"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"
Brook wailed over and over, but Cain showed no sign of letting go.
He was thinking that if he zapped him a few more times, maybe he could jolt some memories loose—like the ones about Gunko.
Though, considering the guy was nothing but bones now, he didn't even have a brain left.
"I'm gonna die—just kidding! I'm only bones, so lightning doesn't work on me. That was a bone joke!"
Brook abruptly changed tone, then added the last part in a perfectly serious voice.
After that, everyone started talking about Crocus at Twin Cape.
He had also once been a member of Roger's crew.
Back then, he had joined Roger as ship doctor in order to keep waiting for the Rumbar Pirates—the crew Laboon had been longing for.
That immediately drew Brook's full attention, and he no longer brought up going over to Uta.
Cain and Uta exchanged a glance and smiled at the same time.
...
At that very moment, the Admiral summoned because of the attack on a Celestial Dragon had already set foot on Sabaody Archipelago.
"Oh, moshi moshi, this is Kizaru. Respond if you can hear me."
Standing atop the incoming cannonballs amid a storm of artillery fire, Kizaru lazily called through the Den Den Mushi on his wrist.
The next moment, he crossed paths on the island with the gathered members of the Worst Generation.
Even as he kept saying, "How scary, how scary," he showed no mercy at all, knocking down one Supernova after another with a single kick.
...
Back at the bar, however, the atmosphere was still strangely calm, and everyone kept chatting leisurely.
At last, Robin asked the question that had been weighing on her heart: the meaning behind Roger's message on Sky Island, and what exactly had happened during the Void Century.
Rayleigh did not answer directly.
After all, they were pirates, not scholars like Professor Clover of Ohara.
"He could hear the Voice of All Things. That's all."
"Oh, that—I think I can do that too," Cain said casually, arms folded.
"Huh? You can too?"
Everyone stared at him in shock.
"Then what exactly can you hear?"
"I can't really explain it myself. I just remember that back then, I definitely heard Laboon's voice," Cain said lightly.
"Though I think Luffy can hear it too."
"Huh? Me?" Luffy suddenly looked up.
"Well, you're the man who's going to become Pirate King, aren't you? If Roger had it, then you definitely should too. And what he didn't have, you should have even more so."
"Hahaha, that's an interesting way of putting it," Rayleigh said, laughing out loud.
The conversation only branched into more and more topics.
Usopp was so impatient he nearly asked Rayleigh right on the spot where Laugh Tale was, and what exactly the One Piece Roger left behind really was, but Luffy loudly cut him off.
If he already knew the end of the journey, if he already knew the ending of the story, then that kind of boring adventure was something he didn't want at all.
Right after that, Rayleigh asked where their ship was docked.
He said he planned to coat it for them and told them to wait peacefully for three days.
In three days, they would be able to head for their next stop—Fish-Man Island.
Rayleigh himself was also someone the Marines wanted to capture.
Now that trouble had broken out on Sabaody, there was no way he could show his face openly anymore, so he planned to take Luffy's ship somewhere else for coating.
Even though Garp had helped conceal his whereabouts, an Admiral had still been dispatched.
Sooner or later, the Marines would start keeping watch, which meant everyone had no choice but to split up.
Rayleigh handed out pieces of his Vivre Card to everyone, and Cain and Uta each took one as well.
After Luffy and the others stepped out of the bar one by one, Cain finally looked at Uta and spoke in a low voice.
"I'm sorry, Uta. You know what I'm going to do next. For your safety, I can't take you with me."
"No. Cain, I can fight alongside you now. I've learned a lot from Shakky-nee, so—"
Uta clenched her fists as she spoke.
Cain raised two fingers and lightly flicked her forehead.
"Forgive me, Uta. This will be the last time."
After saying that, he waved, turned around, and left.
Shakky quietly watched Uta standing there frozen, then slowly asked.
"Still no answer? even after thinking about it for these past few months, Uta-chan?"
"I…"
Uta pressed her lips together, unable to say anything.
...
