"I thought that after such a long period of training and successfully merging with my second personality, I'd finally be able to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship," Cavendish mused softly. Wrapped in bandages like a mummy, he lay sprawled on the deck staring up at the endless blue sky. "I didn't expect... cough... well, this."
Jerry glanced down at their wounded prince and spoke with deliberately casual humor. "Hey, you're thinking way too hard about this. Just because someone trains two hundred times harder than the average person doesn't mean they can claim to be invincible after two years."
He settled into a more comfortable position against the ship's railing. "Relax, pretty boy. You just picked the wrong opponent for your debut. You went straight to the final boss instead of working your way up through the levels. You've still got plenty of time to grow—why are you in such a rush?"
Jerry could see that Cavendish wasn't deeply traumatized by his defeat, just experiencing the natural disappointment that came after a serious challenge ended in failure. Anyone would feel that way, especially someone who had worked as tirelessly as Cavendish.
The prince had not only completely eliminated the dangerous aspects of his second personality but had also used that process to dramatically improve his overall strength. His current ability to temporarily fuse with "Hakuba" was a far more controlled version of his previous uncontrollable transformations. Where the old Hakuba had been purely murderous and chaotic, this new fusion allowed Cavendish to double his swordsmanship power while maintaining conscious control.
The key difference was that his previous "Hakuba" state had been extremely bloodthirsty and completely uncontrollable, only suppressible when Cavendish was fully awake and focused. Now, after achieving fusion, although Cavendish would still be influenced by that overwhelming killing intent, his willpower was strong enough to harness and master that surging power, transforming pure bloodlust into tactical advantage.
Even better, the strength of his second personality was directly proportional to Cavendish's base abilities. This meant that as his normal swordsmanship improved through regular training, his Hakuba state would receive double the benefits—essentially giving him exponential growth potential until he reached the absolute limit of his capabilities.
With Cavendish's relentless dedication to improvement, his strength would continue climbing rapidly in the coming months and years. Everyone aboard understood this potential, which was why Jerry felt comfortable encouraging him to think long-term rather than dwelling on today's defeat.
Cavendish chuckled softly and nodded, then somehow produced a bright red rose from his bandages. He bit off several petals and chewed them thoughtfully before responding. "Yeah, you're absolutely right. I'll definitely be able to beat him someday."
Seeing that Cavendish had bounced back to his usual confident self, Jerry offered some additional strategic advice with mock seriousness. "Exactly! Worst case scenario, you can just wait until Hawkeye gets old and frail, then ambush him outside his village on a dark, moonless night."
"Boss Jerry, you're incredible! You can think of strategies like that? Are you some kind of tactical genius?" Skull was the first to give an enthusiastic thumbs up, his admiration completely genuine.
Brook startled for a moment, then laughed his distinctive laugh. "Yo ho ho! Sounds like I need to be more careful with these old bones of mine!"
Soon the atmosphere aboard their ship returned to its normal cheerful chaos, and they set sail once again.
Since the battle had been relatively brief and took place in the middle of the vast ocean, news of the encounter remained confined to the few parties who had witnessed it directly.
On this particular day, the sky stretched endlessly blue and clear, gentle sea breezes carried the ship forward with easy grace, and the boundless ocean sparkled invitingly under the warm sunshine.
Melodious music drifted across the deck like silk, each note seeming to tell a cheerful, wonderful story that left listeners feeling completely enchanted.
Brook stood at the ship's bow, gazing into the distance while playing his violin with quiet intensity. He was lost in the inspiration for a new composition, his skeletal fingers dancing across the strings with supernatural skill.
Suddenly, the music stopped without warning, the melody disappearing like smoke blown away by the wind.
The abrupt silence immediately caught his friends' attention, and every eye turned toward the musician.
Brook slowly raised one bony finger and pointed toward the distant sky, his permanent grin somehow managing to convey excitement. "Yo ho ho! Everyone look over there!"
Following his direction, the crew's collective gaze fixed on something absolutely jaw-dropping.
A massive cloud formation floated majestically in the sky, and extending from its edge was a long, flowing tail that sloped downward like an enormous slide until it nearly touched the sea near a small island in the distance.
Under the brilliant sunshine, this "giant slide" formed by clouds sparkled with countless visible rainbows that climbed across its surface like living vines, transforming what should have been ordinary water vapor into something dreamlike and intoxicating.
Jerry sat comfortably on the ship's side railing, and after taking in the spectacular sight, a memory from their previous Sky Island adventure suddenly surfaced. Considering their approximate current location, he spoke with tentative recognition. "Could that be the entrance to the legendary Summit?"
"The Summit! I remember!" Carrot raised her hand high in the air and spoke with obvious excitement. "That's what the old man with the white beard riding the big bird told us about—it's the regular route for entering Sky Island!"
Deuce nodded approvingly at Carrot's excellent memory, then turned to address the entire crew. "That's right. This time, we're going to enter Sky Island through the proper, official entrance like civilized people."
As soon as he finished speaking, Carina immediately chimed in with pointed agreement. "Exactly! We can't let someone go completely crazy with his techniques again."
Skull and Brook simultaneously turned their eyes toward Jerry and nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
Apparently, none of them were particularly eager to experience another ride on one of Jerry's knock up streams.
Jerry blinked innocently, and before he could open his mouth to defend his perfectly reasonable previous method, little Bonney started jumping up and down with pure joy. "Does that mean we're going to sky soon? This is amazing!"
"Meow!" Kotatsu added his own enthusiastic call from beside Bonney, his tail swishing with excitement.
"Ha ha, that's exactly right! We'll be flying through the clouds very soon," Jerry laughed, steering their ship toward the small island ahead. The promise of a proper Sky Island adventure had everyone's spirits soaring.
Following Deuce's practical suggestion, the crew decided to make landfall first to gather adequate supplies before attempting the journey to the Summit's entrance. After all, while they'd heard that the route could take them to Sky Island, they still knew virtually nothing about the specific conditions or challenges they might face along the way.
For someone like Deuce, making thorough preparations in advance was standard operating procedure—a habit that had saved their lives more than once.
"Deuce, what's the name of this island?" Cavendish asked in a quiet voice. Since his injuries hadn't fully healed yet, he couldn't walk around normally and was instead riding comfortably on his horse Farul's back.
Having researched the local geography earlier, Deuce answered without hesitation. "This is Badak Island."
"Eh?!" Jerry's reaction was immediate and dramatic—he froze mid-step and stared at Deuce with obvious surprise.
Thinking something might be wrong, the rest of the crew stopped advancing and looked at Jerry with confused concern.
Skull was the first to voice their collective worry. "Boss Jerry, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"That name sounds really familiar..." Jerry rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if trying to dredge up a specific memory from the depths of his mind. "I feel like I've heard it somewhere important before."
After a moment of intense concentration, he suddenly clenched his right fist and smacked it into his left palm with a sound of revelation. "I remember now!"
Turning to face Deuce and Skull directly, he continued with growing excitement. "Remember when we first entered the Grand Line several years ago? That first island we visited?"
"When I first encountered Kuma, I rescued a little girl from some slavers. She told me that this place—Badak Island—was her home."
Hearing those key words, little Bonney nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I know that story! Brother Jerry, you told me all about it! And you said Papa got into a fight with you back then too."
"Ahem! Yes, we had a small... disagreement," Jerry coughed lightly and reached out to stroke Kotatsu's head with obvious affection. "But it all worked out in the end."
"Meow?" Kotatsu responded with a questioning call, not entirely sure why he was being petted but certainly not complaining about the attention.