"Bwahahaha! That brat really is here with me!"
"But he can't talk to any of you right now."
Garp laughed loudly into the long-distance Den Den Mushi, then glanced down at Yasopp.
After being forced to drink three enormous barrels of liquor, the sniper now lay sprawled flat on his back with his stomach swollen like a ball, completely unconscious.
On the other end of the call, Cain and the Red Hair Pirates all released a collective sigh of relief.
"That's great, Garp-san. Please let Yasopp stay with you for now. We'll come pick him up later."
"Hmph! Stay out of this, Red-Hair! Just because you managed to run off to the East Blue doesn't mean I'm jealous!"
Garp snorted before softening his tone and speaking to Cain.
"Cain, since you're back in Windmill Village, apologize to Dadan for me."
"When it came to Ace, I may have stood on the opposite side, but…"
Ever since Ace became a Warlord and the Marines began establishing themselves in the New World, Garp had been unable to find even enough time for a brief visit home.
So he entrusted the matter to Cain, who had finally returned to their hometown.
Cain nodded gently.
"Yeah. I understand, Grandpa."
After a few more simple reminders, the call ended.
Cain raised his eyes and looked over the familiar Windmill Village.
A breeze carried by the turning windmills brushed against his face. The village looked exactly as it did in his memories—quiet, peaceful, and warm.
The next moment, a huge crowd of villagers poured out from the village entrance, clearly drawn by the sound of the ships arriving.
Their faces were filled with surprise and joy.
Shanks had not set foot here in years.
Cain had been gone for three.
And Uta had been away for an entire decade.
The villagers ran toward them, excitedly shouting their names.
"Cain!"
"Uta!"
"Shanks! And everyone from the Red Hair Pirates!"
The moment they reached them, Cain and Uta were lifted into the air and tossed upward again and again.
Unfortunately, during the next toss, Uta was caught safely and immediately surrounded by people asking how she had been.
Cain, on the other hand, looked down to find that everyone beneath him had already scattered.
Not a single person intended to catch him!
Fortunately, he noticed in time, flipped in midair, and landed steadily instead of crashing onto his backside.
The moment his feet touched the ground, however, he found himself facing the village mayor's stern glare.
Before Cain could react, the mayor and several of his old friends rushed forward and surrounded him completely.
Cain's heart skipped a beat when he saw the threatening looks in their eyes.
This did not resemble a welcoming party at all.
They were clearly here to settle a score!
A second later, the mayor and the others pounced, and Cain disappeared beneath a chaotic pile of villagers.
"Ow! Damn it, why is this brat's face harder than a fortress wall?! Hit him harder!"
The mayor discovered that punching Cain only made his own hands ache, so he switched to striking Cain's head with his cane.
"You rotten brat! You were doing perfectly well as a Marine, so why did you suddenly become a pirate?!"
"Were all those books you spent years reading completely wasted?!"
Makino slowly approached Shanks and offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Shanks. Everyone in the village has rather strong opinions about Cain becoming a pirate."
Unlike Ace and Luffy, who had always intended to become pirates, Cain had joined the Marines first and then suddenly defected to piracy.
Naturally, the villagers were upset.
"Huh? Cain used to be a Marine?"
Lucky Roux emerged from the crowd while chewing on a chicken leg and asked through a mouthful of food.
Cain had only just crawled free from the pile when he noticed Shanks staring at him.
His scalp immediately went numb with embarrassment.
'Damn it. How did I forget about that?'
He hurriedly explained,
"Well, I didn't deliberately hide it from any of you. But you've all seen my Devil Fruit."
"There's no way I could allow the World Government to discover it. If I had stayed with the Marines, I would've eventually ended up strapped to an operating table."
"I didn't have much choice."
"Exactly! Grandpa, don't make things difficult for Papa!"
Bella suddenly floated over and shouted brightly at Shanks.
The entire harbor fell silent.
"That's… one of Big Mom's Homies?"
"Grandpa?!"
"Papa?!"
"What?!" everyone cried at once.
The harbor instantly erupted into chaos.
Shanks froze completely.
Then he rushed forward, cupped Bella's face in one hand, and spoke in a trembling voice.
"G-Grandpa? You called me Grandpa?"
"Then your mama is…?!"
"Wait, Grandpa! Stop squeezing my cheeks!"
"Of course I'm Bella's mama. Shanks, let her go."
Uta had just emerged from the excited crowd.
The moment she saw what was happening, she hurried over, pulled Bella protectively into her arms, and glared at Shanks in displeasure.
Shanks did not dare meet Uta's gaze.
He immediately turned away and fixed his eyes on Cain, who had only just climbed back to his feet.
