Yamato raised her head and waved hard toward the pink dragon head in the sky.
"Cain! Over here!"
Jack had originally been frozen in place by that overwhelming pressure, but the moment he saw the soft pink color of the dragon scales, he froze.
This was not Kaido's deep azure!
The fear in his heart vanished in an instant, replaced by the fury of humiliation.
He glared coldly at Cain's dragon head and squeezed out his words through clenched teeth.
"A mere fake… How dare you… How dare you use the exact same ability as Kaido-sama! That pathetic color is an insult to the Beasts Pirates!"
He gripped his tusk blades and roared through gritted teeth.
"EVEN IF KAIDO-SAMA WANTS TO RECRUIT YOU, LOOKING AT YOU LIKE THIS, I REALLY… I REALLY CAN'T ACCEPT IT! GET DOWN HERE!"
Before his words had even fully fallen, Jack charged out with his blades in hand.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he no longer cared about his injuries. He swung with all his strength at the lowered dragon head.
Facing Jack as he rushed in, Cain did not even make any unnecessary movements.
The moment Jack came close, Cain simply controlled his dragon head and gave him a light bump.
A dull impact rang out.
Jack's entire body stiffened.
Then, like a kite with its string cut, he flew backward and smashed heavily into the ground.
The tusk blades in his hands flew loose, his eyes rolled upward, and after his body twitched twice, he went completely still, knocked out cold.
It was that casual.
There was nothing that could be done about it.
Yamato had already knocked him unconscious who knew how many times. Cain's hit was simply the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The clouds in the sky gradually settled. Cain withdrew his dragon form and landed steadily on the ground in his well-cut pink suit.
Cain reached out.
With a scream, Uta fell from the sky while clutching a chess soldier, then slowly landed in Cain's arms.
She complained by tugging on Cain's ear, expressing her dissatisfaction with that high-altitude flight just now.
The chess soldier also struggled free and dropped to the ground, then hurriedly ran toward Katakuri to report what had just happened.
Katakuri nodded and put away his trident.
He glanced at Jack, who had gone completely silent inside the deep pit, then turned to Cain.
"I truly don't know where his confidence comes from. There is a difference of 1.3 billion between the two of you."
Cain set Uta down and looked at Jack, who lay utterly still at the bottom of the pit, before answering calmly,
"If he wasn't like that, then he wouldn't be Jack. To him, retreating is probably even harder to accept than dying in battle."
After all, he was the legendary king of attacking ships!
"It looks like he won't be waking up anytime soon."
Katakuri sighed, then turned toward Cain and asked in a calm tone,
"How did you find our 'special reception'…? My younger brothers and sisters didn't cause you trouble, did they?"
"They were certainly a little too 'enthusiastic.'"
Cain awkwardly rubbed his nose, then looked toward Uta.
The images from the bathhouse flashed through his mind, and he immediately shook his head hard.
"But speaking of which, compared with the massive number of people Totto Land is supposed to have, weren't there a bit too few family members around today?"
Katakuri pondered for a moment and did not intend to hide it.
"Mm. Right now, Totto Land's defenses are indeed at their weakest. In order to expand our territory during the chaos after Whitebeard's death, most of the family's fighting forces were sent out to attack Whitebeard's former territories."
He turned his head and looked toward the distant horizon, his eyes carrying a somewhat complicated look.
"However, the expansion that had originally been going smoothly was forced to stop because of Fire Fist Ace's intervention. That man became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and drew the Marines into the matter. To avoid all-out war with the Marines at such a sensitive time, our forces are currently returning."
When he mentioned Ace, Katakuri showed no hostility. Instead, there was a rare trace of recognition in his voice.
"Ace is a decent man. He did not do that for power. He simply wanted to protect the brothers he calls family."
Katakuri's voice was deep and steady.
"I can understand his choice. If one day Mama were no longer here, I would make the same decision in order to protect my brothers and sisters. So personally, I hold no bias against him for ruining Totto Land's plans."
In that moment, this upright man, almost solemn in his integrity, revealed the responsibility he carried as the backbone of the Charlotte Family.
After saying this, he seemed to suddenly remember something and looked toward Cain.
"Right. About what I mentioned to you before, finding someone to look into your memories… I'm afraid it can't be done for the time being."
"Because of the banquet preparations, every member of the family is very busy during this period. Even Pudding, who is younger than you, is the same. I should apologize to you first for this matter. Right now, I truly cannot take you to her. Everything will have to wait until after the banquet."
Cain's expression turned serious when he heard that.
However, Katakuri's next words directly shattered that seriousness.
"And Mama also seems to be preparing something… In truth, there is something I have always wanted to tell you. Totto Land is not as beautiful as people imagine. Many of my younger brothers and sisters still live under Mama's fear, so I am also worried Mama may do something to you."
'Even at a time like this, why are you still speaking up for me? That kind of concern makes me feel really uncomfortable!'
Cain stared directly at Katakuri, then turned his head to look at Uta, who was watching him from beside him.
He took a deep breath, raised his head, and faced the man before him solemnly.
Concealing things, always concealing things—now that he had already come all the way to Totto Land, how long was he supposed to keep hiding the truth?
He had accepted Katakuri's concern while carrying his own purpose.
