After making tentative arrangements for Sanji's rescue, Cain kept glancing back and forth between Shanks and Makino.
He had been holding the question in for long enough and finally asked,
"Why did you two come back together? Where's Dadan? And where did the rest of your crew go?"
The confession ceremony a few days earlier had caused quite a stir, but Cain's misunderstanding led to a fight with Shanks, bringing the entire event to an abrupt end.
Later, Makino learned from the villagers what Shanks had originally planned.
Ever since then, the two of them had acted painfully awkward whenever they met.
One would stare at the sky while the other studied the ground, and even the simplest conversation took three unnecessary turns.
Yet now they were standing side by side, looking strangely comfortable together.
The more Cain thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Shanks scratched the back of his head and gave a dry laugh.
"Ahaha… Beckman and the others had something to do, so they went back to the ship first. I happened to run into Makino on the way."
"As for Dadan…"
His words abruptly trailed off, and his gaze drifted toward Makino.
Makino did not answer either. She merely lowered her head slightly.
Shanks cleared his throat and looked at her again. Makino met his eyes and gave a faint nod.
Both of them looked as though they wanted to say something but did not know how to begin.
They stood unusually straight, making the whole thing seem even more deliberate.
Cain decided to save them the trouble.
"Whatever you want to say, just say it. I can handle it."
Several thoughts had already crossed his mind.
Makino had watched all of them grow up. There was no need to explain how important she was to Cain.
If she truly chose Shanks, he would respect her decision.
Thinking that, Cain slowly clenched his fist.
Of course, if Shanks ever did anything to hurt Big Sis Makino, Cain would absolutely—
Shanks and Makino exchanged another glance, then nodded at the same time.
"Well, Cain, the truth is that just now we—"
"I know. I understand."
Cain spoke before they could finish.
Makino blinked and tilted her head.
"Huh? Cain, you already know? Then why didn't you help put out the fire?"
"Put out the fire?"
Cain repeated the words, completely unable to connect them to the conversation.
Shanks casually added from the side,
"You didn't know? Your house burned down!"
Cain's eyes widened.
"What happened?!"
Shanks quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture and tried to keep his tone gentle.
"Most of your house was destroyed, but we managed to save the valuable things inside, including your books. Dadan is over there helping sort through everything right now."
He paused when Cain's face began turning pale.
"We also figured out what started it. The refrigerator."
"It hadn't been used in years, so the wiring was badly deteriorated. Then it was forced to run far beyond its limits, and it caught fire."
Cain stared suspiciously at Shanks, disbelief written across his entire face.
How did a refrigerator suddenly set a whole house on fire?
Then realization struck him.
"Bella?"
"That's right. Bella."
Shanks gestured with his hands as he explained.
"She's been sleeping inside it every night and absorbing the cold air. The refrigerator kept running until it finally burned out."
"Once the ice melted, water leaked down into all those old components, and then…"
Makino nodded beside him.
"Since Bella also spent time inside the refrigerator here at the bar today, I checked it as well. It's broken too, though luckily it didn't catch fire."
"I already stopped by on the way back and asked someone to repair it."
Cain exploded into motion like a lit firecracker.
"MY HOUSE!"
He had only just returned after being away for so long.
The hole he had smashed through the roof with his own head had barely been patched.
Now the entire house had burned down.
If Grandpa found out, he was going to beat Cain flat!
…
The following morning, at the harbor of Windmill Village…
"Bella, no matter what happens, you must never sleep inside a refrigerator again! Understand?"
Uta gently pinched Bella's cheeks while carefully lecturing her.
She had seen the ruins with her own eyes.
Cain and Shanks claimed that only most of the building had burned and that a little of it remained.
In reality, the only thing still standing was the front door.
Bella had also realized how serious her mistake was and nodded frantically.
"I understand, Mama!"
Watching them, Cain wiped the sweat from his forehead and silently thought,
'Uta is becoming more and more like a mother.'
He then turned toward Shanks and the others with a solemn expression.
"I'm counting on all of you this time. Thankfully, there are backup copies of the blueprints, along with some old photographs."
"Please restore the house exactly as it was."
"It's no trouble at all!"
"We're only repairing a house. We'd be happy to help!"
The crew smiled at Cain with unusually kind and pleasant expressions.
Considering their relationship, there was nothing strange about them agreeing so readily.
Yet for some reason, their words sounded deeply suspicious to Cain.
Even so, he continued,
"We won't be using the ship this time, so there's some money aboard that you can take whenever you need it."
"And please help prepare a venue for Uta's East Blue concert while we're gone."
"Of course," Shanks replied. "You're leaving to help one of your companions, after all."
"But are you taking Uta with you this time too?"
"Yes."
Cain answered without hesitation.
"I promised her before the Summit War."
"That would be the last time I ever went so far away from her."
"I won't do it again."
"I see."
Shanks nodded and looked toward Uta, who was still patiently educating Bella.
"Then I really was right to entrust Uta to you."
"Take her around and enjoy the journey. Leave the concert preparations to us."
Cain nodded.
His body abruptly began changing.
Flame clouds rose and churned around him, completely obscuring his figure.
The enormous silhouette of a dragon appeared within them before bursting through the clouds.
Soft morning light gleamed across his pink scales.
His long body coiled majestically through the air, his whiskers dancing in the wind as an overwhelming aura of power and dignity radiated from him.
Uta and Bella stood atop his head, waving goodbye to everyone below.
"Don't worry! We'll be back in two or three days at most!"
After a brief farewell, Cain took to the sky and soon disappeared beyond the horizon.
The crew watched him grow smaller in the distance and began muttering among themselves.
"Cain's dragon form really is… how should I put it…?"
"Who cares? We aren't even afraid of Kaido. Why would we be afraid of him?"
"The real problem is that Makino's refrigerator is broken and hasn't been repaired yet. Bella is gone too, so there's no ice in the bar."
"How are we supposed to drink?"
"That isn't the only problem. We still have to rebuild his house," another crew member complained.
"Does he honestly think we're going to restore it properly?"
"That isn't just Cain's house. It belongs to that Marine Vice Admiral too."
"The captain might have agreed, but I really don't want to repair it."
Someone immediately shouted,
"Then why were you the quickest one to agree just now?!"
The pirate lowered his voice and changed his tone.
"Rebuilding the house is one thing. What we put inside it is another."
"I'm going to stuff the space beneath his bed with dirty magazines so Uta will stay far away from him."
"I had the same idea," another pirate said with a vigorous nod. "Though I wasn't planning anything that cruel. I was only going to hide a few pairs of filthy socks under there."
"Come on, everyone. Think of what else we can leave behind."
Shanks watched his troublesome crew and sighed helplessly.
"Can these people really rebuild Cain's house properly?"
Still, they were right about one thing.
The bar had no ice.
Buying it would not be enough, and even the stock aboard their ship could never support the amount they drank.
At that moment, the ringing of a bicycle bell reached their ears.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
A man carrying a map and wearing a backpack was slowly cycling across the surface of the sea, with a penguin following close behind him.
He looked toward the village and murmured,
"Ara ara… So this is my teacher's hometown?"