In the end, Capone Bege was still persuaded by Cain.
After all, he also needed a reason to make contact with the Big Mom Pirates.
Bege's ship followed behind the submarine, and the journey went smoothly as they arrived in the waters of Totto Land without encountering the slightest obstruction.
Soon, Whole Cake Island came clearly into view.
In truth, they had been under surveillance from the moment they entered Totto Land's waters.
It was just that when the other side saw Cain had arrived, they did not act rashly. Instead, all of them gathered at the port to wait.
…
"My name is Chad Cain. An unimaginable disaster has happened around me, and what I must do is carry it all on my back…"
"Why did it turn out like this?!"
The eighty-five children of the Charlotte Family were the difficult battle Cain had to face right now.
Although many of them had been sent out to seize territory, there were still a huge number of people crowding around him, shouting his name at the top of their lungs.
What Cain had to do now was not only recognize these people, but also call out each of their names one by one.
What was with this feeling of having to greet relatives during New Year?
"This contains everyone's information. Don't get them wrong… I hope it helps you. I'll test you regularly."
Katakuri handed the roster in his hand to Cain.
Cain flipped through a few pages.
Each person's position, name, and photo were recorded inside.
The roster itself was not especially thick, but it was clearly important. The fact that Katakuri had simply handed it to him only made Cain feel even guiltier.
They were completely treating him as one of their own.
If they did not make him memorize this, even he would feel too guilty to stand there.
They had even hung up a banner, and written plainly across it was Charlotte Cain.
They had even changed his surname.
Were they really accepting him as family this easily?
The more enthusiastic they were, the guiltier he felt!
Although the outside world had long since announced that Cain was a member of the Charlotte Family, Cain had never once used the Charlotte surname.
He knew his bounty poster had not been changed entirely because his old man Garp had insisted on it.
Back then, that old man had even considered changing his surname to Monkey D., though in the end, he had not managed to pull it off either.
Cain looked at the roster in his hand, then at the crowd surrounding him, and was clearly struggling to deal with it all.
Uta noticed Cain's panic and held his hand.
Using her past experience dealing with audiences, she responded one by one to the questions being thrown at Cain by his many brothers and sisters, steadily helping him out of the situation.
Seeing how calmly Uta answered them, and sensing the concern for him hidden in her heart, Cain felt something stir inside him.
He could not help thinking that Uta would definitely become a good wife who knew how to manage a household in the future.
Just as he was thinking that, Cain caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye and immediately called out.
"JINBEI? WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
Hearing him, Jinbe walked over and said,
"Cain, it is good to see that you are safe! Fish-Man Island needs the protection of the Big Mom Pirates. Previously, we only requested Katakuri's temporary help to deal with the situation… but now, only by joining her side can I continue that protection for Fish-Man Island."
"Although I feel sorry toward Pops, there is no other choice. I heard about Ace as well. He has grown…"
The two of them chatted about what had happened to each of them recently. When Jinbe heard that Ace was training with Rayleigh, he nodded in agreement.
After their conversation ended, Katakuri stepped forward to remind them.
"It's time to go. I'll take you to meet Mother. And Yamato, I didn't expect you to come as well. That works out perfectly. Someone from the Beasts has arrived too."
As he spoke, he led Cain, Uta, and Yamato toward the castle.
On the other side, Jinbe turned to Capone Bege and Law.
"Everyone, please come with me. This way."
With that, he led them in another direction.
…
On the way to the castle, people still kept gathering around them. However, with Katakuri present, everyone remained restrained.
Seeing the somewhat stiff behavior of his other younger brothers and sisters, Katakuri, despite being a man of few words, still spoke warmly to Cain.
"To celebrate your safe return, we specially prepared a grand banquet. Before you entered these waters, the invitations had already been sent out. This will be the grandest banquet in Totto Land's history."
The instant Cain heard the words "grandest banquet," he immediately caught the key point and hurriedly asked.
"Is that bastard Morgans on the invitation list too?!"
"Mm, he is. Don't worry. He will definitely come! For the sake of exclusive news, that man would even throw away his life. If you want to settle accounts with him, we can help you at any time."
"No need. I'll handle him myself. That scruffy bird is dead!"
Cain waved a hand, then changed the subject.
"By the way, it seems like no one here really cares about all the news reports about me."
After all, from the moment he entered the port until now, the people surrounding him had asked all kinds of questions, but not a single one had mentioned Morgans' report about him abducting Uta.
Katakuri nodded and only said, "Because we trust you."
"Don't make it that simple! How am I supposed to understand what happened from just one sentence?"
"What I mean is that I saw everything that happened that day. With me here, naturally I won't let those bad rumors spread through Totto Land."
What Katakuri was referring to was the moment Cain used that move on Uta, the Domineering Kiss.
He paused, then spoke again, his tone full of sincere confusion.
"Although I can understand Conqueror's Haki being coated onto something, I truly cannot understand how coating it onto your lips would not cause some serious problem."
"Enough. Stop talking!"
Cain hurriedly interrupted him, his ears instantly heating up.
Uta, who was beside him, saw this and could not help leaning over to tease him a little.
The smile in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Cain was teased into silence by her, feeling that Uta had truly taken complete hold of him now.
In this life, it seemed that in front of her, he would always be the one completely eaten alive.
However, just then—
Boom!
A huge figure flew backward and came crashing heavily toward them.
Cain and Katakuri had already sensed it, and the two of them almost moved at the same time.
Cain was far faster than Katakuri, rushing forward immediately to catch the person flying toward them.
Only then did everyone finally see who had been sent flying.
Jack the Drought of the Beasts Pirates.
So when Katakuri said someone from the Beasts had arrived, he meant this guy.
Cain helplessly rubbed his forehead.
The moment Jack recovered, he tried to start destroying things everywhere, clearly not putting the Big Mom Pirates in his eyes at all.
Then Yamato knocked him down directly with a Thunder Bagua, leaving an enormous bump swelling on his head.
Everyone turned their gazes toward her.
Yamato nodded.
"I'll handle this guy."
With that, they continued walking toward the castle.
Katakuri looked at Cain at that moment, and a rare smile appeared on his face as he thought to himself,
'It is almost as if he inherited the traits of everyone in our family. Mother, whether it is Cain's own strength, his concern for his family, or the way he looks when he goes berserk, many parts of him can be matched to someone in the family. I imagine you will be very pleased to see him.'
…
The doors to the castle's great hall had only just opened.
"Napoleon!"
"Yes, Mama!"
Big Mom instantly charged forward.
Napoleon transformed into a giant blade and slashed straight toward Cain's face.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"
Katakuri had already sensed the movement and wanted to stop Cain, but Cain rushed out directly.
He swung the weapon in his hand and shouted in a deep voice.
"IKOKU SOVEREIGNTY!"
Conqueror's Haki intertwined and exploded with terrifying force.
The two weapons collided from a distance, and the shockwaves continuously destroyed the surrounding buildings, spreading all the way into the sky and tearing the clouds apart.
Katakuri had just moved in front of Uta to protect her when he raised his eyes in surprise.
Around Uta, a transparent white halo had appeared.
It looked quite similar to what he had seen that day, though it was clearly even more transparent.
Any shockwave from the battle that crashed into that halo vanished without a trace in an instant.