If even now, he still could not tell Katakuri his true objective, then he would not only be betraying this "older brother's" sincerity, but also betraying Uta.
If he lacked even the courage to face difficulty directly and had to rely on deception to seek help for Uta, then what right did he have to talk about liking her?
What right did he have to talk about love?
At that moment, Cain made his decision.
He spoke directly.
"Katakuri! You've always treated me like your younger brother, and that truly moved me. Since you've been this honest with me, there's no need for me to keep hiding anything either."
"The true reason I came here is because I need Pudding's Memory-Memory Fruit ability. I need her to remove a piece of Uta's memory."
Cain did not back down and continued,
"I could have kept hiding it from you. I could have done this without anyone knowing, or even used threats to force Pudding to help, but I don't want to do that."
"And I'm not telling you this now because I'm disappointed that I can't meet Pudding yet. I sincerely want to tell you the truth. This is my resolve. My heart no longer allows me to keep hiding this from you. This is not only because of you, but also because of Uta."
Cain turned his head, took Uta's hand, and looked straight at Katakuri.
"If you see this as me using you… no, this is already using you, isn't it? Even so, I still want to apologize to you. I'm sorry for deceiving you. If you have any dissatisfaction, then take it out on me!"
Cain's voice was firm and decisive.
This was not only his promise as Uta's partner, but also the honesty and responsibility he owed as the "younger brother" in Katakuri's eyes.
After hearing this, Katakuri looked shocked, but then he revealed a faint smile. He placed his hand on Cain's head and rubbed it.
"You… I clearly haven't joined you, and I'm not really your family… Why?"
Cain was completely stunned and looked up at him.
"Not family? So that's how you think of it?"
Katakuri paused, his gaze deep.
"But in my eyes, you are undoubtedly our family!"
"Besides, let's make an assumption… Suppose you were not my younger brother. The fact that you can stand on this territory belonging to a Four Emperor and bare your heart to me, a Sweet Commander, is already remarkable courage in itself."
Katakuri stretched out his fist and spoke again.
"Faced with someone like you, I would be more than willing to become your friend. If you need help, I am also willing to lend a hand."
Cain stared blankly into his eyes, then stretched out his own fist as well.
"You really… are worthy of being called the perfect older brother!"
"…Wait, no. Are you treating me as your younger brother or as your friend?!"
Cain hurriedly asked, completely unable to understand what Katakuri was thinking now.
"That? Of course, as my younger brother. After all, you are my younger brother."
Katakuri spoke matter-of-factly.
In his eyes, the fact that Cain was his younger brother was already set in stone.
After all, becoming friends was only possible under the assumption that Cain was not related to him by blood.
But how could that be possible?
Hearing this, Cain felt his scalp go numb.
Still, he now understood Katakuri's thoughts.
Whether or not they were truly related by blood, Katakuri was still willing to help him.
Really, it was too moving…
Just then, a powerful roar suddenly erupted from the deep pit.
"OLD BASTARD! LISTEN UP! JACK HAS ALREADY LOST, AND YOU'RE NEXT!"
Yamato was standing on the unconscious Jack's head, holding a Den Den Mushi she had dug out from Jack's clothes.
At that moment, the Den Den Mushi had already transformed into Kaido's iconic face and was roaring at Yamato.
"WORORORORO! YAMATO! YOU REBELLIOUS BRAT! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU RAN OUT AND CAUSED A HUGE MESS, BUT NOW YOU EVEN DARE ATTACK THE BEASTS? HAVE I NOT TAUGHT YOU ENOUGH? GET BACK HERE ALREADY!"
"SHUT UP, YOU STINKING BULL-HEADED BASTARD!"
Yamato shouted right back at the top of her lungs.
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONTROL ME!"
"I WILL RETURN TO WANO, BUT THAT WILL BE TO OPEN THE COUNTRY AND DO WHAT I WANT TO DO! IT WON'T BE ME SUBMITTING TO YOU, AND IT DEFINITELY WON'T BE BECAUSE I'M LISTENING TO YOU! MY LIFE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
"OPEN THE COUNTRY? WORORORORO!"
Kaido's signature mocking laughter came from the Den Den Mushi.
"ARE YOU STILL REPEATING KOZUKI ODEN'S NAÏVE AND RIDICULOUS LAST WORDS? WHAT'S THERE TO LEARN FROM THAT STUBBORN FOOL? IS THAT ALL YOU'LL AMOUNT TO IN THIS LIFE?"
"WHO WANTS TO BE KOZUKI ODEN?!"
Yamato's roar shook the air, and even Kaido on the other end of the Den Den Mushi froze.
Yamato gripped the Den Den Mushi tightly, her eyes carrying a fierceness she had never shown before.
"I AM ME. I AM YAMATO! KAIDO, REMEMBER THIS! THE REASON I'M GOING BACK TO WANO NOW IS BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE THING I WANT TO DO, AND THAT IS BEAT YOU COMPLETELY FLAT! I'M GOING TO SEIZE THE BEASTS PIRATES FROM YOUR HANDS. THEN I'LL BECOME SHOGUN, RULE EVERYTHING YOU CURRENTLY POSSESS, AND KICK YOU OUT OF WANO!"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, the previously violent shouting seemed to be cut off, and an eerie dead silence fell.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Kaido's expression.
"Yamato… do you understand what you're saying?!"