Although Aokiji still had serious doubts about Cain's plan, he ultimately chose to trust him.
After all, just as Fleet Admiral Sengoku had said, even though Cain was now considered a pirate, he had never abandoned his own sense of justice.
Aokiji also wanted to see how Cain would handle the situation before them.
However…
"Yeah, just like that. Hold it steady…"
Cain gestured from a short distance away while Aokiji followed his instructions, sitting cross-legged on the deck with his right fist pressed against his forehead as though deep in thought.
At the same time, he gradually transformed his body into ice.
Before long, he had become a complete ice sculpture.
The statue's mouth opened slightly, and Aokiji's exasperated voice emerged from within.
"Why am I doing this?!"
The ice-cloud Homie was circling above him, having already decided that he was a delicious dessert.
She eagerly devoured the cold radiating from his body in huge mouthfuls.
Cain answered without the slightest urgency.
"What else can we do? The power of your Ice-Ice Fruit happens to be my daughter's favorite flavor. Just let her have some. She's still a child, after all."
Aokiji covered his face and looked toward Cain.
"Did Big Mom give this little one to you too? I have to admit, adding her to your forces could raise your bounty by several hundred million more."
Perhaps because they both wielded the power of ice, Aokiji could clearly sense that the little creature's future control over freezing power would not be inferior to his own.
Combined with Cain's strength, she would undoubtedly become a terrifying force in the future.
"Wait, Mr. Kuzan. Please stop calling her 'this little one' and 'that little creature.' She has a name!"
Uta hurried over to correct him, then turned toward the cloud in the sky and softened her voice.
"Isn't that right, Bella?"
"Mm-hmm!"
The round cloud bobbed happily before introducing herself to Cain and the ice statue.
"I forgot to introduce myself to Papa and Mr. Dessert. My name is Bestla, but you can call me Bella!"
"Uh… Mr. Dessert?"
Aokiji was momentarily speechless.
"Bestla…"
Hearing the full name, Cain's pupils trembled slightly. He immediately turned toward Uta, his voice filled with surprise.
"When did you come up with that name?"
"Hehe, just now!"
Uta tapped the side of her head and smiled.
"Pretty good, right? I'm not bad at naming things!"
Cain could only smile helplessly.
After all, even Big Mom's famous Homies—Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon—carried names drawn from myths and history he knew well.
Yet those myths, legends, and historical references from his previous world did not exist here.
Uta choosing a name like Bestla was most likely nothing more than pure coincidence.
But Cain alone understood what that name represented.
In Norse mythology, Bestla was a second-generation frost giantess born during the primordial age of chaos, a direct descendant of the first giant, Ymir, and part of one of Jötunheim's oldest giant bloodlines.
As a frost giantess from birth, she embodied the terrible cold capable of freezing the heavens and earth, a living incarnation of ice, snow, and winter.
Although the surviving myths spoke little about her directly, her unrivaled status had forever engraved her name into the shared history of both the gods and giants of Norse mythology.
After all, this frost giantess was the wife of Borr, the second-generation king of the Æsir, and the mother of Odin—the All-Father who ruled the Nine Realms—as well as his two brothers, Vili and Vé.
That reminded Cain of the Devil Fruit he had originally intended to give his future Homie.
The More-More Fruit, which could magnify the size, speed, and even strength of anything it touched by a hundredfold.
Bella was already the embodiment of ice, and she had been created through Big Mom's soul-based ability, whose central symbolism revolved around motherhood.
If she eventually consumed the More-More Fruit…
The three traits of ice, mother, and giant would all be complete.
From her origin to the very core of her abilities, every part of her would perfectly mirror the frost giantess of myth.
Bestla truly was the perfect name!
…
Having settled that thought, Cain turned toward Bella and softened his voice tentatively.
"Bella? Can I call you that?"
"Of course you can, Papa!"
Her soft, childish voice sounded even sweeter than before.
Cain felt his heart fill with burning warmth.
A tingling sensation raced from the top of his head all the way to his toes, and his entire body toppled backward beyond his control.
Uta reacted quickly and caught him before he hit the deck.
Bella also flew over in a panic.
Their two faces crowded into Cain's view, both filled with obvious concern.
"Are you all right, Cain?"
"Papa, what's wrong?"
Cain looked at the woman he had chosen to spend his life with and the adorable daughter he had only just gained.
He first closed his eyes, forcing down the emotions threatening to overflow. Then he suddenly opened them and stared intensely at the two of them.
With a trembling arm, he raised his hand and shouted the hottest words in his heart with all his strength.
"I HAVE NO REGRETS LEFT IN THIS LIFE!"
"Mama, what is Papa talking about? I don't understand."
Bella tilted her entire cloud body and floated closer to Uta, asking in a quiet voice.
"Mama doesn't understand either. Who knows what strange nonsense has popped into your father's head this time?"
Uta sighed helplessly, although the smile at the corners of her lips was impossible to hide.
"Bella."
Cain instantly calmed down and spoke gently.
"Could you call me Papa one more time?"
"Huh…?"
Under his intense stare, the clouds around Bella's cheeks turned faintly pink. She fidgeted for a moment before softly calling,
"Papa."
"One more time."
"Papa."
"Again!"
"YOU STUPID OLD MAN! HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME SAY IT?!"
Her entire face turning red, Bella finally lost her patience and shouted in embarrassment and anger.
"Nani?!"
Cain was completely stunned.
His entire body froze in place, and he nearly jumped off the deck.
When had his soft, sweet little daughter learned to talk like that?
But after thinking about it, it made perfect sense.
Bella had been created from a fragment of his own soul, so naturally her personality resembled his.
Even Cain sometimes called Garp "old man," so there was nothing particularly strange about it.
Besides, Bella was a girl.
After Cain had teased her over and over without knowing when to stop, getting annoyed was only natural.
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