Inside the cabin, the two of them fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms.
Outside the cabin, however, the world was still being turned upside down in complete chaos.
…
By the next morning, Cain gradually woke up.
Last night, he had fallen asleep tucked in Uta's arms, and on Shanks' ship no less.
Thinking about it now, something about that felt oddly strange.
Still half-asleep, he rolled over and firmly hugged the person beside him from behind.
His sleepy eyes opened halfway as he glanced over.
'Huh… when did Uta's hair get so short?'
Cain muttered inwardly.
The more he looked, the more wrong it felt.
The touch, the shape of the body—none of it was Uta.
Before he could react, there was movement behind him.
A large, calloused hand reached over his body and firmly wrapped around both him and the person in front of him.
Cain stiffened all over.
A beat later, he finally realized that the familiar pressure behind him belonged to his grandfather, Garp.
And the person he had just hugged so tightly in his arms was his future father-in-law, Shanks.
At this moment, Shanks' face was covered in dark lines.
Cold sweat had already formed across his forehead, and his whole body was tense, goosebumps rising all over him.
Sensing that Cain had woken up, Shanks slowly turned around with a stiff body, just in time to meet Cain's terrified eyes.
The instant their eyes met, the cabin went completely silent.
Cain's mind went blank.
Fragments of last night's memories kept surging back.
He clearly remembered falling asleep in Uta's arms, so how had he woken up holding Shanks, with his grandfather Garp lying behind him?
His hand was still frozen on Shanks' waist.
Pulling it back felt wrong.
Leaving it there felt even worse.
Even his fingertips were trembling slightly.
Shanks was not doing much better.
The man who usually handled anything with calm ease had completely lost the smile on his face.
His eyes were full of confusion and helplessness, cold sweat sliding down his temples!
…
A few hours earlier, his clash with Kaido and Big Mom had finally come to an end, and they had managed to reach a relatively stable result.
When Shanks returned to the cabin, he found Garp sleeping soundly on his bed.
Meanwhile, the crew members were gathered around the door to Uta's small room, stretching their necks to look inside.
Their faces were full of anger, like they wanted to charge in immediately, yet they were also afraid of disturbing Uta.
Every one of them looked painfully conflicted!
Shanks looked at the two sleeping figures inside, curled up together, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
But with the crew urging him on and making noise beside him, he truly had no choice.
In the end, he could only walk in under everyone's gaze.
He activated Observation Killing, softened his movements, and quietly carried Cain away from Uta's side.
At first, he planned to put Cain down in one of the crew rooms.
But the crew members who had been crowding the doorway a moment ago vanished in the blink of an eye, running off so fast there was not even a shadow left.
With no other choice, Shanks could only bring Cain back to his own room.
The bed was not exactly spacious to begin with.
Garp alone had already taken up most of it, sleeping firmly on the innermost side.
With nowhere else to go, Shanks could only put Cain in the middle while he squeezed himself onto the narrow edge of the bed.
The three of them ended up sleeping crammed together for the rest of the night!
What Shanks had not expected was that as the sky gradually brightened and Cain began waking up in a daze, while Shanks himself was still sleeping deeply, a pair of large hands had already wrapped around his waist and hugged him tightly.
He woke up in fright instantly!
A bone-deep chill shot through him before he could even understand what was happening.
Then, right after that, he felt Garp's broad hand come down as well, wrapping both him and the person hugging him into one hold!
…
Now, the two of them were frozen in place, staring at each other and trying to use their eyes to negotiate a way to move apart quietly without making the situation even more awkward.
Just then, Garp's energetic voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Oh, you're awake? Cain, you're holding on pretty tight."
So the old man had been awake for a while already.
He had just been lying there watching the show.
Cain jolted all over and sprang backward, quickly pulling his hands away from Shanks.
His toes unconsciously curled against the sheets, and he wished he could find a hole to hide in.
He scrambled backward in a panic, only to crash straight into Garp's arms.
The old man pressed one hand onto his head, leaving him completely unable to move.
Shanks finally recovered as well. He stiffly sat up and barely managed to preserve his dignity.
"Uh… Cain, did you drink too much last night?"
"Yeah, I did drink a little, but not enough to lose my mind in my sleep!"
Cain was so embarrassed that every part of him felt uncomfortable.
"I was clearly sleeping with Uta! How did I end up here?"
Shanks cleared his throat, suppressed the embarrassment on his face, and slowly explained what had happened last night.
…
After listening to Shanks' explanation, Cain helplessly rubbed his forehead and completely lost any desire to keep sleeping.
The three of them quickly washed up and tidied the room.
It was still early, and both Cain and Shanks silently kept their movements light, wanting to let Uta sleep a little longer.
