Time flew by, and before long, the third and final day of the marriage tournament had arrived.
Big Mom finally made her grand appearance in person.
The moment she launched into one of her trademark musical performances, the atmosphere across the venue surged straight to its peak. After all, today was the day she had been eagerly awaiting—
the day her long-awaited son would finally be "born."
Naturally, if she intended to unveil something this important to the entire world, she still had to maintain the proper spectacle on the surface.
Unfortunately, just as she was preparing to contact Caesar and have Thor transported to the venue, another piece of news reached her.
Katakuri had entered the tournament without permission.
"PEROSPERO! WHY IS KATAKURI IN THE ARENA?!"
"M-Mama?! I-I thought you already knew…"
Even Perospero nearly jumped out of his skin.
He understood the problem better than anyone. No matter how Katakuri's match ended, his participation could only embarrass Totto Land.
If he lost, then one of the Charlotte family's strongest fighters would have been defeated in front of the entire world.
But even if he won, he would still have to face the Ancient Giant afterward.
And since the entire point of Thor's debut was to demonstrate just how overwhelmingly powerful Big Mom's new "son" was, Katakuri would ultimately be expected to lose that fight on purpose.
In other words, no matter how Perospero looked at it, Katakuri had put himself into a position where Totto Land could only lose face.
No wonder he had acted so strangely whenever the tournament came up.
The bastard had never told Mama anything!
Fortunately, Perospero's mind worked quickly under pressure. He hurried closer and began explaining.
"Mama, Katakuri is already injured, isn't he? Even if he loses, we can simply tell the outside world that he wasn't fighting at full strength. That excuse will be easy enough to sell."
"And besides, the most important thing today is Thor's announcement! Whatever happens with Katakuri barely matters compared with that."
He forced a smile and continued,
"And that whole title of 'the Charlotte family's greatest masterpiece'… Katakuri himself stopped caring about it a long time ago, didn't he?"
"Mamamama…"
Big Mom stared down at him so fiercely that sweat immediately poured down Perospero's back.
"You certainly know how to talk your way out of things, Perospero."
Then, unexpectedly, her expression softened.
"…Still, you do have a point."
Following her gaze, Perospero realized that several attendants were carefully carrying in the photograph of Mother Carmel.
The instant Big Mom saw it, every trace of anger disappeared from her face.
"Mother…"
Her eyes softened almost dreamily.
"Today… I finally…"
Perospero quietly exhaled in relief.
The moment Big Mom's attention shifted away from him, he slipped out of the main venue and hurried toward the contestant area.
"Katakuri! Is your arm all right?!"
Katakuri's previously broken arm was still wrapped in thick layers of bandages.
Without answering immediately, he swung it once. The entire limb transformed into mochi, deforming around the damaged areas before his hand clenched firmly into a fist.
Even with injuries this severe, turning his body into mochi greatly reduced the strain and pain.
"I'm fine."
Katakuri's voice remained steady.
"I'll win."
"No, no, that's not the point!"
Perospero immediately began talking faster.
"I'm saying you don't have to obsess over winning! Just don't let things get too ugly. Nobody's demanding that you absolutely take the victory. Ah, damn it, that came out wrong too…"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Anyway, fight seriously! Give it everything you have!"
Then he pointed sharply at Katakuri.
"But don't go too far. You understand me? Don't seriously hurt anyone!"
Katakuri stared at him, visibly confused by the contradictory stream of instructions.
Still, he gave a quiet answer.
"I'll be careful."
There was a reason Katakuri was so determined to fight.
He had personally participated in Caesar's capture.
He had seen the deformed experimental subjects that lost control, rampaging without reason.
He had personally brought the Energy Steroids from Fish-Man Island.
And the combat memories scheduled to be implanted into Thor had also been extracted from him.
What Big Mom wanted the Ancient Giant to inherit was Katakuri's own battle experience.
Katakuri had no idea how powerful Thor would become once everything was complete.
But even without future sight, an Ancient Giant carrying his accumulated combat knowledge would already be extremely dangerous.
Then there was the Sala-Sala Fruit, Model: Axolotl.
With regenerative capabilities powerful enough to recover rapidly even from serious wounds…
if Thor suddenly went berserk the way Caesar's previous experiments had, the person in the greatest danger wouldn't be Katakuri.
It would be Uta.
That was why Katakuri had decided to stop her here.
Even if doing so meant deliberately losing to Thor afterward.
Even if it meant personally throwing away the legend that Charlotte Katakuri had never fallen on his back.
He would still do it.
That resolve was also what had driven the hunger for greater strength that had consumed him since yesterday.
…
Meanwhile, inside the VIP lounge—
"Mmm…♡ Mwah."
Cain and Uta were locked in a kiss, neither willing to give the other even an inch. For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was actually taking the lead.
The kiss became more intense, almost competitive, as though the two of them were fighting over control.
Then Uta suddenly reached toward Cain's chest.
Cain immediately surrendered.
His whole face scrunched up as he pulled back, breathing slightly harder and glaring at her with an aggrieved expression.
"C-Can you stop touching my sensitive spots without warning?!"
Uta calmly withdrew her hands and sighed.
"Oh?"
Her eyes narrowed with amusement.
"I thought we were completely out of the hormone medicine."
"Did you secretly hide another dose somewhere?"
She leaned closer.
"Planning to turn into a girl again and let me leave another little mark on you?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Cain shook his head so vigorously that it was almost impressive.
Today's event was being watched by the entire world.
For a long time, the outside world had only known Cain as the bodyguard who remained constantly at Uta's side.
That arrangement couldn't continue forever.
And now, after waiting so long, he had finally been handed the perfect opportunity.
Thinking about it, Cain unconsciously touched his chest.
Uta hadn't actually brushed against some especially sensitive spot just now.
What she had touched—
was the object hidden beneath his clothes.
Cain quickly came back to himself and adjusted his collar.
Then he looked at Uta and smiled.
"Anyway, today's stage is going to be bigger than anything we've ever had before, and I've, uh…"
He froze.
"…Yeah."
Cain's mind went completely blank.
He had absolutely no idea how to continue that sentence.
And that transition had been painfully obvious.
Uta gave him a puzzled look, though she didn't seem to suspect anything. Instead, she broke into her usual bright smile.
"Of course! The whole world is watching."
"Even if I'm not technically the main attraction today, having this many people focused on us still makes me happy."
She looked at Cain.
"I'm sure you've prepared yourself too, right?"
Cain blinked.
"Prepared myself for what?"
Uta smiled.
"For becoming completely mine."
She straightened her collar, then walked toward the door with light, energetic steps.
Just before leaving, she glanced back over her shoulder.
"Today is definitely going to be different."
Her smile became just a little mysterious.
"So whatever happens…"
"don't let me surprise you too much."
Uta waved cheerfully and pushed open the door.
Cain watched as the Charlotte family members waiting outside immediately gathered around her and escorted her toward the arena.
Only after she disappeared from sight did he quietly exhale.
The smile, however, never left his face.
Cain turned away and felt the small, solid object hidden against his chest once more.
He called Bella over and had her block the room from view before carefully taking it out.
A small box rested in his palm.
Cain opened the lid.
Inside lay a ring.
Its centerpiece was a silver-white musical-note motif, set with red, white, and pink diamonds that shimmered softly beneath the light.