"WAIT A SECOND, UNCLE RAYLEIGH, WHY ARE WE RUNNING?!"
Cain was being carried on Rayleigh's back as they ran, with the Roger Pirates chasing right behind them.
After only a few steps, they switched positions again, and this time it was Cain carrying Rayleigh.
"This old man knows exactly what he can and can't do. That's the Roger Pirates at the peak of their strength. You think I can solo them by myself? That's nonsense! And you brat—pulling a stunt like this, you just wanted to watch this old man embarrass himself, didn't you?"
"Hehe, so I couldn't hide it from you." Cain laughed, then added, "Actually, we could just tell them we're from the future. It wouldn't affect real history anyway. And from what I know of the Roger Pirates, if we explained it, there's a good chance they'd just let it go."
"That's probably something your grandpa told you too!"
As he said that, Rayleigh suddenly leaped off Cain's back, coated his foot in Conqueror's Haki, and kicked Cain straight toward the Roger Pirates while continuing to run forward himself.
Rayleigh shouted, "THEN YOU CAN BE THE ONE DRAWING THE AGGRO! THIS INVOLVES SHAKKY, SO TALKING WON'T HELP. ONCE THAT BUNCH GOES CRAZY, THEY HAVE NO BOTTOM LINE AT ALL!"
By the time he finished speaking, he was already getting farther and farther away.
"YOU DAMNED OLD MAN! YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE ANYTHING! I WORKED SO HARD TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO REUNITE WITH YOUR OLD FRIENDS, AND YOU WASTED ALL OF IT!" Cain shouted furiously.
Then he turned his head and saw the Roger Pirates glaring viciously at him.
Cain swallowed hard.
…
"I'm really sorry."
Cain immediately bent at the waist to apologize, though by now his head was already covered in bumps.
The younger Rayleigh stared suspiciously at the old man in front of him and asked, "You really are me from the future? You look so sloppy though. But what you said earlier about Shakky…"
"Yeah, she's with me. We opened a bar together in Sabaody! This old man spends his days gambling, playing cards, drinking, coating ships when there's work, and doing a little business here and there. It's a pretty easy life. A good one too," the real Rayleigh answered with a nod.
"Is that so? I'd like to try living that kind of life too. But you really should clean yourself up a bit, you kinda looks like a hobo." The younger Rayleigh fell into thought, his eyes full of longing.
Their conversation instantly attracted the rest of the Roger crew.
Everyone's eyes locked onto them.
Even though none of them had any objection to "Rayleigh" winning Shakky's heart, the thought of "Rayleigh" and Shakky living such a peaceful, happy life together still made them unable to accept it!
Seeing the crew start getting worked up again, Rayleigh hurriedly looked to Cain for help.
With a helpless sigh, Cain immediately contacted Uta.
And just like that, Shakky and Uta were both pulled into this space as well.
To keep Uta from seeing anything she shouldn't, Cain always kept the contents of the books in his dream locked whenever she came in.
If Uta even tried to open one on her side, Cain would sense it right away, so there was no need to worry.
When Shakky and Uta saw the scene before them, both were stunned.
The Roger Pirates were standing there alive right in front of them.
The moment the Roger crew noticed the two new arrivals, they stopped caring about the issue of the two Rayleighs.
Roger, especially, burst out laughing the instant he saw Shakky and raised his hand with a shout.
"LET'S HAVE A BANQUET, BOYS!"
Hearing the captain's order, the crew sprang into action at once.
Shanks and Buggy kicked off toward the cabin while shouting, "GO GET THE BOOZE! A BANQUET'S NO GOOD WITHOUT BOOZE!"
Uta quickly stepped forward and stopped them.
"No need. We've already got it here."
The moment she said it, countless bottles of precious liquor appeared out of nowhere.
Seeing things getting lively, Cain simply summoned the Garp from his memories as well—his grandfather Garp, exactly as he remembered him.
"YOU'RE GARP? WHY ARE YOU THIS OLD? WAHAHAHA!"
The moment Garp appeared, Roger's thunderous laughter rang out.
Garp turned and saw the full Roger crew.
Though he had no idea what was going on, he immediately clenched his fists, already wanting to smash Roger's infuriating face.