But just then, Shanks, Cain, and Garp all sensed movement outside the ship.
The three exchanged a glance and immediately pushed the door open and walked out.
At this moment, the ship was already docked at the port of Whole Cake Island.
Several enormous bridge Homies, along with the tailor Homies Cain had seen before, were hurrying over while carrying things.
Leading them were Katakuri and Pudding.
"Katakuri, what are you doing?"
"We came to deliver something."
Katakuri's gaze first fell on Cain, then shifted to Shanks beside him.
"Ah, this is something we discussed earlier."
Shanks smiled and patted Cain on the shoulder, his voice carrying an excitement he could not quite hide.
"Cain, you're about to become the most special pirate this sea has ever seen."
The moment his words fell, the Homies behind Katakuri slowly lowered the long strips of cloth hanging from the poles in their hands.
They were not just cloth fluttering in the wind.
They were three pirate flags unfurling proudly!
The Beasts Pirates.
The Red Hair Pirates.
The Big Mom Pirates.
Three flags symbolizing the majesty of Emperors of the Sea snapped sharply in the cold morning wind.
The instant they fully opened, the air around them seemed to freeze, and even the wind appeared to pause for a moment.
"Hey, hey, Shanks, what is this…"
Cain had only just started speaking when Shanks raised a hand and stopped him.
"Don't rush. Hear me out first."
Shanks stepped forward half a pace. His gaze swept across the three flags waving in the wind before finally settling steadily on Cain.
"Cain, before this, because of the faction listed on your bounty poster, Kaido, Big Mom, and I argued about you quite a bit. Every one of us wanted to pull you into our own camp. But later, we thought it through. Those kinds of rigid labels would only tie your hands and feet. That's why we came to this decision together."
At this point, Shanks raised a hand and gestured toward Katakuri.
Katakuri also lifted his hand, and the Homies behind him immediately raised another flag.
A skull marked with a straw hat stood out clearly beneath the morning light.
It was the flag of the Straw Hat Pirates, also spreading and fluttering in the morning wind.
"Of course, Luffy too."
A hint of amusement entered Shanks' voice.
"I haven't forgotten that you're also a companion he recognizes from the bottom of his heart. So I brought his flag for you as well."
"As for Luffy, I already contacted him through Rayleigh-san. Although waking that kid up in the middle of the night got me a long round of complaints, he still said he fully respects whatever choice you make."
Shanks then extended his hand toward Cain, his tone incredibly solemn.
"I heard about you taking Uta on a world tour, so I discussed this with them and made this decision. I don't want you to be stuck in a difficult position because of pirate factions."
"As long as you nod, these four flags will all belong to you. They are not flags meant to shelter you. They are proof that you have joined us."
"You will belong to all four of our pirate crews at the same time, yet you will not be controlled by any one of them. You are a companion recognized by everyone in all four crews."
"You don't need to follow any one crew's strict rules. You don't need to obey anyone's orders. But whenever you need it, no matter where you go, everyone in these four pirate crews will stand behind you without reservation."
Shanks wrapped an arm around Cain's shoulders and burst into loud laughter, the force of it making the morning wind seem to tremble.
"Listen well, Cain! You are the only man in the history of this sea to belong to several Emperor pirate crews at the same time!"
"Whichever side you want to stand on, that side is your faction. Wherever you want to go, that place is your territory!"
"However, Luffy did say one thing. Someday in the future, he'll challenge us one by one and beat us all. When that time comes, he'll gather all the pieces of your scattered affiliations back into his Straw Hat Pirates."
"Of course, it's fine even if you refuse. After all, not being bound by anything is the true freedom a pirate should have."
He paused, then looked at Cain with burning eyes and spoke word by word.
"So, Cain, what do you think?"
"No matter what decision you make, we'll respect your choice."
Looking at Shanks in front of him, Cain could not help lowering his gaze and thinking seriously.
The Red Hair Pirates' flag was one he had already promised Shanks he would accept, so there was nothing wrong with taking it.
As for the Beasts Pirates' side, Yamato was now staying alone in Wano and had to face the entire Beasts Pirates by herself.
Not to mention, Yamato was Ace's close friend.
Cain also wanted to help her, so he was naturally willing to accept that flag too.
As for the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri had helped him far too much.
If all he had to do was fly a flag without having to follow all of Big Mom's rules, he was willing to accept it.
In a way, it could also make up for what he owed Katakuri.
And Luffy went without saying.
Cain had always been a member of the Straw Hat Pirates and had never once thought of leaving.
Thinking about it like that, this really was the best possible choice.
But in the next second, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he muttered helplessly in his heart.
'Sure, that speech was cool as hell…'
'But did you really have to say all this right in front of my grandpa?'
'Can't you see the old man is practically leaking black smoke right now?'