After enjoying herself in the sky for a while, Uta gracefully descended and landed atop the carriage outside Whole Cake Chateau.
Before long, the sweet fragrance of desserts filled the castle, and the grand banquet officially began.
The engagement ceremony between Charlotte Chiffon and Capone Bege proceeded without issue.
While the entire hall was still immersed in celebration, Big Mom hurriedly announced another piece of explosive news in front of everyone:
Cain had officially joined three Emperor pirate crews!
The entire banquet erupted in an uproar.
The guests whispered furiously among themselves, their faces filled with disbelief.
Joining several Emperor crews at once was something unheard of anywhere on the Grand Line.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Cain immediately dragged the injured Morgans aside and threatened him harshly, demanding that he revise the article at once.
He wanted the entire world to know that he stayed beside Uta to protect her, not because he had captured and forced her to perform for profit.
Unfortunately, Morgans was a veteran news hound willing to risk his life for a headline.
Cain's death threats did not frighten him in the slightest.
His eyes burned with fanatical excitement as he thought only about using the scandal to create earth-shattering news!
To him, threats were merely a necessary sacrifice on the road to a front-page story!
Seeing that Morgans refused to listen to reason, Cain hoped Shanks could step forward and clarify things instead.
But after looking around, he could not find Shanks anywhere.
Katakuri noticed and stepped forward to explain in a low voice.
"Shanks isn't here. More accurately, he can't appear here. If one Emperor openly enters another Emperor's territory, it will only cause trouble in the eyes of the public."
"He said he had something important to handle and has already left."
The moment Katakuri finished speaking, he shoved a huge pile of Den Den Mushi into Cain's arms.
Among them were dedicated communication snails belonging to the Big Mom Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates, as well as a specially modified Beasts Pirates Den Den Mushi connected directly to Wano.
Combined with the ones Cain already owned, he now had so many Den Den Mushi that he could barely hold them all.
He could practically start selling them wholesale.
'Why does everyone keep stuffing Den Den Mushi into my arms?!'
Cain complained inwardly.
He was considering contacting other media outlets to clarify his relationship with Uta when a familiar furious roar suddenly exploded beside his ears.
His grandfather, Garp, charged out of the crowd, glaring fiercely and bristling with rage.
His acting was painfully obvious, but it still fooled everyone present.
"CAIN! YOU DARE TO ASSOCIATE WITH THESE PIRATES?! THIS OLD MAN WILL PERSONALLY CAPTURE YOU TODAY!"
Ignoring Big Mom's furious attempt to stop him, Garp charged directly at Cain.
Cain was caught completely off guard!
Garp came at him fiercely, attacking without holding back while secretly twisting his face and making exaggerated signals for Cain to run.
Cain did not have time to think about the reason.
He could only play along with the old man's ridiculously distorted expressions, transforming into a giant pink dragon and carrying Uta straight into the sky.
His mind was filled with confusion.
He had absolutely no idea why his grandfather had suddenly attacked him.
The guests were equally baffled, unable to understand how the Marine Hero had quietly entered Totto Land in the first place.
What none of them knew was that this was nothing more than an act by Garp, part of a plan he had previously arranged with Shanks.
Their goal was to reduce the turmoil Cain's new position would cause across the sea.
To ensure the plan succeeded, they had deliberately kept Cain in the dark throughout the entire process.
Garp had also informed Sengoku of the details in advance.
Although Sengoku had cursed him out thoroughly, the Marines still cooperated by issuing a public statement that intentionally obscured Cain's special circumstances.
The Marines announced that civilians did not need to panic over Cain.
According to their investigation, the Four Emperors remained hostile toward one another.
Cain's membership did not signify an alliance, nor had his strength been exaggerated.
The Marines would continue monitoring his movements and capture him when an opportunity appeared.
…
At the same time, the atmosphere inside the office at Marine Headquarters was solemn.
Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Admiral Kuzan, and Admiral Sakazuki sat together, carefully analyzing Cain's decision to join three Emperor factions.
Although some of those present knew the truth, appearances still had to be maintained.
Only Sakazuki and Kuzan knew nothing about the hidden circumstances, so Sengoku continued solemnly emphasizing Cain's "importance" to them.
