"Hey! What are you talking about?" Carina scratched her head in confusion, clearly lost by Cavendish's earlier declaration.
"Yohohoho, if you want to board our ship, you need Captain Jerry's permission," Skull said with obvious amusement.
"But you're all my devoted fans, so I assume there won't be any objections," Cavendish said with a confident wink.
"Get lost! Who are your fans?" the crew shouted in unison.
"Don't deny it—you all call me 'handsome guy' and praise my beautiful features in various ways throughout the day," Cavendish replied with complete seriousness.
"Huh?" Hearing this, everyone on the ship turned to stare accusingly at Jerry.
Jerry's eyes widened defensively. "What? That's just a casual nickname! You didn't sail thousands of miles across the ocean just to hear me call you handsome, did you?"
However, Cavendish had a remarkable ability to interpret any statement containing key words as compliments, regardless of context or intention.
"See! You're praising me again! Ahaha!" Cavendish declared triumphantly before once again losing himself in an atmosphere of narcissistic bliss.
"Ahem, excuse me, but we should focus on escaping the Marines first," Jerry interrupted, gesturing toward the approaching warship.
Under the puzzled gazes of Cavendish and Brook, Jerry and the others walked to the ship's railing and waved cheerfully at the warship that was attempting to close distance while maintaining its bombardment.
Jerry cupped his hands and shouted loudly: "Vice Admiral Gion and Captain Isuka, farewell!"
"Fire Fist Ace! Don't run if you have the courage!" Isuka's voice carried clearly across the water.
"Haha, then don't chase me!" Ace replied with equal volume and good humor.
The exchange between Isuka and Ace had become almost ritualistic in their encounters.
"Think you can escape?" Gion recalled Jerry's aquatic abilities, her expression growing serious. She swung her famous sword Kinpila with lightning speed.
An enormous, razor-sharp flying slash streaked across the distance between the two ships at tremendous velocity, its attack range wide enough to cover the entire hull of the Black Nova.
"Don't even think about damaging our new ship!" Jerry showed no sign of backing down, pulling out his Supreme Fishing Rod and swinging it with full force.
"Water Blade: Sweeping Current!"
Incorporating the principles of Tempest Kick into his technique, he launched an equally spectacular slash to meet Gion's attack head-on.
The two fierce techniques collided violently in mid-air, fragmenting into countless pieces before dissipating entirely.
But simultaneously with Jerry's counterattack, he generated a massive wave that surged forward unimpeded, rushing toward the distant warship.
"That's enough surfing for today, beautiful! See you later!" Jerry called out with a casual wave.
Using his tried-and-true escape method, Jerry manipulated the ocean current to carry their ship downward, and the Black Nova dove beneath the surface in the next instant.
After Gion and her crew dealt with the enormous wave, there was no trace of the Black Star Pirates remaining on the sea's surface. They had vanished completely into the vast ocean as if they'd never been there at all.
"Damn it, Vice Admiral Gion, they're impossible to catch at sea," Isuka said, stamping her foot in frustration while secretly feeling annoyed at her own inability to contribute meaningfully to the pursuit.
Gion stared at the now-calm waters and sighed helplessly. "They're too slippery. It seems we can only continue tracking them and wait for the right opportunity to appear."
"Besides, Leviathan seems to have obtained something incredible this time. I really don't know what he's planning," she added thoughtfully.
Recalling the urgent message she'd received earlier, Gion reflected on how Fleet Admiral Sengoku hadn't revealed much over the Den Den Mushi. She could only speculate that Jerry was preparing for another significant operation.
Late that night, under a sky shrouded in deep black curtains of darkness, the Black Star Pirates resurfaced in their ship's dining room.
Everyone sat around the table, eagerly anticipating Carina's upcoming dinner preparations.
"Joining our crew isn't impossible," Jerry said, deciding to address Cavendish's situation directly rather than continue the circular conversation. "What's your reason?"
Based on his understanding, Cavendish was indeed a rather unconventional pirate, but that didn't mean he would easily recognize others' authority or join another crew.
Cavendish's expression grew reminiscent, and he spoke with genuine emotion: "Well, if I must explain my reasoning, it all began during the lowest point of my life when I was exiled from my kingdom."
"At that time, I had only five million berries in hand and barely seventy subordinates..."
"Wait! How much Berry did you say?" Carina was the first to react, practically shrieking. Not only her, but everyone was instantly stunned by the figure.
"Five million? Is there some problem with that amount?" Cavendish asked with genuine confusion.
Everyone shouted in unison: "And you call that the lowest point of your life?! You rich bastard!"
"But this was the money my father gave me upon my exile. It couldn't be too little, could it?" Cavendish said with a slight smile, absently playing with the rose in his hand.
"Oh right, I almost forgot you're a prince," Deuce said, recalling his intelligence files and suddenly understanding. Taking over the conversation, he asked: "Is it really acceptable for you to board our ship like this? What about your country?"
Cavendish shook his head and continued his tale of personal hardship: "It's fine. The exile happened for the same reason I mentioned. I'm sure everyone here knows that since childhood, I've been so popular that all the marriageable women in the country have been chasing after me, refusing to consider anyone else for marriage."
Everyone reflexively rolled their eyes, but no one interrupted his story. Seeing that no one disputed this "well-known fact," Cavendish nodded with satisfaction.
"This situation wasn't sustainable long-term, so my father exiled me for being excessively popular," he explained matter-of-factly.
"Now I'm no longer a prince, but simply an exiled criminal," he added with theatrical melancholy.
"Of course, that's only the surface reason. The real problem lies with Hakuba. He's become increasingly aggressive and wants to hurt others."
"I can only do my best to suppress him, but he always sneaks out to cause trouble while I'm sleeping... I'm afraid of creating unrest in my country, and even more terrified that he'll lose control and harm my relatives, friends, and fans."
"Therefore, I believe staying away from populated areas as much as possible after going to sea is wise, though there will always be times when we need to enter cities for supplies."
After listening to his explanation, everyone nodded with understanding—every family had its own complicated problems.
Then Deuce tapped his notebook thoughtfully, stared directly into Cavendish's eyes, and spoke in a more serious tone: "We understand why you went to sea, but you still haven't explained why you want to join our crew specifically."
Cavendish pointed directly at Jerry with a slightly dejected expression. "Because I discovered that Hakuba doesn't dare show himself casually when this man is around."
"You mean you want to use me to help suppress Hakuba?" Jerry asked, blinking as understanding finally dawned.
As far as Jerry knew, Cavendish was indeed deeply troubled by his alter ego's influence. While he enjoyed the reputation and bounty increases that resulted from Hakuba's actions, he fundamentally disapproved of Hakuba's violent methods.
This could be seen in how, despite his bounty reaching 100 million berries, it had only increased to 280 million after three additional years in the future—an unusually slow progression for an active pirate.
Cavendish bore responsibility for Hakuba's bounty, but he must have been doing everything possible to suppress his other personality. Apart from the incidents Hakuba caused, Cavendish himself didn't seem to engage in typical pirate activities.
To prevent Hakuba from causing trouble, he probably often led his subordinates to uninhabited islands or other remote locations. In the original timeline, when he appeared in Dressrosa, some pirates were surprised to learn he was still alive—indicating Cavendish had been absent from newspapers for so long that people questioned whether he was dead or alive.
Jerry pondered this situation carefully. While he wasn't certain his speculation was entirely correct, he understood Cavendish's character and personality quite well from their interactions.
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