Cain followed right behind the Straw Hats, silently thinking to himself that this time, their adventure would probably have to be put on hold for a while.
Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook were all about as strong as they had been in the original story.
As for Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, yes—they had started to grasp Haki, but knowing Haki and being able to use it skillfully in battle were two completely different things.
Judging from Luffy's earlier fight, their use of Haki in combat was still far too clumsy.
If they already had the level of strength they would possess two years later, then Cain could have simply stepped in and stopped Kuma from scattering them.
Or rather, even if Cain didn't step in, letting them join the Summit War at that point would have been fine.
But now, their progress was still too slow.
A month or two was nowhere near enough to bring them up to the level they would reach after two full years of training.
And each of them needed to focus on different things in their own growth.
Even if Cain had been teaching them from the moment they first set sail, they still wouldn't have reached the level required to participate in that war.
Being sent flying by Kuma was still the best choice.
Before long, just after leaving, the group encountered one of Kuma's copies—the Navy's new weapon, a Pacifista.
Cain did not interfere.
He simply let the Pacifista attack Luffy and the others.
And their counterattacks failed to damage it in the slightest.
Watching them sink into a bitter struggle, Cain merely shook his head.
Even with Haki, Luffy and the others still fell short of a Pacifista in strength, speed, and technique.
That kind of gap could never be bridged by Haki training alone.
This time, they truly experienced the chasm in power for themselves.
After they finally managed to bring down one Pacifista, Sentomaru, captain of the Navy Science Unit, arrived with another one in tow and immediately raised his hand to fire a laser.
Zoro instantly realized it was not the real Kuma. There were no paw pads on its hands—only laser emitters.
Seeing that they had finally realized the gap between themselves and their enemies, Cain decided it was time to act.
After all, he was still an unofficial member of the Straw Hat crew.
He picked up his weapon, flashed behind the Pacifista, and swung with one hand.
The ground cracked instantly, and the Pacifista was blown straight into scrap.
Luffy and the others were shocked to the core.
They could truly feel the gulf in strength.
Luffy clenched his fists, Zoro gripped his swords tightly, and Sanji frowned deeply, all of them burning with frustration and unwillingness.
Cain turned to look at the fallen Luffy and the others and spoke in a low voice.
"Luffy, do you remember what we said the first time we met in Cocoyasi Village? Improve your strength. Remember this feeling of powerlessness. Don't make me, don't make Grandpa, and don't make everyone else feel this again. At your current level, you're still nowhere near strong enough to keep adventuring."
The moment he finished, Sentomaru struck at Cain with Ashigara Dokkoi.
Even though it too was flowing Haki, that kind of attack couldn't hurt Cain at all.
While they were speaking, Admiral Kizaru had already arrived and was standing nearby, light gathering at his fingertips, ready to fire at any moment.
Cain swept his gaze over him, then used Observation Haki and immediately sensed Rayleigh's presence.
Sure enough, not far away beside a building, the old man was peeking over with a sneaky look—as if to say that since Cain was here, he couldn't be bothered to step in himself.
Cain was instantly speechless.
He charged forward and kicked Kizaru's leg aside, sending the laser off course, then turned back to Luffy and continued:
"When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it."
The moment those words fell, Luffy had already made up his mind.
He raised his voice and shouted an order.
"Listen up, everyone—run! Right now, escaping is what matters most! We can't keep relying on Cain alone to protect us! At the way we are now, there's no way we can beat them!"
"So run!!!"
As he shouted, Luffy hurriedly helped the fallen Zoro back up, and everyone scattered in different directions.
Kizaru looked as leisurely as ever. He glanced at Cain and said,
"My, my. I really didn't expect you to be here. Sorry about this, but my mission today is to arrest the Straw Hats for attacking a Celestial Dragon."
"You must've forgotten—I'm one of the Straw Hats too. And besides, when it came to attacking a Celestial Dragon, I was the first one to make a move."
Cain said it coldly, blocking Kizaru from going after Luffy and the others.
"The main culprit is right here. If you've got the ability, then arrest me and send me to Impel Down."