Melodious singing drifted from the stage as Uta and En-chan danced and sang together, bursting with energy.
"Are you all right?"
Issho, seated near an evacuation aisle in the audience area, turned toward Kuzan.
"Have you been overworking yourself lately?"
"Ah, well… maybe that really is it."
Kuzan rubbed his nose and glanced toward the figure onstage, struggling to keep a straight face.
"Lately I've had to rebuild houses, work as a living ice machine, and now I'm even here helping set the mood for the concert."
"I don't exactly mind, but it's exhausting."
"Honestly, this is harder than catching pirates."
Issho nodded slightly.
"You've certainly been through quite a bit."
"Thanks to you and the Red Hair Pirates stepping in, those troublemakers lurking around the area have remained quiet."
"I had assumed an Emperor like Red-Hair would have little interest in something like music. I certainly didn't expect him to personally help maintain order for a concert."
"Oh, you mean Red-Hair."
Kuzan nodded.
"They're helping keep things under control because of Cain. Apparently, they're all Uta fans too."
"They seem pretty close to her. Sounds like they've known her for a long time."
Kuzan did not know about the true relationship between Shanks and Uta, so he merely assumed the Red Hair Pirates were longtime fans.
After speaking, he paused and turned toward Issho.
"So you didn't come here just to ask me what it was like being an Admiral."
"You were actually ordered here by the Marines to handle security?"
"That is correct."
Issho answered openly.
"As Uta's concert drew closer, its popularity continued to grow. It has now become a worldwide event."
"With crowds this large, there will inevitably be people who come here with malicious intentions."
"For that reason, the Marines assigned me to maintain order and are treating this mission as part of my Admiral evaluation."
He smiled faintly.
"Judging by the current situation, however, neither I nor the Marines seem particularly necessary."
"Receiving the Admiral position this easily would feel somewhat improper, but sitting here peacefully with you while listening to such beautiful music…"
"That is not a bad outcome either."
Kuzan looked at the blind man beside him and felt a growing sense of respect.
Their short conversation had already told him plenty about the man who might soon become an Admiral.
Steady.
Principled.
And apparently someone who knew how to appreciate a rare moment of peace.
If he and Issho had entered the Marines during the same generation, Kuzan suspected they would have gotten along extremely well.
That thought eased some of the concerns he still carried about the Marines.
It seemed Headquarters had successfully recruited another truly powerful fighter.
The vacant Admiral positions would probably be filled soon enough.
Then Kuzan suddenly remembered something.
"Didn't you mention that another guy was recruited around the same time as you and entered the Admiral evaluation too?"
He tilted his head.
"You're sitting here relaxing and listening to music. Aren't you worried he'll outperform you?"
Issho shook his head.
"My assignment is to maintain order here."
"As long as no one causes trouble, I have fulfilled my duty."
"As for the other candidate…"
Issho smiled.
"I may enjoy gambling, but I am not particularly competitive."
"And besides, his situation…"
Issho remembered the report the Marines had sent recently.
Considering Kuzan's relationship with Garp, he decided there was no reason to hide it.
Aramaki had somehow gotten beaten senseless by Garp without anyone at Headquarters even realizing what had happened.
Then he was thrown into Impel Down and interrogated.
The Marines had no idea how to include something like that in an Admiral evaluation, so Aramaki's current assessment had simply been invalidated.
He would have to undergo another one later.
Kuzan's mouth twitched.
He glanced at Issho, who was sitting peacefully beside him enjoying the concert, then imagined the miserable bastard who had spent his own evaluation getting beaten and thrown into Impel Down.
'Same evaluation.'
'One guy gets to sit here listening to music.'
'The other gets tortured in prison.'
'Life really isn't fair.'
…
Kuzan, Issho, and the Marines scattered throughout the audience continued quietly watching the performance.
Eventually, the concert reached its intermission.
The Marines immediately left their seats and began checking the surrounding areas for suspicious movement among the audience.
Meanwhile, after dancing for most of the day, "En-chan" returned to the dressing room.
The instant the door shut behind him, Cain tore off the clothes he was wearing.
Haki surged violently around him, black-red lightning crackling through the room.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
With a voice full of resentment, he returned to his male form.
"It was bad enough having everyone staring at me!"
"Why the hell were they recording it too?!"
"Don't get angry over that, Cain."
Uta hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck and gently resting her head against his shoulder.
"You've worked really hard these past few days."
"You didn't know anything about dancing, but you still put in all that effort to learn."
"Thank you."
Cain's anger immediately cooled.
He slowly exhaled, then turned around.
