"This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad! Why are the Marines here?! I only came to see my little brother and sister! How did things turn into this?!"
Charlotte Lola had just slipped out of the dressing room Cain and the others had been using and was now hiding behind a massive crate, using it to conceal herself.
She barely dared to breathe as she watched Marines escorting suspicious individuals out of the backstage area.
At first, when Lola learned that Cain was technically a member of the Charlotte family, she had admittedly been a little nervous.
But afterward, she discovered that Cain had been raised and trained by the Marine Hero Garp and had very little actual connection to the Charlotte family.
More importantly, Cain was also a companion of the Straw Hats—the very people who had helped Lola recover her shadow.
Then there was the engagement ceremony in Totto Land for her twin sister Chiffon.
Cain had appeared in the news surrounding that event, and Fire Tank Pirates captain Capone Bege had personally said that Cain was the one who helped bring him and Chiffon together.
Ever since then, Lola had wanted to meet this new little brother of hers.
She had arrived too late in Water 7 and missed him, so this time she had deliberately traveled all the way to the East Blue.
To avoid being recognized as a pirate, she had covered her face in heavy makeup and disguised herself as a staff member in a maid uniform.
And yet the moment she arrived, she ran straight into the Marines.
Fortunately, the disguise had successfully fooled them.
Only after they moved away did Lola finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Then her eyes landed on Kuzan and Issho in the distance, the latter wearing a Marine uniform.
Her expression immediately turned serious.
She had already checked the dressing room.
Cain, that newly appeared little sister En-chan, and Uta were all gone.
And Kuzan had once openly declared that he intended to arrest Cain.
Lola's entire body tensed.
'They're here to arrest Cain!'
'No. My little brother is in danger! How can I call myself his big sister if I just let them walk over there?'
'But I'm still too weak…'
'Damn it. I have to follow them.'
'Even if they really attack Cain, I can at least jump in at the last moment and hold them back!'
With that thought, Lola watched Kuzan and Issho walking roughly a hundred meters ahead and quietly began following them.
…
"Someone is following us," Issho said. "But I sense no hostility."
Kuzan glanced back.
A hundred meters away, Lola instantly ducked behind a corner.
Unfortunately, the hem of her maid uniform remained clearly visible.
"Oh, just one of the staff members."
Kuzan shrugged.
"People working backstage trying to get Uta's autograph isn't exactly rare. Don't worry about it."
"Let's keep moving."
He headed toward the same corner Bartolomeo had passed earlier.
Lola, completely convinced that her hiding skills had worked, continued creeping after them.
Meanwhile, another hundred meters behind Lola, two figures appeared in the reflection of a polished mirror.
"That's Lola, isn't it?"
Katakuri stared at the suspiciously sneaky figure in the distance.
"I didn't expect to see her here."
"Did she come to visit Cain?"
"Should we capture her, Katakuri-nii-san?" Brûlée immediately asked.
"No."
Katakuri shook his head.
"Compared to what we obtained on the way here, Lola is no longer worth using as leverage."
He thought of the person they had unexpectedly encountered during their journey, along with the orders Big Mom had given them.
Then he considered Lola's current circumstances.
"As far as the giants are concerned, Lola is useless to us now."
"Dragging her back would only make Mama angrier."
"Let her continue wandering outside."
Brûlée nodded seriously before praising him without the slightest restraint.
"That's true!"
"After all, Katakuri-nii-san already captured that person and had them escorted back to Totto Land."
"Perospero-nii-san contacted us just now too. Mama was extremely pleased when they arrived."
"The true 'Totto Land' Mama has always dreamed of should finally become possible before long."
"As expected of Katakuri-nii-san!"
"Ahem!"
Katakuri cleared his throat.
"Enough about that."
"We need to find Cain. Don't forget why we came here."
"We still have to give this to him."
"Right!"
The two disappeared back into the Mirror-World.
Across from that reflective surface stood another mirror.
