It would take several days to reach Shimotsuki Town. During the journey, Cage focused on studying his Devil Fruit ability. Since he had never seen this particular fruit in the original story, he wanted to familiarize himself with its power.
Cage activated his Zoan-type Mythical Beast Fruit—the Frost Dragon Fruit. His body began to transform, his arms and legs thickening as hard dragon scales spread across them. His hands and feet shifted into sharp dragon claws. But after his limbs transformed, the change stopped. He couldn't transform into a full animal form like other Zoan users.
Cage quickly realized the issue: the "dragon" part. His current body simply couldn't withstand the full power of a dragon. He would need to strengthen himself physically.
Fortunately, the sea breeze remained favorable, and in just three days, Cage and Sat arrived at Shimotsuki Town.
In a small bar, a tall, thin man wearing glasses sat drinking alone, sighing over his frail health. If he weren't so weak, he would've gone to sea long ago—after all, people with professional knowledge, especially navigators, were in high demand. But after meeting him, the fleet that had intended to recruit him withdrew the moment they learned of his poor physique. His dream of venturing out to sea felt more distant than ever.
As the town's notorious "medicine addict," his weak body naturally made him the subject of ridicule in the bar.
"Hey, isn't this our aspiring navigator, Lord Neville Gade? Why aren't you at sea? Did your health fail you again? Nobody wants you, huh? Hahaha!"
"A man with failing health! Hahaha!" The bar erupted in laughter.
Gade's expression darkened, and he prepared to stand up and leave.
But the sudden appearance of a little girl eased the tension.
"How can you talk about Gade like that?" she said.
"Alright, alright! We'll give Winry some face today," the foreman leading the group said as he patted the girl's head.
They were the town's pyreers—laborers who did heavy physical work—sturdy men who frequented the bar in their spare time.
Winry, the bar owner's daughter, was the bar's source of cheer.
Suddenly, a loud crash shattered the peaceful atmosphere.
A spiked club smashed through the half-closed door. The man holding it was a giant nearly two meters tall, followed by a gun-wielding subordinate and several other henchmen.
The bar patrons froze in fear. Someone stammered out the leader's name: "M-Mountain bandits… Horrick…? Didn't he already leave Shimotsuki Town?"
Horrick slammed his spiked club into the wooden floor, leaving a deep dent. He pulled out a cloth bag and growled, "People of Shimotsuki Town! Didn't expect us to come back, did you? I'm chasing fame and fortune. Hand over your money—or anyone who disobeys can taste this thing in my hand."
The atmosphere in the bar instantly grew tense. The place was filled with ordinary townsfolk—how could they possibly stand against a group of mountain bandits, let alone a gang that had since become somewhat infamous pirates?
Horrick and his crew had once been the island's most notorious bandits, each boasting a bounty of 2.7 million Berries. But when a vice admiral visited the island's naval base, Horrick panicked, stole a ship, and fled to sea, eventually turning to piracy.
And now they were back. Weren't they afraid of the island's navy?
"You're not from the island's base, are you? Too bad their captain's gone. We've already taken care of the rest of those little punks."
Only then did the bartender notice the navy soldiers lying unconscious outside. His fear grew, and he hurriedly began preparing to hand over money.
"That's my mom and dad's hard-earned money! I won't give it to you bad people!"
Winry, the little girl, was trembling, yet she still chose to resist.
Her bravery didn't matter to the heartless pirates. Horrick snatched up his spiked club.
"Winry..."
Gade grabbed his stun gun and charged toward Horrick without hesitation.
But Horrick was no amateur. With a single swing of his spiked club, he knocked the stun gun from Gade's hand, smashed it to pieces, and then kicked Gade hard, sending him crashing to the floor.
Gade lay there, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Well, if it isn't Gade. A patient should be lying quietly in bed, yet here you are trying to resist." Horrick sneered as he watched a ship-certificate slip from Gade's pocket—the kind issued by certain naval departments—stamped with a large "Not Approved."
"You? A sea warrior? Don't make me laugh. I'm a pirate captain. Why would anyone want a weak, sickly burden onboard to stir up trouble? You really are as foolish as ever."
Horrick raised his spiked club again and swung it toward both Gade and Winry.
Gade had known from the moment he attacked that there was no turning back. He stepped in front of Winry, wrapped his arms around her, and shut his eyes tightly.
"He's the navigator of my future ship! There's no way I'm letting you kill him!"
A figure appeared in front of Gade in an instant.
An arm covered in scales blocked the descending spiked club.