"I still think 'Iron Pillar' is a great name!"
"No way! 'Fish Ball' sounds way better! He was fished up from the sea by Xiao Yi, right? So Fish Ball fits perfectly!"
"Fish Ball? Are you serious? I think we should call him 'Seaweed' instead! Look at his dark green fur—it looks like seaweed!"
All the crew members were arguing heatedly again. The reason, of course, was that they were still debating the name for the little pup that hatched from the egg Fang Yi had fished up that morning. The crew had been bickering over the naming rights for quite a while now. Fang Yi couldn't help but wonder whether these guys were serious about those ridiculous names.
"Enough! Stop arguing!"
Finally, Captain Roger intervened, raising his voice to silence everyone before saying with a serious look,
"I've decided! Let's name him 'Dog Egg'! He's a little dog. And he hatched from an egg. Dog Egg it is!"
Dog Egg… Seriously?!
If Fang Yi weren't afraid of Roger's strength, he'd have already kicked him overboard. Did this guy understand what that name meant?
In the end, it was Fang Yi, as the pup's owner, who made his suggestion.
"How about 'Lucky' (Wangcai)? Doesn't it sound nice? Plus, think about it—we're pirates! And what do pirates seek? Endless treasure! A name like Lucky symbolizes prosperity and wealth. It's the perfect name!"
Fang Yi tried to convince everyone with his reasoning. After all, in his previous world, this name was wildly popular among dog owners. But here, in this world, he was sure it was a unique, prestigious name!
Sure enough, most of the crew nodded in agreement after hearing his explanation, finding it meaningful.
"Tch!"
The only one who remained unhappy was Roger, clearly sulking over the fact that his suggested name hadn't been chosen.
"What's so great about Lucky, huh? We didn't set out to sea just for some petty treasure! We're here for freedom! For adventure! We follow the call of the pirate flag!" Roger protested passionately, refusing to admit defeat.
"Yeah! We're men who sail the seas in pursuit of freedom and adventure! The captain's right!"
The crew quickly rallied behind their captain, supporting his dramatic speech.
"Enough with the speeches! If you're so against Xiao Yi's suggestion, then why don't you come up with a better name than Lucky?"
As Fang Yi's mentor, Yamon still had a fair say in the matter. Most importantly, she wasn't afraid of Roger.
"Fine! You want me to name him? Then… then we'll call him Wangwang!" Roger blurted out a name that left Fang Yi utterly speechless.
If Fang Yi hadn't already known this was the future Pirate King Roger, he'd have sworn this man was a fellow villager from his hometown.
"Look here! Xiao Yi only suggested 'Lucky,' but my name is different! Wangwang! It covers everything—prosperity, happiness, and even the sound dogs make! Isn't it perfect? A name based on its bark—'Wang Wang'! Everything prospers with Wangwang!"
The more Roger explained it, the more pleased he seemed with himself, almost worshiping his brilliance.
Oddly enough, after Roger's explanation, the name Wangwang did seem to suit the pup well. Even Fang Yi was left slightly dazed by Roger's enthusiastic logic, and in the end, the name was officially decided.
"Wangwang! Come here! I've got a big bone for you!"
At dinner, a crew member tossed a meaty bone to Wangwang.
"Wangwang, come drink your milk!"
The head chef, Yaoyi, carried over a small bowl of milk and placed it in front of Wangwang, who eagerly sniffed it before happily drinking away.
"Wangwang, come play with us!"
"Wangwang!"
"Wangwang!"
Having the little pup aboard brought a lot of joy to the ship. However, as time passed, a new problem arose—every time someone called out "Wangwang," it sounded exactly like they were imitating a dog's bark. It made things awkward for everyone, to the point where they all felt embarrassed whenever they called the pup's name.
But since they'd all agreed on the name back then, none of them dared to suggest changing it now. Later, Fang Yi finally proposed giving the pup a nickname since it was still young.
In the end, the nickname "Wangzai" (Little Wang) won by a landslide in the votes, nearly making Fang Yi feel like he had returned to the modern world.
At this point, it didn't matter who first suggested the nickname. What mattered was that now they could call the pup Wangzai without feeling awkward.
After all, the nickname "-zai" simply meant "little one," and since Wangwang was still young, calling him Wangzai felt natural and fitting. It was, in their minds, a perfect solution.
Since the day Fang Yi fished up the egg, more and more crew members started trying their luck fishing off the side of the ship every day.
Of course, no one else had any luck. Even Fang Yi wouldn't have caught anything without using the "Mysterious Bait." Slowly, the fishing craze died down again.
"Captain, you're still at it, huh?" Rayleigh asked with a laugh, seeing Roger stubbornly fishing at the ship's edge.
"Hmph! I'll fish up something amazing too!" Roger replied, clearly unwilling to give up.
