Uta's cheeks remained bright red, and her voice grew softer with every word, trembling with embarrassment as she stammered,
"So… tonight, maybe we could try it without turning on the lights… Um…"
Before she could finish, she looked at Cain's exhausted face and immediately found herself caught in an intense internal struggle.
Two palm-sized versions of Uta suddenly appeared on her shoulders.
One wore a pure white halo and fluttered angelic wings, while the other had sharp devil horns and a swishing black tail.
They began arguing furiously beside her ears.
The little angel frowned and waved both hands.
"No, no! Cain is already exhausted! How could he possibly survive being tormented again?"
The little devil planted her hands on her hips and scoffed, wearing an expression that clearly said the angel was hopelessly naive.
"Are you stupid? This is our chance to take control while he's still weak! Once he recovers completely, we'll be the ones unable to get out of bed!"
"B-but he looks so pitiful…"
The little angel floated over to Cain and stared sadly at his tired face.
Before she could finish speaking, the little devil kicked her across the room.
She slammed into an invisible wall and bounced twice before falling away.
The little devil snorted with her hands still on her hips.
"When we can't get out of bed later, who's going to feel sorry for us?"
That struck directly at Uta's greatest concern.
Her thoughts instantly turned into a confused mess.
She began mumbling something incoherent about "doing it together tonight," while her hands moved without permission and lifted the blanket as she prepared to crawl into Cain's bed.
At that critical moment, someone knocked loudly on the bedroom door.
Knock, knock, knock!
Shanks' concerned voice came from outside.
"Uta, may I come in?"
Uta reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She shot upright and sat perfectly straight.
Cain instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and pretended to be unconscious.
Uta cleared her throat and forced herself to sound calm as she allowed Shanks inside.
Shanks opened the door carrying a pile of dark-colored medicinal ingredients and several steaming plates of meat.
The rich aroma immediately filled the room.
"These are supplements to help Cain recover, along with some meat to restore his energy."
He placed everything on the low table beside the desk.
When he turned around, he immediately noticed Uta's intensely awkward expression and Cain lying in bed with his eyes tightly shut, very obviously pretending to be unconscious.
Shanks saw through the act at once.
"Cain, stop pretending. If you're awake, open your eyes."
"Relax. I'm not here to question you about whatever happened between you and Uta. I only want to ask about the person who attacked you earlier."
The moment she heard that, unbearable embarrassment surged through Uta.
She spun around and fled the room, though after reaching the hallway, she leaned half her body back around the doorframe and watched Cain with obvious concern.
Only then did Cain slowly open his eyes.
He immediately launched into an impenetrable wall of excuses.
"I didn't see anything, and I don't know anything! I blinked once, and the next thing I knew, someone had launched me through the air. That's all I remember!"
Caught completely off guard by Cain's shameless refusal to cooperate, Shanks turned toward Uta at the doorway.
She nodded furiously, indicating that she had not seen anything either.
The two had clearly agreed to weld their mouths shut and reveal absolutely nothing.
Unfortunately, their excessive secrecy only caused the smile on Shanks' face to slowly disappear.
His expression grew increasingly grave.
"So a more thorough examination really is necessary."
The moment he finished speaking, Shanks yanked the blanket away.
He grabbed Cain by the shoulders and arms and began carefully inspecting every part of his body, paying particular attention to his left arm and refusing to overlook even the faintest mark.
"Wait, wait! Shanks, what are you doing?!"
Cain nearly launched himself out of bed.
"I'm examining you!"
Shanks did not loosen his grip, and his voice remained completely serious.
"Is this supposed to be a legitimate medical examination?!"
Uta was still clinging to the doorframe, staring in complete disbelief.
Her face turned so red it nearly began smoking as she watched her father manhandle her boyfriend.
Her mind shut down entirely. She had no idea what kind of scene the two of them were acting out.
Neither Cain nor Uta noticed that Shanks was not joking in the slightest.
His gaze remained deeply focused.
A clear theory had already formed in his mind.
Judging from the blood left at the scene, Cain had seemingly been defeated in a single attack.
Combined with all the earlier clues, one name gradually became clearer.
Rather than being exceptionally skilled at hiding, the attacker had probably moved away at an almost unimaginable speed.
That reminded Shanks of a certain kind of transportation formation.
Someone who possessed such a method, whose strength was no weaker than his own, and who might specifically target Cain—or even Uta—narrowed the possibilities considerably.
Among the God's Knights who served the Celestial Dragons directly, only one person fit.
'Shamrock… was it you?'
If Shamrock was truly responsible, no one knew what strange methods "they" might use.
They could have planted some kind of mark on Cain using a technique Shanks had never even encountered before.
(Lower-level examples included the mark bestowed upon members of the God's Blades, which could apparently be granted without Imu's direct involvement. Based on how Harald first received his mark in the manga, the Five Elders were clearly capable of giving it. Shamrock almost certainly possessed similar authority, and Shanks believed the same.
Shanks suspected this because his former identity as a Celestial Dragon could easily drag Uta into danger, which would naturally involve Cain as well. Considering Cain's strength, Shanks had every reason to worry that "they" might mark Cain, control him, then use him to control Uta and ultimately restrain Shanks himself.
Note: Cain had been wrapped in Shanks' cloak immediately after being pulled from the sea, so Shanks had not examined him carefully at the time.)
Cain had taken the attack head-on and made genuine physical contact with the attacker.
If some parasitic mark had truly been implanted in him, the consequences could be disastrous.
Shanks' peripheral vision shifted toward Gryphon beside him.
His fingers quietly settled around the hilt.
His entire body tensed as Conqueror's Haki faintly churned around him.
At the slightest sign of anything unusual, he was ready to draw his sword immediately.
Shanks repeatedly inspected every part of Cain's body.
Only the area still covered by Cain's underwear remained unchecked.
Shanks' eyes sharpened.
He slowly drew Gryphon from its sheath.
Keeping one hand around the hilt, he extended two fingers toward the edge of Cain's underwear.
He had prepared for every possibility.
The instant he detected even the faintest movement from a hidden mark, he would strike without hesitation and deny the enemy any opportunity to act.
Even if it meant betraying Cain and destroying Uta's happiness, he would still do it.
Even if Garp beat him for three days and three nights afterward, Shanks would accept the punishment.
…
Cain stared at him in utter horror.
His mind completely collapsed into chaos.
'What is he trying to do?!'
Cain had only refused to tell him the truth.
The supposed attack had been one enormous misunderstanding. There was no hidden enemy!
He had merely become overstimulated, suffered a violent nosebleed, and launched himself into the sky.
What kind of insane conclusion had Shanks reached?!
'Don't tell me… Did he figure out what happened between Uta and me?!'
'Why else would he be staring directly at my underwear?'
'And why is he holding Gryphon?!'
'He isn't planning to… cut that part off, is he?!'
Cain's soul nearly left his body.
He violently scrambled backward until his spine slammed against the headboard.
Both hands desperately gripped the waistband of his underwear, refusing to let go under any circumstances.
His terrified scream cracked and blasted straight through the roof.
"HELP ME!!!"
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