"Ah, well. In that case, I won't keep asking."
Aokiji rubbed his chin.
The moment Cain started walking again, he immediately followed.
Cain turned his head, only for Aokiji to raise an eyebrow and start whistling.
Cain continued forward without saying anything, but Aokiji stuck to him like glue until Cain finally turned around in exasperation.
"Why are you still following us?!"
"I already told you, I'm on vacation. I'll be traveling with you for a while. I can also keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything bad."
"I'm pretty sure the supervision is just an excuse and you really want to hear Uta sing."
Cain glanced at him, then turned and caught up with Iceburg and Uta ahead.
If Aokiji wanted to follow them, then let him. They had no secrets that could not be seen anyway.
With that, the group soon arrived outside a seaside warehouse.
It stood in a remote corner of the harbor where few people ever came, and the Going Merry had been stored inside.
"Are you really sure it's fine to let a Marine Admiral follow us?" Iceburg asked in a low voice.
"Yeah. We can't shake him off anyway, and he doesn't seem interested in attacking us, so just ignore him."
Cain waved dismissively, his gaze falling on the warehouse's tightly shut doors.
Iceburg nodded and looked toward the entrance as well.
"This is the place. We reinforced the Merry's hull and incorporated some of the construction techniques used on the Sunny. Its power still can't compare to the Sunny's, but the Merry's smaller size helps make up for that."
As he spoke, Iceburg unlocked and pulled open the warehouse doors.
"To make sure the Going Merry could return to sea, we reapplied all the waterproof and anti-corrosion coatings. Every damaged old plank was replaced too!"
Cain, Uta, and the others looked inside.
The Going Merry stood quietly in the center of the warehouse, its hull spotless and gleaming as if it had only just left the shipyard.
The enormous sheep figurehead at the bow seemed to be gently greeting them.
[Welcome back.]
Cain froze at the voice.
Then a soft, warm smile appeared on his face.
He stepped forward, placed a hand against the Merry's hull, and replied quietly, "I'm back."
Uta hurried over as well.
"I'm back too!"
[Behind me. Someone's there.]
The Merry's next words instantly made Cain frown.
He activated his Observation Haki, pulled several Beli coins from his pocket, and flicked them violently toward the shadows behind the ship.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The coins struck deep inside the darkness with perfect accuracy, throwing up clouds of dust.
Several holes were blasted through the warehouse's thick walls, allowing sunlight to stream inside.
Almost at the same moment, Aokiji and Uta sensed the hidden presence as well.
Both of them immediately tensed.
Someone was concealed in the shadows!
"Oh my, I've been discovered."
Before the dust had even settled, a woman's voice drifted out.
"Honestly, meeting for the first time under circumstances like these is rather frightening, little brother."
As she spoke, a figure walked out through the smoke.
She wore white clothes and an oddly shaped mask over her face.
The atmosphere inside the warehouse did not relax in the slightest. Cain and the three people behind him all frowned at the masked woman in white.
Iceburg reacted most strongly.
After everything that had happened with Kalifa infiltrating his organization, he had developed an instinctive wariness and aversion toward women of this type.
"Ah, just from your voice, I can tell you must be a beautiful lady. Interested in having a drink?"
Aokiji's brows quickly relaxed.
He walked forward with both hands in his pockets and spoke in his usual easygoing tone.
The woman saw his face and immediately recognized the Marine Admiral, surprise appearing in her expression.
"Admiral Aokiji? Why are you here?!"
"I'm only on vacation. So, what do you think about my invitation?"
"Under other circumstances, I would gladly accept. Unfortunately, I'm currently on a mission, so I'll have to excuse myself."
The moment she finished speaking, the woman shot out of the warehouse and vanished without a trace.
Cain did not stop her.
Neither did Kuzan.
Both had recognized her identity at a glance.
She belonged to CP0, the World Government's highest intelligence agency.
"It looks like those rumors about the World Government targeting you weren't unfounded after all, Cain," Kuzan remarked.
Cain nodded lightly.
More than her identity as a CP0 agent, Cain had immediately recognized the woman herself.
Stussy—the undercover agent Vegapunk had planted within the World Government.
Perhaps even Vegapunk did not know she had infiltrated as deeply as CP0.
Still, Cain found one thing strange.
If this mission came from the World Government, why had they sent Stussy instead of another Cipher Pol agent?
The truth was not particularly complicated.
Although the World Government had temporarily suspended its attempt to capture Uta, it still needed to monitor Cain and Uta's movements at all times.
Stussy had come to confirm whether Cain was accompanying Uta during her concert and to determine their current whereabouts.
Ordinary Cipher Pol agents were nowhere near strong enough for the task, so the World Government had no choice but to use CP0.
Unfortunately, during the night CP0 had been assigned to monitor Red-Haired Shanks, nearly every agent aside from the few stationed at the Holy Land had been wiped out.
CP0 was now critically understaffed.
That left the World Government with no choice but to send Stussy, who was already operating within the Underworld, to investigate.
Coincidentally, Stussy also needed to deliver something Lilith had prepared for Cain, so she had simply combined the two assignments.
As for why she had chosen this warehouse, the reason was simple.
With the World Government's intelligence network, discovering where the Straw Hat Pirates' former ship had been stored was hardly difficult.
Knowing Cain's many identities and connections, Stussy had arrived early and waited for him here.
…
While they were still discussing the matter, the Den Den Mushi in Aokiji's coat suddenly began ringing.
Aokiji instinctively tightened his grip around it and quickly walked toward a corner of the warehouse.
Cain and Uta did not disturb him.
Instead, they began exploring the newly restored Going Merry.
Iceburg had no desire to involve himself in a private Marine conversation either, so he stepped outside the warehouse.
The moment he stopped, however, the Den Den Mushi in his own coat began ringing as well.
The caller was one of the employees he had left behind at the office.
…
On Aokiji's side, the instant he answered, Kizaru's unmistakable voice came through the receiver. For once, his tone carried a hint of urgency.
"Kuzan, where are you right now? Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, you're rather fond of Uta's songs, aren't you?"
Aokiji raised an eyebrow, his tone remaining lazy and teasing.
"Oh, that? Why, do you want to listen too? Should I bring back some concert merchandise for you?"
"You can't be serious."
The voice on the other end suddenly rose.
"Don't tell me you actually went to Water 7!"
"Yeah, I'm here. The concert is about to begin, so I decided to use my vacation to relax a little. Is there a problem?"
The smile on Aokiji's face faded slightly, and his voice grew heavier.
"Tell me. What happened on the Marine side?"