The Going Merry sailed on at an easy pace, and before long, the Straw Hat crew arrived at Loguetown.
This port was famous as the town of beginnings and endings—the birthplace of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and the very execution ground where he drew his final breath.
"WOW! I'M GOING TO SEE THE EXECUTION PLATFORM!" Luffy shouted noisily, throwing his arms wide open as his eyes sparkled with pure excitement.
"I should be able to buy some high-quality ingredients here." Sanji tapped his chin, already mentally preparing his shopping list.
"I need to pick up some sniper equipment," Usopp noted, having a clear goal in mind.
"I have things to buy too." Zoro raised a hand and touched his neck.
The tiny pocketknife Cain forged had already been modified, now resembling a miniature version of the Wado Ichimonji.
Its hilt and sheath were wrapped with cord and secured with a clasp, hanging firmly around his neck like a pendant.
He still needed to replace the two swords shattered by Mihawk.
"How about I lend you some cash? Triple interest, though." Nami leaned over teasingly as a sly, devilish grin spreading across her face.
Amid the banter, the crew split up to hunt down their supplies.
Having nothing much to do, Cain wandered leisurely through the bustling streets, casually buying two specific items along the way: a pair of over-ear headphones and a recording Den Den Mushi.
The technology of this world was genuinely strange.
On one hand, it featured standard mechanical applications, on the other, it seamlessly fused with bizarre biotechnology.
The Den Den Mushi, in particular, felt like a harmonious living product of biology branching directly into telecommunications.
As he wandered, Cain sensed a shift in the atmosphere.
With a light leap, he landed atop a high rooftop.
His gaze darted toward the towering execution platform in the central plaza, then swept across the surrounding alleys as he focused his Observation Haki, feeling the subtle movements of the wind.
The wind quietly answered his call.
Following the guidance of the air currents, he sprinted across the rooftops.
As he darted swiftly along, he occasionally glanced down into the streets, catching sight of Usopp haggling loudly, Sanji carefully selecting fish, Nami expertly charming a clothing store owner into a discount, and Zoro arguing endlessly with Tashigi over a pair of swords.
It wasn't long before he bypassed the crowds and arrived at his destination.
It was a secluded, shadowy corner of the town offering a clear, unobstructed view of the execution platform.
A tall figure wrapped in a dark green cloak was already standing there, waiting in the silence.
"You came," the cloaked figure spoke first, his voice deep and commanding.
"Yeah. I came," Cain answered, stepping forward.
"You shouldn't have become a pirate."
"Stop! stop with that boring lecture." Cain waved his hands, instantly dropping any pretense of seriousness.
"What choice did I have? To avoid becoming a lab rat for the World Government, I had to quit a stable, cushy desk job in the Marines and raise a black flag instead. I was forced into this!"
His tone was casual, tinged with deep helplessness. "You have no idea! The old man is literally chasing me across the sea right now!"
"Heh. That blunt personality of yours really hasn't changed at all." The cloaked figure gave a quiet, rumbling laugh.
"Haha, I'm glad to see you again, Uncle Dragon."
Cain greeted him familiarly.
The imposing man before him was none other than Monkey D. Dragon, the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army.
He was Luffy's father, and the very benefactor who had saved Cain as an infant at sea.
"I'm happy too, seeing how much you have grown," Dragon said, extending his right hand resting on his palm was a special Den Den Mushi bearing the distinct symbol of the Revolutionary Army.
"I heard about your situation from the old man. So, what do you think? Want to come over to my side?"
Dragon extended an olive branch.
Cain had eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit and possessed Conqueror's Haki, he was exactly the caliber of talent the revolutionaries needed.
More importantly, the boy's core philosophies aligned closely with Dragon's own vision for the world.
Garp had relayed the full story behind the artificial fruit, making Dragon fully aware of the danger Cain was in.
This invitation wasn't just a recruitment pitch, it was an offer of protection.
That was the real reason Dragon guided Cain to this secluded alley.
And the only reason Garp dared to leak Marine secrets to the world's worst criminal came down to the unspoken trust between a father and his son.
"NO, NO! First the Marines, then the pirates! If I jump ship to the Revolutionary Army now, the old man will actually beat me to death!" Cain waved his hands frantically, a panicked look on his face.
"You don't understand the pressure! Out of us four brothers, three wanted to be pirates from the start! And now even I ended up raising a Jolly Roger! Sigh."
"Four?" Dragon frowned slightly.
He knew about Luffy and Cain, and Garp had complained enough about Fire Fist Ace, but a fourth brother?
Dragon didn't press the issue, but Cain continued anyway, his tone shifting.
