Seeing how forward Uta was being, Cain immediately shook his head.
Flame clouds appeared beneath her at once, steadily supporting her body as he slowly carried her down the mountain.
This was completely different from when Uta had fallen asleep earlier.
Sure enough, for all these years, her heart and mind had been entirely focused on music—she had not grown at all in that area.
"Hmph. Stingy!"
Lying on the soft flame clouds, Uta pouted and shot Cain a mildly resentful look.
"It's not that! That's because… because…"
Cain tried to act calm as he argued back, but inwardly he was panicking so hard he wanted to drag Shanks over from the New World on the spot and interrogate him properly!
'Hey, hey! Teach Uta some common sense already, you idiot!'
He was just imagining kicking Shanks from behind when Uta's voice interrupted him.
"Cain, lets land somewhere. Actually, there's something I wanted to ask from the moment we met again—how did you even find this place?"
Uta let go of the earlier matter and instead voiced the question she had been keeping inside for a long time.
"That? It was simple. Didn't you say it yourself when you left? The Island of Music—if you really wanted to find it, you could. I was only trying my luck at first…"
"Elegia… Shanks… and the 'Island of Music'… You saw that newspaper too, didn't you?"
Uta's voice suddenly sank, laced with bitter self-mockery.
"I'm such an idiot. I only just figured it out now. The fact that you could find me and appear here—isn't that the clearest proof of all?"
Cain had not expected her to bring up Shanks so suddenly, and he panicked at once.
His mind spun rapidly, and in the end he could only answer helplessly.
"I did get hold of the newspaper about Elegia back then. I even went to Shanks over and over again! But he refused to tell me anything. He even said I wasn't like I used to be anymore—that I was more like some impulsive pirate who only charged ahead… Hmph. At the time, I almost wanted to go get Grandpa and have him chase off that irresponsible bastard."
"To keep Luffy from worrying, the people in the village and I kept the news tightly under wraps. Newspapers and anything like that—we never let him see even a little. So even now, he still doesn't know what was written in that report."
"Oh, right—you know why Shanks is scared of my grandpa? Because he used to be a crew member on Roger's ship! Grandpa used to chase Roger around and beat them all over the place, turning their lives upside down. Shanks definitely got traumatized by it… And another thing, let me tell you—"
"But I was abandoned by Shanks!"
Uta's voice dropped again, heavy with the loneliness she could not hide.
"Compared to treasure, I guess I was just a burden."
At once, Cain crouched down and gently shook his head, speaking in a soft, comforting tone:
"Do you really think Shanks is the kind of person who would care about some little bit of treasure? He's someone who almost made it all the way alongside Roger, the previous Pirate King, and could have witnessed the legendary great treasure, the One Piece, with his own eyes. And besides…"
His tone shifted.
He gestured animatedly, even threw a couple of mock punches, sounding more and more convinced as he spoke.
"It doesn't matter if Shanks still won't tell us what happened back then. Once I'm strong enough, we'll just catch him and interrogate him properly. How about that?"
Uta could not help laughing at that, but when she saw the determination in his eyes, she nodded seriously and held out her little finger.
"Mm. I believe you. Someday, we'll defeat Shanks together, tie him up, and interrogate him properly. It's a promise, okay? No cheating."
Hearing that, Cain finally relaxed.
Good—at least she had not gone down some dark path.
He immediately hooked his little finger tightly around Uta's.
"A liar has to swallow a thousand needles!"
Once Uta was able to walk again, Cain set her down.
But just as they were about to reach the castle, the two of them saw Gordon coming back carrying something that looked like a hardened shell.
It was the visual Den Den Mushi Uta had wanted to pick up yesterday before Cain interrupted her.
Cain recognized it instantly.
That thing had been what spread Uta's music across the world and let her hear the world's response—ultimately driving her, in despair over the world, to want to drag everyone into her musical world.
'But it should be fine now, right?'
Cain turned and looked at the familiar smile on Uta's face, and his heart settled.
He no longer had to worry about Uta being led astray.
After all, they had just made that promise.
In this world, promises had always been as heavy as mountains.
Whether it was Joy Boy, Luffy—or now him and Uta, neither of them treated the idea of "catching Shanks and interrogating him" as a joke.
Besides, the score had already been destroyed, meaning the Demon King of Song, Tot Musica, would never appear again.
And most importantly, there were the wake-shrooms…
The moment he thought of the wake-shrooms, Cain hurriedly told Uta he had forgotten something, then rushed off toward the mountaintop.
He had to destroy every last wake-shroom on this island!
"DON'T WAIT FOR ME, UTA! IT'S ALREADY LATE, AND THERE'LL BE WILD ANIMALS IN THE MOUNTAINS AT NIGHT—IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!"
He shouted that as he carefully searched through the woods.
In truth, he could have destroyed the entire mountain with a single blast of dragon breath.
But that would only bring further devastation to an island already ruined enough, and Cain rejected the idea immediately.
Observation Haki could sense danger, yes. And even when developed further, it could mostly only trace enemies.
Trying to locate a few tiny mushrooms in a vast forest with it was practically delusional.
Even so, Cain refused to give up.
He pushed his Observation Haki to the limit and searched every corner inch by inch.
…
Only late into the night did Cain instinctively start heading back to the room to rest—only for his steps to stop in front of Uta's door.
Right.
Last night, he had fallen asleep right beside her.
"You're still not asleep?"
Inside the room, Uta was curled up on the bed.