Seeing this, Cain quickly stepped in to stop him, then turned and asked Rayleigh to explain the situation to Garp and Shakky.
After hearing that he was just a construct built from memory, Garp immediately threw up his hands and laughed loudly.
"SO THAT'S IT! BWAHAHAHA!"
Then he raised a fist and punched Roger right on the head, throwing away any trace of Marine duty and looping an arm around Roger's shoulders as the two started roughhousing, with no sign at all that he was supposed to be a vice admiral.
With Uta and Cain's abilities helping out, the banquet was arranged in no time.
To make the atmosphere even better, the two of them casually changed the scene from broad daylight into the feel of approaching night.
Rayleigh stood shoulder to shoulder with Roger and Garp, talking quietly.
Roger looked into the distance and chuckled.
"So we really did it? We reached the final island. Hahaha."
Rayleigh nodded and spoke with a calm tone.
"Yeah. It was an incredible journey."
"Hmph. The mess you caused back then really shook the whole sea…" Garp said, then found himself hesitating.
He had almost wanted to bring up Ace.
But after a second thought, he threw the idea aside completely.
Looking at Roger as he was here, Ace was probably still nothing more than sperm at this point.
What was the point of worrying about it?
So the three of them simply chatted on and off about the past.
Cain and Uta sat off to the side.
Cain was busy teasing Buggy until Buggy was yelling in outrage, while Uta laughed and played with Shanks, making the whole scene lively and warm.
Shakky walked up to the younger Rayleigh and raised a brow.
"What's wrong? Everyone else came over to talk to me, but you haven't said a word. Don't tell me you dislike me because I'm old."
The younger Rayleigh pursed his lips awkwardly and couldn't get a single word out.
"Mm, I never thought I'd get to see everyone again. It feels as if time has stopped."
As she said that, Shakky took a sip of her drink and let out a soft sigh, then turned to look toward Uta.
"Looks like those two are having a lot of fun."
"Could it be that she's your and that…" The younger Rayleigh had already heard from Garp that Cain was Garp's grandson.
But he knew nothing about the other girl, and seeing the faint auntie-smile on Shakky's face, a guess suddenly rose in his mind.
"What are you thinking? Uta-chan is Shanks's daughter."
"HUH?!!!"
The younger Rayleigh blurted it out in shock.
The Roger crew nearby also instantly exploded, all of them widening their eyes and shouting at once.
"HUH?!!!!!"
Shanks violently shook free from Uta, who had been pinching his cheeks, staggered back two steps, and pointed at her while stammering.
"Y-YOU-YOU-YOU…!!!"
"What? Are you planning to put on some fatherly dignity in front of me now?" Uta's eyes curved into a smile as she reached out and ruthlessly ruffled Shanks's hair again, making him howl helplessly without being able to escape.
The cheerful mood instantly reached its peak.
The crew all started pounding on tables and loudly suggested singing Binks' Sake.
Right away, everyone raised their cups and clinked them together, the sharp ringing of glasses sounding one after another as they shouted in unison:
Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho
Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo.. Umikaze kimakase namimakase.
Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu… Sora nya wa o kaku, tori no uta
The singing shook the very air.
Everyone raised their cups and sang at the top of their lungs, gathering around the bonfire, its light painting every smiling face red.
They slapped their thighs to keep rhythm, hooked arms over each other's shoulders, and drank deeply together.
Roger slung an arm around Garp as the two laughed, cursed, and played around.
Rayleigh lifted his own cup and hummed along.
Cain was still teasing Buggy nonstop until Buggy was chasing him all over the place.
Everyone forgot time completely.
All they did was sing with all their might, drink cup after cup, and celebrate without restraint.
Laughter, song, and the clinking of cups mixed with the crackling of the flames, echoing across the whole island.
Shakky walked over to Uta and asked, "Do you still remember what I told you before? What do you think now?"
"Me?" Uta looked down at the juice in her hand and gently shook her head. "I don't understand, but…"
She lifted her eyes toward Cain, who was laughing and fooling around, and toward all the others laughing together too, and murmured softly.
"This is so nice. In a world like this, there's only laughter, no pain, and Cain wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. A world filled with nothing but happiness."
One phrase suddenly struck her mind.
'…Eye of the Moon.'