Once Cain was sure Ace and Yamato were fine, he and Uta finally had some time to themselves. They sat together on the roof of the shogun's residence, looking out over the Flower Capital.
They had been talking casually for a while when Uta suddenly fell quiet.
She turned toward Cain, her expression unusually serious.
"Cain… when you fight Kaido tomorrow, you'd better come back safely."
Her voice softened.
"I'm still waiting for you to marry me."
No matter how strong Cain had become, Uta couldn't completely stop herself from worrying.
Cain immediately covered her mouth with one hand.
"Stop, stop, stop. Don't randomly raise death flags like that."
"Flag?"
Uta repeated the word through his hand, her voice muffled.
She had spent enough time with Cain to understand exactly what he meant.
Pulling his hand away from her mouth, Uta didn't let go. She simply held his fingers and gently swung their joined hands back and forth.
Her smile was playful, but the words that followed were only half a joke.
"Then if something really does happen to you, I'll make the entire world go down with you."
She squeezed his hand.
"So don't let anything happen, okay?"
Cain stared at her for two seconds before giving her a strained, almost amused smile.
The terrifying part was that Uta was absolutely capable of following through on that threat.
He reached over with his free hand and rubbed her head.
"You used to call me the evil dragon, but after going around in circles, it turns out I'm actually the princess keeping the world-destroying dragon under control."
Uta let him tousle her hair without resisting.
She tilted her head and looked at his profile.
"Keeping me under control?"
"I'd say it's more like I'm possessive of you."
"Well, our roles really have reversed."
Cain leaned slightly closer.
"In that case, you'd better make sure you possess me properly."
Uta smiled.
"Then, Cain…"
"Spend the whole day with me."
"You've spent the last couple of days either forging weapons or dealing with other things. I got to look around with Izo, but I still haven't gone around the city with you."
"Sure."
Cain nodded.
"I want to spend more time with you too."
He looked at Uta.
Then, almost unconsciously, began leaning toward her.
Just as their faces drew close—
"Purururururu—!"
Uta pulled a Den Den Mushi from her clothes.
Cain had already leaned so close that when he opened his eyes, he froze.
His lips were barely a breath away from kissing the Den Den Mushi directly on the head.
Uta burst out laughing.
"Don't be so impatient, Cain."
"If you want to kiss me, save it for tonight after you finish taking me around town."
She smiled mischievously.
"Consider that your punishment for neglecting me these past few days."
"As for your reward for spending the day with me…"
Uta deliberately dragged out the pause.
"…I'll tell you later!"
Then she shoved the Den Den Mushi into Cain's hands.
"It's been ringing for a while. I'm guessing Grandpa Garp wants to ask about Ace."
"Then I'll give Grandpa an update first."
Cain awkwardly rubbed Uta's head.
"After that, the rest of the day is yours."
He answered the call.
And the first thing Garp said nearly made both of them fall off the roof.
"What?! You're already coming to Wano?"
Cain stared at the Den Den Mushi in disbelief.
"Wait—what about Grandpa Sengoku? There's no way he agreed to that!"
"He didn't."
Garp answered cheerfully.
"So I brought him with me."
"Oh, and he's asleep right now."
Then Garp lowered his voice.
"Cain, when the time comes, it might hurt a little. Don't take it personally, and don't hit Sengoku too hard."
"Whatever happens, he's still your elder."
Cain's expression went blank.
'So you dragged Grandpa Sengoku all the way here specifically so he can beat me up?!'
Before Cain could say it aloud, Garp was already impatiently demanding an explanation of what had happened with Ace.
…
At that moment, three Marine warships were sailing across the sea.
BOOM!
THUD!
CLATTER!
Three separate noises rang out in quick succession.
Sengoku shot awake.
Before he had even gathered his thoughts, Garp's barely restrained booming voice came from the deck.
"Quick! Hide this thing!"
Sengoku blinked.
Where was he?
He looked around.
A warship.
For a moment, he relaxed.
Then his brain caught up.
His eyes widened.
Sengoku hurriedly threw on his clothes and stormed out of the cabin.
Brilliant sunlight hit him in the face.
So did an endless stretch of open ocean.
At the bow stood a soaking-wet Garp, holding a pair of binoculars perfectly straight while pretending to casually survey the horizon.
His acting was atrocious.
The instant Sengoku realized they were at sea, his face darkened.
"GARP!"
He grabbed the back of Garp's collar.
"I told you we were NOT going to Wano!"
"You didn't listen to a single damn word I said, did you?!"
"Calm down, calm down!"
Garp nearly dropped his binoculars as Sengoku yanked him backward.
"Listen first! I've got a legitimate reason this time!"
Sengoku finally released him.
Garp immediately started counting reasons on his fingers.
Every Marine he had brought along was originally from Wano.
All of them genuinely wanted to return and contribute to the battle.
Some had even considered leaving the Marines altogether.
Not many, admittedly. Wano was no longer a country most of them considered worth sacrificing everything for.
But among the group that had remained loyal to the Marines, at least half had personally volunteered for this mission.
The moment news arrived that Yamato had openly declared war against Kaido, they had gone directly to Garp and demanded permission to return.
Their message had been very clear.
If the Marines refused to let them go—
they would take off their uniforms and return on their own.
Sengoku stared silently at Garp.
Annoyingly enough, the reasoning made sense.
The problem was that none of this had been reported.
No authorization.
No official request.
No record of the operation whatsoever.
If Sakazuki learned about it, he would explode.
Unless, of course, the Marine Inspector General happened to help keep the whole thing quiet.
