"A Homie?"
Aokiji watched the cloud rapidly take shape and immediately recognized what it was.
With a quick movement, he leaped onto the deck of the Going Merry.
The moment Uta saw him, she instantly took a guarded stance.
The image of him recklessly releasing ice throughout the warehouse was still fresh in her mind.
Had the little creature beside her not absorbed all that cold, everyone aboard the Merry might already have been caught in it.
Aokiji had been completely misunderstood.
Although his emotions had caused freezing air to burst from his body, he had deliberately kept it under control the entire time.
Not a single sharp spike of ice had been allowed anywhere near the Merry.
The newborn Homie, however, knew none of that.
She immediately sensed Uta's wariness and hostility. Her head snapped toward Aokiji, and intense fury filled her childish voice.
"Were you the one trying to hurt Mama?!"
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, the fluffy cloud abruptly contracted and condensed.
In an instant, she transformed into a solid block of sharply edged ice.
Then she expanded at a visible speed, growing four or five meters tall as her presence surged dramatically.
This was her combat form.
Bitter cold spread in every direction as two ice spears shot forward.
The technique was unmistakably the very attack Aokiji had used moments earlier.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
"What?! Mama? And that technique…"
Aokiji visibly froze when he heard the Homie call Uta her mother.
But the attack was already upon him.
His pupils contracted, and his arm instantly transformed into ice, forming a frozen defense that caught the strike.
He stared at the Homie in disbelief, then hurriedly shouted toward Cain.
"WAIT, CAIN! EXPLAIN THIS TO HER! THERE'S CLEARLY BEEN A MISUNDERSTANDING!"
Looking at the block of living ice and remembering how affectionately she behaved toward Cain and Uta, Aokiji could neither fight seriously nor allow her to attack him however she pleased.
He had no choice but to ask Cain for help.
Before Cain could do anything, however, the little creature lunged directly at Aokiji and bit down on his arm.
She greedily sucked in the cold radiating from his body, even crunching through his elemental ice arm piece by piece.
Cain stood nearby, studying the little creature with fascination.
She possessed a unique combat form and could even replicate Aokiji's techniques.
She was clearly a high-ranking Homie!
Her natural talent might even surpass Big Mom's three greatest Homies.
Perhaps that was the advantage of having been created from a transmigrator's soul.
If she were properly raised and later fed a Devil Fruit, then even without the ability to use Haki, she could eventually become a force that no one could underestimate.
Wait.
No.
Cain nearly raised a hand to slap himself for even thinking that way.
The little girl had already called Uta "Mama." More importantly, she had been created from his own soul.
Naturally, that made him her father.
Why was he still thinking about combat strength and training as though she were some kind of tool? That was far too distant and cold.
At first, Cain had only intended to create a Homie that could eat a Devil Fruit and serve as a convenient weapon under his control.
But now, watching this tiny creature fearlessly attack a Marine Admiral to protect Uta, every cold and calculating thought in his heart instantly vanished.
In its place came a soft, unfamiliar warmth—the tenderness of a doting father.
Who cared about high-level combat power anymore?
This was clearly a precious little daughter who had come into his and Uta's lives.
Cain hurried forward, gently pulling the little creature away and stopping her from chewing on Aokiji.
"All right… Uh, I still don't know what to call you yet, but stop for now. That guy probably doesn't mean us any harm."
"Yes, Papa!"
The little creature's solid ice body gradually softened back into a fluffy cloud.
Her innocent voice struck Cain directly in the kokoro.
A wave of burning joy surged through him!
At that moment, he suddenly understood exactly why his grandfather had been so desperate for a great-grandchild.
Having a daughter really was wonderful!
Cain was practically blooming with happiness.
Aokiji, on the other hand, heard those words very differently.
He stared in utter disbelief, his face nearly turning pale as his mind screamed at how ridiculous this was.
Calling Uta "Mama" was already enough.
Why did she also have to call Cain "Papa"?
Cain did not notice his reaction at all.
The moment he heard that word, his face lit up with delight.
"Ohohoho! Good girl! Come give Papa a hug!"
He spread his arms and lunged forward, intending to squeeze the little creature tightly against his chest.
But she did not give him the chance.
She nimbly dodged him, zipped behind Uta, then poked her head out and stared at Cain.
"Papa's face just now looked really strange."
"Ahem. I lost control for a moment. My apologies!"
Cain quickly coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.
After giving Uta and the little creature a reassuring look, he turned toward the dejected Aokiji.
"Kuzan! What exactly did you hear during that call? What could make a Marine Admiral lose control so badly that you released ice across such a huge area?"
Aokiji had no choice but to explain everything he had heard over the Den Den Mushi.
He understood Sakazuki's personality far too well, especially after hearing the information Kizaru had given him.
Although Cain was supposedly the primary target of the Marine operation, the fleets Sakazuki was bringing were not there only to capture Cain.
They were also targeting the large number of pirates gathering for Uta's concert.
Even if Aokiji took Cain away from the city, Sakazuki would never abandon the chance to capture so many pirates at once.
Aokiji's heart was filled with concern.
Once again, a painful choice stood before him.
After a moment of silence, he finally suppressed the struggle within himself, steadied his resolve, and spoke gravely to Cain.
"So, Cain… Uta-chan… you should cancel the concert."
Cain listened to the entire explanation and thought for a moment.
Then he gave Aokiji a reassuring look, raised a hand, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, Kuzan. Leave this to me! The concert will continue as planned."
"I promise there won't be a single casualty, and none of the pirates who deserve to be arrested will escape."
"But I need your help with something. Get me a large collection of pirate bounty posters."
Aokiji stared at him in confusion, completely unable to understand what Cain was planning.
Cain, however, already had a clear idea.
Once Uta began singing and pulled everyone present into Uta World, not a single pirate in the venue would be able to escape.
The Marines would only need to compare the trapped people against the bounty posters and arrest them one by one.
As for Sakazuki, Cain would personally stop him outside.
Aokiji could remain behind to protect Uta.
It was the perfect arrangement.
Of course, doing this would expose the true power of Uta's Devil Fruit.
But that hardly mattered anymore.
Uta possessed other means of fighting, and now she also had the adorable daughter they had just accepted to help protect her.
What neither Cain nor Aokiji knew was that the concert had already been divided into two separate areas.
And because the plan was a classified Marine operation, Iceburg was unable to tell either of them the truth.