"All right! To celebrate our return to Windmill Village, let's have a banquet, boys!"
The moment Shanks finished speaking, his crew roared in response.
"YEAH!"
Then the entire group charged toward Makino's bar in a rowdy mob, with Shanks and Makino following close behind.
Only Cain was left behind by the village mayor and ordered to thaw the ice covering the harbor.
The mayor also made it very clear that Bella was not allowed to help.
In the end, Uta and Bella could only stay beside Cain and watch as he slowly melted everything himself.
By the time the three of them finished and arrived at Makino's bar, they were greeted by a rather alarming sight.
"Blargh!"
"Blargh!"
"Whoa, whoa! What the hell happened here?!"
Cain stared in disbelief.
The Red Hair Pirates were crouched all over the floor, each clutching a wooden barrel while vomiting violently.
"It's all your grandfather's fault!"
Hongo looked miserably at Cain as he walked in.
"For an entire month, he made us drink until we threw up, then drink again after we finished throwing up! Now my stomach starts turning the second it sees alcohol!"
"I calculated it," Benn Beckman added helplessly from nearby. "The amount he forced each of us to drink was roughly three times what he drank himself."
"Well, we only rested for two days, so our stomachs probably haven't adjusted yet. A few more drinks should fix it. Look, I'm perfectly fi—blargh…"
Shanks' cheeks were slightly red as he waved dismissively, swallowing down another wave of nausea.
"It's fine! Completely fine!"
Then he turned toward Makino.
"Makino, could you bring us a few more barrels? Don't worry, we'll clean up this mess afterward!"
"Hey, maybe stop forcing yourself if you can't drink anymore."
Cain hurried forward to stop him, only to notice Uta's expression darkening completely beside him.
"What kind of banquet would that be?" a tipsy Shanks protested. "A party without alcohol is like grilled meat without seasoning. There's no flavor!"
He grabbed Cain and raised a cup toward his mouth.
"Come on, Cain! You're old enough now. Have a drink with us!"
At that moment, Uta's face turned pitch-black.
"Enough!"
Her shout exploded through the bar.
"Bella…"
"Yes, Mama!"
Freezing air surged outward.
In the blink of an eye, Bella froze everyone present inside blocks of ice.
Her control was incredibly precise. Not a single table, chair, or piece of furniture in the bar was damaged.
Unfortunately, Cain had been frozen along with everyone else.
Cain and Shanks shattered their ice almost immediately.
The rest of the crew did not dare move at all.
They obediently remained trapped in place, barely even daring to breathe.
Shanks looked at Uta's furious expression and reddened eyes, and his voice began trembling despite himself.
"Uta… I…"
Smack!
A sharp slap landed squarely across his face.
Tears gathered in Uta's eyes as she glared at him, full of hurt and anger.
"I said that's enough! What are you trying to prove by acting like this? Can't you take care of yourself for once?!"
When Uta had seen the Lord of the Coast near the harbor earlier, she had suddenly remembered what Cain once told her—how Shanks lost his arm saving Luffy.
She had not intended to confront him about it.
During their previous two meetings, she had already learned the truth about what happened in Elegia and no longer resented him as her father.
Even so, an invisible distance still remained between them.
Most of their conversations had consisted of only a few hurried words before ending.
Uta never said it aloud, but she constantly worried about this father who did whatever he pleased and never cared what happened to himself.
Now he had spent over a month drinking until his stomach could no longer tolerate alcohol, yet he was still forcing himself to order more.
The concern and anger Uta had buried inside finally became impossible to contain.
"Makino, please replace all their alcohol with milk or fruit juice."
After leaving those words behind, Uta grabbed Bella and ran out of the bar.
"Uta!"
Shanks instinctively moved to follow, but Cain immediately stopped him.
Both men knew that with bodies as powerful as theirs, drinking continuously for a month would not cause any real damage.
They could probably keep going much longer without suffering lasting harm.
But that was not what Uta cared about.
What upset her was that Shanks treated his own well-being as though it meant nothing.
"Don't go after her right now. She's still angry," Cain said.
"I'll check on her instead. The Uta you know is still the girl from ten years ago. You don't really understand who she is now."
"She's been away from pirate life for too long. Or maybe she simply isn't comfortable with the way you people live anymore."
"But Uta has a point. You really don't take care of yourself at all. Drinking that recklessly is obviously going to make everyone worry!"
"He's right, Shanks," Makino added as she brought over several cups of honey water. "You shouldn't keep forcing yourself. We all worry about you."
Faced with Cain's and Makino's words, Shanks nodded heavily.
He raised his only hand and firmly patted Cain on the shoulder.
His voice carried exhaustion, but also complete trust.
"…I'm leaving her to you, Cain. Please… stay with her."
Cain nodded and immediately rushed toward the door.
At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.
'I almost forgot. I should tell Grandpa to drink less too.'
Then he suddenly paused internally.
'Wait, what exactly did Shanks mean by that?'
'That tone sounded like he was entrusting her to me for good. Could it be—'
'No! This isn't the time to think about that!'
…
Makino watched Cain leave and gently shook her head before handing Shanks the honey water.
"You and Uta haven't truly spent time together in many years, have you?"
"No. That was my failure."
Shanks drank from the cup with a troubled expression, then glanced at the broken ice scattered across the floor.
He turned and shouted toward his crew.
"Hey! Stop pretending to be dead and come help clean this up!"
He bent down and began picking up the ice.
Only then did the other Red Hair Pirates finally shatter themselves free, shake the cold from their bodies, and join him.
Makino stepped out from behind the counter and approached Shanks as he gathered the pieces.
"Let me handle that."
"No, no. Don't worry. I may only have one arm, but I'm still perfectly good at cleaning. It doesn't slow me down at all."
Shanks quickly tossed the ice in his hand into a bin and shook the frost from his fingers.
"No, I should do it."
Makino bent down to collect another piece.
"Careful."
Shanks hurriedly wiped his remaining hand against his clothes to disperse the lingering cold, then reached out and caught Makino by the wrist.
"That ice was created by Bella's ability. It's extremely cold. You could easily get frostbite."
The moment their hands touched, their eyes met.
Both of them blushed at the same time.
"Mm… I understand."
…
Evening was approaching.
At the edge of the cliff, Uta sat with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around her knees.
The sea breeze brushed through her hair as she watched the sun slowly sink toward the horizon.
Bella floated beside her with her little mouth wide open.
"Ah-la-la-la-la-la…"
She happily let the wind rush directly into her mouth, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Cain arrived and stopped when he saw the two of them.
Warmth and nostalgia rose in his heart.
When they were children, this had been their place.
They had played here, competed here, shared their worries here, and spent countless days together.
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