Aokiji had not exactly been idle over the past few days.
While helping Uta search the East Blue for a suitable concert venue, he had also been looking for worthy targets who could establish the reputation of a "rookie pirate hunter" like himself.
He needed to capture at least a few respectable pirates and make a name for himself on the seas.
The problem was that this was the East Blue.
Among the pirates emerging around Loguetown, he could not find a single one with a bounty exceeding ten million Beli.
It was not that Aokiji had overly high standards.
The East Blue had not earned its reputation as the weakest of the four seas for nothing.
A certain elderly Marine who frequently took vacations to visit his hometown had done far too thorough a job cleaning up the area.
On top of that, Aokiji had recently bought himself a new bicycle and eagerly spent days riding it across the sea, yet barely encountered any pirate ships.
Left with no other choice, he remembered the village both Garp and Cain had mentioned.
Since he could not find a target, he might as well visit Garp's hometown and take a short break.
Following their descriptions, he cycled toward the island.
When he saw smoke rising peacefully from the chimneys along the coast, he murmured,
"So this is Teacher's village? It looks peaceful enough. There probably aren't any pirates—"
His words stopped abruptly.
A pirate flag was fluttering proudly near the shore.
The flag of the Red Hair Pirates.
A group of men crouched beside it, glaring fiercely in his direction.
"What the hell? Why are pirates here? And powerful ones at that!"
"Have pirates started raiding people's homes now?"
Before Aokiji could recover from his shock, his Observation Haki screamed a warning.
He blinked.
Shanks and his crew had already rushed him.
…
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!"
"And aren't you supposed to be in the New World? Why are you here?!"
Aokiji had been tied up tightly with rope and was now being carried bodily into the village.
He struggled several times before spotting the Going Merry nearby.
His voice immediately rose.
"Where's Cain? Where did Cain go? I want to see Cain!"
"Stop shouting. Cain left a little while ago."
Lucky Roux was the one who answered. He was carrying a round creature over one shoulder.
Aokiji focused on it.
Wasn't that his penguin, Camel?
Then he noticed the drool running from Lucky Roux's mouth and the eager look on his face.
Aokiji's eyes widened.
"Y-you put Camel down first! He isn't food!"
"Relax. We're not going to eat him."
Shanks smiled and patted Aokiji on the head.
"We only want to ask you for a little help rebuilding a house."
"The refrigerators around here have also developed some problems, so we need your ability."
"For the sake of the justice in your heart, please help poor, unfortunate people like us, who can't even enjoy a glass of chilled alcohol."
"This is not how you ask someone for help!"
Aokiji roared.
"You tied me up and carried me away! That's something pirates do!"
"Oh, right! You are pirates!"
…
Meanwhile, high in the sky…
Using the approximate location Sabo had provided, the sea chart he received from Shanks, Uta's newly acquired navigation knowledge, and the necessary equipment, Cain flew at full speed toward Momoiro Island.
Uta sat atop Cain's head with Bella in her arms, giving her careful instructions.
"Bella! Once we reach Momoiro Island, you absolutely must not copy anything strange."
"Don't listen to anything you shouldn't hear, don't learn anything you shouldn't know, and don't ask questions you shouldn't be asking."
Hearing this, Cain could not help asking,
"Uta, is all that really necessary?"
Uta nodded emphatically.
"Of course it is. Even someone as polite and gentlemanly as Sanji ended up becoming a woman."
"Cain, what about you? If something like that happened, would you completely become a woman?"
"I mean your sense of identity."
"Me?"
Cain answered confidently,
"Of course not. My willpower is far too strong for that!"
Uta rested her chin on one hand and blinked thoughtfully.
"I see. Then I'm relieved."
"Momoiro Island really does sound both fascinating and terrifying."
"Speaking of that place, I suddenly remembered Bon-chan. That funny big brother-slash-big sister."
"I wonder how he's doing in Impel Down."
"Don't worry."
Cain smiled as he carried her steadily through the sky.
"According to the information I received, Bon-chan may be imprisoned in Impel Down, but he's already taken over Ivankov's old position."
"He's currently the queen of Newkama Land on Level 5.5."
"He's thriving down there. Honestly, he's living better than plenty of people wandering free outside."
"I see…"
Uta nodded, her lips curving into a smile.
"It sounds like he's doing pretty well!"
Cain seemed to remember something and glanced upward.
"Still, Uta, you've looked excited ever since I told you about this trip this morning."
"Is Bon-chan the reason?"
"Yes."
Uta nodded without hesitation.
But she silently added,
'Yes… but not entirely.'
Bon-chan genuinely dreamed of visiting Momoiro Island and had mentioned it to her before.
The island was supposedly known as a second Amazon Lily.
Uta was curious to see how it compared with the real island of women.
But what truly interested her was Ivankov himself—the user of the Horm-Horm Fruit, who could turn men into women and women into men.
Her previous "training" with Cain had only been a small experiment.
Uta had a far more ambitious plan hidden in her heart.
Yesterday afternoon, she had gone to great lengths to give Cain some "shooting practice" inside Uta World.
But in reality, his ammunition remained completely untouched.
Uta had been worrying about that for a long time.
Unfortunately, the thought of confronting Cain's "terrifying weapon" in reality still frightened her.
Even inside Uta World, where she held an overwhelming advantage, Cain had somehow left her unable to move.
That was completely backward.
Her goal was to help Cain empty his ammunition in reality, not leave herself helpless afterward!
That was when she thought of a solution.
Once they reached the island, she only needed to ask Ivankov to let Cain experience what it felt like to be a woman.
Not to "experience a woman."
To experience becoming one.
Cain would become a woman.
And Uta would become a man…
'Hehehe!'
Her earlier question about whether Cain would lose himself after becoming a woman had been for precisely this reason.
Now that she had received his answer, she no longer needed to worry.
When the time came, Uta would not be afraid, and Cain probably would not lose his courage either.
Then wouldn't both of them get to experience how the other side felt?
The idea sounded wonderful.
Uta was completely lost in her imagination when Cain suddenly faltered in midair.
An indescribable chill ran up his spine.
He instinctively clenched a certain part of his body as an entirely unfamiliar sense of danger shot straight into his head.
Only after confirming that it was not a warning from his Observation Haki did he relax slightly.
Even so, he could not help glancing up at Uta.
"What's wrong?"
Uta tilted her head and gave him a perfectly innocent smile.
Cain remained silent for two seconds before looking forward again.
"Nothing."
For some reason, the wind felt unusually cold today.
Especially around his backside.
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