Seeing that Cavendish remained unconscious on his floor, Jerry gestured for everyone else to return to their rooms for some well-deserved rest. Since this was his room anyway, he didn't mind keeping an eye on their uninvited guest overnight.
After several attempts throughout the evening to convince everyone to get some sleep, this final effort finally succeeded in sending the crew to their beds.
The next morning, before the night had completely faded away, the deep blue-black sky began gradually brightening with faint streaks of purple and gold as dawn approached.
"WHAT?! Where am I?!"
A deafening scream suddenly erupted from Jerry's room, echoing through the empty hotel corridor and probably waking several neighboring guests.
Cavendish's eyes snapped open wide as consciousness returned. Having just awakened, his mental processes hadn't fully resumed normal operation, leaving him with absolutely no recognition of the unfamiliar room surrounding him.
Gradually, his thoughts became clearer and he realized this situation must be Hakuba's doing—his secondary personality had obviously taken control during the night and gotten him into trouble again.
Just then, a familiar voice spoke from behind him with casual amusement.
"Hey there, pretty boy. Finally awake?"
Hearing this greeting, Cavendish spun around abruptly, staring at Jerry—who was calmly eating breakfast—with a completely bewildered expression. He pointed at Jerry while stammering incoherently, unable to form complete words.
Seeing Cavendish pointing at him in obvious surprise, Jerry set down his food, frowned slightly, and displayed a genuinely puzzled expression.
"What's the matter with you?" Jerry asked with concern.
Suddenly remembering something potentially embarrassing, Jerry waved his hands hastily in defensive denial:
"You're not going to tell me something inappropriate happened, are you? I didn't do anything weird! Kotatsu can vouch for me!"
The transformed lynx, who had been eating breakfast nearby, looked up and let out a confirming meow before returning attention to the food.
Cavendish completely ignored Jerry's defensive explanation. Instead, he looked at Jerry with growing excitement, his face lighting up with an almost manic enthusiasm:
"No, no! It's what you just said! What did you call me?"
"What I just said? What about it?" Jerry blinked in confusion, not understanding the source of Cavendish's excitement.
The enthusiasm in Cavendish's eyes seemed completely uncontrollable. He stared intently at Jerry and nodded with rapid, eager movements.
"Say it again! Please!"
Jerry thought for half a second before repeating uncertainly, "Finally awake?"
"Yes, yes, yes! But the part before that!"
Jerry suddenly remembered his casual greeting and asked tentatively, "You mean... pretty boy?"
"YES! EXACTLY THAT!" Cavendish practically shouted with joy. "It feels absolutely wonderful to wake up and immediately hear someone complimenting my appearance!"
As he spoke, Cavendish's entire appearance began changing dramatically, as if his artistic style was being completely redrawn by some invisible hand.
The swollen, pig-like features on his face disappeared entirely, replaced by an extraordinarily handsome visage that seemed to glow with its own inner light.
He leaped to his feet with explosive energy, spun around twice in place, and declared with a radiantly happy smile:
"Haha! Excellent! You really understand how to appreciate true beauty! This young master is extremely satisfied with your recognition!"
"Ah... really? Well, as long as you're happy," Jerry replied with obvious discomfort.
The corners of Jerry's mouth twitched in barely concealed disgust, and he waved dismissively as if even the delicious breakfast in his hands had suddenly lost all flavor.
Cavendish produced a gorgeous rose from seemingly nowhere, held it close to his face, and took a deep, theatrical breath. Actual stars seemed to appear in his eyes as he proclaimed loudly:
"That's absolutely right! I am a magnificent star! You can praise me as much as you want—I can appreciate every single compliment!"
"Yep, this is definitely his true nature," Jerry muttered under his breath.
Jerry covered his forehead and shook his head helplessly, deciding to ignore the narcissist completely and focus on finishing his breakfast in peace.
However, Cavendish's earlier shouting had already attracted the attention of other crew members, who began gathering at Jerry's doorway to investigate the commotion.
"Brother Jerry, what's wrong with him?" Carrot asked, peering curiously at Cavendish, who continued talking to himself while admiring his reflection in the window.
"Yeah, how did he suddenly become like this?" Carina added with obvious bewilderment.
