The moment Cain said that, Uta's face turned bright red.
Ivankov was still standing right there!
There was no way he could let Cain realize what had just happened.
Uta immediately threw her out of his arms, turned away, and sat down nearby before forcing out two awkward coughs.
"Ahem… Th-that must have been your imagination! I didn't do anything!"
"And put Bella down already!"
It was painfully unconvincing.
Uta's legs were clamped tightly together, his entire body felt as though it were burning, and his wandering gaze seemed determined to find something fascinating on the ceiling.
Inside his mind, however, a small wild beast was already smashing itself against the walls.
'Aaaah! Why is Cain so attractive as a woman?!'
'I want to hold her tightly, press against her, and never let go!'
Outwardly, Uta forced himself to maintain a serious expression.
"Don't forget why we came here, Cain!"
"Oh! Right!"
Cain finally remembered.
She set Bella down, turned toward Ivankov, and asked about Sanji's condition.
Ivankov was standing nearby with a deeply thoughtful expression.
Only when Cain mentioned Sanji did he begin explaining.
Since Ivankov knew Cain's group would be arriving soon, he had deliberately avoided informing Sanjiko and given her several days off.
Unfortunately, she had spent the entire time locked inside her room and stubbornly refused to come out.
No one knew what had happened.
"I see…"
Cain rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a Visual Den Den Mushi, preparing to contact Pudding and begin the first phase of Operation Save Sanji.
Just as she was about to connect the call, however, she suddenly grabbed her head and wailed.
"Aaaaaah! How am I supposed to explain this to Katakuri?!"
Cain's anguished cry reminded Ivankov of what had been bothering him earlier.
"Cain-chan, I finally understand why you look so familiar."
He shoved a mirror in front of Cain's face and began gesturing dramatically.
"If your eyes were a little sharper, your nose slightly more upturned, your lips covered in lipstick, and your mouth just a little wider…"
Ivankov clapped his hands with absolute certainty.
"You'd look exactly like Big Mom when she was young!"
"So those rumors spreading across the sea really weren't made up!"
More importantly, Cain currently possessed Homies, resembled the young Big Mom, and had eaten an artificial Azure Dragon Devil Fruit.
The combination immediately made Ivankov imagine a rather troubling possibility.
Cain stared at her reflection and complained helplessly,
"Our hair and figures are the only things that look similar!"
"You changed my eyes, nose, lips, and mouth in your description! What part of that is still supposed to resemble her?!"
"And Big Mom was young decades ago! Why do you remember her face so clearly?!"
"Mama?!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out.
Cain instinctively turned around.
"Huh?"
Katakuri's image had already appeared through the Visual Den Den Mushi.
The moment he saw Cain's appearance, the word had slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself.
Uta, the culprit who had activated the call, innocently held up the Den Den Mushi.
"Ah! Don't look! Stop looking!"
"Katakuri, don't stare at me! Close your eyes!"
Cain hurriedly tried to cover the camera, but there was no way to block everything Katakuri had already seen.
"Cain? Is that really you?"
Katakuri sounded visibly stunned.
"What happened to your appearance? You look so much like Mama when she was young that I mistook you for her."
Ivankov silently shifted into the edge of the camera's view, wearing an expression that clearly said:
See? Even her own family made the same mistake, and you still claim you have nothing to do with Big Mom.
Cain gave him an irritated glance.
Still, she spread her arms toward Katakuri and sighed before patiently explaining everything that had happened.
Uta sat beside her, wrapped one arm around Cain's shoulders, and pulled her head against his chest, shielding her from some of the embarrassment.
The gesture carried a surprisingly masculine air.
"I understand. So it was caused by a Devil Fruit ability."
Katakuri's voice returned to its usual calm tone.
"As long as it can be reversed, there's no problem."
"Then I'll leave my little broth—my little sister in your care for now."
"Of course. I'll take good care of Cain," Uta promised solemnly.
Katakuri nodded.
"Pudding is currently in Chocolat Town. I'll transfer the signal to her frequency, though there may be a slight delay."
"Got it. But Katakuri, don't tell anyone about this—"
Cain had not even finished before the channel began switching.
After hearing the words don't tell anyone, Katakuri instinctively looked up.
At some point, nearly all his brothers and sisters had gathered around him.
Big Mom herself was sitting directly opposite him.
Every one of them stared at him with an indescribable expression.
They had remained outside the Visual Den Den Mushi's camera range, but they had seen everything displayed on the screen.
Now they all crowded closer.
"Katakuri, what exactly was that? Explain everything!"
"Was that really Cain? He looked exactly like Mama when she was young!"
"Our little brother becoming our little sister… honestly, that doesn't sound too bad!"
…
"I never expected my big brother to become my big sister…"
Pudding spoke softly from the other side of the call, surprise covering her face.
