With the Golden Lion defeated, the floating islands sustained by his Devil Fruit instantly broke apart and began plummeting toward the sea.
"As expected. I'd better make sure it's clear first."
Carrying the unconscious Golden Lion, Cain dove toward the ocean.
He needed to verify there were no inhabited islands or civilian ships below to avoid any needless casualties.
On his way down, he happened to cross paths with a giant mutated gorilla and the ship doctor, Dr. Indigo, as they fell from the crumbling island.
The sheer terror on their faces was palpable when Cain's massive dragon jaws snapped them both up mid-air.
Disgusted by the taste, he held the two men in his mouth just long enough to toss them onto his flame clouds and promptly knock them unconscious.
After confirming the sea below was empty and safe, Cain swept up his captives and sped toward the nearest Marine branch base.
...
"Hey! Hey! Are you serious? This guy really is the Golden Lion?!"
"Who brought him here? Did anyone see?!"
"No idea! There was suddenly a huge crash, and then the Golden Lion was just lying here! Quick, lock him up with Seastone!"
"Hurry and notify Headquarters—immediately!"
The local Marines were thrown into absolute chaos by the sudden commotion, shouting orders and rushing frantically back and forth.
Meanwhile, inside the branch base, Cain moved calmly through the corridors with two legendary swords strapped to his back.
He was still wearing his Marine uniform, even though it had been partially torn when he transformed into his hybrid form earlier, it was intact enough to let him pass unnoticed in the panic.
Still, changing into civilian clothes would be safer.
He slipped into an empty Marine cloakroom to wait for the coast to clear—and then no one saw any sign of him again.
After a full night of fierce combat with Garp, another day and night of long-distance flying, and a high-stakes battle against the Golden Lion while continuously using his Devil Fruit powers, Cain was completely exhausted.
He simply collapsed in the cloakroom and fell fast asleep.
He did not wake until an angry shout exploded right next to his ear.
"You brat! It's already been a whole day—how long do you plan on sleeping?!"
Bang!
Cain's head took a sudden heavy blow, and he jolted awake with a pained yelp.
"Ah, that hurts! This familiar feeling... Grandpa! Hang on—where are we?"
Looking around the unfamiliar hospital room, Cain realized that aside from Garp, they were completely alone.
"This is a Marine branch in the Grand Line. I was originally on my way to the East Blue to investigate those corrupt Marines, but then I got an urgent notice to deal with what happened here, so I stopped by on the way." Garp stood with his arms crossed, his tone full of irritation.
"If I didn't used Observation Haki and noticed you sleeping in that closet, any other Marine would've exposed your identity by now! How could you be this careless, you idiot?!"
Cain watched as Garp lectured him—and then, true to form, a familiar snot bubble began to inflate from the old man's nose!
Cain could only look on helplessly.
The old man had some nerve lecturing him about sleeping on the job, wasn't he exactly the same? he's always fall asleep mid-sentence!
"Huh? Did I fall asleep?"
It took Garp a few seconds to snap back to reality.
Meeting Cain's deadpan stare, he coughed lightly to cover the awkwardness and pulled out a Den Den Mushi equipped with a camera.
"Come on, smile. Even if the Golden Lion has gotten old and weak, the fact that you beat him means that, your first bounty would be worth at least a hundred million. Come on, smile for the camera—your old man will personally take the photo for your wanted poster!"
"Really?!"
The moment Cain heard the bounty amount, he instantly perked up!
A rookie pirate who could hit the seas with an immediate bounty over a hundred million was a rare sight indeed.
"In your dreams dumbass!" Garp barked, cursing him out. "I've already discussed this with Sengoku. Once you truly set sail, have your own pirate ship, and raise your own flag, then your wanted poster will officially be issued. As for you defeating the Golden Lion, that will be locked away with your Marine file for now!"
"Oh." Cain nodded, slightly disappointed.
"Oh, right—you should make a trip to Loguetown. Dragon said he's heading there to see Luffy off. You should be able to run into him." Garp sat by the bed, casually digging at his nose.
"And don't bother guessing—I know exactly what you were planning to do in that cloakroom. When you left, you didn't bring any luggage, didn't pack any clothes, and didn't even have a single Beli on you! Here, take this. It'll make things easier."