"That's right! I've become even more devastatingly handsome today!" Cavendish announced, completely mishearing their conversation. "Please, continue praising me and admiring my absolutely stunning good looks!"
Before Jerry could offer any explanation, Cavendish began spinning dramatically in front of Carina and the others, striking poses and tossing his hair with practiced flourishes.
Seeing this ridiculous display, everyone simultaneously developed large sweat drops on their foreheads, struggling to process the sheer magnitude of his vanity.
Carina delivered a swift kick to Cavendish's midsection, sending the narcissist tumbling to the floor with a satisfying thud.
"Alright, everyone needs to finish packing," Deuce announced, stepping in to restore some semblance of order. "We'll be departing for Water 7 soon, and by the time we arrive, our new ship should be completed and ready for launch."
After everyone finished gathering their belongings, they checked out of the hotel and began their journey back to the Sea Train station through Pucci's still-bustling morning streets.
Observing the continued vitality and energy of the city's commercial districts, the crew couldn't help but marvel at how these island communities had truly flourished after being connected by Tom's revolutionary transportation system.
"Hey! Why are you still following us?" Carina demanded, noticing that Cavendish had somehow acquired a beautiful white horse and was casually walking alongside their group.
Cavendish delicately ate a rose petal, his eyes transforming into literal twinkling stars as he completely misinterpreted her question.
"Oh? Beautiful lady, are you praising my fair complexion and devastatingly handsome appearance? I've made careful note of your compliment. Thank you so much for your appreciation!"
"Nobody was praising you!" Carina shouted in frustration.
Jerry and the others chuckled with amusement, having already gained complete understanding of Cavendish's overwhelming narcissism. He consistently misinterpreted other people's words to support his own elaborate fantasies of universal admiration.
Amid the general laughter, Cavendish suddenly turned toward Ace with a more serious expression and asked directly:
"By the way, you're Fire Fist Ace, aren't you?"
"That's right. What about it?" Ace replied, turning his attention away from scanning nearby food stalls for anything he might have missed during yesterday's extensive sampling.
Cavendish clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth with obvious frustration:
"Damn it! Fire is such an elegant and powerful ability—it should have been mine by rights! But you managed to obtain it first!"
"Haha, we were just really hungry at the time, so we ate whatever we could find," Ace replied with a carefree grin, completely unbothered by Cavendish's envious expression.
"We?" Not only Cavendish, but also Carrot and the other crew members who had joined later expressed curiosity about this plural reference.
"Yes, that happened not long after we first set sail..." Ace began to elaborate.
But Deuce interrupted by pointing toward the approaching Sea Train station: "Let's board first and find our seats. Cavendish, you're traveling back to Water 7 with us, correct?"
Cavendish nodded confirmation. "Yes, my ship is docked there as well."
After everyone boarded the Sea Train and settled into their seats, Carrot and the newer crew members immediately gathered around with expressions of eager anticipation, clearly expecting to hear an entertaining story.
"Alright then, story time," Ace agreed with obvious pleasure.
Ace glanced toward Jerry and Deuce with a relaxed smile, then began recounting their desperate survival experience on the deserted island. He spoke lightly of what had been genuinely life-threatening circumstances, as if those harrowing events hadn't really touched his heart or left any lasting trauma.
After listening to his complete narrative, everyone except Skull—who already knew the details—responded with genuine emotion and excitement.
"Brother Jerry! Brother Ace! Brother Deuce!" Carrot exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
"Wow! You three actually have such an incredible backstory together?" Carina added with obvious fascination.
"What a remarkable journey of survival and friendship! Yohohoho!" Brook contributed with his characteristic laugh and sincere appreciation.
Cavendish remained silent for a thoughtful moment, then gently adjusted the rose in his hand and spoke with surprising sincerity:
"Well, since that Devil Fruit represents the witness of your unbreakable bond, I suppose I can allow you to keep that fire ability... for now."
He paused before asking with genuine curiosity, "One final question, though—how did the fruit actually taste?"
Without saying a word, Jerry calmly retrieved a piece of his infamous stinky tofu from his storage, wound up his arm, and hurled it directly at Cavendish's face while shouting:
"Taste this, you narcissistic peacock!"