"You do resemble Mama, but I can tell that Big Sis Cain is much gentler."
Cain sighed helplessly.
"Why does everyone keep saying I look like her?"
"But yes, I'm definitely much gentler than she is."
"Absolutely."
Pudding cupped her cheeks in both hands, practically surrounded by floating pink hearts.
"Big Sis Cain would make a wonderful wife and mother someday."
"Hey, hey! You can't just say things like that!"
Cain immediately waved her hands in protest.
"Don't worry, Pudding!"
Uta slapped Cain's shapely backside and gave it an experimental squeeze, finding it remarkably soft and springy.
"I'll make sure Cain grows into a fully qualified mother!"
"Uta! You're joking, right?!"
"You're definitely joking!"
Cain stared at him in horror and immediately clenched her backside.
'Uta isn't seriously planning to make me give birth, is he?'
'But… Uta's afraid of pain, so… then what are we supposed to do?'
'Why am I actually starting to feel persuaded?!'
Pudding covered her mouth and giggled from the other side of the call.
The light in her eyes sent a chill down Cain's spine.
The group was currently walking toward Sanji's room.
Along the way, Cain explained the plan to Pudding.
Back in Totto Land, during their carriage ride, Pudding had once described the kind of person she hoped to marry.
Cain had immediately thought of Sanji.
This was the perfect opportunity for them to meet. Perhaps they could avoid the bittersweet ending in which Pudding erased herself from Sanji's memories.
There was only one problem.
Sanji's current condition seemed rather complicated.
"Don't worry, Big Sis Cain!"
Pudding sounded completely confident.
"From your description, I already have a general idea of what Mr. Sanji is like."
"Even if he's suffering a setback right now, I believe he can overcome it!"
"I'm glad you're willing to give him a chance."
Cain nodded in satisfaction.
"If that bastard ever mistreats you, I'll destroy him myself."
"But that isn't what worries me most. I'm afraid that…"
"Afraid of what?"
Before Cain could finish, the group reached Sanji's door.
It looked perfectly ordinary, but the atmosphere leaking through the cracks was deeply unsettling.
An unnatural silence hung beyond it, mixed with an eerie and sinister feeling.
Ivankov shrugged.
"See? She hasn't left her room in several days."
Cain drew a deep breath and knocked.
"Sanji? It's me, Cain. Are you in there?"
No response.
"Sanjiko-chan?" Ivankov called in a deliberately sweet voice. "I have good news! A beautiful girl wants to meet you!"
Still nothing.
"Could something have happened to him?"
Cain was about to knock again when Uta pushed her aside and raised one leg.
"Let me."
Bang!
The door slammed into the wall and bounced twice.
Then everyone turned to stone.
The room was a complete disaster.
Calling it messy would have been far too generous.
It looked more like the aftermath of some deranged cult ritual.
Countless crumpled white tissues covered the floor, as though a blizzard made entirely of paper had swept through the room.
Unfortunately, they were stained with an alarming amount of red.
Every one of them had been used to wipe away a nosebleed.
There was so much blood that Cain seriously began considering whether they needed to reserve an entire blood bank for Sanji.
But the walls were what truly made everyone's scalps tingle.
Every surface, from floor to ceiling, was completely covered in photographs.
They were all pictures of Sanjiko posing in various ways.
Looking back over her shoulder.
Lowering her head with a gentle smile.
Brushing aside her hair.
Sleeping peacefully with her eyes closed.
Every picture had been taken from such an impossibly calculated angle that no one could understand how Sanji had managed to photograph himself that way.
Several full-length mirrors stood in the center of the room, arranged to provide perfect lighting and a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view.
A professional set of makeup brushes and foundation bottles covered the nearby table.
Beside them lay an open book titled:
[A Young Lady's Guide to Self-Improvement: How to Become an Irresistible Woman]
And in the middle of this absurd spectacle lay its protagonist.
Sanjiko.
She was stretched flat on her back in a pose that could only be described as heroic.
A silk nightgown covered in pink hearts clung to her body, while fluffy rabbit slippers remained on her feet.
But her expression…
Her eyes had rolled completely backward, and her pupils had become enormous hearts.
Two dried trails of blood remained beneath her nostrils.
Yet a peaceful and deeply satisfied smile rested upon her lips.
It was the smile of someone who had achieved enlightenment.
The smile of a woman who had no regrets left in life.
Or, as Cain's mind immediately and accurately described it:
Sanjiko had passed out very peacefully.
Click.
Everyone turned.
At some point, Uta had pulled the new camera from inside his shirt and aimed it directly at the body—the peacefully "departed victim"—lying on the floor.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
"What a terrifying crime scene…"
"I need to preserve this properly!"