The weather around them suddenly churned, sinking into a heavy gloom.
A strange purple-black aura completely wrapped around Uta, and her body slowly floated upward, carried into the air above the portion of Uta World that had been torn into reality.
An invisible repulsive force erupted violently, trying to shove Cain back with ruthless force. Y
et when that repulsion struck Cain's body, it had no effect at all and failed to push him even half a step away.
"Uta!"
Before Cain's voice had even faded, a sharp slash tore through the air.
Swish!
The cold blade wind directly severed Killingham's arm, barely slowing the speed at which Uta World was being forcibly dragged into reality.
Rayleigh's voice followed.
"Remember what I taught you! Use Haki to resist it!"
Cain abruptly turned his head and saw that Rayleigh had already removed the Thorns of Love from Jinbe and the others.
At this moment, Rayleigh was charging toward the Nightmare Den, attacking the giant hand of Tot Musica head-on.
On the other side, Law instantly sensed the crisis here and rushed over at high speed while activating the Op-Op Fruit.
A pale blue ROOM spread out, transferring Luffy and the others one by one to safety.
Only Cain, who stood at the very center facing Uta and the repulsive force directly, was left inside the churning gloom.
That was because Law had clearly seen the resolve in Cain's eyes.
This was no longer something that could be solved with a simple personality swap.
It was a bond between Cain and Uta, one that no outsider could interfere with.
"Hey, Torao! Take me over there! I have to help Cain!"
Luffy struggled, trying to rush out, only for Sabo to stop him.
"Wait, Luffy. We still don't even know what the enemy's goal is, and with Uta's condition like that, we can't cause trouble for Cain. Right now, the only thing we can do is clear away the obstacles for him."
As Sabo spoke, he looked toward the fake Roger Pirates on the other side, who had already rushed over again.
"At a time like this, just believe in his strength, Cain's little brother."
Katakuri stood with his arms folded, preparing for battle once more.
Law also looked over there with a furrowed brow and muttered quietly,
"You have to solve this, Cain-ya."
…
Once Cain sensed that Luffy and the others had all been protected and moved to safety, he finally let go of every remaining concern.
He raised his eyes toward Uta, who was suspended in midair.
His gaze was solemn, but there was not the slightest trace of retreat in it. His steps were steady as he walked forward, one step at a time.
Inside the Uta World that was continuously being dragged into reality, countless hideous monster soldiers poured out like a tide and charged toward him.
They crashed heavily against Cain's body, and several of them even clung tightly to his limbs, desperately trying to stop him from getting close to Uta.
Boom!
Asura Path!
Layer after layer of invisible armor woven from thunder and flame gradually wrapped around Cain's body.
It was not as enormous as before, merely covering the surface of his body tightly, constantly blasting apart the monster soldiers that approached him.
"How could I possibly back down in a situation like this?!"
He swept his staff horizontally, knocking back the enemies surging toward him like a tide. Yet the things pouring out kept rushing back endlessly.
Cain's speed grew faster and faster as he charged forward. Any enemy that came straight at him was sent flying with a single strike.
He stepped on their bodies and leaped higher and higher into the air, closing in on Uta.
A repulsive force suddenly struck him, but Cain forcefully pushed it back with Haki.
He broke through the purple-black mist swirling around Uta and arrived before her. Returning to his human form, he spoke.
"Uta, I'm sorry. I let you fall into danger again. I'll save you right now."
If this had been an ordinary enemy, Cain would definitely have used Conqueror's Haki coating to knock them awake.
But the person in front of him was Uta.
Naturally, he could not do that.
Conqueror's Haki slowly gathered and coiled around his body.
Then Cain moved.
He tightly embraced Uta before him and lowered his head, giving her the most sincere kiss.
A Domineering Kiss!
As that kiss fell, the purple-black aura dispersed along with it.
Everyone who saw the scene froze for a moment.
Koala covered her cheeks, feeling incredibly embarrassed, while Hancock kicked away the enemy in front of her and turned her gaze toward Luffy, as if she had thought of something.
Even Rayleigh, who was fighting in the distance, could not help sighing.
Youth really was wonderful!
Luffy, however, tilted his head while dodging an attack and asked blankly,
"Why is Cain biting Uta's mouth?"
"Ahem, Luffy, you're still young. You'll understand when you grow up."
Sabo coughed awkwardly and hurriedly explained from the side.
Hearing that, Luffy suddenly remembered that Cain had once said the same thing to him.
His brows furrowed even harder, and his confusion only deepened.
Cain also clearly noticed the gazes watching from the other side, and his cheeks burned.
Although this method was somewhat outrageous, it really was the best way to use Haki to dispel the abnormality on Uta without hurting her.
After all, even if Haki could cancel Devil Fruit abilities, Tot Musica's summoning still depended on Uta's singing.
In the end, there needed to be something that could gently block Uta's mouth and temporarily stop her song.
As Rayleigh's Haki crashed down, crushing the Nightmare Den completely into dust, Cain's Conqueror's Haki also steadily dispersed all the abnormalities surrounding Uta.
This directly caused Tot Musica to let out a painful howl.
At this moment, it was only a weak summoning that did not even have a complete set of notes, and it had only managed to cause such a huge disturbance by borrowing the power of the Kirin Fruit.
Its current strength was less than one percent of its fully manifested form.
It could not withstand the overwhelming impact of Conqueror's Haki coating at all. In the next instant, Tot Musica dissolved into specks of light and vanished.
The dream monsters, the counterfeit Roger Pirates, and the swarming monster soldiers all lost their foundation and were annihilated in midair.
Seeing that the situation had finally calmed down, Cain relaxed slightly and was just about to pull away.
But Uta, who had already regained consciousness, gave him no chance to react.
"Mmph!"
Uta wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, leaned forward, and pressed her lips back against his, forcefully returning the kiss with a stubborn intensity that deepened it even further.
Cain's entire body froze on the spot, completely stunned, allowing Uta to take him with her as they fell toward the ground.
Yet no one had expected that after escaping Tot Musica's pull, Killingham would still be gripping the portion of Uta World that had been dragged out, refusing to let go.
And so, the two people locked in an embrace fell straight into it.
This should have been a realm that only souls and mental bodies could enter, but Cain and Uta had forced their way in with their physical bodies.
In an instant, the entire Uta World erupted into a strange disturbance.
A pure white glow suddenly appeared.
Within the glow, tiny streams of rainbow light gathered and formed a semicircular barrier like an overturned bowl.
Without warning, it expanded violently, instantly enveloping Killingham completely.
Its speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, it spread outward, and the first to be swallowed by the barrier were Luffy and Koala.
The change came too suddenly.
Sabo and Hancock did not hesitate for even half a moment and rushed toward the barrier without looking back.
Immediately afterward, Jinbe was also swallowed by it.
Katakuri had already sensed the momentum of the barrier's expansion. His body shifted, and he nimbly dodged aside, avoiding being drawn in.
When the overturned-bowl-shaped barrier expanded enough to cover most of the island, it finally slowed to a stop.
The glow no longer spread, sealing off the world inside from the world outside.
Katakuri looked around.
Aside from Rayleigh in the distance, who was suppressing the constantly cursing Somers, and Law, who had hastily avoided the barrier using his Devil Fruit ability, everyone else had been swallowed by it.
Katakuri frowned slightly and was just about to step into the barrier when a burst of noisy shouting and the sound of cloth cutting through the air came from above.
He abruptly raised his head and saw Marco flying unsteadily with a girl on his back.
The girl was holding two babies in her arms, and hanging from Marco's foot was Garp!