Cain accepted the bundle and saw that it was a large bag of Beli packed alongside his own civilian clothes.
"Thanks, Grandpa. I'll get going first, then." Cain changed quickly, picked up the money bag, and stood up.
"Once I've finished handling things here, I'll be heading to the East Blue. When the time comes, you'd better run for your life—don't let me catch you," Garp warned casually.
"Got it."
Cain responded with a smirk, then quietly slipped out of the Marine base.
Once he was clear, he felt around in his jacket pocket and suddenly pulled out a crumpled map, a navigational chart of the East Blue, and a small key.
Just as Garp had said, now wasn't the time to cause a commotion.
If he transformed into a giant pink dragon and flew off in broad daylight, it would attract far too much attention.
And when he saw the key, he recognized it immediately as standard Navy issue—it was the key to a warship.
He didn't expect his grandfather to be this thoughtful!
But when Cain followed the map to a remote hidden harbor, he was dumbfounded.
Forget a warship—there wasn't even a decent boat!
Floating in the water was a tiny, broken skiff. The luggage he had left behind at Marine Headquarters was unceremoniously dumped on top of it.
And that key? It was only meant to unlock the rusty chain securing the little wreck to the dock!
"Grandpa, you totally screwed me over!"
...
After rowing the pathetic little skiff alone for who knew how long, surrounded by nothing but the desolate endless sea, Cain finally couldn't take it anymore.
He transformed into his giant dragon form, grabbed the skiff in his claws, and flew at full speed toward the East Blue.
"I can't believe rowing that little distance took so long. I really don't know how Sabo managed it all alone back then... Sabo..."
The moment he thought about reuniting with Luffy, he knew he really did have to talk to Dragon about Sabo.
Without a Log Pose, trying to navigate the unpredictable Grand Line made flying the most reliable option—and it spared him a lot of trouble, too.
Along the way, Cain had intended to enjoy the scenery, but no matter where he looked, there was nothing but endless blue ocean.
It was unbearably dull!
To pass the time, he spent his days alternating between flying over the clouds and sleeping.
As for food, he relied entirely on his ability to summon lightning to electrocute large fish, ensuring he never went hungry.
...
Using the East Blue chart in his hand, and after flying for days on end, Cain finally arrived at Shimotsuki Village and headed straight for the local dojo.
Shimotsuki Koshiro looked exactly the same as he did in Cain's memory.
"You're Zoro's friend?" Koshiro asked.
"That's right. That three-sword-style swordsman is currently sailing as a crew member on my younger brother's ship. I heard from him that there might be some clues here related to a legendary swordsmith, so I came specifically to look into it." Cain sat formally on the tatami mat, facing the serene dojo master.
"My apologies, but there is no swordsmith in this village. Besides, you already carry two famous blades on your back—why seek more?" Koshiro declined politely but firmly.
"So that's how it is.... i'm not surprised. This is a dojo, not a forge, after all." Cain nodded understandingly.
"As for these two swords, neither is especially well-suited to my fighting style. I'm planning to melt them down and reforge them into a new weapon that fits my hand better."
Cain knew very well that he absolutely could not rashly bring up the Shimotsuki family's secret connection to Wano.
The village had never allowed any rumors of swordsmiths to leak to the outside world; speaking too bluntly would only arouse suspicion.
"However... my late father was a swordsmith," Koshiro spoke slowly, his tone calm. "Though he has passed away, his forge and notes still remain. Since you are Zoro's friend, if you have need of them, I can take you to have a look."
"Really?" Cain could hardly hide his delight.
"Of course."
Merely by borrowing his status as Zoro's friend, he had gotten exactly what he wanted with surprising ease.
Cain quickly rose and bowed in gratitude.
"Many thanks! Even if there is no one here to forge it personally, with your father's notes, I can attempt to forge it myself."
"Though I never studied swordsmithing myself, I grew up watching my father at work, so I still understand a few things. I can at least offer you some guidance," Koshiro replied gently.
And so, Cain temporarily took up residence in Shimotsuki Village, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the monumental task of forging his own weapon.