Seeing the face beneath the hood, Cain's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he subconsciously took half a step back.
The person before him was Viola of the Donquixote Family, user of the Glare-Glare Fruit.
Not only could she peer into people's hearts and see through objects, she also possessed clairvoyance with a radius of four thousand kilometers.
Any secret was difficult to hide before her.
The more afraid one was of being seen through, the more easily forbidden images would pop into one's mind.
Those details concerning the future events of the original story absolutely could not be noticed by her.
That was why Cain had stepped back.
Fortunately, he knew very well that when Viola activated her mind-reading or X-ray vision, she had to make a specific gesture by joining her index finger and thumb.
Seeing her hands hanging naturally at her sides without any movement, Cain finally let out a slow breath of relief.
"As a show of sincerity, I will tell you my true name. Viola—"
"STOP, STOP, STOP!"
Cain hurriedly waved his hand, his tone clean and decisive.
"I can't handle this matter. If you want help, go find our captain, don't try to circle around me."
A trace of surprise flashed through Viola's eyes.
Immediately after, the corner of her lips curved into a faint smile.
"In that case, I'll be direct about my other purpose. Chad Cain, join the Donquixote Family. The Young Master has high hopes for your potential."
She handed over a flamingo-styled Den Den Mushi.
"There's no need to refuse us, once you've thought it through, use this to contact the Young Master."
This Den Den Mushi had already been tuned to the right frequency and could directly connect to Doflamingo.
Cain was initially unwilling to take it.
With his current strength, he could absolutely defeat Doflamingo, so what talk was there of joining him?
But after another thought, even if he did not agree, there might be a need for deals or similar matters in the future.
Having one more method of contact would not hurt.
In the end, he still reached out and accepted it, casually stuffing it into his clothes.
Beside him, Uta's small hand tightly gripped the edge of Cain's clothing.
She glared fiercely at Viola, but the moment she turned to look at Cain, her expression instantly changed into a soft smile.
"You're not actually going to that Donquixote Family, are you?"
"How could I?"
Cain rubbed her head, his tone relaxed and pleasant.
"It's just getting a Den Den Mushi for free. Why wouldn't I?"
He counted silently in his heart.
'The one used to contact Grandpa Garp, the one Dragon had give me, the one for recording, and now this one. i already had four Den Den Mushi on hand.'
The corner of Viola's mouth twitched.
She said nothing more, shook her head, and turned to leave the warship.
Cain signaled for Uta and Bon Clay to wait at the door, then turned and walked into the cell.
He pushed the prison door open, his scrutinizing gaze landing on Ace as he casually tossed Ace's clothes over.
"Let's go."
"WHERE'S THE DAMN KEY?!"
Ace raised his hands and shook the Seastone cuffs on his wrists, his voice urgent and somewhat angry.
"There's no key for you."
Cain waved his hand and turned to walk out.
"Unless you give up on finding Blackbeard."
"CAIN, YOU…"
Ace was so angry his teeth itched.
But in the end, he could not out-stubborn Cain. He hurriedly put on his clothes and could only follow behind him angrily.
...
When everyone returned to the Merry, Ace was still wearing the Seastone shackles that sealed his abilities.
And in Cain's luggage, there was also a large bag of Seastone he had conveniently taken along, clearly planning to keep it for future use.
The moment Cain stepped onto the Merry's deck, he immediately spotted Buffalo standing by the ship's rail.
He understood at once.
So it had been him who reported his situation to Doflamingo.
But why had they targeted him specifically?
He had never truly displayed his full strength, and his power had not been exposed in the slightest.
Thoughts flashed through Cain's mind, and he suddenly grasped the key point.
The problem must be his Devil Fruit ability!
In that case, the one who truly wanted to recruit him probably was not the Donquixote Family at all.
'It was the Beast Pirates behind them!'
Without the slightest hesitation, Cain turned and rushed quickly toward his room.
…
At Marine Headquarters, the atmosphere inside the Fleet Admiral's office was heavy.
Sengoku slammed a document down hard onto the desk.
"Garp, you've repeatedly asked me to release Cain and Ace. I understand that you care about your grandsons. Cain aside, you know very well that Ace is a genuine pirate! Or are you hiding some shameful secret in your heart?"
Garp scratched the back of his head and stammered,
"Ah, well… What secret would this old man have? I just think those two brats haven't done anything bad enough to deserve this…"
Before he could finish, the Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly squirmed urgently.
A report broke through the heavy atmosphere.
"EMERGENCY REPORT! FLEET ADMIRAL! 'PINK CAIN' AND 'FIRE FIST ACE' HAVE ESCAPED FROM THE TEMPORARY HOLDING CELL!"
Sengoku's expression darkened.
He picked up the Den Den Mushi and spoke in a low voice, "No need to pursue them. With Smoker and the others' strength, they are no match for those two. It would be a waste of effort."
After hanging up, he turned to look beside him.
Garp, who had been stammering moments ago, was now grinning widely.
The corners of his eyes and brows were filled with an unconcealable smile.
That smug expression made veins throb on Sengoku's forehead from sheer anger!
"Are you satisfied now? Hmph!"
Sengoku snorted coldly and turned his face away, refusing to look at him.
"HAHAHAHA! AS EXPECTED OF THIS OLD MAN'S GRANDSONS! THEY'VE GOT SOME TALENT!"
Garp laughed loudly.
He casually grabbed the coat hanging over the back of his chair, tucked the two precious photos and Luffy's brand-new wanted poster into his pocket, and rushed excitedly toward the door.
"SENGOKU, THIS OLD MAN IS SLIPPING AWAY FIRST! I'LL ARGUE WITH YOU LATER!"
He stormed all the way back to his personal warship, still thinking about how he should frame those photos and treasure them properly.
He had just sat down when an inconspicuous private Den Den Mushi in his pocket suddenly trembled softly.
Then Cain's familiar, straightforward voice came through.
"GRANDPA, COME PICK SOMEONE UP!"
…
At the port of Totto Land in the New World, the sickly sweet smell of syrup mixed with the salty sea breeze, churning freely through the streets and alleys.
Katakuri's dark cloak snapped loudly in the fierce wind.
In his hand, he held a newspaper, its front page clearly carrying the latest developments from Alabasta.
Smoothie, one of the Sweet Commanders, held a longsword and asked Katakuri beside her,
"Brother Katakuri, the news that woman brought is far too suspicious. Cain? We've never heard Mama mention that name. Do you really believe he's our long-lost younger brother?"
Katakuri slowly shook his head.
Beneath his scarf, his face remained cold, but his eyes were steady.
"Of course I don't believe it."
"Although that woman is an old friend of Mama's, on this sea, lies and schemes are ordinary things."
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the younger siblings behind him, his tone firm.
"But Totto Land is the home that Mama built together with all of us brothers and sisters. Even if the chance that he is our younger brother is only one in ten thousand, I will never allow him to wander outside alone."
Behind him, the Charlotte siblings gazed at his flawless back and began praising him one after another.
"As expected of our perfect brother!"
Katakuri turned to Smoothie, his tone becoming a little more solemn.
"While I'm away from the island, I'll leave it to you to protect Totto Land and take care of our younger brothers and sisters."
Smoothie nodded.
Her longsword lightly touched the ground as she answered in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Brother. Nothing will happen to Totto Land."
Katakuri nodded. Then he leapt onto the Queen Mama Chanter.
The ship slowly left the port, heading toward the first half of the Grand Line.