"He was our brother from a long time ago. Unfortunately, he's gone now." Cain's voice grew heavy, a genuine trace of sadness flickering in his eyes.
"He was a really good person. His name was Sabo."
Cain carefully guided the conversation to hit this exact note.
Dragon fell silent.
Only after a long moment did he slowly speak. "Perhaps that child is watching you all from somewhere... cheering you on."
He didn't ask any further questions.
He only offered a quiet consolation, though hidden deep in his eyes was an almost imperceptible ripple of realization.
Cain smiled inwardly, knowing Dragon would definitely go and confirm the boy's identity the moment he returned to Baltigo.
He remembered the lore clearly.
Years ago, when a Celestial Dragon blew Sabo's small fishing boat out of the water, it was Dragon who pulled the boy from the burning wreckage off the coast of the Goa Kingdom.
Because Sabo suffered severe amnesia, he remained with the Revolutionary Army, only recovering his memories after reading the newspaper report of Ace's tragic death at Marineford.
Some parts of the timeline couldn't be tampered with.
Sabo growing up to become the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff was a fixed fate.
Cain only needed to give a gentle push to help his dense brother recover those lost memories a few years early.
With Dragon bringing back these subtle hints, Sabo would piece his past together long before the Summit War ever sparked.
"Hm? Why is the crowd surging?" Cain frowned, looking past the alleyway to see massive groups of people flooding toward the center plaza.
He instinctively looked up.
Sure enough, his idiot little brother had already scaled the scaffolding and was shouting into the wind.
"HA! WOW! SO THIS IS THE VIEW THE PIRATE KING SAW BEFORE HE DIED!"
"HEY, YOU BRAT! GET DOWN IMMEDIATELY! That is a special execution platform under the jurisdiction of the World Government!" a Marine guard shouted sternly, rushing forward.
Before he could draw his weapon, a massive, iron-spiked club came crashing down, knocking the guard flat into the cobblestone.
The striker was none other than 'Iron Mace' Alvida, looking drastically different after eating the Smooth-Smooth Fruit.
Immediately after, the Buggy Pirates swarmed the plaza.
Buggy the Clown and his men surrounded the scaffolding, while Cabaji the Acrobat leaped high into the air, pinning Luffy down against the wooden planks in a flash.
Seeing the trap spring, Cain gripped his heavy, hollow staff and prepared to launch himself into the plaza.
Dragon remained perfectly still, his voice calm.
"Don't worry. That child will be fine."
"It's not the clowns I'm worried about. It's the Marines stationed here!" Cain explained quickly, his tone grave.
"With a disturbance this huge, Captain Smoker has definitely noticed. He is a Logia user! At their current level, Luffy and the others can't touch him, They will be slaughtered."
The moment he finished speaking, Buggy's arrogant shout echoed from the top of the platform.
"THE CRIMINAL MONKEY D. LUFFY, GUILTY OF OFFENDING YOURS TRULY, IS HEREBY SENTENCED TO DEATH! STRUGGLE AND CRY ALL YOU LIKE!"
The pirate crew beneath the platform began terrorizing the crowd, sending the plaza spiraling into pure, screaming chaos.
Buggy and Luffy bickered back and forth over the execution block.
Before long, Luffy's signature, earth-shaking yell ripped through the storming winds.
"I'M THE MAN WHO'S GOING TO BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"
By this point, Zoro and Sanji had spotted the danger and were carving their way through the mob to reach the scaffolding.
Cain and Dragon watched the frantic rescue attempt unfold from the shadows.
"He has gathered some fine companions," Dragon spoke softly, the wind whipping at his green cloak.
"In that case, I will lend him a hand."
Cain looked up.
The sky was rapidly darkening, heavy storm clouds swallowing the sun.
He glanced back at Dragon, genuinely pondering a long-standing mystery.
'Was the miraculous lightning bolt that saved Luffy at Loguetown truly Dragon's doing, or was it the sheer, unstoppable will of fate itself?'
He waited, but Dragon made no visible move to intervene.
Atop the platform, Buggy raised his sword high into the air, bringing the blade down for the fatal strike.
Cain couldn't wait any longer.
He flexed his legs, ready to rocket into the plaza.
KRA-KOOM!
At that exact fraction of a second, a blinding bolt of blue lightning tore through the dark clouds, striking the execution platform with divine accuracy.
The massive electrical surge blasted directly through Buggy's raised sword, engulfing the clown in a blinding flash of light.
Cain instinctively snapped his head back toward the alleyway.
Dragon had vanished into the squall.
There was no trace of the Revolutionary Commander, leaving behind nothing but a faint breeze drifting through the shadows.
The only proof he was ever there was the special Den Den Mushi, resting quietly on a wooden barrel.