"What are you trying to do?!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice rang out suddenly, sharp with urgency and concern.
She rushed forward and grabbed Uta by the wrist, stopping her in place.
Everyone's eyes turned at once.
Uta was clutching a small knife tightly in one hand, the blade pressed against her own throat.
In her other hand, she held a visual Den Den Mushi, her finger already resting on the switch, ready to activate it at any moment.
Her face was deathly pale.
Her lips were bitten hard enough to draw blood, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Yet her gaze was unwavering, firm without the slightest hesitation.
She did not want to see Cain like this.
She could not bear to see Cain like this.
She knew she was not very strong, that she could not help much, but she still wanted to help him.
Even if that meant going to beg the Red-Haired Pirates—the very crew she had always resented—she did not care.
There was only one thought in her heart.
She wanted to help him!
"Let go of me. I'm going to find Shanks."
Uta's voice trembled, but she forced the words out with all her strength.
"Even if I have to threaten him with my own death, even if I have to force the Red-Haired Pirates to join in, I can't stand seeing Cain like this!"
"Isn't the situation chaotic enough already?" Tsuru frowned, and her voice turned colder.
"Two Emperor crews have already been dragged into this. If the Red-Haired Pirates get involved too, then the entire sea will be thrown into chaos. Doing this will only make things worse."
"Don't stop me."
Uta pressed harder, and the tip of the blade drew a faint red line across her neck.
"Don't do this, Uta."
The moment Garp's grip loosened, Cain immediately pushed himself up from the ground and staggered toward her.
He pulled her tightly into his arms and, with all his strength, pried her hand away from her throat.
The knife slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground with a clear metallic clang.
"You don't need to do this much for me." Cain's voice shook, and his arms around her were tight. "I don't want to see you like this either. I don't want to lose anyone else."
Uta struggled once in his arms, but she could not break free.
In the end, she could only press her forehead against his chest, her shoulders trembling faintly.
"But seeing you like this hurts me too." Her voice came muffled from against his chest, thick with tears.
"You carry everything by yourself, you fight by yourself, you get hurt by yourself. I can't really help you, so this is the only thing I can do."
Cain closed his eyes.
His chest felt heavy, and his throat tightened.
"I'll figure this out myself," he said quietly. "You can't gamble with your life! You can't help me this way."
"But—"
"There is no 'but.'"
Cain cut her off, his voice firmer than before.
"Ace is my brother, saving him is my own choice! You have your own path, you don't need to throw your life away for me."
Uta lifted her head and looked into his bloodshot eyes, tears falling even harder from her eyes.
"You're always like this," she said through clenched teeth. "You always carry everything alone! You pile all the pain onto yourself and refuse to ask for help even once. Do you think that makes you noble? Do you think that means everyone else won't suffer?"
Cain froze.
"I don't want you going off to die alone." Uta's voice was soft, but it stabbed into his heart like a blade.
"You say you want to fight fate, you say you want to save Ace. But have you ever thought about what happens to the rest of us if you die?!"
Cain could not answer her.
His chest only felt tighter and tighter, as though something was stuck in his throat and refused to go down.
He knew Uta was right.
He knew he had been selfish.
All he had thought about was his own pain, his own desperation to save Ace.
He had never truly stopped to think about what would happen to the people left behind.
"I..." Cain struggled to speak.
Uta looked at him without saying a word, only tightening her grip on his clothes.
Garp stood to one side, watching the two of them locked in each other's arms.
Nothing could be read from his face, but the exhaustion in his eyes only deepened.
Tsuru let out a quiet breath of relief.
She bent down, picked up the knife from the ground, and slipped it into her pocket.
She also glanced at the visual Den Den Mushi, but in the end said nothing.
Neither of them had expected things to spiral this far.
At first, it had only been meant to borrow the excuse of "driving Kaido away."
No one had imagined it would blow up into such a disaster, to the point where even Uta had been driven to threaten her own life.
…
Sabaody Archipelago.
The door of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar was kicked open with a single blow.
The pirates gathered inside had been loudly drinking and shouting.
The moment they heard the commotion, they all turned viciously toward the entrance.
But the second they saw who had arrived, their expressions changed instantly.
One after another, they scrambled to their feet and fled, not even bothering to grab the food and drinks left on the tables.
Even the owner, Shakky, instinctively took a small step back.
But she quickly steadied herself, folded her arms, and looked at the newcomer.
"Well now. What brings you to my place today, Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Hmph shady woman, Where's Rayleigh? Where'd that bastard Rayleigh go?!"
Garp strode in without the slightest courtesy, his eyes sweeping over the now-empty bar as his brows drew tighter.
"That guy's probably off gambling again." Shakky raised a brow.
Then her eyes shifted to the figure behind Garp, and her tone took on a note of surprise.
"Oh my. And who's this? Uta-chan?"
Uta stepped out from behind Garp.
The tear marks on her face had not fully dried yet, but her gaze had already calmed a great deal.
She hurried forward and threw her arms around Shakky, her voice carrying a long-lost sense of familiarity.
"Shakky-san, it's been a long time."
When she was little, Shanks had often brought her here, so naturally she knew this big sister who always looked laid-back, yet seemed to know everything.
"Forget it, there's no point looking for him anyway."
Garp waved a hand, too lazy to bother with Rayleigh's whereabouts any longer.
Then he stepped aside and glanced out the door.
"I came here to drop someone off for you. Oh, right, he should be here by now."
The moment the words fell, a loud bang exploded outside.
A half-bald bird came hurtling down from the sky and slammed into the ground in front of the bar, leaving a shallow crater.
Cain descended right after it, landing firmly on his feet.
Without even sparing the dizzy bird on the ground a glance, he walked straight into the bar.
Shakky's eyes fell on the bird, and she recognized who it was, her brow rose slightly.
"Oh my. Morgans? How did he end up like this?"
…
The New World, Wano Country.
At the top of Onigashima, Kaido sat sprawled on his throne with a sake jug in hand, leisurely drinking alone—only to have his peace broken by his subordinate who burst in in a panic.
"THIS IS BAD, GOVERNOR! YOUNG MASTER YAMATO HAS ESCAPED!"
Kaido lazily lifted his eyelids, gave a careless snort, and tipped back the jug for another long swig.
"Hah? What's that brat making a fuss about this time? Trying to copy that fool Oden again? Forget him. In a couple of days, he'll come crawling back on his own."
"BUT THIS TIME IT'S DIFFERENT!"
The subordinate jerked his head up, his voice shaking uncontrollably with panic.
"YOUNG MASTER YAMATO... HE... HE'S ALREADY LEFT WANO!"
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