Near it, Rockstar had just finished surveying the audience area and was taking a short break.
He had seen the entire exchange.
His mind immediately jumped back to Big Mom's bizarre marriage scheme from before.
Rockstar shot to his feet and ran in the opposite direction.
The stage area was circular, so heading west around the opposite side was actually the fastest route to encounter members of his own crew.
He quickly reported everything to Shanks.
Shanks was surprised as well and immediately ordered Beckman to take several men and search the area for suspicious mirrors.
And so the situation became—
Makino was going to see Shanks.
Cain's group was following Makino.
Bartolomeo was wandering around searching for Cain.
Kuzan and Issho were following behind.
Charlotte Lola was secretly tailing them.
Katakuri and Brûlée were hiding in the mirrors.
And members of the Red Hair Pirates were now searching for Katakuri and Brûlée.
Once the Red Hair Pirates had all left, the only person remaining in their area was Shanks.
"Oh my…"
Makino watched everyone disappear and smiled helplessly.
"Looks like everyone left."
"What a shame. I brought all these drinks for nothing."
"They're not going to waste!"
Shanks strode over, casually grabbed a bottle from the cart, popped the cap off with his thumb, and took a long drink.
Then he lowered the bottle and grinned at Makino.
"Alcohol isn't wasted as long as someone drinks it."
"And now that everyone else is gone…"
He paused.
His gaze settled on her face, and his voice became noticeably softer.
"…there's still you and me, isn't there?"
"I…"
Makino visibly grew shy.
Her hands slipped behind her back as she suddenly seemed unsure what to do with herself.
The relaxed expression she had worn moments earlier vanished, replaced by flushed cheeks and an instinctive urge to step backward.
…
"Mmph… let… me… GO!!!"
Cain's eyes looked ready to erupt with flames as he watched from hiding.
If Sabo and Uta had not been physically restraining him, he would probably have charged straight at Shanks and delivered the complete Fist Bone Massage package on the spot.
'That bastard!'
'He waits until everyone leaves and then starts flirting this openly?!'
"Calm down! Cain, calm down!"
Sabo had both arms wrapped around Cain's neck as he desperately whispered into his ear.
"This is not the time to rush out there!"
"Exactly! Cain, don't do anything stupid!"
Uta had one hand clamped over Cain's mouth.
Realizing he genuinely needed to calm down, she abandoned all hesitation and held his face between both hands, forcing him to look directly at her.
"They're only talking!"
"Yes, they're obviously close, but that still doesn't prove anything!"
Her fingers gently brushed the corner of Cain's mouth as she looked into his eyes.
"I know exactly what you're feeling right now."
"It's the same way Shanks felt whenever he saw you and me being affectionate."
"Deep down, he already knows that I chose you and that you're the person who suits me best."
"But knowing that doesn't stop him from worrying."
"And it definitely doesn't mean he enjoys seeing us being intimate."
Cain stared at her blankly.
His struggling gradually slowed.
Seeing that it was working, Uta continued,
"So if watching Shanks do this makes you that uncomfortable…"
Her eyes gleamed.
"…then let's make him uncomfortable too."
"Uta, you—"
Cain never finished.
Uta leaned forward and kissed him.
The kiss deepened almost immediately, leaving Cain so startled that his earlier fury vanished.
Then, as he gradually recovered, he took the lead instead.
Before long, the two had completely forgotten why they were hiding there in the first place.
They had also forgotten that two other adults and one child were standing right beside them.
"Hey, hey, HEY! You two!"
Sabo and Koala immediately panicked.
One hurried backward while the other instinctively covered Bella's eyes.
Neither of them had expected Uta's method of calming Cain down to involve throwing all restraint out the window.
"There's a kid right here! Have a little self-control!"
Bella curiously twisted her head back and forth, trying to dodge the hand blocking her view.
"What happened?"
"What happened to Papa and Mama?"
She tilted her head.
"Why are they biting each other?"
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