By now, most of the crew had already given up, but Roger kept fishing every day, even though most of the time, he'd doze off after a few minutes.
"Captain, mind if I sit next to you?"
Fang Yi secretly swapped in the Mysterious Bait again and sat down beside Roger.
He had a simple plan: if something bit, he'd just say it was the captain's catch. That way, maybe Roger would finally let it go and stop obsessing over it.
Soon after casting his line with the special bait, Fang Yi felt something tugging at it. Even the snoozing Wangzai on his head perked up, barking excitedly toward the water.
"Captain… I think something big is under us!" Fang Yi said nervously as he noticed a huge shadow near their lines.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Something's coming! This must be a huge one!"
Roger, now wide awake, jumped up and began reeling in his rod excitedly. Fang Yi followed suit, but only Roger's line came up with nothing.
"Whoa! Xiao Yi! It's your line! Hurry, reel it in and see what it is!" Roger shouted, shocked but thrilled.
"I can't! Captain, this thing's too heavy for me! How about you try?" Fang Yi gritted his teeth as he tugged, but the rod wouldn't budge. Helplessly, he handed it to Roger.
"Fine! Watch me!"
Roger grabbed the rod and started pulling with all his strength.
Honestly, Fang Yi feared the rod might snap, but in Roger's hands, no matter how much it bent—nearly forming a full circle—it held strong.
"Get up here!"
With a mighty roar, Roger yanked the rod, and a massive zebra-striped head burst out of the sea, though most of its enormous body remained submerged.
"A… a sea beast?!" Fang Yi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. The Mysterious Bait fished up a sea beast!
"Wahahaha! What a catch! Looks like we've got dinner tonight!" Roger roared with laughter, completely unfazed.
"C-Captain! Shouldn't we release it? If we keep this up, the ship might capsize!" Fang Yi pleaded in panic.
"No way!"
"Not!"
"Leave it to us!"
Before Roger could even answer, the crew rushed over, their eyes gleaming.
Bang!
Whoosh!
Slash!
Die!
Woof!
Suddenly, several crew members attacked at once, and even Wangzai, who had been lying lazily on Fang Yi's head, launched himself toward the beast.
"Wangzai, come back!" Fang Yi shouted in fear, watching the pup leap away.
But before Wangzai could even reach the sea beast, the monstrous creature was already slain. A gunshot to the head, a spear through its neck, and a clean sword slash that split it in half—the beast was finished in mere moments.
"Wahaha! Captain! Amazing! You caught us a feast tonight!"
The head chef, Yaoyi, came over with two butcher knives, laughing heartily.
The other crew members also praised Roger enthusiastically, making him laugh triumphantly.
"Hey, Little Wangzai's pretty good too! Already trying to help with hunting at such a young age!"
Soon, the crew noticed Wangzai standing proudly atop the sea beast's corpse, and they began praising him too.
Though Wangzai had only been with them for a short time, the little pup seemed to understand them well enough, wagging his tail excitedly, just like Roger, basking in the compliments.
Only Fang Yi sat there, still in shock. That huge sea beast had been taken down in an instant.
Once the sea beast was hauled onto the deck, the crew wasted no time preparing another grand feast.
"Wahaha!"
At the banquet, Roger kept bragging about how he'd caught and defeated the giant sea beast, though the whole crew knew most of it was nonsense, from the beast's exaggerated size to the tall tales of how Roger supposedly slew it solo.
But no one cared. What mattered was the fun.
Fang Yi sat in a quiet corner, stroking Wangzai, who had dozed off after stuffing himself.
He had already noticed during the fight that Wangzai's speed was terrifying. Honestly, even at close range, Fang Yi doubted he could hit him with an arrow.
That alone proved Wangzai wasn't some ordinary dog. Besides, since when were dogs hatched from eggs? Weren't dogs supposed to be mammals, not egg-layers?
As for the culprit behind all the chaos—the Mysterious Bait—Fang Yi decided he needed to treat it much more seriously.
Now, he only had one piece left in his inventory, and he had no plans to waste it.
Who knew when it might come in handy again?
"Yo ho ho~ Yo ho ho ho~"
"Yo ho ho~ Yo ho ho ho~"
"Bring Binks' Sake~ Right to your side~"
"Like the sea wind, free and wild~ Sailing the tides~"
As the familiar tune of "Binks' Sake" rang out, Fang Yi knew the feast was reaching its peak.
Sure enough, everyone began singing loudly, downing alcohol, devouring meat, chasing thrills, and riding dangerous waves—this was the life of pirates.
Looking at the violin lying nearby, Fang Yi suddenly felt inspired. He picked it up and joined in the lively sing-along.
Thanks to his musical skill, he could play all sorts of instruments—not a master, but more than enough for this kind of wild, drunken chorus.
Waking up from his nap, Wangzai happily ran and jumped among the cheering crew, clearly having the time of his life.