"I'll be seeing Luffy soon," Cain chuckled, imagining the wide-eyed, idiotic grin his little brother would undoubtedly wear when they reunited.
He lowered his gaze as fragments of the past surfaced in his mind.
…
Flashback :
"Cain, I've got great news! I'm not going to be a pirate anymore!"
A young Luffy burst into the room, brimming with excitement.
He swung his new straw hat and leaned right over the book Cain was reading to make his declaration.
Cain raised an eyebrow.
He didn't even need to guess what the kid would say next.
"I'm not going to be a pirate—I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
"That is exactly what I thought you'd say."
Cain sighed and massaged his temples.
Shanks and his crew had been gone for a while, and the incident with Uta was settled.
He couldn't change Shanks' decisions, nor could he stop the gears of the era from turning.
He could only numb himself through training, only by becoming strong enough would he one day gain the power to alter the course of events.
As for Luffy, he had been spending all his time at Makino's bar, barely even coming home at night.
Who would have thought that the moment he stepped back inside, he would start spouting this nonsense?
Realizing the danger of those words, Cain reached out to cover Luffy's mouth, but he was a second too late.
"Who just said they are going to be the Pirate King?!"
Garp stormed out of the bedroom, fuming.
The moment he set foot in the village, the locals told him about the Red-Haired Pirates and how Luffy accidentally ate a Devil Fruit.
Garp was already stewing with rage over the situation. Hearing Luffy declare his dream was like pouring oil on a roaring fire.
"It was me! Shishishi!" Luffy broke free from Cain's grip, his neck stretching out like a rubber band as he answered.
Cain shifted to shield the boy and hissed a warning.
"Luffy, have you forgotten Grandpa personally captured the Pirate King? How dare you admit that to his face?"
Before he could finish the thought, Garp was upon them.
Thump! Thump!
Two dull thuds echoed through the room.
Both Luffy and Cain hit the floor, nursing massive swelling lumps on their foreheads.
"Oww... I'm a rubber man now, so why does it still hurt?" Luffy clutched his head and whined.
Garp caught sight of the straw hat.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he hardened his expression.
"That's your Grandpa's fist of love."
Cain lay on the floor, rubbing his forehead with pure resentment.
"Then why did you hit me too?"
"Because Grandpa loves you even more!" Garp retorted righteously. "And you shouldn't let him say that kind of thing behind my back! I'm going to raise you both into proper Marines. Becoming pirates? Don't even think about it!"
Rubbing his bruised skull, Cain decided to change the subject.
"By the way, Grandpa, when are we leaving?"
Garp had mentioned it as soon as he returned—today he was taking them to meet Ace.
Cain was already packed and waiting.
"Huh? Where are we going?" Luffy tilted his head, his face full of curiosity.
"Taking you to meet someone," Garp said, pointing to a nearby crate. "Oh, right. Cain, what's in this box?"
"It is a gift for that guy," Cain explained. "There is one for Luffy too."
He had been preparing this gift for a long time.
Since he wasn't sure what Ace would like, he simply built two identical toys based on the Monkey family's temperament.
He opened the box, pulled out an intricate mecha robot, and handed it to Luffy.
It was completely different from the ordinary toys in this world, built with sharp edges and a fierce, mechanical design.
"Wow! It's a robot! So cool!" Luffy held the toy, his eyes shining like stars even as he strained under the sheer weight of it.
"But... it's so heavy!"
Garp stroked his chin in realization. "No wonder you asked me to find a blacksmith to forge metal toy parts for you. So this is what you were making."
Cain's mouth twitched as he grumbled inwardly.
'I just wanted regular metal parts. Who knew you would take solid iron blocks and literally hammer them into parts with your bare fists, saying something like, "Even when playing with toys, don't forget to train." The result is ridiculously heavy. Just assembling it nearly broke my fingers.'
Seeing Luffy's keen interest in the robot, Garp patted the boy's head.
"Luffy, if you agree to become a Marine, Grandpa will bring you more robots. Even bigger ones. Okay?"
"No! I want to be a pirate! I am going to be the King of the Pirates!"
Luffy refused without a second thought, earning another brutal punch to the skull.
Bam!
Seeing that he couldn't persuade the rubber boy with words, Garp gave up.
He picked up Cain with one hand, grabbed Luffy with the other, tucked the toy box under his arm, and headed straight for Dadan's hut in the mountains.
…
"Time flies."
'Speaking of which, the Kingdom of Elegia... I should go there when I have time. I really can't just ignore Uta's.'
"The new era is this future~" Cain sang to himself, then winced at the sound. "Ah, I'm off-key. Is it true what Uta said? Do I really have zero musical talent?"
Pulling his thoughts away from the past, Cain's massive dragon form darted through the clouds.
Even while lost in memories, he didn't stop planning for the future.
He was still in the early stages of the timeline.
Cain knew very well that even with an identical Mythical Zoan fruit, the gap between him and the real Kaido was absurdly large.
It wasn't just that his Haki was inferior, their bloodlines, raw strength, and speed existed on completely different levels.
Kaido possessed the bloodline of the Oni race.
Even though the original story didn't delve into it deeply, his natural horns and massive physique proved he was no ordinary human.
To catch up to Kaido—let alone surpass him—Cain had a long way to go.
The first major issue to address was finding a proper weapon.
Although he trained rigorously with his fists, wielding a weapon would give him a significant edge.
Furthermore, whenever he transformed into his hybrid Human-Dragon form, his body size changed drastically.
This sudden shift in reach always caused discomfort in close-quarters combat. A long weapon would compensate for that blind spot.
Kaido never dealt with this issue. His natural physique was already massive, so shifting into a hybrid form didn't throw off his center of gravity.
Combined with his giant spiked club, the transformation only made him deadlier.
When it came to forging a weapon, the first name that came to mind was Shimotsuki Kozaburo from Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue—Zoro's hometown.
Although Kozaburo passed away years ago, his son Koshiro still ran the village dojo.
As a legendary swordsmith, Kozaburo likely left his forging techniques behind.
Even if Cain couldn't get a full apprenticeship, borrowing the old man's notes would be incredibly useful.
If necessary, Cain would simply forge the weapon himself.
Kozaburo once told Zoro that famous swords choose their masters, but Cain wasn't looking to claim an existing blade. He wanted to understand the craft.
A weapon forged by his own two hands would perfectly align with his will and his devil fruit abilities.
He already had a blueprint in mind.
What he lacked were suitable materials.
When it came to the finest metals in this world, aside from Seastone, one naturally had to look at the Meito—the famous graded swords.
This world embraced science, but its legendary blades carried an inexplicable, mystical quality.
Melting down a famous sword to use as base material was undoubtedly the best choice.
Shusui was out of the question.
It was crucial for Zoro's future growth, and if the Shimotsuki family saw him carrying the stolen treasure of Wano, trouble would follow.
There was no need to pick a fight with Gecko Moria just yet.
As for the legendary swords currently sitting in Wano... it was far too early to provoke the Beasts Pirates.
Finding a truly high-quality, ownerless sword that he could melt down without destroying the main storyline was exceedingly rare.
'If only I had asked Grandpa where Roger's sword, Ace, was kept,' Cain thought with a sigh.
Just as he was feeling troubled, his gaze caught something ahead.
His eyes brightened.
High in the sky, a series of floating islands came into view.
Their structure was entirely different from Skypiea, exuding an eerie, dangerous aura.
'Materials... they are right here.'