"Change ships? Absolutely not! This is my ride! Even if it's you, Cain, don't even think about it!"
Luffy clung tightly to the Merry's figurehead, his face full of unbearable reluctance. His tone was so firm there was no room for negotiation.
Everyone present understood that this was a difficult choice. Even Zoro and Sanji, who were usually fairly open-minded about things, had their brows furrowed and fell into silence.
Usopp was even more resistant. His face made his refusal painfully obvious.
"I'm not telling you to abandon the Merry, Luffy."
Seeing their reactions, Cain quickly softened his tone and explained,
"The Merry will be taken over by me and Uta. She's going to step onto the world stage, and I want this ship to help her do that."
He paused.
A genuine worry entered his eyes, and his voice grew firmer.
"Uta needs someone to protect her. I really can't bear to let her sail the seas alone. It's too dangerous. Sooner or later, I'm destined to leave you guys."
"Just like you said before, you can't always rely on me and Ace, and I'm only an unofficial member who barged onto your ship halfway through. I can't just keep freeloading here forever, right?"
"If I stay on the Merry with her, protect her, and protect this ship too, wouldn't that be the best arrangement for everyone?"
Hearing that, Uta's cheeks instantly turned faintly red, and the tips of her ears quietly warmed.
This was the first time she had felt Cain's concern so openly and sincerely in front of so many people.
Robin sat to the side with her arms crossed, watching the two with interest.
A faint, almost unnoticeable trace of envy passed through her eyes.
Luffy immediately shook his head and shouted, his voice full of anxious refusal.
"No! No way! Since I already let you join, you're our companion! How can I just let you leave our crew like that?!"
"So that's what you were worried about."
Cain could not help smiling. His tone became gentler.
"You don't have to worry about that. Even if we split up, the Merry will always fly the Straw Hat Pirates' flag. It'll always be part of you."
"Luffy, this is actually a pretty good arrangement."
Ace, who had been quietly listening from the side, finally spoke.
"It's like our Whitebeard Pirates. We have hundreds, even thousands of companions, and there are lands protected by Pops too. As long as they fly Pops's flag, they belong under our protection. That's what a pirate flag means in the first place. If it could only hang on one ship, would everyone have to squeeze together and sail on the same boat?"
With Ace speaking up, Luffy was clearly shaken, but his brows were still tightly furrowed.
The conflict in his heart had not fully disappeared.
"That may be true, but what about money?" Nami immediately seized on the most practical issue, her tone full of realistic concern.
"Building a ship big and sturdy enough for future adventures is definitely going to cost a fortune. Our current savings aren't nearly enough."
"That's true…"
Cain thought to himself, 'It's not like I can tell them ahead of time that there's a mountain of gold waiting at the next stop.'
He shook his head and spoke more seriously.
"Then that works out. While we're gathering money, everyone can think it over properly. After all, the Merry really can't withstand the intense battles waiting for us in the future."
...
Over the next few days, events more or less followed their original course.
A giant ship fell from the sky as the Saruyama Alliance and the giant turtle appeared one after another.
Cain and Ace did not interfere.
Both of them focused on helping Luffy and the others train their Haki.
As for Uta, she used these adventures as opportunities to sing through a video Den Den Mushi several times.
Her clear, bright voice spread across the seas, gradually earning her a growing reputation.
Eventually, the group's destination was set as Jaya Island.
The moment the ship docked, Luffy and the others could hardly wait to get off and search the island for clues about the sky island.
At Cain's request, Uta went with them to look around.
Viola, meanwhile, quietly headed for one of the illegal establishments operated there by the Donquixote Family.
Cain understood the situation perfectly.
Blackbeard was hiding on this island. No matter what, he could not let Ace get close.
If those two met too early, Ace's personality guaranteed that he would charge straight in without thinking.
But the more Cain stopped him, the harder Ace struggled.
Ace had clearly noticed that there was something on the island Cain did not want him to see.
He did not even need to guess to know it was Blackbeard, and his resistance became even fiercer.
Left with no choice, Cain raised his hand and knocked Ace unconscious on the spot.
At that very moment, his Observation Haki suddenly screamed a warning.
Cain turn around, his arm lashing out like a drawn iron whip.
"Fufufufufu… So you're—guh…!!"
Doflamingo had just appeared, but before he could even finish half his sentence, Cain's fist slammed squarely into his face.
He hurriedly used the power of the String-String Fruit to stabilize himself, his expression turning so dark it looked ready to drip.
Normally, he would never bother personally seeking out a Zoan ability user with a bounty of only ten million berries.
But the intelligence from Totto Land, combined with Kaido's repeated pressure, had forced him to come in person and meet this seemingly insignificant rookie pirate.
The moment Doflamingo arrived, he ran into Viola and forced Cain's location out of her.
His original plan had been to approach silently from behind, pressure Cain with his presence, and force him to obediently accept the invitation.
When Cain's fist came at him just now, Doflamingo had clearly placed a fine screen of threads along the path of the attack.
In theory, it should have blocked the blow easily.
But he had never expected that seemingly ordinary punch to tear straight through his threads.
The force of it carried on and landed cleanly on his face.
That truly piqued his interest.
"Fufufufu… Interesting. You really do have some skill. As expected of 'PINK CAIN'. Not bad at all. How about it? Want to join us?"
Cain had no interest in wondering why Doflamingo had appeared here.
The moment he heard that horrifically embarrassing title, every thought in his mind was instantly swallowed by shame!
He picked up the long staff beside him and brought it down toward Doflamingo's head.
Doflamingo naturally had no intention of taking it head-on.
