At first, Cain had still been worried about Lola.
With Katakuri suddenly appearing, there was always a chance she might get caught up in an attack.
Lucky Roux had promised to leave it to them, but Cain still could not completely relax.
Then he saw what was happening inside the room.
And suddenly, he had no room left in his head to worry about anything else.
When Bella asked her innocent question, Cain slowly answered,
"Bella… looks like your aunt might be about to become your grandma."
Then he turned his attention back toward the other side of the room.
If Shanks and Makino had merely been sharing a simple kiss, Cain's anger would already have been rising rapidly.
But this?
Shanks' pupils had contracted in shock the moment he noticed them, and he instinctively leaned backward.
Their lips separated with another soft smack.
A thin strand of saliva stretched visibly between them before finally breaking, while both Shanks and Makino were breathing slightly harder than before.
And beneath the open collar of Shanks' shirt, there were several fresh scratches along his neck where Makino's nails had apparently caught him.
The intensity of what had just happened was, if anything, even greater than Cain and Uta's earlier kiss.
For one long moment—
Cain's thoughts completely stopped.
His entire body locked in place.
His brain refused to function.
Only one thought kept repeating over and over.
'Scratches.'
'Tongue.'
'She scratched him with her nails.'
'And there was tongue!'
Cain's eyes went wide.
His mouth hung slightly open, but no sound came out.
Uta was exactly the same.
She stood perfectly still with her eyes wide open, apparently forgetting even how to breathe.
The two of them looked as though they had been petrified.
Not quite people.
Not quite statues.
Just two completely frozen objects whose ability to think had dropped to zero.
Shanks, meanwhile, was equally stunned.
He had only wanted to have a drink with Makino.
How had things somehow developed into this?
Alcohol really was dangerous.
It was almost exactly like that night.
But why did nothing like this ever happen when he drank with his crew?
Or when he drank with Mihawk?
Maybe the problem was simply that the person beside him was Makino.
Shanks had anticipated that Katakuri's appearance might cause some trouble, but he had assumed the Red Hair Pirates could handle it.
His whole crew versus one Katakuri?
How hard could finding him possibly be?
So why had Lucky Roux brought Cain here?!
And why was Uta here too?!
Cain and Uta continued staring blankly at Makino, who was hurriedly wiping her mouth, and Shanks, who remained stiff with shock.
Neither had recovered yet.
Sabo and Koala were the first to react.
After Cain and Uta's earlier behavior, the two of them had apparently developed some resistance to scenes like this.
Their hands immediately shot out and covered Cain and Uta's mouths.
"Sabo, what are you doing?"
"I already know exactly what you two are thinking!"
Sabo hurriedly whispered,
"Don't you dare use that method to get revenge on him!"
After all, Cain and Uta had personally declared in the hallway earlier that if Cain was upset, Uta could simply let him kiss her in front of Shanks so Shanks would be upset too.
But hearing Sabo bring it up only made the couple more embarrassed.
"What method?!"
Cain immediately protested.
"Damn it, I'm not that shameless! I wouldn't do something like that right in front of Big Sis Makino—mmph!"
"Exactly!"
Uta nodded rapidly.
"At the very least, we'd wait until Big Sis Makino left, and then kiss in front of Shanks—mmph!"
The moment Shanks heard that, his expression darkened.
Makino, meanwhile, became so embarrassed that she lowered her head and refused to look at anyone.
She took several steps backward until she was almost entirely hidden behind Shanks, leaving only half her flushed face visible.
Her fingers nervously pinched the hem of her clothes.
She looked utterly mortified.
Shanks immediately shifted back into his serious mode.
The full dignity of an Emperor returned in an instant.
After quietly reassuring Makino behind him, he began walking toward Cain and the others.
Cain pushed away Sabo's hand and stepped forward to meet him.
Their presences surged almost simultaneously.
"What did you just say about revenge…?"
"What are you planning to do to Big Sis Makino?"
Shanks and Cain spoke at the exact same time.
A powerful pressure collided between them.
A silent duel had already begun inside the small room.
"Want Uta and me to demonstrate?" Cain replied without hesitation.
Shanks' temper immediately flared.
Even so, he answered Cain's earlier question first.
"What happened between us was perfectly normal!"
A vein bulged on Cain's forehead.
'Normal?'
'You were practically eating each other's faces, and there was tongue!'
'And could you at least cover those damn fingernail marks on your neck before calling it normal?!'
Their Conqueror's Haki began leaking out.
Tiny arcs of black-red lightning crackled against one another throughout the room.
Sabo and the others immediately retreated toward Makino and stood protectively around her while watching the confrontation.
"Sabo, what's going on with them?"
Makino asked anxiously.
"Please don't let them start fighting!"
She looked worriedly toward Cain and Shanks.
"If this is because of me… then maybe Shanks and I really shouldn't…"
"No."
Uta smiled and gently reassured her.
"If I had to choose anyone in the world to be my mother, it would definitely be Big Sis Makino."
"Though actually calling you 'Mom' would make it sound like you suddenly got a lot older."
Her smile disappeared as she turned toward Shanks.
"The problem is Shanks."
"That bastard actually made progress with you and didn't tell me anything."
"He really is an irresponsible man!"
Thud!
Shanks' imposing aura instantly collapsed.
His head drooped.
The silent battle had barely begun, yet his momentum had already weakened considerably.
Cain immediately seized the opening and pushed forward with his own presence.
