"I understand Uta's situation too. Even though I haven't had much contact with Elegia over the years, I can still guess that the child probably resents me in her heart."
"This was my original plan: once the situation stabilized, once Uta stepped onto the world stage and became the universally acknowledged number one diva, then I would properly explain everything that happened back then to her."
But by then, it would all be too late.
Cain ground his teeth inwardly.
The moment Uta truly stepped onto the world stage was precisely when the Marineford War broke out.
Whitebeard fell, the New World was thrown completely into chaos, and Shanks had no choice but to rush about maintaining stability across the seas.
So the matter was delayed again and again.
And by the time two years had passed, things had already spiraled into something impossible to clean up.
Those words rolled to Cain's throat, but in the end, he still did not say them.
"I was thinking too simply."
Shanks's voice grew heavy, and self-reproach flickered in his eyes.
"Just from what you described earlier, the issue with Uta's lack of boundaries and sense of limits was something we never anticipated back then."
"And beyond that, there may be even more hidden problems that neither you nor I have noticed."
"Keeping Uta trapped on this isolated island really would limit her growth. It would only let the pain in her heart pile up further and further. So I want…"
He paused.
The melancholy in his gaze gradually hardened into resolve.
"I want you to take Uta out into the world. Let her leave this island. Let her venture out and live a life that belongs to her."
"Maybe only by experiencing some adventures can Uta truly grow. Only then, when she learns the truth, will she not fall into despair."
"Luffy has his own mission to complete. I truly can't trust anyone else and I can't feel at ease letting Uta sail alone."
Shanks looked at Cain, his tone earnest and solemn.
"So after thinking it over again and again, the only person I can entrust her to is you, Cain."
"Ahaha, so that's what you meant."
Cain laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, secretly letting out a breath of relief.
—So that was the kind of entrusting Shanks meant. That really had scared him just now!
Shanks seemed to see straight through his thoughts.
The corner of his mouth curved up with a teasing smile, and he changed tack.
"As for Uta's feelings, I won't deliberately interfere. But if you—if you have any other ideas when Uta herself is unwilling…"
His hand settled over the hilt of Gryphon at his waist. His gaze abruptly sharpened, carrying the pressure of an overprotective father.
"Then we'll see whether the sword in my hand agrees to it."
"Uh…"
Cain instinctively shrank back, then suddenly crouched and clutched his own head, muttering through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry. If Uta really does feel that way about me, then before I get your approval, I won't lay a hand on her."
"PWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Shanks threw back his head and laughed, the sea wind carrying away his carefree voice.
"You really are much more interesting than before! If the timing and place weren't so bad, I'd drag you off for a few drinks right now!"
Gradually, Shanks's laughter subsided, and he spoke comfortably.
"But think carefully about what I asked just now."
"If you agree, then after you set sail, how we hide things from Uta, and how I'll train you specifically… I'll explain all that later."
The moment those words fell, he abruptly changed the subject, his tone turning crisp and direct.
"For now, go stall Uta. Gordon and I are going below the castle to investigate something."
"Huh?"
Cain looked completely blank, but before he could ask more, Uta's urgent voice came ringing from the distance.
"CAAAIN—!"
He turned to look, and the Shanks beside him had already vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there at all.
Uta came running over and threw herself into Cain's arms, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist as she complained.
"Why'd you run all the way over here? I thought you'd fallen into the toilet or something!"
"Sorry, sorry."
Cain patted her back as if at ease, his tone gentle, but inside he was panicking.
—Even if he couldn't see Shanks anywhere, he was certain that man was lurking in some corner, watching this entire scene.
Cain hurriedly and lightly pried Uta's arms from around him, making a little distance between them.
Looking at her, he suddenly remembered Shanks's request.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
This was a request from Shanks. Even if it was made from the standpoint of Uta's father, it was still Shanks.
And more importantly, what about Uta's future after this? If he were to leave…
Cain steadied himself, quickly sorting through his thoughts as he looked at the girl before him.
In his heart, he had already made his decision.
Slowly, he spoke, "Uta… would you be willing to go out to sea with me?"
Hidden in the shadows, Shanks watched the entire scene unfold, and an involuntary smile of relief appeared at the corner of his mouth.
What exactly was Shanks thinking?
Was he silently approving of Cain and Uta's relationship?
Expecting something from it? Or considering something else entirely?
There was no way to know.
Just like his usual way of doing things, everything about him remained veiled in mystery, impossible to fully understand.
But the fact that he dared to entrust Uta to Cain was enough to show that he truly trusted him from the bottom of his heart.
Once he confirmed that nothing seemed amiss for the moment, he turned and quietly slipped deeper into the castle.
"Huh? Go to the sea?!"
Uta froze, her eyes full of astonishment.
Clearly, she had never expected Cain to suddenly ask something like that.
"Yeah."
Seeing her stunned expression, Cain's tone softened without him meaning it to.
"I've been thinking a lot lately about what comes next. You want to become the number one diva in the world, but if it's just Gordon teaching you alone while staying on this tiny island, then in the end, it'll be very hard to make that dream come true. So I want to take you out to sea with me."
He paused, as though making an enormous decision, and added, "There's actually something I've never told you. I'm a pirate now. Someday, I'm going to leave this place. But I can't leave you here by yourself. So… would you come with me?"
"Mm."
Uta answered softly, and in the next instant she threw herself into Cain's arms again, wrapping both arms tightly around his neck, burying her head against his shoulder, and nodding hard.
In her heart, she silently thought.
'This should have happened long ago. None of that matters anymore—Elegia, Shanks, even Luffy… from the moment Cain found me, all of that should have stepped off the stage of my world.'
'Other than the person in front of me, other than the promise between us, other than seeing a broader world together with him, everything else is unimportant.'
She lifted her head.
Her eyes shone brightly, her voice carrying a trace of a sob, yet unshakably firm.
"I'm willing."
…
Deep inside the castle, Gordon and Shanks stood side by side at the place where the score that had sealed the Demon King of Song had once been kept.
The two of them split up and searched every corner in careful detail, leaving no place unchecked.
After a thorough examination, Shanks finally came to a conclusion.
The box that had once held the score was ordinary.
It was just a normal container.
What truly mattered were the special songs written on the score itself.
—It was precisely their power that could be awakened by Uta's singing, causing the score to slip free from the box on its own, float all the way into the hall back then, and land in front of the young Uta.
And the weakness of that power was just as obvious: as long as the order of the notes was disrupted, the score would lose all effect.
Now that the score had already been destroyed, just as Cain had said, once that song carrying the special power was gone, the danger was gone with it.
Even without the aid of the Sing-Sing Fruit, the song by itself could no longer influence anyone.
Although Uta had once sung it, she no longer remembered the circumstances from back then, so naturally she could never reproduce the song from the score.
At last, it seemed the turmoil caused by that score had finally come to an end.
…
Late at night, in Uta's room.
'Shanks, I hate you!'
Cain screamed inwardly, while outwardly forcing himself to look calm.
He had originally thought that with Shanks here, tonight he would finally be free of Uta's "entanglement" and be able to sleep peacefully for once.
Who could have guessed that the situation would only get worse?
Now he not only had to stay on guard every second in case Uta did something with no sense of boundaries—
He also had to remain on edge, terrified that some hidden red-haired "evil spirit," lurking somewhere in the dark with a faint but unmistakable presence, might at any moment decide he disliked what he saw and swing Gryphon at him with a Divine Departure!
At that thought, two silent streams of tears slid down from Cain's eyes.