Staring at the breeze as it dispersed into the shadows, Cain froze for a second before his gaze settled on the Den Den Mushi Dragon left behind.
Pocketing the snail, he sprinted in Luffy's direction.
...
At that exact moment, the massive lightning bolt crashed down, engulfing the execution platform in flames before it collapsed.
Gloomy storm clouds cracked open, and a torrential downpour washed over Loguetown.
Captain Smoker watched the scaffolding fall. The familiar, fearless smile on Luffy's face right before the strike flashed in his mind.
It was the exact same grin the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, wore to his death.
His keen instincts flared, recognizing the immense danger the boy represented.
He silently resolved to eliminate this threat right here and now.
Smoker charged straight into the chaotic mob of pirates.
Meanwhile, thanks to his rubber body, Luffy was immune to the voltage. Secretly relieved to have dodged a gruesome execution, he scrambled to his feet, reunited with Zoro and Sanji, and dashed toward the harbor.
Buggy the Clown survived the blast.
He dragged himself out of the charred wreckage, cursing through gritted teeth.
"DAMN IT! THAT BLASTED RUBBER JINX!"
Buggy ordered his men to bring him his special motorcycle wheels. Using the powers of his Chop-Chop Fruit, he split his body apart and reassembled himself into the Bara Bara Car, determined to run Luffy down!
Yet amid the chaos, Cain stood apart.
He walked slowly down the center of the plaza. Faced with screaming pirates and charging Marines, not a single ripple of panic stirred in his eyes.
Cain furrowed his brow, and a black-and-red aura burst forth from him.
Wrapped in a fierce shockwave of crimson pressure, the invisible force swept across the plaza.
"If you want a chaotic scene to quiet down, Conqueror's Haki really is the best tool for the job." Cain rested the heavy staff on his shoulder, controlling the range perfectly so the innocent townspeople of Loguetown wouldn't be caught in the blast.
As the words left his mouth, pirates and Marines across the square collapsed, falling unconscious in droves.
Buggy might look like a joke, but he was once a proud member of the Roger Pirates.
Naturally, a burst of Conqueror's Haki wouldn't knock him out as easily as the ordinary grunts.
But the clown took one look at the unconscious bodies dropping like flies, glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching, and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, dropping flat to the cobblestones to fake his fainting!
Captain Smoker slowly strode forward, enduring Cain's Conqueror's Haki head-on. Seeing the pirate mob incapacitated brought Smoker a sliver of relief since Marine casualties were spared, but his expression grew dead-serious.
He raised his guard to the maximum. He knew his opponent could freely unleash the legendary Conqueror's Haki—a disposition awakened by only one in a million.
That effortless control proved Cain's strength ran unfathomably deep.
Smoker fixed Cain with an icy stare, his mind racing through the Marines intelligence reports.
"It looks like Marine intel was wrong."
Seeing the immense pressure weighing Smoker down, Cain laughed inwardly.
'Haha, that's right. You're scared, aren't you? Surprised? Hunting weaklings in the East Blue really is fun!'
Oblivious to Cain's smug internal monologue, Smoker questioned him directly. "With strength like yours, why stay at Straw Hat's side? Why lower yourself to follow a rookie crew that just set sail? Could it be you realized it too...?"
Smoker had connected Luffy's grin to Roger's legacy.
He assumed the monster standing before him had recognized the terrifying potential hidden in the Straw Hat captain.
Gritting his teeth, Smoker demanded an answer.
"Tell me your reasoning... 'Pink Cain'."
"HUH?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Those two words shattered Cain's mental defenses on the spot.
What kind of ridiculous, garbage epithet was that?!
His hair was only a little pink, and his dragon form was just a shade pinker!
How did the Marine turn that into his official title?!
'Pink Cain'?!
Even if he couldn't get a badass title like Kaido of the Beasts, something like 'Cherry Blossom Cain' would have been leagues better!
Just which idiot bastard came up with such a trashy name?!
...
Somewhere far away on the sea, Vice Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku sneezed at the exact same time.
...
Smoker, unaware of Cain's internal meltdown, pressed the interrogation. "I'm asking you! Why would a monster like you appear on Straw Hat's ship, Pink—"
"DON'T SAY THAT AGAIN YOU BASTARD!"
Cain's face twisted with pure mortification. In a flash, he vanished, reappearing right behind Smoker.
He raised his staff, coated the metal in pitch-black Armament Haki, and brought it crashing down.
"Wh—?!" Smoker never expected such a blistering counterattack.
Despite being on maximum alert, he had no time to dodge, relying purely on instinct to activate his Fruit elemental form.
But the Haki-infused staff bypassed his intangibility entirely, forcing him out of the smoke and smashing his solid body into the ground, sending him rolling across the wet cobblestones.
Only after Smoker stopped repeating that humiliating nickname did Cain let out a breath of relief.
"Hm... if you're asking why I joined the Straw Hat Pirates, that's because..."
Smoker coughed up blood, bracing himself against the ground as he stared up at Cain in shock.
'So this is the power of Haki?'
Suppressing the agonizing pain, the Marine forced himself to focus, desperate to hear the answer.
"Straw Hat Luffy..." Cain paused, letting the storm rage around them before finishing his sentence.
"...is my younger brother."
'Was it really that simple? Could pirates truly share genuine family bonds?' Smoker sat stunned.
He grit his teeth and prepared to get back up to continue the pursuit, only to realize the Straw Hat Pirates had already reached the harbor.
Cain had long since turned his back and vanished into the rain, leaving the Marine Captain with nothing but the chilling sight of his receding silhouette.
Cain didn't mean anything overly profound by the declaration.
But he knew this exact phrase would haunt Smoker for the rest of his life. Whether facing Fire Fist Ace in Alabasta, Sabo in Dressrosa, or even during future events, Smoker was destined to hear the 'younger brother' line on repeat!
But Cain had no mental capacity to care about Smoker's fate right now. He desperately needed to call Garp and demand an explanation to get this humiliating epithet changed immediately!
'Karma is real,' Cain regretted inwardly.
'Nothing good comes from lighting Sanji's cigarette! If I have to carry this stupid nickname for the rest of my life, I might as well just die now!'
...
"Captain Smoker, are you alright?!" Tashigi hurried over to the injured Captain, moving with stiff difficulty.
She had been hit by Cain's Conqueror's Haki along with Smoker.
Unlike the grunts who fainted, her willpower kept her conscious, but her body had been paralyzed by the sheer pressure, leaving her frozen in place until the aura dissipated.
"I'm fine! Go after them, quickly! The Straw Hats cannot be allowed to leave Loguetown!"
Plop!
At the sudden sound, Smoker snapped his head around.
Buggy the Clown, who had been trying to silently crawl away with his men, froze.
The Marine Captain and the Pirate Clown locked into a wide-eyed staring match in the middle of the rain!
...
At that exact same moment, another wide-eyed staring match was taking place aboard the Going Merry.
Picking his nose with zero awareness of the tension, Luffy looked at the imposing man in the green cloak standing on his deck and casually asked.
"Mister, who're you?"