The alleyways were quiet beneath the daylight.
Iceburg led the way, while the other three followed in silence toward the warehouse.
"Seriously, why are you here?"
Cain glanced at Aokiji, who had casually moved alongside him, and spoke with obvious annoyance.
"Ah, well, I'm still a Marine Admiral. Miss Uta is holding a concert, and a singer as famous as her has already caught the attention of plenty of pirates. Naturally, I'm here to protect her in the name of the Marines."
Aokiji shrugged.
"But you don't need to worry. As long as you mean Miss Uta no harm, I won't arrest you."
"I'd sooner believe the sun rises in the west!"
Cain looked over the support shirt Aokiji was wearing, which had a chibi portrait of Uta printed across it, his face full of suspicion.
Still, beneath that suspicion, Cain was deeply confused.
According to the original timeline, Aokiji should currently be lost and dispirited after losing his duel against Akainu.
Yet he did not look depressed in the slightest. If anything, there was an unusual liveliness about him.
"Don't tell me my interference in your duel somehow let Akainu damage your brain. Have you lost your mind?"
"Don't put it like that."
Under Cain's unblinking stare, Aokiji's eyes shifted away.
He hurriedly cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Am I not allowed to have hobbies? I happen to be on vacation right now, so I came here to look around."
Uta moved closer with a smile.
"I never expected my singing to attract even a Marine Admiral. I'm honored."
"Ahaha, not at all, Miss Uta. You really underestimate the appeal of your voice. I don't know why, but ever since I started listening to your songs, even my sleep has felt unusually peaceful."
Only after saying it did Aokiji realize how wrong that sounded. He hurriedly waved his hands.
"Of course, I'm not saying your music puts people to sleep. That's not what I meant…"
Cain and Uta exchanged puzzled looks.
Neither understood what he meant about her singing helping him sleep.
Uta signaled to Cain with her eyes that she had never used her ability on the Admiral.
Cain was equally baffled.
He could not understand where Aokiji had gotten the idea that Uta's songs worked as a sleep aid.
They were not exactly lullabies.
Still, hearing the sincerity in his words, Uta smiled and walked ahead before looking back.
"Then I'll leave security for my upcoming concert to you, Mr. Kuzan."
With that, Uta turned and jogged forward.
Watching her lively figure, Aokiji could not help remarking,
"Looks like Morgans' report was wrong. He claimed you kidnapped Miss Uta and that this concert tour was only a scheme to make money from her."
"You actually believed that garbage? Don't the Marines know better than anyone how Morgans grabs a scrap of a rumor and turns it into whatever story he wants?" Cain replied casually.
"Of course we know," Aokiji said. "But he controls the world's news industry. Whenever something major happens at sea, even the Marines usually have to rely on him to announce it publicly."
"The result of my duel with Sakazuki was handled the same way."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku said the news of the change in leadership was sent to Morgans yesterday. You should have received the newspaper by now. Why hasn't it appeared yet?"
"You didn't hear that Kaido roasted Morgans medium-well? He's still lying in bed recovering. It'll probably be another day or two before anyone sees a new newspaper."
After explaining, Cain immediately began questioning him again.
"But Kuzan, you don't strike me as the type to come here merely for fun. I know how Marines operate. Justice always comes first, while personal desires come second."
"If you dared come here, it can't be only because you wanted to attend Uta's concert, right?"
Aokiji paused.
He first glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then his tone became more serious.
"All right. That isn't the only reason."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku told me a few things about you, and they made me curious. Perhaps I can find the answer I'm searching for through you."
"Me? What could you possibly find from me?"
Cain immediately understood.
Aokiji had already learned about his past.
Cain was not particularly worried about that.
Aokiji stopped walking, turned toward him, and slowly asked,
"Chad Cain, how exactly do you view justice?"
'Ah. So that's what this is about.'
Cain raised a hand and covered his face, immediately grasping the situation.
Aokiji might not be displaying his confusion outwardly, but he was indeed standing at a crossroads filled with self-doubt.
Cain, who walked along the edge of piracy while remaining entangled with the Marines, happened to be the perfect reference point for the answer Aokiji was desperately seeking.
Cain gave his opinion without hesitation.
"You Marines—no, almost everyone—allow their current position to dictate their actions. They bind themselves with layer after layer of restrictions."
"You think about so many things that you end up losing sight of the convictions you began with."
"Have you ever heard this saying? 'Adults weigh benefits and consequences. Only children care about right and wrong.'"
"It sounds like an insult to both sides, but that willingness to simply follow your heart is exactly what most people are missing now."
"Think carefully about those words. Once you truly understand them, the answer will naturally appear in your heart."
Cain spoke with deliberate mystery.
Some things did not need to be explained too plainly. It was better to leave enough room for Aokiji to think on his own.
Only an answer he discovered himself would truly belong to him, rather than being something another person had forcibly poured into his head.
Besides, Cain did not know how to express his more direct thoughts anyway.
His own way of handling things was practically identical to his grandfather's. He could hardly tell Aokiji to simply do whatever the hell he wanted.
Aokiji sighed in admiration.
"Ah, as expected of someone who buried himself in books from the moment he learned to read. Even the things you say give people plenty to think about."
"How do you know about that?" Cain immediately demanded.
"Vice Admiral Garp—"
Aokiji stopped himself.
"My teacher told me. He was also the one who suggested I come find you."
"Of course it was him."
Cain rubbed his forehead as Garp's careless grin immediately appeared in his mind.
Aokiji stroked his chin and continued, "Still, when I spoke with my teacher last night, he asked me to pass a message to you."
"He said you two need to hurry things along. He's keeping Red-Hair occupied in the New World, so this is your perfect chance to make a new life as soon as possible!"
Cain's eyes went so wide they looked ready to fall out, and his mouth opened far enough to fit a fist.
Now he finally understood why Shanks had not come here.
'Old man, what the hell have you been doing?!'
Still, if Garp had been able to speak with Kuzan last night, then he probably had not truly fought Shanks.
'Please stop causing trouble for me, Grandpa!'
"They didn't actually start fighting, did they?"
Despite himself, Cain still had to ask. His grandfather's physical condition was no longer what it had once been.
"No. Red-Hair is still the easiest Emperor to reason with, after all."
"My teacher didn't attack him. He merely used your new membership in their crew as an excuse to drag them all into a drinking party."
"Then he drank the entire Red Hair Pirates under the table."
Kuzan briefly explained what had happened.
"Wait. It took me more than twenty days to get here. How long has he been drinking?"
"No idea. Apparently, he's still going."
'You really are putting your whole body into this, old man.'
Cain sighed helplessly.
Aokiji looked at him and voiced his own confusion.
"I don't quite understand what my teacher meant by that message, but surely Garp-sensei wasn't actually telling you to go around getting someone killed, right? That part about 'making a new life'…"
"And why does it involve Red-Hair? I may know about plenty of secret Marine operations, but this sounds absurd. Even the Red Hair Pirates are involved?"
Cain looked at Kuzan standing before him.
A huge bag of Uta merchandise was strapped to his back. Two glow sticks were tied to his head, he wore headphones matching Uta's, and his body was covered by an official Uta support shirt.
Cain hurriedly waved both hands.
"Uh… it's probably better if you don't know."
Who knew whether some extreme fans might try to stab Cain at the entrance once they learned the truth?
Not that a knife would frighten him.