In an instant, he formed several thick, tough threads, far stronger than the ones before. Pitch-black Armament Haki covered them as well.
He was fully confident he could block this strike.
"Oh my, oh my. Don't waste your strength. Join us! My threads are the strong—pffft!"
Before his arrogant words could finish, Cain's Armament Haki-wrapped staff smashed into him and sent him flying.
He crashed through two buildings in a row before finally stopping in a sorry state.
"Ah… I underestimated you."
Doflamingo stood up from the rubble and shook the dust from his pink feather coat.
His sinister gaze locked onto Cain.
"How exactly do those idiots in the World Government judge bounties?"
"Looks like there's nothing left for us to discuss."
He walked toward Cain step by step, his tone carrying an undisguised threat.
"If you won't obediently accept my invitation…"
Before he finished, Doflamingo's figure flashed.
Threads were tied to his foot, and with Armament Haki wrapped around it, he attacked straight for Cain's face.
Cain casually lifted his staff and blocked it steadily.
"Don't move."
Cain glanced from the corner of his eye and finally saw it: an extremely thin thread trailing behind Doflamingo.
A figure he knew all too well was being dragged over from the distance by that thread.
The next second, a thread blade, thin as hair and gleaming coldly, pressed against the top of the girl's head.
"UTA!"
Cain's eyes widened with fury, and his voice trembled beyond his control.
Viola stumbled over with her head lowered deeply, her voice choked with sobs.
"Cain… I'm sorry. I can't disobey the Young Master…"
Behind her, Luffy and the others were running toward them with all their strength, anxiously shouting Uta's name.
The thread blade hovered over Uta's head.
Tears rolled down her face like broken pearls, falling onto her clothes and spreading into dark patches.
She forced out a small smile, her voice thick with tears.
"Cain… I'm sorry… Looks like I caused trouble for you again… I'm sorry…"
Cain clutched his head tightly.
His temples throbbed wildly, and for a moment, it felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed backward, leaving him dizzy.
He wanted Uta to use her Devil Fruit ability, but immediately shook the thought away.
He understood better than anyone that while the Sing-Sing Fruit could seize absolute control if used first, Uta had to be able to sing a complete note.
Right now, she had no chance to sing.
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo's laugh was full of undisguised malice.
"This method is a little boring, but it doesn't matter. Get on my ship quietly. Otherwise—"
He deliberately paused, and the thread blade above Uta's head shifted slightly.
"This little girl's head is going to bloom."
In the end, Cain would be handed over to Kaido anyway. Whether he truly submitted or only pretended to, Doflamingo did not care.
Cain's fingers clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.
His nails dug deep into his palms, and even when his tough skin broke and blood seeped out, he did not notice.
He stared at Uta's forced smile and the tears sliding down her face. His heart felt as if it had been seized by an invisible hand and squeezed until he could barely breathe.
Fragments flashed through his mind all at once: Uta's bright smile when she sang, the promise he had made to Shanks, every little moment they had spent together since childhood.
And yet now, he could not even protect her?
Cain's thoughts raced desperately, searching for a way to save Uta.
He only had one chance, and it had to be fast—faster than anything else.
Could he knock Doflamingo out? No.
That would not save Uta in time.
Could he send him flying into the sea? Could he knock the thread off course? No.
Any tiny mistake, any slight delay, and Uta would be the one in danger.
'Haki… That's right. Haki.'
Armament Haki was not enough. Conqueror's Haki was useless here.
What he needed was Observation Haki!
Cain pushed his Observation Haki to its absolute limit, but what he could sense was still too short, too vague.
It was not enough. Not nearly enough.
'Move…! Observation Haki, move!'
A splitting pain tore through his skull as something warm spilled from his eyes.
Blood, tears—he did not know, and nor did he care.
He only cared about seeing it.
Cain's bloodshot eyes locked furiously onto Doflamingo. Extreme pain and helplessness swallowed him like a tide.
Every muscle in his body trembled violently, and his clenched hands loosened beyond his control.
"Fufufu… That's more like it."
Doflamingo's smile grew even more smug.
"As long as you nod and submit, I'll—pffft!!"
A flash of red light cut through the air.
Cain suddenly swung his staff with all his strength, hurling it straight at Doflamingo's face.
At the same time, he stomped down, crushing a large hole through the Merry's deck as his figure vanished from where he stood.
In less than a second, he appeared in front of Uta.
The threads sharp enough to slice through steel were blocked firmly by Cain's palm.
They could not even cut his skin.
Cain raised his hand and covered Uta's forehead, shielding her tear-filled eyes.
His fingertips gently wiped away the tracks on her cheeks, and his voice was soft enough to soothe every trace of fear.
"It's okay now, Uta. This time, I caught the future."
It had only been a two-second image in his mind, but it was enough for Cain to make the right choice.
Cain had seen the future.
Keeping one hand over Uta's eyes, Cain turned toward Doflamingo.
His gaze was filled with killing intent.
"You've completely pissed me off."
He used Haki to tear away every thread wrapped around Uta, then handed her to Luffy and the others as they arrived.
Slowly, he turned back and walked toward Doflamingo.
Cain picked up his fallen staff.
His body suddenly swelled, transforming into a ferocious human-dragon form.
Scorching white breath spilled from his throat, and his eyes burned with destructive rage.
"You need to understand something."
"What you provoked…"
"Is one of the strongest creatures in the world."
---
Doffy is in for a beating of his life, with Cain power set it doesnt make any sense he'll struggle against dofflamingo.
There will be a consequences since Cain forcefully advancing his observation haki though..