Then he launched his first attack.
"Exactly."
"Like Uta said, Shanks, you irresponsible bastard—do you really have what it takes to protect Big Sis Makino?"
Shanks struggled to recover his momentum.
His expression stiffened as he countered,
"My strength is more than enough."
"If I care about her, then naturally I'll protect her!"
"What about you, Cain?"
"Your current strength still isn't enough to satisfy my standards."
"I'll surpass you someday."
Cain answered instantly.
"I have both the confidence and the ability to do it."
"And of course I'll protect Uta."
Since Shanks had now openly admitted how he felt about Makino, Cain did not bother dwelling on that point.
He immediately pressed the attack again.
"More importantly, since you've admitted that you like Big Sis Makino, what exactly are you planning to do now?"
"Are you expecting her to become a pirate and sail around with you?"
"Because I'm telling you right now, I'm not letting her follow you out to sea."
"I'll respect Makino's choice."
Shanks managed to withstand that attack and retaliated.
"If she wants to leave with me, I'll take her."
"If she wants to stay here, then we'll come back and visit her often."
"And you and Uta went out to sea too, didn't you?"
"What are you so worried about?"
Cain immediately laughed.
"How is that remotely the same?"
"You know perfectly well what Uta's ability can do."
"Against almost anyone who encounters it for the first time, it's practically impossible to deal with."
"She went out to sea because she has a dream she wants to achieve."
"Big Sis Makino doesn't."
"She has no reason to follow you into danger."
"And besides…"
Cain drew in a deep breath.
His next verbal attack was already charging.
"Considering what's behind your identi—"
His brain suddenly slammed on the brakes.
'Holy shit.'
'I almost let that slip.'
Cain hurriedly changed direction.
"Considering that you're one of the Four Emperors, there are countless eyes across the entire sea watching you!"
"So how are you planning to handle your relationship with Big Sis Makino publicly?"
"You obviously can't announce it openly, can you?"
"Just like with Uta…"
"You're not Whitebeard. His sons were all his own crewmates."
"You're not Big Mom. Her entire crew is practically made up of her children."
"And you're definitely not Kaido, who raised his kid by beating the hell out of her from childhood."
Cain's voice grew sharper.
"You were afraid that publicly revealing your relationship with Uta would put her in danger."
"The situation is different now because we've all become strong enough to face those threats ourselves."
"But even then, you still haven't publicly acknowledged her as your daughter."
"So with Big Sis Makino, what are you going to do?"
"You can't announce it."
"You can't let it leak."
"And if it ever does leak, all it does is bring danger straight to her."
"In that situation, how exactly am I supposed to feel comfortable watching the two of you get together?!"
That long barrage immediately crushed a large portion of Shanks' remaining momentum.
Because this was Cain's prepared finishing move.
If Shanks' relationship with Makino became public, the consequences could easily become another Rocks situation.
Windmill Village might even turn into the next God Valley.
Shanks' shoulders slumped slightly.
His gaze began shifting away.
He finally tried to counter, but there was already a note of urgency in his voice.
"But you and Uta are also—"
"That's completely different."
Cain cut him off.
"I've only kept my relationship with Uta quiet because I don't want my reputation affecting her music career."
"If we wanted to announce it publicly, we could do it whenever we wanted!"
He immediately continued before Shanks could recover.
"Fine."
"Let's forget whether you're capable of protecting Big Sis Makino."
"And let's forget how you intend to explain your relationship to the outside world."
Cain leaned forward.
"What about the wedding?"
"What exactly are you planning to do about that?"
"Or were you planning to tell nobody and just let everything happen without ever making it official?"
"You irresponsible bastard."
Shanks' momentum plunged again.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I… haven't really thought that far yet."
Cain stared at him with open contempt.
"You haven't thought about it?"
"So you weren't even planning a wedding?"
"You scumbag!"
"If you're already acting like this now, what happens afterward?!"
"Do you even know how far the New World is from here?"
"Even if you come back regularly, how much time can you realistically spend here in a year?"
"What, are you planning to make Big Sis Makino your wife and then leave her here alone like a widow while you sail around the world?"
"You bastard!"
"Or are you planning to ignore her the same way you did Uta?"
"Uh… no, Cain!"
Shanks hurriedly waved his hands.
"These are all things you came up with!"
"That's not what I'm planning!"
"And aren't you contradicting yourself?"
"You won't let me take Makino away, but you also don't want her staying in Windmill Village alone…"
Sweat had already begun forming on Shanks' forehead.
His voice was getting quieter and quieter.
His aura had fallen so far there was almost nothing left.
"Shut up, you irresponsible bastard!"
Cain was fully worked up now.
His eyes had turned cold, and his voice was overflowing with disgust.
"You admitted it yourself."
"You weren't a good father."
"So you don't have the right to argue with me about this!"
That was the final blow.
Shanks had nothing left to say.
His arms hung at his sides.
His lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
Cain was not wrong.
As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks carried far too many responsibilities.
There were islands throughout his territory that depended on him for protection, one after another.
Many times, he simply had no freedom to choose what he wanted to do.
And after what had happened with Uta, he had no real defense against Cain's accusations.
All he could do was stand there and take it.
The dignity of Red-Haired Shanks continued dropping until it completely disappeared.
A moment later, he had returned to his usual approachable self and was crouching dejectedly in the corner, drawing circles on the floor.
Shanks—
utterly defeated.