After finishing their analysis of Cain, everyone moved on to discussing the World Military Draft and the candidates for the next Fleet Admiral.
At that point, a meaningful, wicked smile suddenly appeared on Sengoku's face.
He looked toward Kuzan and Sakazuki and slowly said.
"No matter which of you ultimately becomes Fleet Admiral, I will reveal one of the Marines' highest-level secrets to you."
…
Several hours had passed since Garp began chasing Cain.
Naturally, the two had never truly fought.
After Garp explained several matters to Cain, he departed aboard Shanks' ship.
As for where Shanks had gone while the banquet was being held, he never explained.
He continued acting as cryptic as ever.
The only thing Cain knew for certain was that Shanks had still been somewhere on Whole Cake Island at the time.
Cain and Uta did not have time to dwell on it.
Because they had been unable to say goodbye to Katakuri and the others in person, they quickly called them using a Den Den Mushi.
Everything they could and needed to accomplish had already been done. There was no longer any reason to return to Totto Land.
Besides, according to Katakuri, Big Mom was currently raging because Garp had disrupted the banquet.
After ending the call, Cain hurriedly examined what Garp had left him.
At that moment, ten thousand meters above the sea, flame clouds carried Cain and Uta as they hovered quietly among the vast cloud ocean.
"AH! I NEVER IMAGINED GRANDPA WOULD LEAVE ME WITH SUCH A HUGE MESS!"
Cain stared at the rubbing in his hands and cried out in despair.
"NOT ONLY DID HE TURN THE BANQUET INTO COMPLETE CHAOS, HE DUMPED THIS MISSION ON ME TOO! ISN'T HE CLEARLY TRYING TO MAKE ME STEAL LUFFY'S JOB?!"
He tightly gripped the Poneglyph rubbing Garp had forcibly shoved into his hands, his brows furrowed.
He had already seen the copy Blackbeard possessed while aboard Kaido's captured ship.
With one glance, Cain recognized this as a rubbing of Big Mom's Road Poneglyph.
He could not understand how Blackbeard had been cautious enough to secretly prepare additional copies.
"Yeah. Even if we wanted to find the One Piece, we can't read these ancient letters."
Uta nodded gently.
She had long since stopped caring about Cain's complicated web of identities and connections, merely remaining quietly beside him.
"Uh… when it comes to people who can read this writing, besides Nico Robin, we actually do know someone else."
The moment Cain finished speaking, one of the Den Den Mushi in his arms began ringing urgently.
It was the Revolutionary Army's dedicated Den Den Mushi.
Cain immediately answered, and Lilith's voice came through the receiver.
Speak of the devil!
Vegapunk had secretly researched the forbidden history sealed away by the World Government for years, studying countless precious texts left behind by Ohara.
Although his knowledge of ancient writing was inferior to Nico Robin's, he had still mastered a method of translating it.
Before Cain could even speak, Lilith eagerly began reporting the results of their research.
They had reached conclusions regarding every Devil Fruit question Cain had previously raised.
She explained the details carefully.
Using the Flame-Flame Fruit as an example, its true essence was not fire itself, but the state of burning.
Likewise, the core of the Soul-Soul Fruit was the manipulation of souls, not the creation of life.
Even if the ability user died, the Homies would not disappear.
The moment they were granted independent souls, they became separate living beings. Their lives came from those souls, not from the Devil Fruit's power.
As long as a soul possessed autonomy, a Homie could theoretically be born even without the Soul-Soul Fruit.
The problem was that ordinary creatures did not retain that kind of autonomy after death. Their souls were also complete, unlike Homies, which were constructed using fragments of souls.
Hearing this explanation, Cain suddenly understood.
In the original story, when Zeus was defeated, his soul independently attached itself to Nami's Clima-Tact.
That followed the exact same principle.
It had been the soul's own choice, not Big Mom controlling it through her Devil Fruit ability.
Immediately afterward, Lilith's voice came through once again, revealing an even more astonishing research conclusion.
As for whether Homies could consume Devil Fruits…
Theoretically speaking, it was completely possible.