One hand caught Uta by the wrist while the other slid around her waist as he leaned closer.
"So how are you planning to compensate me?"
"And what about what happened before?"
"You know, right after we came back, I nearly got cut in half by Shanks."
"I-I didn't know Shanks would react like that!"
Uta stammered, visibly flustered.
Cain gave her a wicked grin and leaned even closer, pretending to be angry.
"He only reacted like that because of what you did!"
"I already burned the mattress, so what was with that bedsheet?"
"When did you cut that piece out?"
The moment Cain mentioned the bedsheet, Uta instinctively covered her face.
"Sorry!"
"It was Cain's first time too, so I just wanted to keep something as a memento…"
"I knew you were afraid it would hurt, so I was careful that night. Most of the time, I was basically letting you have your way with me!"
"And you still kept that little red blossom!"
"Then you put it in a frame, and Shanks thought it belonged to you!"
"He nearly came after me with a sword!"
Cain lifted Uta's wrist, lightly brushed his lips against it, and smiled.
"So how are you planning to make that up to me?"
"Maybe next time, I should keep a little souvenir from you too and frame it."
Uta's cheeks turned bright red.
After a moment, she gave a tiny nod.
"…Okay."
Seeing Uta close her eyes and quietly wait for him, Cain smiled and lightly flicked her forehead.
"Why are you so eager?"
"This is a dressing room."
"Aren't you worried someone could walk in at any moment?"
He pulled Uta upright from where she had been half reclining against him, then gently kissed the spot on her forehead he had just flicked.
"Big Sis Makino has been backstage this whole time making honey water for your throat."
"Aren't you worried she might suddenly come in?"
"I-I wasn't eager!"
Uta's face immediately turned even redder.
"I just… I just…"
She really had been tempted to do something with Cain right there.
Now that he had called her out on it, embarrassment completely overwhelmed her.
Looking at her suddenly shy expression, Cain finally felt triumphant.
At last.
He had regained the initiative.
Apparently, Uta in her confident older-sister mode was difficult to handle.
From now on, he would have to tease her properly first and make her flustered enough to switch back into her shy-girl mode.
Then he could take the lead instead of constantly getting led around by her.
While Cain was happily plotting this strategy, Uta looked at him and suddenly fired back,
"You're obviously more impatient than I am!"
"You're still standing there shirtless! Hurry up and put your clothes back on!"
Cain froze.
Only then did he remember that he had torn apart his women's outfit and had not yet changed back into his normal clothes.
He quickly started dressing.
Just as he finished putting everything on and was fastening his belt—
The door opened.
Makino stepped inside carrying a large bottle of honey water.
Her eyes immediately fell on Uta's flushed face.
Then she looked at Cain, who appeared to be "undoing" his belt.
He was actually fastening it.
Makino froze for half a second.
"Oh my…"
She smiled awkwardly.
"Looks like Big Sis came at a bad time."
She calmly placed the honey water on the table, walked back toward the door, and gently closed it behind her.
Before leaving, she kindly reminded the young couple to exercise a little restraint.
It was a dressing room, after all.
Then, not wanting to disturb them further, she quickly disappeared.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Cain grabbed his head and crouched down.
"She misunderstood! She definitely misunderstood something!"
Uta panicked just as badly.
"Of course she did! Why did you have to undo your belt right then?!"
"I WASN'T UNDOING IT! I WAS FASTENING IT!"
Cain groaned.
"Now she definitely thinks something happened…"
"What do we do?"
Uta hesitated.
Then Cain suddenly stopped.
"…Wait."
"Why are we even worried about this?"
"Shanks and the others already know we're together!"
"What exactly are we afraid of?"
"It's not like I haven't already nearly been cut in half by him once!"
Cain straightened with sudden confidence.
"Uh…"
Uta considered that.
"You're right…"
"Though Big Sis Makino probably won't tell Shanks anything…"
She trailed off, thinking.
Then something suddenly occurred to her.
"Cain."
"Have you noticed something?"
"Ever since we came back from Momoiro Island, Big Sis Makino has seemed… different."
"Hm?"
Cain looked confused.
"Has she?"
"Don't you think she feels a lot more mature now?"
Uta tilted her head.
"It's hard to explain…"
"But she kind of has this motherly aura now."
"Hasn't she always been mature?"
Cain shrugged.
"She watched us grow up. It's normal for her to feel a little motherly—"
He suddenly stopped.
Wait.
Maybe it only seemed normal to him precisely because Makino had watched him grow up!
But if even Uta had noticed a difference…
Then could it be—
Could it possibly be that Shanks…
While they were away on Momoiro Island…
Had already made his move?!