His expression clearly demanded an explanation.
Cain cleared his throat.
"Bella is a Homie created with the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit. She was made from my soul, so naturally, I'm her father."
"And I chose her name, so naturally, I'm her mother."
Uta stepped in front of Cain while holding Bella.
"Her full name is Bestla, but you can call her Bella."
She spoke calmly to the stunned Shanks and the rest of his crew.
Looking at the happy family of three standing before them, something seemed to crack.
Shanks and every member of the Red Hair Pirates instantly lost all color, turned black and white, and crouched in a neat row while drawing circles on the ground.
Despair radiated from every inch of their bodies.
It seemed Uta and Cain being together had become completely unstoppable!
No—it had probably never been in doubt to begin with.
Meanwhile, the mayor and the villagers had already fallen silent in astonishment.
Once they recovered, their attitudes changed instantly.
They surged forward and surrounded Cain and Uta.
The mayor even threw an arm around Cain's shoulders and laughed.
"Well done, brat! You did great!"
Makino looked at the petrified Red Hair Pirates and cautiously asked,
"Shanks… are you all right?"
"Huh? Hahahaha! I'm fine! Of course I'm fine!"
Shanks suddenly jumped to his feet and threw his head back in laughter.
The tears gathering uncontrollably in the corners of his eyes might have come from the joy of gaining a granddaughter—or the heartbreak of watching his precious daughter be stolen away.
"They've grown up, after all! Hahaha!"
Even while laughing, Shanks did not forget the matter at hand.
He walked toward Cain one step at a time.
Cain swallowed awkwardly.
'Here it comes.'
Shanks was finally going to question him about his past in the Marines.
Yet after staring at him for several seconds, Shanks suddenly laughed again, as carefree and open as he had been in Windmill Village ten years ago.
"Well, so what if you used to be a Marine?"
"You're a pirate now, aren't you?"
He turned toward his crew and waved dismissively.
"Hey, all of you, stop giving the kid a hard time."
"Whether he used to be a Marine or not, he's one of the Red Hair Pirates now. Isn't that what matters?"
"That's right!"
"We're not the kind of people who obsess over someone's past!"
The Red Hair Pirates immediately agreed, their earlier despair already forgotten.
Just then, Cain and Shanks both stiffened and turned toward the sea.
The once-calm surface suddenly began churning violently.
Waves crashed against the harbor as though some enormous creature were rising from below.
"Th-this is…" The mayor's expression changed as he stared at the turbulent water. "The Lord of the Coast!"
"So it's this thing."
"After all these years, it still dares show its face? Is it looking for another beating?"
Beckman already had a hand on his gun, while Lucky Roux lowered his chicken leg.
"What do you think? Should we just kill it?"
Cain quickly raised a hand to stop them and smiled.
"No need to rush."
"Bella, it's your turn. Show your grandpa what you can do."
"Got it, Papa!"
Bella responded brightly and floated toward the shore.
Her presence suddenly changed as she transformed into her combat form.
She pressed the ice crystal forming from her body lightly against the sea.
"Ice Age!"
The instant she spoke, freezing air erupted outward from the crystal.
In the blink of an eye, the entire stretch of sea surrounding the harbor froze solid.
Even the Lord of the Coast, which had just leaped from the water with its enormous jaws open, was instantly transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.
The attack was still somewhat weaker than Aokiji's own, but it had already reached seventy or eighty percent of his mastery.
That was entirely due to the boost Bella received from the fragment of Cain's transmigrator soul.
At this point, she was practically a living Ice-Ice Fruit.
Everyone at the harbor stared at Bella in stunned silence.
Even Shanks, who had already witnessed the strength of Big Mom's Homies, could not hide his surprise.
Only the mayor ignored all of that.
He stared at the completely frozen sea, then looked at Bella before slowly turning toward Cain.
His face instantly twisted with fury!
"You rotten little bastard! Who told you to freeze the entire sea?!"
"How are we supposed to sail anywhere now?!"
He raised his cane and began chasing Cain again.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I messed up, Mayor!"
Cain ran with both hands over his head, apologizing as the harbor descended into chaos once more.
Makino watched them and smiled warmly.
"Everyone really is just the same as before."
"I'm so glad."
Her gaze passed over Shanks, Uta, Cain, and the members of the Red Hair Pirates.
Her voice was gentle and sincere.
"Shanks, Uta, Cain—and all of you—it's been a long time."
"Welcome home."
"Mm. I'm back!"
Uta answered with a bright smile.
"We're back!" Shanks and his crew shouted together.
Still fleeing from the mayor's cane, Cain also yelled at the top of his lungs.
"I'M BACK TOO!"