"So that's how it was. The one Uta picked up back then wasn't Shanks at all. No wonder… In that case, this guy would be Uta's great-uncle, right?"
Cain rolled his eyes, instinctively pinched his nose, and looked up at the little thing fertilizing his head.
"Wouldn't it be uncle?" Rayleigh asked curiously.
Cain shook his head, reached up, and pulled Shamrock off the top of his head.
When he lowered his gaze, he saw that the little guy really had gone on his head.
Fortunately, the diaper had caught it.
Even so, Cain still held him a little farther away in disgust before speaking.
"I think great-uncle rolls off the tongue better. Besides, some places call it that anyway. More importantly, you Roger Pirates already knew about this, didn't you?"
"Mm…"
Rayleigh nodded, then shook his head.
Seeing this, Cain directly handed Shamrock to Rayleigh, turned around, and walked away while muttering,
"I really hate riddlers."
After all, they had just exhausted nearly every bit of Haki in their bodies before finally dispersing the black transformation on Rocks and pulling him back from danger.
Cain had originally wanted to take the chance to ask for some key information, only for that man to pass out completely.
If he wanted answers now, he would have no choice but to wait patiently until Rocks woke up.
As for Roger, he was currently off to the side treating his injuries.
The Garp of this world had also already returned to the Marine warship to receive treatment.
The two Shakkys had gathered together and were chatting.
Even though their circumstances were completely different, they could always find endless things to talk about.
In the end, only Cain and Rayleigh were left to look after Shamrock, while Uta went to the side to take care of Shanks.
After handing little Shamrock over, Cain walked to Uta's side.
At this moment, Uta was holding little Shanks while staring blankly at the sea.
"What's wrong? After learning about Shanks' background, do you still have some concerns?" Cain asked.
Uta held little Shanks and said softly,
"Mm?! I just think Shanks is too mysterious. He clearly treated me sincerely and was especially good to me, but he has so many secrets hidden on him that it makes me feel a little uneasy."
"I still don't know how I should face him now. Should I treat him as my father like before, or…"
Cain also looked toward the sea and slowly spoke.
"What you need to do right now is stop thinking so much. All you need to know is that he sincerely treated you well."
"Unlike me, who suddenly got Kaido and Big Mom as two Emperor parents out of nowhere. Don't even mention how annoying that is. I don't even know whether they'll start by cutting me down when we meet."
"Putting it that way, wouldn't Yamato be your older sister?" Uta could not help teasing him with a laugh.
"You can count it like that? Uh, if she really gets together with Ace, then she really would become my sister."
"So that's what you're scheming? Now that you mention it, those two do get along pretty well. But I'm actually quite optimistic about that Marine girl. I saw very clearly how red her face was back then."
Uta smiled as she recalled Isuka, whom she had seen at the amusement park.
"Fine, let's leave those things alone. We'll dump all the headaches onto Ace. Anyway, the only one beside me is you…"
As Cain spoke, he placed his hand on the ship's railing, only for the little Shanks outside to suddenly bite hard on his exposed arm.
Although Shanks had not grown teeth yet, he still smeared saliva all over Cain's arm.
"Hey, you little brat! You dare bite me?!"
Seeing this, Uta laughed even more happily.
"Looks like little Shanks isn't very satisfied with you as his son-in-law."
"You…! I…!"
Cain stared at Shanks, who was giggling foolishly at him, and for a moment, he was completely speechless.
One Shanks, one Shamrock.
Were they both this dissatisfied with him as a son-in-law, or nephew-in-law?
One covered his arm in drool, while the other pooped on his head…
Just then, the door to Roger's room was suddenly pushed open.
Roger rushed out angrily, dragging someone in his hand as he shouted at the top of his lungs,
"HEY! WHICH ONE OF YOU PUT THIS PERSON IN MY ROOM? NO, WAIT, WHY WAS SHE IN MY ROOM? I CLEARLY REMEMBER THROWING HER TO NEWGATE!"
When the crew on deck saw this, they immediately burst into roaring laughter.
Waves of teasing voices instantly drowned out the sound of the sea breeze.
"CAPTAIN'S HIDING A BEAUTY IN HIS ROOM!"
"Captain, stop denying it! You said you threw her to Newgate, but then you secretly hid her in your own room. And now you don't want to admit it? Tsk, tsk, tsk. And you still say there's nothing going on?"
Some of them even clutched their stomachs while laughing, pointing at the person Roger was holding as they joked,
"Captain, since when were you this desperate? Did the shock hit you so hard that it exposed your perverted side?"
"Just because Rayleigh ran off with Shakky, you turned around and started targeting an old lady?"
Gloriosa, who was being held by Roger, covered her face with both hands, so embarrassed that she did not dare raise her head, much less glance at the people heckling around her.
Although she had grown older and long since stopped caring much about so-called face, being teased by so many people while old Rayleigh stood nearby and Shakky was watching too—
This, this, this was far too embarrassing!
"Hey, that's enough from you lot… hm?"
Roger kept trying to defend himself, but at that moment, he finally noticed that points of light were rising from his body.
Not only him.
Almost everyone's bodies were releasing tiny specks of light, and little Shanks in Uta's arms was no exception.
These points of light did not merely surround everyone's bodies.
They were spreading from the entire world itself, filling the sky and earth.
Cain froze and immediately turned toward Uta.
Uta also frowned as she looked at little Shanks in her arms, who was giggling at her, and speak in a low voice.
"The memory fragment here has probably reached its end. We should leave too."
"Is that so?"
Cain looked toward Rocks, who still had not woken up inside the cabin, and helplessly shook his head.
It seemed there was no hope of asking him for information.
But there was not the slightest regret in Cain's heart.
After all, being able to save Rocks was already something he could feel proud of.
"It seems it's time to say goodbye."
The young Shakky looked at the future version of herself and spoke softly.
"You've already realized it?" asked Shakky, now the owner of the bar.
"Mm. After all, you are the future me. Since you appeared here, that means I'm nothing more than a phantom of the past. Seeing you and him together like this, I truly want to congratulate you."
The bar owner Shakky nodded gently.
Her warm gaze swept over everyone present before she spoke softly.
"Mm. Goodbye, my past."
…
When everyone opened their eyes again, they had already returned to Uta World.
Yamato, Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and the others also walked out as their respective memory light spheres reached the end of their stories.
Somers and Killingham were still in the same state, their heads brutally pierced through.
Although they were not dead, they were completely unable to move.
But, there was somehow another figure beside them.
Cain hurriedly spoke.
"Torao, why are you here too?"
Law was clearly already used to Cain getting his name wrong, and he calmly explained,
"What else? I came looking for all of you. I entered together with the Fleet Admiral, but the two of us fell into a strange place and met an old friend I hadn't seen in a long time."
Corazon…
"The Fleet Admiral came in too? Where is he?" Cain asked urgently.
"Mm. We came out a little earlier than you. It's just that he followed that Vice Admiral and accidentally fell into another light sphere."
As Law spoke, he raised a hand and pointed toward one of the light spheres.
The moment his words fell, that light sphere suddenly scattered.
Garp and Sengoku appeared from within, still wrestling with each other.
Sengoku's eyes were wide with fury as he roared and cursed.
"YOU BASTARD GARP! I KNEW YOU OLD BASTARD WERE UP TO NO GOOD!"
"DAMN IT, YOU ACTUALLY WORE ROGER'S HAT AND BECAME A PIRATE! NO WONDER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE GRANDSONS YOU RAISED IS SO REBELLIOUS!"
"SO THE SOURCE OF ALL THEIR TROUBLEMAKING WAS YOU ALL ALONG!"