Katakuri lowered his gaze toward Stussy, who was sprawled unconscious on the floor.
His enormous scarf covered most of his face, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking.
He had no idea exactly what Uta had done to knock this troublesome woman out so easily.
Still, Cain and Uta no longer seemed interested in pursuing the matter any further.
If the people directly involved were willing to stop there, Katakuri saw no reason to interfere.
Better to get Stussy out of the room before she caused another problem.
He bent down and grabbed her.
The moment he lifted her from the floor—
Stussy's eyes snapped open.
Tiny beads of cold sweat covered her forehead and ran down her cheeks. She calmly pulled out a handkerchief, dabbed them away, then raised her chin.
Her gaze went straight toward Uta with almost deliberate provocation.
Even now, that playful, teasing tone remained in her voice.
"Little sister…"
"If that's all you've got…!"
She paused to catch her breath.
"…it's not going to be… enough… you know…!"
Cain stared at her.
"Hey, hey."
"You're literally gasping between every sentence."
"Maybe stop pretending you're fine!"
Uta looked equally dumbfounded.
Her brows furrowed tightly.
"How…?"
She muttered under her breath.
"It was three whole days…"
Hearing that, Stussy actually smiled.
Katakuri was currently holding her by the back of her collar like a piece of luggage, yet she still crossed her arms over her chest and somehow managed to maintain an elegant, composed pose.
"I told you already."
"If you want to play around with that kind of thing, your big sister can teach you personally."
Her smile became smug.
"After all…"
"I am the Queen of the Pleasure District."
"When it comes to handling a whip, I know exactly what I'm doing."
"Three days isn't enough to break me…"
She gave a soft, triumphant hum.
"Mmm~"
Then Katakuri let go.
Stussy's feet touched the ground.
Her knees immediately folded.
She collapsed face-first.
The mental exhaustion from the Uta World had simply been too severe.
Even though her consciousness had returned to her completely unharmed physical body, her mind still hadn't adjusted.
Her stamina was technically full.
Her legs, however, refused to cooperate.
She couldn't stand at all.
Without thinking, Stussy grabbed Katakuri's pant leg with both hands and refused to let go.
She looked up at him, cheeks puffed slightly in wounded complaint.
"Hey, Little Kuri."
"How can you be so inconsiderate?"
"You were supporting me perfectly well just a moment ago."
"You said you were fine."
Katakuri answered with complete seriousness.
"I said I could endure it."
Stussy spread both arms toward him.
"That doesn't mean your big sister can actually stand right now."
"So hurry up and help me."
Katakuri looked down at the woman stubbornly sitting on the floor.
The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly beneath his scarf.
Still—
she was Mama's friend.
Basic courtesy had to be maintained.
At least, that was what he told himself.
After a moment of silence, he reached down and picked her back up.
Stussy immediately smiled.
"Thanks, dependable little brother."
Katakuri responded flatly.
"Troublesome woman."
Stussy laughed and turned toward Cain.
"Well…"
"I suppose your big sister was simply born to cause people trouble."
"Isn't that right, Cain?"
Cain covered his face with one hand.
"No matter how you phrase it, that doesn't change the fact that you're an old lady."
"If you're going to keep pretending to be everyone's big sister and acting younger than you are, at least think about who you're talking to."
He pointed toward Katakuri.
"Katakuri is twenty-nine years older than me."
"And you're older than him."
"So what does that make you if not an old lady?"
"EH?!!!"
Stussy screamed.
Only then did she remember one extremely inconvenient detail.
Physically, she was only thirty-five.
Still young.
Still beautiful.
Still very much in her prime.
Unfortunately, she was a clone of Buckingham Stussy.
And because of the infiltration work she had been created for, she had always operated under the original Stussy's identity and history.
That meant whenever she dealt with Charlotte Linlin, Stussy often unconsciously slipped into the role of the sixty-seven-year-old original.
She had only been acting this way around Katakuri because she wanted to flex her seniority and make him call her "big sister."
But she had completely forgotten the actual age gap between Cain and Katakuri.
If you looked at it that way…
then didn't that genuinely make her an old lady?
'Nooooo!'
A woman's age really was something that should never be casually discussed!
Katakuri looked at Stussy's devastated expression with obvious distaste.
He adjusted his grip on her slightly.
"I'm going to find somewhere to put her."
"I'll come back afterward."
"Wait, Little Kuri!"
"Don't carry me like that!"
Stussy immediately started squirming, trying to climb onto Katakuri's shoulder.
Apparently, being carried like luggage wasn't good enough.
She wanted a piggyback ride.
Katakuri frowned.
His arm extended outward.
Without hesitation, he held her off to one side like someone carrying an unruly chicken and walked directly toward the door.
Stussy didn't seem offended in the slightest.
She twisted around inside her own collar so she could face the room and cheerfully waved.
"Well then, big sister won't disturb you anymore."
"Bye-bye, little brothe—"
The door shut in her face.
A second later, her voice immediately came from outside.
"Little Kuri! I told you not to be so cold!"
"Why did you close the door that fast?!"
"I'm taking you to see Mama."
Katakuri's tired voice followed.
"Stop bothering Cain."
Cain listened to the voices fading down the hallway and shook his head.
"Did that woman seriously show up here just to be comic relief?"
"Definitely!"
Uta planted both hands on her hips and nodded with complete conviction.
"She's an idiot, just like Lilith!"
Uta had already learned through her previous communications with Lilith that Stussy was an undercover agent.
Originally, she had imagined that an actual spy would be mysterious, dangerous, and terrifyingly competent.
Reality had completely shattered that image.
While Cain and Uta were still discussing her, movement suddenly caught their attention.
Brûlée was quietly inching toward a mirror.
She had already managed to get half her body inside.
The room went silent.
Brûlée froze.
An awkward atmosphere immediately settled over everyone.
After several seconds, she forced herself to speak.
"I-I already apologized."
"And I deleted every image of En-chan from the Mirror-World."
She swallowed.
"So… you can let me go now, right?"
Her voice dropped.
"Besides, if En-chan doesn't appear at the tournament, Mama's going to be furious…"
Brûlée clearly wasn't holding a grudge over Cain and Uta forcing her to erase everything.
What frightened her far more was the thought of facing Big Mom afterward.
If the event failed because En-chan never appeared—
Brûlée was going to suffer.
Cain answered firmly.
"Relax."
"We'll handle it."
"En-chan will definitely appear."
He glanced toward Uta.
Uta nodded seriously.
"That's right."
"This time…"
"The En-chan who appears will be the real one."
In truth, Cain and Uta could have simply walked away right now.
No one could have blamed them.
If En-chan never appeared, then the marriage tournament naturally couldn't continue.
It would humiliate the Big Mom Pirates, of course.
But frankly—
that wouldn't exactly be the first time.
Unfortunately, Uta had already made up her mind to participate.
Because there was something she absolutely had to accomplish.
Something she intended to use this stage to announce to the entire world.
And Uta had never told anyone what it was.
Not even Cain.
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