Saint Garling looked at Shamrock, who still clearly hadn't let go of his resentment, and softened his tone.
"I know you're still angry about what happened last time. They bypassed the chain of command and issued orders directly to members of the God's Knights, completely disregarding you as Captain and me as Supreme Commander."
"But there's no hurry with this mission. You can carry it out after you've had time to cool off. After all, the Great One had no involvement in this matter."
"I see."
Shamrock's expression eased slightly.
"Killingham and Sommers still need time to recover anyway. In that case, I'll wait a while before heading out."
"That's fine. You've been working constantly lately, so take the opportunity to relax while you're still in the Holy Land."
Garling paused.
"Once you reach Elbaf, there's a good chance you'll run into…"
His hand unconsciously tightened around the hilt at his waist.
After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately chose not to draw the sword and slowly relaxed his grip.
"…Never mind. We'll leave it at that for now."
"Yes, Father."
Shamrock bowed and left.
Once the doors closed behind him, he departed the God's Knights' headquarters and began walking back toward his quarters alone.
His father's advice remained stuck in his head.
Relax?
How exactly was he supposed to do that?
Then Shamrock remembered the Uta records he had acquired a long time ago.
Unfortunately, he didn't think there was a record player in his residence, and sending someone out to purchase one sounded annoyingly slow.
After considering it for a moment, his steps naturally changed direction.
He headed toward Gunko's residence.
He could use the excuse of delivering the new mission orders and conveniently borrow one from her.
Gunko had complained more than once about him constantly taking things from her place, but for some strange reason, Shamrock found it much more satisfying to simply take something from someone else than to order a servant to buy it for him.
Maybe that was why Shanks had abandoned being a Celestial Dragon and chosen to become a pirate instead.
The thought actually put Shamrock in a slightly better mood.
When he reached Gunko's residence and knocked, however—
a tremendous series of crashes immediately erupted inside.
"Gunko?! What happened?"
"N-Nothing!"
Her tense voice came through the narrow gap as the door opened barely a crack.
"C-Captain? Why are you here this late?!"
Gunko wedged herself firmly between the door and frame, making absolutely no effort to let him inside.
Her expression was rigidly serious.
The blush on her cheeks ruined the effect.
She was very obviously hiding something.
Something she absolutely did not want Shamrock to see.
"We'll talk inside. The God's Knights have an assignment."
Shamrock stepped back slightly.
"The Holy Land may be secure, but classified orders still shouldn't be discussed where outsiders could overhear them."
Gunko immediately slammed the door shut.
Then came another frantic burst of banging, crashing, and shuffling.
A short while later, the door finally reopened.
The first thing Shamrock noticed was a cabinet.
Its doors were bulging outward so badly that whatever had been stuffed inside was clearly moments away from exploding free. Gunko's Arrow-Arrow Fruit ability was wrapped around the handles several times like makeshift chains, desperately holding everything shut.
Shamrock sighed.
He didn't even need to guess what was inside.
"So you really do still love listening to the Soul King."
"Huh?!"
Gunko stiffened.
"Captain, y-you knew?!"
"Everyone in the Knights knows."
Shamrock glanced around the room.
Then his gaze stopped on a massive cage standing in the corner.
It was made from Seastone.
And the craftsmanship was far too refined for it to be something she had acquired casually.
"This is…"
Since her secret had already been exposed, Gunko simply gave up hiding it.
Her face turned bright red as she blurted everything out in one breath.
"It's for my slave."
"One day, I'm going to personally capture the Soul King and bring him back here."
"I'll make him write songs only for me and sing only for me."
She looked toward the cage.
"After all, a bird is safest when it stays inside its cage."
The image of Uta singing onstage suddenly flashed through Shamrock's mind.
He fell silent for a moment, turning those words over in his thoughts.
"A singing bird is safest inside a cage…"
Before Shamrock could think any further, the cabinet finally reached its limit.
The handles ripped free from Gunko's arrows.
BANG!
The doors burst open.
Everything inside spilled across the floor.
Brook posters.
Brook pillows.
Brook merchandise of every imaginable kind.
And most ridiculous of all—
a life-sized skeleton model of Brook bounced twice across the floor before rolling directly to Shamrock's feet.
Both of them froze.
The atmosphere became painfully awkward.
…
"Achoo!"
Uta sneezed.
"Who's thinking about me…?"
She was leaning sleepily against the Going Merry's railing early the next morning, watching the sun creep over the horizon.
Her eyes were barely open.
She mumbled incoherently while Cain stood beside her brushing her teeth for her.
"Maybe you caught a chill when we went out last night?"
Cain used Observation Haki to keep track of what he was doing inside her mouth, gently moving the toothbrush across her teeth with careful strokes.
"Gargle, gargle…"
Uta spat out the foam and slowly lifted her head.
"But these clothes regulate temperature."
"The entire island has climate control too, and Bella was cuddled against me all night. How could I possibly have gotten cold?"
She leaned a little closer to Cain, her voice soft and sleepy.
"Though Egghead's air conditioning is way too gentle."
"I wanted to get up early and let the sea breeze wake me up, but everything here is so comfortable that it isn't refreshing at all."
"Ah. I forgot you like cool morning air."
Cain glanced at the sun rising over the ocean, then gently pinched Uta's chin and turned her face toward him.
"But the sun's already up, so let's finish brushing properly."
"We only did half your teeth."
"Uh… mm… okay… ah~♡"
Uta suddenly became completely awake.
She looked at Cain standing directly in front of her with a cup in one hand and toothbrush in the other.
They were very close.
Her face immediately turned red.
Still, she obediently opened her mouth.
Cain hesitated.
Usually, he stood beside her and relied mostly on Observation Haki while brushing.
Facing her directly like this, however, meant he could clearly see her tongue and the inside of her mouth.
For some reason, that made him unexpectedly self-conscious.
"…A-All right. Here I go."
He slowly brought the toothbrush forward.
The bristles touched the teeth on her left side first, moving in small, gentle circles across the surface before gradually working toward the center.
Uta's tongue instinctively kept drifting toward the toothbrush, occasionally getting in the way and forcing Cain to adjust his movements.
Every now and then, the tip lightly brushed against his fingers.
Toothpaste foam gathered between the bristles and her teeth, becoming finer and thicker as Cain continued.
His fingertips accidentally touched her lips.
Uta didn't pull away.
Her breathing merely paused for a moment.
Their eyes met.
Neither looked away.
Uta slowly raised one hand and rested it against the back of Cain's neck, her fingertips trailing slightly downward.
The unexpected touch nearly made Cain lose track of what he was doing.
He hurriedly finished the remaining teeth.
Once enough foam had accumulated, he withdrew the toothbrush, leaving a tiny trace of white at the corner of Uta's mouth.
Uta turned aside, spat the foam overboard, and rinsed with the water Cain had prepared.
When she looked back at him—
a small milky-white droplet still clung to the corner of her lips.
Neither of them spoke.
They simply looked at each other.
The tension that had been quietly building all morning finally snapped.
Cain and Uta leaned toward each other at almost the exact same moment and kissed.
By the time they eventually separated, neither knew exactly how long it had been.
Cain lifted one hand and gently wiped away the remaining droplet from the corner of Uta's mouth with his thumb.
His fingers lingered against her cheek for a moment longer before falling away.
Then something caught his attention below.
Cain glanced toward the base of the Going Merry.
And froze.
Vegapunk and Kuma had apparently been standing down there for some time.
Kuma's enormous hand was firmly covering Bonney's eyes.
The two men silently stared up at Cain and Uta by the railing.
Nobody said anything.
Then Vegapunk cleared his throat.
"Cough."
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