

"A little something we prepared for you, hope it helps."

Ashen caught the box mid-air and opened it. Inside was a book, freshly inked, detailing the key points of Hasshoken, clearly written in the past two days.

Ashen already understood the technique's core principles. Mastery was only a matter of time now. 

Chinjao, having realized this, decided to stop holding back and offer it as a gesture of thanks, for Ashen helping restore his drill head.

"Thanks. I won't pretend to be modest, I'll take it."

Splash.

The sails dropped, catching the wind instantly.

The Blackthorn set off toward the open sea.

Behind him, Ashen's laughter echoed over the waves. 

"Goodbye, everyone. Just wait, soon the whole world will know my name. Hahahaha."