"Nothing good ever happens when I get dragged into your messes."
Sengoku rubbed his temples.
Then a phrase Cain had once used came to mind.
'Well… we're already here.'
Forget it.
They were already halfway there.
They might as well continue.
Besides, Sengoku wanted to personally see what the Admiral Sakazuki had sent to Wano intended to do.
Even if Kaido was defeated, the agreed plan was for him to be imprisoned within Wano itself.
He wasn't supposed to be arrested and transported away by the Marines.
If the Marines tried forcing the issue, another battle would inevitably break out.
And the opposition might not consist only of Yamato and the remaining Beasts Pirates.
Ace could intervene.
Cain could intervene.
One was their Warlord.
The other was their undercover operative.
There was no version of that fight that benefited the Marines.
Worse still, among the people currently insisting that Kaido remain imprisoned in Wano, Garp personally knew about eight out of every ten.
Most were either his grandsons or his grandsons' partners.
If a fight actually broke out, Sengoku wasn't remotely confident the old bastard wouldn't immediately switch sides in the name of "breaking things up."
So yes.
Leaving Kaido imprisoned in Wano was fine.
The Marines could simply station forces there and maintain constant surveillance.
Functionally, it wouldn't be much different from Impel Down.
Wano certainly had enough Seastone to restrain him.
Sengoku stopped arguing and ordered someone to bring him binoculars.
He carefully scanned the surrounding ocean.
Nothing.
Not an island.
Not even a decent-sized reef.
He lowered the binoculars, frowning deeply.
"Cain's battle starts tomorrow."
"Even at full speed, it'll take us at least three days to reach Wano."
"Unless you can somehow make the warships accelerate with fire like Ace, you won't even see Onigashima before the battle is over."
Garp's eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh? Sengoku, does that mean you agree we can go?"
Then he grinned.
"If it's just a question of getting there quickly, I've got plenty of experience!"
He punched the ocean.
BOOM!
The recoil from the wave launched the entire warship through the air in a beautiful arc.
Sengoku stared at him.
This ship might survive that kind of nonsense.
But there were two other warships behind them.
There weren't many Marines traveling to Wano, but they still occupied three vessels.
Garp scratched his chin.
"Then maybe…"
"We tow the other two?"
"Absolutely not!"
Sengoku immediately shut him down.
"With your ridiculous methods, the ships will fall apart!"
Garp looked embarrassed.
Then he happened to notice several Marines working behind Sengoku and began desperately signaling them with his eyes.
The soldiers were currently wrestling with an enormous burlap sack, trying to force it deeper into the ship's storage compartment.
Sengoku turned around suspiciously.
"What are they doing?"
Garp immediately answered,
"Combat supplies!"
"We brought them for the fighting."
"Apparently we packed too much and can't fit everything."
As he spoke, Garp hurried over and kicked the sack several times.
Sengoku snorted.
He walked over—
and stomped the sack straight down into the bottom of the hold.
"There."
"Problem solved."
"Why are you wasting time worrying about something this simple?"
He glared at Garp.
"You just focus on sailing normally."
"And don't even think about using another one of your insane acceleration methods."
"R-Right."
Garp watched the huge sack disappear into the storage hold and finally relaxed.
Inside—
thin traces of blood were slowly soaking through the burlap.
Because the "combat supplies" inside were actually Admiral Ryokugyu—Aramaki.
The history between Aramaki and Garp went back quite a while.
More accurately—
Aramaki had a one-sided grudge against Garp.
Which was why, when Aramaki spotted Garp far below while flying toward Wano, his anger immediately flared up.
He dove straight toward him.
Unfortunately for him—
Garp had been talking with Cain at the time.
His Observation Haki suddenly screamed that a dangerous attack was incoming.
Naturally, he assumed they were under attack.
And apparently it was a serious one.
So without even looking to see who was coming—
Garp's body reacted automatically.
He punched Aramaki straight into the sea.
Garp hadn't even seen who the attacker was yet, but naturally he intended to fish the man back out.
Unfortunately, once Aramaki was underwater, he began desperately fighting back.
Then things got worse.
The Den Den Mushi Garp had been using to speak with Cain slipped from his clothes and fell into the sea.
Garp panicked.
Since the unknown attacker he was wrestling with refused to calm down, Garp decided the fastest solution was obvious.
He punched him.
Repeatedly.
Once the man had been thoroughly beaten unconscious, Garp finally had enough freedom to retrieve the Den Den Mushi from the water.
Only then did he turn around to see who had been bold enough to attack him.
Those unmistakably thick lips.
Crooked sunglasses.
Bright green hair.
And a soaked, wrinkled Marine coat with Justice written across the back.
Garp immediately panicked.
'Oh, crap.'
'What do I do?'
'I beat up one of our own Admirals again.'
If Sengoku found out—
and then told Sakazuki—
people throughout the Marines would never stop talking about it.
Still…
Garp had already beaten this man up and thrown him into Impel Down once before.
At this point, what difference did a second time make?
So Garp committed.
He ordered the soldiers to package Aramaki up and hide him inside the ship.
Because this departure had been so sudden, Bogard and Garp's usual men weren't present.
Every Marine around him was originally from Wano.
Most of them had no particular sense of awe toward the title of Admiral.
If Grandpa Garp gave an order—
they followed it.
Put Seastone on him.
Stuff him into a sack.
Grandpa says hide him?
Then shove him somewhere nobody will ever find him.
And that—was everything that had happened before Sengoku woke up.
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