Although Shanks found Cain's technique rather interesting, he was also a little puzzled.
Why had Cain attacked him the moment he arrived?
Just then, Cain put away his weapon and stepped closer, explaining in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"She's watching this broadcast too. What you did back then hurt her deeply, so naturally, I can't exactly greet you with a friendly smile."
Uta was still watching.
She still held resentment toward Shanks in her heart.
If Cain had gone up to him now with a grin on his face, it would only have hurt Uta even more.
"I see. The whole world is watching right now, after all."
Shanks immediately understood.
He turned toward Buggy, who was still standing there after Golden Lion let him go, and the Den Den Mushi in Buggy's hand.
Then he waved.
If it had been anyone else, Buggy might have handed it over.
But this was Shanks. Why would he obediently give it to him?
Seeing this, Cain flashed forward.
Before Buggy could react, Cain snatched the Den Den Mushi away and aimed the camera steadily at Shanks.
Shanks composed himself, his gaze through the lens seeming to fall on that person far away.
Then he spoke slowly.
"Then I suppose I should make my stance clear too. If you're watching, please listen to what I'm about to say."
"For everything that happened back then… I'm sorry. There were reasons behind what happened, and I had no choice but to leave. But even so, we have always been family."
"Can you forgive me?"
...
At that moment, on the Sabaody Archipelago, Uta was watching the live broadcast together with Shakky.
Hearing Shanks' words and remembering the way Cain had attacked him without hesitation just now, Uta was visibly moved.
But what moved her was not Shanks' apology.
It was the sight of Cain standing up for her without the slightest hesitation!
She had not forgiven Shanks by the way.
The barrier buried deep in her heart had never disappeared so easily.
The reporters, who had already been shaken by Whitebeard's final words, were once again thrown into chaos.
Who exactly was the "family" Emperor Shanks had spoken of?
Countless guesses and discussions intertwined, and the plaza erupted into noise.
…
On the other side of the battlefield, Blackbeard's expression grew darker and darker.
He no longer lingered for even a moment.
He hurriedly signaled for Sanjuan Wolf to take him away, and at the same time, to pick up the crewmates lying collapsed near the edge of the island, too weak to even stand.
The group hastily retreated toward the edge of the battlefield.
There was no longer any hope of taking Whitebeard's body back, and the time limit for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's rebirth was almost here.
The fruit powerful enough to shake the world would soon be reborn somewhere on the sea.
They had to leave now and race against everyone else to find where it would appear.
…
At the same time, in Pangaea Castle, within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise—
After hearing Shanks' words, the Five Elders clearly misunderstood him completely, assuming that his apology had been directed at them.
"WHAT DOES THAT BRAT FROM THE FIGARLAND FAMILY MEAN BY THIS? DOES HE REALLY THINK THE THINGS HE'S DONE CAN BE FORGIVEN SO EASILY? IS HE TRYING TO RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND?"
Saint Nusjuro shouted angrily.
Saint Ju Peter spoke in a heavy voice.
"Regarding this matter, it would be best to ask Garling and Shamrock for their opinions. If necessary, we may have to report this to Lord Imu."
"But he never actually stated whether he intends to return to the Holy Land or not. Could we be overthinking this? There is no need to disturb Lord Imu over something like this."
Saint Mars refuted him, then suddenly changed the subject and turned a sharp glare on Saint Saturn.
"More importantly, the urgent matter now is that brat who can make Red-Hair lower his head and apologize—and that dragon. What exactly is going on there? Is it one of Vegapunk's experiments? Why has it appeared on a pirate, Saturn?!"
"And Marshall D. Teach!"
Saint Warcury frowned deeply and said in a low voice,
"If Sengoku and the others are gathered around Red-Hair negotiating, then where did Blackbeard go? A figure that important—why is no one watching him?"
Just then, a CP0 Den Den Mushi finally delivered a report, saying that they had been unable to establish contact with Marine Headquarters.
Saint Mars slammed his hand on the table, his sharp gaze fixed on Saint Saturn.
"Saturn! Marine Headquarters' Den Den Mushi cannot be reached! You previously confirmed with Vegapunk that there would be no issues with communication. What is this situation supposed to mean? A Den Den Mushi malfunction? As the Warrior God of Science and Defense, you are responsible for this field. If such an oversight has occurred, you must give us an explanation!"
Saint Saturn frowned, his face full of helplessness.
In his heart, however, he was already cursing.
'Damn my luck! Why is every single problem being dumped on me? Even if the Den Den Mushi are reliable, someone still has to answer them!'
'Marine Headquarters is a complete mess right now. A great pirate on Golden Lion's level is causing trouble, the entire island has been lifted into the sky, and the soldiers are either fighting or evacuating people. Now Red-Hair, that Figarland brat, has shown up to make things even more chaotic. Who the hell still has time to sit beside a Den Den Mushi?!'
Although Saturn had already shifted the blame a thousand times in his mind, he could not say any of that out loud.
He suppressed the frustration in his heart, straightened his back, and spoke with forced authority.
"You should all understand that the entire island of Marineford was lifted away from the sea by Shiki. The island's inherent magnetic field has already been disrupted. Add in the thunderstorm that erupted earlier, and it is only natural for signal transmission to be obstructed."
"Then why can the visual Den Den Mushi still send images?"
Saint Nusjuro immediately pressed, the suspicion in his tone undisguised.
"Ahem."
Saint Saturn coughed twice, his mind racing as he desperately thought of a way to patch up the lie.
"The live-broadcast Den Den Mushi at Marineford transmit signals outward in one direction. Although there may be intermittent lag and image quality loss, sending images outward is not a major problem. But receiving signals in reverse is much more vulnerable to interference from the disrupted magnetic field, which can cause communication failure."
He paused, then swept his gaze over the other four Elders, whose expressions varied.
He continued stubbornly.
"As for that dragon… all of you need not be overly wary. Despite its imposing appearance, it is merely one of Vegapunk's failed creations. It contains serious flaws and defects. Think of the Jailer Beasts in Impel Down. At most, that dragon is only on that level. It cannot cause any great waves."
"Is that truly the case?"
The other four Five Elders exchanged glances, their faces full of doubt.
Saint Saturn quickly nodded hard, his tone firm and decisive.
"Absolutely."
Seeing Saturn confirm it so confidently, the other four Elders still had some doubts, but for the moment, they had no grounds to refute him, so they stopped pressing the matter.
Only Saint Saturn himself knew the truth.
That solemn, dignified expression on his face, the look that suggested everything was under control, was nothing but a forced mask.
Inside, his mind was already a complete mess.
The voice in his heart was practically about to burst from his throat as it screamed wildly.
'I only knew Vegapunk once created a replica of the Azure Dragon Fruit! Who could have guessed it would be this successful? It was clearly reported as a failure!'
'I said it was only on the level of the Jailer Beasts, and you actually believed me? I made that up on the spot! I don't know how complete that fruit's replication actually is either!'
'Sure enough, none of you understand cutting-edge science at all, so you just let me bluff my way through it!'
'No. I have to send someone to investigate that dragon's background as quickly as possible.'
'Why do I have to take the blame for all of these disasters?'
'Vegapunk… damn it! And this just had to be a time when I still can't touch that bastard! Aaaargh!'
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