"DON'T MENTION THAT NAME TO ME…!!"
Ace suddenly roared.
Before he could finish speaking, Garp raised his hand and slammed a fist onto his head.
A crisp thunk rang out along with his angry shout.
"Take that you stupid brat!!"
"This old man only told you to watch yourself! I didn't tell you to start yelling here," Garp said, arms folded as he leaned there and explained.
"This isn't the place to talk about things like that!"
"Before, Whitebeard was protecting you. Even if the Marines feared your identity, they wouldn't dare act rashly. But now you're wandering the sea alone. If something goes wrong, what are you expecting this old man to choose?"
"You should wipe the blood off your head first, old man."
Ace, collapsed on the ground, shakily raised his hand and looked at the top of Garp's head, which was still bleeding.
Only then did Garp react.
He hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the wound, grinning as he grumbled.
"Ah, I almost forgot about that! That brat Cain really doesn't know how to hold back!"
Ace's gaze swept across the plaza-sized crater under their feet, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
"You've got the nerve to say that? The hit you gave Cain smashed out a pit this huge… So who exactly hit harder?! Still…"
His voice gradually lowered, and he fell into thought.
His identity was not only the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
He was also the son of the Pirate King, Gol D Roger.
That identity was like a brand that could never be washed away.
From the moment he was born, it had been carved deep into his blood and bones, never truly leaving him.
His dream had once been very simple.
To make a name that belonged only to himself.
To become a great pirate whose fame shook the world.
To completely break free from Roger's shadow and stop living beneath anyone else's halo.
But now, he had Whitebeard. He had the family that was the Whitebeard Pirates.
That dream had quietly changed long ago.
He was no longer obsessed with proving himself to the world.
There was only one thought left in his heart—to support Pops and help the man who had given him a new life and a place to belong become the true Pirate King.
It was the warmth of the Whitebeard Pirates that had gradually made him forget the weight of his birth.
It had even made him overlook the deadly danger still hidden behind that identity.
So that was it.
Whether it was Garp's forceful "interception" now, or Cain risking his life to stop him before, they had both been silently protecting him in their own clumsy but unwavering ways…
A warm current had only just surged into Ace's heart.
He was about to quietly reflect on this awkward protection when a piercing pain suddenly shot through his thigh.
"HISS—!!"
Cain, still asleep, had used the teeth strengthened by his Devil Fruit ability to bite down hard on Ace's thigh!
"GIVE ME BACK MY TOUCHING MOMENT, YOU BASTARD!"
Ace grimaced in pain and hurriedly shouted to the side,
"OLD MAN, HURRY UP AND GET THIS BRAT OFF ME!"
But Garp merely folded his arms and strutted proudly over to Ace.
Then he grinned.
"Call me Grandpa, and I'll help you!"
…
Bang!
With his head covered in bumps, Cain bowed respectfully toward Garp.
"I'M TRULY SORRY!"
Two days had already passed.
He had long since woken up from his deep sleep.
Garp scolded him irritably, "IS THAT HOW OBSERVATION HAKI IS SUPPOSED TO BE USED? IF YOU CAUSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, THIS OLD MAN WON'T CLEAN UP YOUR MESS FOR YOU!"
"Mm. I understand, Grandpa."
Cain answered, then his gaze suddenly landed on the top of Garp's head.
"The injury on your head…"
"It's fine."
Garp waved his hand, then abruptly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, where did that brat Luffy run off to?"
"That...."
Cain raised his head and looked at the vast sky.
The words that had reached his mouth were swallowed back down.
Seeing this, Garp did not press further. He simply waved his hand.
"Forget it, forget it. This old man didn't come out this time for a mission anyway. Go wherever you want."
Cain's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Mm."
Garp nodded.
"I'll take care of Ace. I'll hide him somewhere even the Marines won't be able to find."
"That's good."
Cain let out a long breath of relief and once again looked up toward the sky.
Counting the time, the Revolutionary Army's people should be arriving soon too.
"Then I'll be leaving first, Grandpa."
Garp casually waved his hand.
...
Cain bowed in farewell.
Then he turned and headed in the direction of Sky Island, stepping through the air with Moonwalk as his figure shot straight above the clouds.
Cain had not forgotten that Sky Island had sea clouds—a region whose effects were comparable to the sea.
When he had brought Uta up before, he had flown directly over it from above and had not touched that area.
This time, climbing up from below, he had to be especially careful.
"As expected, it still doesn't work."
Cain tried to activate his Observation Haki, only to find that the ability gave no response at all.
It seemed that after overusing it so badly before, it had completely shut down.
According to Garp, he would probably need to rest for a while before he could use it again.
Thinking this, he stopped beneath the sea clouds and looked up at the churning cloud sea above.
Then he sat cross-legged on his flame cloud and took out Katakuri's Den Den Mushi.
His heart was full of doubts.
How exactly had he gotten involved with the Big Mom Pirates?
Where had these rumors come from?
Although they were only baseless rumors, they were still suspicious enough to bother him.
Just as he was full of confusion, waves of thunder rumbled over from the distance.
His eyes shifted.
He quickly drove the flame cloud toward the direction the sound had come from.
As he flew, Cain's body had already transformed into a massive pink dragon, crossing the sea of clouds.
The moment he burst through the clouds, he heard a dull bang.
He turned his head and saw that he had actually crashed into a ship.
Judging by the situation, there was no need to guess.
It was Enel again.
That ship had been completely destroyed, and that guy had once again been smashed into a twisted bolt of lightning by him!
"Why does everyone these days love acting like someone else's speed bump?"
Cain sneered.
He lowered his gaze and looked below, only to see an enormous golden ball hanging from Luffy's body.
Cain flicked his tail and casually struck Enel, who had just condensed back into human form, sending him straight toward Luffy.
This time, Enel was knocked out cold by Luffy.
At the same time, the giant bell of Shandora, the City of Gold, was rung.
Dong!!!
Dong!!!
The deep, powerful sound of the bell echoed across the entire sea.
At that moment, Luffy also saw Cain among the clouds and excitedly waved at him.
Seeing this, Cain slowly descended.
Luffy instantly rushed over in excitement, beaming as he showed off his achievement to Cain—he could already use Armament Haki now, though it only worked sometimes.
At the same time, he told Cain about the enemy before them and just how troublesome that man's lightning ability had been.
Seeing this, Cain felt rather gratified.
He then asked where the Going Merry was.
Before long, Zoro and the others all ran over as well.
At a glance, everyone saw Cain walk out of the Merry, placing a Den Den Mushi into his pocket.
In his hand were Seastone shackles, now firmly locked around Enel's wrists.
Cain spoke calmly and his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
"So, you already knew what Seastone does, didn't you? Did you forget we had this thing on the ship? There was absolutely no need for each of you to get struck by lightning one after another to fight this guy. Luffy is rubber, so electricity doesn't affect him, and that's one thing—but were the rest of you just being stupid?"
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator