After everyone finally pulled the wrestling pile apart, Garp became uncharacteristically quiet and spent some time reflecting on his mistake.
Sengoku, meanwhile, turned to Yamato and brought up the more important matter.
"Since Cain and the others are leaving, Garp and I should probably head out before too long as well."
"Huh? You're not staying a few more days?" Yamato asked in surprise.
Sengoku waved the idea aside.
"Better not. The Beasts Pirates' supply records you gave us, along with the criminal records of all their trading partners, are going to keep us busy for quite a while."
Then his tone softened.
"That said, the Marines would also like to use this opportunity to establish formal cooperation with Wano."
Wano's Seastone had long been one of the Marines' primary sources for Seastone equipment.
Sengoku knew perfectly well that in the past, the World Government had most likely bypassed the Marines entirely and conducted those dealings with Kaido in secret. Because of that, he approached the subject without any confrontational attitude and spoke to Yamato as an equal.
"You can name whatever compensation you think is appropriate. If you want your own bounty revoked as part of the agreement, that can be arranged too."
"And now that you're the ruler of an entire nation, there's another option. Once Kaido's defeat is officially announced, if you want Wano to join the World Government, I can submit the request personally in my capacity as a former Fleet Admiral."
"No, no, definitely not."
Yamato immediately waved both hands.
She was perfectly happy being a pirate.
And when it came to Wano's future, she had never been particularly convinced that the World Government was any better than the people it condemned.
Even as shogun, she didn't believe she had the right to make a decision that large on behalf of the entire country without consulting its people.
"But trading with you is completely fine."
Yamato smiled.
"Wano needs more contact with the outside world anyway."
…
While Sengoku, Ace, and Yamato continued discussing official matters, Garp pulled Cain and Uta aside to talk about something else.
"I think when you get to Elbaf, you should have a proper conversation with the people there about Thor."
By now, they had uncovered the truth about Thor's origins.
The child had been created using the bloodline of Elbaf's royal family.
The Marines took the matter extremely seriously. If this incident caused a serious conflict with the Giants, the consequences could be enormous.
"I understand that part."
Cain nodded, then frowned suspiciously at Garp.
"But Grandpa, why do you keep staring at the back of my head?"
He reached up instinctively.
"Is there something there?"
"No! Nothing at all!"
Garp waved his hands far too quickly.
His guilty eyes briefly flicked toward Bella floating behind Cain before he forced an awkward laugh.
"I'm just… well, you're leaving soon."
"Grandpa's going to miss you."
Cain accepted the answer without much thought.
"Don't worry. Once we beat Shanks, we'll bring Bella back to visit you."
"Pfft—!"
Garp and Sengoku both choked at exactly the same time.
They turned toward Cain in disbelief.
"You just finished fighting Kaido, and now you're going after another Emperor?!"
"Cain, do you really need to work this hard at being a pirate?!"
"What are you two imagining?"
Cain gave them both a strange look.
Then he leaned toward Garp and lowered his voice so only the old man could hear.
"It's not what you think."
"If I defeat Shanks, Uta and I can finally hold our wedding properly."
Garp's eyes lit up instantly.
"Bwahahaha! Good, good!"
He slapped his thigh.
"When the time comes, we'll hold it at Marine Headquarters!"
Sengoku hadn't heard any of the whispered conversation.
Unfortunately, Garp's final sentence had been loud enough for half the building to hear.
Sengoku immediately narrowed his eyes.
"What were you two whispering about just now?"
His suspicion deepened.
"Marine Headquarters? What exactly are you planning to hold at Marine Headquarters?"
Garp hurriedly covered his mouth and shot Cain a meaningful look.
Cain straightened without changing expression, slipped an arm around Uta's shoulders, and began casually edging toward the door.
…
By afternoon, the Going Merry was waiting at the harbor.
Cain and Uta stood side by side at the bow, while Bella floated happily between them. Behind the three was a mountain of Wano specialties and souvenirs that Yamato had insisted on sending with them.
A separate space had been cleared among the luggage for four swords.
Two were the weapons Cain had prepared for Golden Lion Shiki shortly after arriving in Wano.
The other two were Kozuki Oden's former blades—
Ame no Habakiri and Enma.
Everyone gathered along the shore and waved as the ship gradually sailed away.
Garp watched the receding sail for a long time before letting out a rare sigh.
"It really does feel quieter once they're gone."
Sengoku stood beside him and replied casually,
"Why don't we arrest them and throw them into Impel Down? Then you can visit them every day."
"Hah. Listen to you."
Garp gave him a sideways glance.
"With that brat's strength now, why don't you try arresting him?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Garp suddenly blinked.
Then his expression changed.
"Wait."
Something extremely important had just occurred to him.
"We sent all our warships away."
He slowly turned toward Sengoku.
"How are we supposed to get home?"
Sengoku's calm expression froze.
"Why the hell didn't you mention that earlier?!"
Garp looked genuinely innocent.
"Aren't you supposed to be the Brilliant Strategist? How did you not think of it?"
"I—!"
Sengoku pressed one hand against his forehead.
"Ever since retiring, I haven't been managing things like this anymore. I… overlooked it."
His voice carried the weary resignation of a man who had spent far too many years dealing with Garp.
"I swear, staying around you produces an endless supply of problems."
"Hey! This one is clearly your fault. Don't pin it on me!"
Yamato listened to the two old men bicker and couldn't help laughing.
She quickly reassured them that Wano had plenty of ships and that they could simply take one when they were ready to leave.
At that moment, Ace gently poked Yamato's arm and leaned toward her ear.
"Yamato, can I ask you for something?"
"Of course. Between us, you don't even need to ask. What do you want?"
Ace coughed awkwardly and opened his palm.
A single pink hair rested there.
"I want you to make a Vivre Card for Cain."
"If anything ever happens to him later, we'll be able to find him immediately."
The hair had been secretly plucked during their earlier wrestling match.
Cain was absurdly tough, so Ace was confident he hadn't noticed.
Whether Cain noticed or not was uncertain.
Unfortunately, the old man standing nearby had extremely sharp hearing.
At some point, Garp had silently appeared behind them and leaned his head between the two.
"Oh? You pulled one out too?"
He sounded delighted.
"You're making a Vivre Card for Cain, right? Then let's make ours together!"
As their grandfather, Garp already possessed Ace's Vivre Card and had long been thinking about collecting a few more.
Cain's.
Luffy's.
As for Sabo, Dragon was around, so Garp didn't feel quite as much need to keep track of him personally.
Once he had cards for all of them, whenever those little bastards ran off somewhere and caused trouble, Grandpa could immediately chase them down and beat some sense into them.
Naturally, there was absolutely no chance he intended to hand those Vivre Cards over to the Marines.
Garp happily opened his own palm and revealed what he had secretly collected during the earlier fight.
Everyone stared.
Then collectively fell silent.
There were easily more than a hundred pink hairs bundled together in Garp's hand, practically enough to form a small ball of yarn.
Ace's mouth twitched.
"…You're sure Cain didn't notice when you pulled those out?"
There was no need to wonder.
The back of Cain's head was probably almost bald by now.
…
After everyone finished staring at Garp in disbelief, Yamato and the others eventually returned to the Flower Capital.
They had barely arrived when an elderly woman came hurrying toward them.
"Shogun-sama!"
Yamato recognized her immediately and smiled.
"Oh! You're the bathhouse proprietress who let me read all those books!"
"Thank you so much. I learned a lot from them."
Ace immediately looked over.
So this was the person responsible for everything.
For a moment, he genuinely couldn't decide whether he should confront her or sincerely thank her.
The instant the proprietress heard Yamato mention the books, she panicked.
"A-Ahem! No, no, no! This old woman merely runs a hot-spring inn!"
"As for any forbidden books that may or may not exist, I know absolutely nothing about them…"
She hurriedly forced the conversation elsewhere and raised the package she was carrying.
"Cain-sama and Uta-sama left this luggage at my inn several days ago."
"When I heard they were leaving Wano, I hurried over to return it."
The package contained the things Cain and Uta had left at the hot spring the night before Cain's decisive battle with Kaido.
Their clothes were long gone, having been ruined during their rather energetic night and thrown away afterward.
What remained were mostly Wano souvenirs and travel mementos—straw hats, little trinkets, portraits, and similar items.
"But Cain and Uta already left!"
Yamato stared at the package helplessly.
Garp immediately volunteered.
"I'm his grandfather. Just leave it with me for now."
He reached for the bundle.
As he did, a sheet of paper slipped from the edge and fluttered gently to the ground.
Everyone looked down.
It was Cain's infamous portrait with the three enormous chins and the expression of a man undergoing demonic possession.
Garp's trademark grin appeared immediately.
"Hey! This one's great!"
He picked it up enthusiastically.
"Send it back to Headquarters and use it for Cain's new bounty poster!"
…
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Out at sea, Cain sneezed twice in quick succession.
An inexplicable chill ran down his back.
He muttered about someone probably talking behind his back, then casually reached up to rub the back of his head.
His hand stopped.
Cain's entire body went rigid.
"Huh?"
He felt around again.
Then panicked.
"WHERE'S MY HAIR?!"
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAIR?!"
He froze for another second before suddenly remembering something.
"Oh, right."
Cain sighed in relief.
"Thank God I have Life Return!"