The moment she saw him return, the tension in her shoulders melted away, and most of the unease in her eyes disappeared.
"I thought…"
Before she could finish, Cain lightly flicked her forehead with two bent fingers.
"Stop thinking like that, okay?"
"Mm."
Uta nodded obediently.
Cain was just about to turn and make himself a bed on the floor again when Uta suddenly caught hold of his wrist.
Before he could react, she had already wrapped an arm around his neck and tugged lightly backward—
Caught off guard, Cain toppled straight into her arms, and the two of them fell back onto the bed together.
"Uta, you…"
"Tonight, I want to sleep with you."
Her voice held a dependence that was almost impossible to detect, but it rang clearly by his ear.
"I… I-I…"
Cain was instantly speechless, his face burning hot.
…
The room gradually fell silent.
Uta's breathing slowly became even and steady—she had clearly fallen asleep.
But Cain was wide awake, staring fixedly at the painting hanging across from him—the one he himself had painted all those years ago.
Even though most of it had been covered up by sheets of paper Uta had placed over it, Cain's resentful glare seemed almost capable of piercing straight through them and seeing Shanks laughing in the hidden parts of the painting.
'One Shanks. Two Shanks. Three Shanks. Four Shanks…'
'Shanks, I really hate you!'
Cain wailed inwardly.
If Uta had understood all those worldly matters and still asked this of her own accord, then of course he would have been willing to respond.
After all, he did harbor that sort of feeling for her too…
But that was not the situation at all.
Right now, Uta simply did not understand the boundaries involved.
After agonizing for a long while, Cain finally turned his back to her and lay still.
But after only a moment of quiet, Uta reached an arm from behind him, threading it under his arm and hugging him tightly against her.
That made sleep even more impossible.
At this point, Cain's motivation for training had become a desire to one day take fierce revenge on Shanks.
…
"AH-CHOO!"
Far away on the seas of the New World, Shanks suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.
Even though it was already late at night, the Red-Haired Pirates' ship was still sailing on, the warmth of a recent banquet still lingering across the deck.
Clearly, they were on their way to their next celebration.
Before long, the rookie Rockstar hurried over, his face tense.
Leaning in close to Shanks, he lowered his voice and reported everything that had happened on Elegia.
Before this, they had only just received news that Ace had gone to hunt down Blackbeard for revenge.
Shanks had been considering contacting Whitebeard and trying to persuade him to call Ace back.
He understood Blackbeard's danger far too well. Ace, as he was now, simply could not handle him.
After hearing Rockstar's report, Shanks paused for a moment, then let out a helpless little laugh and turned to call to the crew.
"Looks like I'll have to go myself this time. Sorry, everyone—the banquet will have to wait a bit."
As he spoke, he took out a stack of wanted posters from inside his coat.
His fingers skimmed over the posters of the Straw Hat crew, and in the end, from beside Luffy's wanted poster, he pulled out the one bearing Cain's image.
His fingertips lightly rubbed over the paper, and a mix of pride and complexity flickered in his eyes as he murmured under his breath.
"Cain, you've grown too. You're starting to act more and more like a real pirate. But… if you think you can just take Uta away from me, it won't be that easy!"
...
A few days later.
Uta's clear, graceful singing echoed through the castle as she practiced with full concentration.
Nearby, Gordon was busy adjusting the visual Den Den Mushi, trying to perfect the equipment that would help spread her music farther.
Cain sat not far away listening attentively, while beside him a recording Den Den Mushi ran continuously, capturing every melody and every line she sang in careful detail.
Suddenly, a sharp red pressure, like a bolt of lightning from the distant shore, pierced the air and wrapped around Cain in an instant.
His heart tightened, and almost instinctively he turned to look toward the coast.
He could not see anyone there—but he already knew who it was
"UTA, I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"
Not wanting her to worry for nothing, Cain immediately blurted out an excuse and hurried out of the castle.
After grabbing his weapon, he locked his gaze on the distant horizon, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Shanks—why are you coming now?"
Before the last word had even fully fallen, Cain broke into a run, then leapt sharply into the air.
Using Geppo, he kicked upward until he reached the sky, and flame clouds formed under his feet, carrying him rapidly forward.
At last, on the endless sea, he spotted a familiar figure seated alone in a tiny boat.
"SHANKS—!!!"
All the emotions Cain had been bottling up exploded at once.
Who cared what condition the man was in right now?
Cain leapt forward and brought down a blow with all his strength, aiming his staff straight at Shanks's head.
Shanks, though faced with that ferocious attack, remained utterly calm.
He casually drew his sword and lightly blocked it, effortlessly dispersing the full weight of the strike.
Towering waves burst up from the sea, and even the little boat rocked under the force of the impact.
"Long time no see, Cain," Shanks said with a smile, as relaxed as ever.
"DON'T YOU 'LONG TIME NO SEE' ME!"
Cain's eyes were blazing, and his rage only grew hotter.
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A FATHER, THEN DO YOUR DAMN JOB—PROTECT HER PROPERLY, TEACH HER PROPERLY, YOU BASTARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THESE PAST FEW NIGHTS HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR ME?!"
Holding hands was one thing.
Ordinary hugging, he could reluctantly understand.
But what he had been through these last few nights had been a whole different level of torment!
All the anger that had built up inside him finally exploded.
Cain's Conqueror's Haki surged out in full, sweeping toward Shanks with a world-shaking force.