Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"That's enough out of you idiots! Can't you see there's a child right here?!"
Cain's furious roar exploded across the island as he spun around and punched every one of the men who had been egging Uta on.
Not even Shanks escaped.
A huge lump immediately swelled on the Emperor's forehead.
Cain then snatched the packets of powder from Uta's hands and glanced at the battered instruction sheet.
His pupils contracted.
Only the top half of the instructions remained. Someone had torn off the entire bottom section, leaving nothing except the description of the drug's effects.
Cain's temper instantly shot through the roof.
"And you, Hongo!"
"You're a doctor! Keeping ordinary medicine around is one thing. Hell, I'll even grudgingly accept poison!"
"But what the hell are you doing carrying aphrodisiacs?!"
"Who exactly were you planning to use this stuff on?"
"What pirate on this entire damn sea would ever require something like this?!"
A tiny mutter drifted over.
"…It wasn't originally made for people. It was for Sea Kings…"
Hongo had lowered his head, and his voice became quieter with every word.
He had originally prepared the powder for dealing with gigantic Sea Kings.
The only reason he'd handed Uta several packets was because, looking at Cain's monstrous physique, he figured one packet might not be enough.
Better to give her a few extra.
Surely they would come in handy eventually.
Hongo had barely finished before he looked up—
and found Cain's face inches from his own.
The air froze.
Cain's eyes were wide and locked onto him.
Dark shadows had gathered around them, with what almost looked like a red glint flickering inside.
His expression shifted ominously as a crushing pressure suddenly descended around him.
He looked at Hongo like he was already dead.
"…What the fuck did you just say?"
"N-Nothing!"
"Really! I didn't say anything!"
"You bastard, do you think I'm deaf?!"
Cain grabbed him by the collar, veins bulging at his temple.
"Even if I could survive that dosage, what about Uta?!"
"GO TO HELL AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
His fists came down like a rainstorm.
Hongo's screams echoed across the island as Cain thoroughly beat the living hell out of him.
During the punishment, the missing lower half of the instructions finally fell out of Hongo's clothes.
Everyone looked at the page.
Then at Hongo getting pummeled.
Nobody intervened.
That stuff had been formulated for Sea Kings.
Using it on Cain—
even if the guy was absurdly durable—
was still completely insane.
Hongo had earned this beating.
…
"So, Uta…"
Shanks looked toward Uta, who was currently holding Bella in her arms.
"You're actually planning to fight all the challengers head-on?"
His tone carried a note of warning.
"You and Cain—or rather, En-chan—are famous across the entire world now."
"The people who show up for something like this probably won't be pushovers."
The moment Cain heard that, he stopped choking Hongo and looked over.
"'Won't be pushovers'?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"That doesn't sound very convincing coming from you, Shanks."
"What, are you saying any of them are stronger than me?"
"Hahaha! Of course not."
Shanks scratched his head with an awkward laugh.
"I was just saying."
Then his expression became slightly more serious as he looked back toward Uta.
"But seriously, Uta."
"If you're trying to hide who you really are and can only channel your Devil Fruit through swordsmanship, a chaotic tournament like that could put you at a disadvantage."
"Especially your speed and perception."
"If those don't improve, fights like this are only going to get harder."
Uta smiled calmly.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"If I wasn't completely prepared, why would I insist on entering?"
"Besides, Cain already helped me come up with solutions."
A sly light appeared in her eyes.
"Forget everyone else."
"I already have at least ten different ways to take you guys down."
"So don't underestimate me, Shanks."
"…All right."
Shanks scratched his head awkwardly.
He had actually been hoping to contribute something as her father.
Maybe give her a few swordsmanship pointers.
Apparently that idea had died before he even got the chance to offer.
Then Shanks suddenly smacked his forehead.
"Oh, right!"
"I almost forgot something important."
He turned toward Uta.
"I came here straight from Windmill Village this time."
"Everything's fine with Makino."
"And if I'm counting correctly, it's already been two months since she gave birth."
Shanks' grin widened, becoming unusually warm.
"So, Uta, you have a—!"
…
"So what the hell am I supposed to call 'him' now?!"
"Little brother or little sister?!"
On Sphinx Island in the New World, Ace was clutching a newspaper and shouting in complete confusion.
"That bastard Cain!"
"He was doing perfectly fine as my little brother, so why did he suddenly run off to Totto Land and become somebody's little sister?!"
"And now he's getting married?!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Ace had actually learned about Makino's wedding from Cain after the Hachinosu incident.
At the same time, Cain had also told him the truth—that En-chan was really Cain himself.
But now, looking at the photograph printed in the newspaper—
the fake En-chan created through Brûlée's ability—
Ace couldn't spot a single difference.
He genuinely thought it was Cain.
His little brother had become his little sister.
And now his little sister was apparently about to get married.
How the hell was he supposed to process that?
Ace quickly turned toward Marco.
"Marco, what do you think?"
"What do I think?"
Marco rolled his eyes.
"I think about it sitting down."
"I think about it lying down."
"At this point, nothing your family does surprises me anymore."
He sighed.
"But this situation actually is a little troublesome."
Marco wasn't exaggerating.
The moment he saw the newspaper, he had tried contacting Cain.
Unfortunately, Cain had just finished clashing with Shanks at the time.
The residual Conqueror's Haki from their fight had already knocked the nearby Den Den Mushi unconscious.
So every attempt to contact him went unanswered.
Marco sighed and looked down at the newspaper again, his expression becoming more serious.
"Something probably happened on Cain's side."
"We both know how strong that guy is, but looking at this situation…"
"It seems like somebody managed to catch him in some kind of scheme."
"So I think you should go."
Ace's eyes widened.
"Huh?!"
"You seriously want me to go marry Cain?!"
"He's my little brother!"
"And he already has someone!"
"Idiot!"
Marco rolled his eyes again.
"Who told you to actually marry him?"
"I'm telling you to go investigate."
"Confirm what's happening with Cain."
"His Den Den Mushi isn't answering, then suddenly he's turned into a woman and is apparently getting married."
Marco stared at him.
"How does any part of that look normal?"
His tone softened a little.
"And while you're there, you can use the tournament to properly test how strong you've become."
"You've improved a lot, but lately all you've done is spar."
"You haven't had many serious fights."
"Big Mom just handed you a perfect arena to show what you can do and see where you really stand."
"Understand?"
"…Yeah."
Ace nodded.
"I think I get it."
Then he looked toward the distance.
Smoker, Shinobu, Tashigi, and Bogard were currently doing everything in their power to restrain Garp.
Garp had learned the truth about En-chan at the same time as Ace after the Hachinosu incident.
And right now, his face was bright red, veins bulging all over his forehead as he roared at the top of his lungs.
"STOP HOLDING ME!"
"LET GO!"
"CAIN, DON'T BE AFRAID!"
"GRANDPA'S COMING TO SAVE YOU!"
"YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT GET MARRIED!!!"
Tashigi had both arms wrapped around one of Garp's arms and was practically being dragged across the ground.
Shinobu had thrown herself around one of his legs.
Smoker was behind the old man with an arm hooked around his neck.
Even with all of them working together, they were barely managing to restrain the rampaging beast.
"We received direct orders from above!"
"You are explicitly forbidden from getting involved in this!"
"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!!!"
Ace watched the chaos for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
"Looks like the old man…"
"really cares about this too."