"Is that so? Then I'll look forward to seeing what you can do."
Katakuri merely shook his head. His body softened into mochi, allowing him to pass effortlessly between the blades surrounding him before he calmly left the room.
Uta watched him go with an irritated look, then marched over, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Only after that did she turn back toward Cain and Bella and hold out her hand.
"Bella, give it to me."
"Okay, Mama!"
Bella answered brightly before pulling out the box of gender-changing hormones she had been storing inside herself. The sight made Cain's eyelid twitch.
"Uta, don't tell me you're planning to use that right now—"
"Yep."
Uta cut him off before he could finish. She opened one of the bottles, poured some of the clear liquid into her palm, then suddenly caught Cain's hand and interlocked their fingers tightly.
"I'm staking my claim."
Her eyes burned with determination as she pushed Cain back onto the bed and straddled him.
"I'm going to prove that you'll always be mine."
Her free hand slipped to his collarbone, fingertips slowly tracing downward over his skin. As the hormones evaporated and seeped through their skin, both of their bodies began changing rapidly before their eyes.
After all, this stuff had been made from Ivankov's ability. Only an idiot would actually drink it straight from the bottle.
Cain suddenly felt something pressing against him from above, and his expression instantly changed.
"Uta, you're not seriously planning to—"
"Of course not."
Uta gave him a sidelong look full of amusement.
"Bella's still watching."
They both turned at once.
Bella had already sealed herself inside a perfectly square box of ice. Uta's spare headphones covered her ears, and she sat inside with her eyes firmly shut, quietly chanting to herself.
"Bella can't see anything. Bella can't see anything…"
Apparently, Bella had already become very experienced at avoiding certain situations.
Not that Cain and Uta had ever actually done anything around her.
"Well, don't think about it too much, En-chan~."
Uta gently lifted Cain's chin, her voice soft and teasing.
"The fruit of victory should be saved until the very end so I can enjoy it properly. For tonight, we're just going to rest. Tomorrow's going to be a tough fight."
With that, she lay down beside him and quietly watched his face.
Cain finally relaxed.
"Then… let's sleep."
…
"Uta, stop letting your hands wander."
"Wouldn't it be more comfortable if we stayed closer together?"
…
"Uta, why are you kissing me now?"
"I watched you eating earlier and suddenly got hungry too. No need to prepare anything. This is enough for me… mwah~"
…
"Uta, you're… pressing against me."
"That's just a physical reaction. Go to sleep and stop imagining things."
…
They really didn't do anything excessive.
Really.
…
The next morning, inside the dressing room—
"Uta, you only messed up your bangs a little. Are you sure that's enough to hide who you are? Shouldn't you disguise yourself more?"
Cain was struggling his way into the dress he would be wearing for his appearance later, occasionally glancing toward Uta, who was already fully dressed.
It was difficult to describe the impression she gave off now.
Her outfit carried an unmistakably androgynous beauty. She had the clean, sharp presence of a handsome young man, yet there was still a certain elegance and refinement in the way she carried herself, along with the softer lines that naturally remained from her original appearance.
Her long hair had been tied loosely behind her head, while the normally distinct red-and-white bangs had been deliberately tousled so they fell across her forehead in a more casual, almost roguish style.
Hearing Cain's worried question, Uta merely grinned. There was something faintly wicked in the curve of her lips.
"You still don't get it, Cain."
She shook her head.
"I'm going there to personally steal you back. So this kind of look fits me much better."
Uta pointed toward the window, where challengers and spectators were steadily arriving on the island.
Almost everyone outside was wearing merchandise supporting Uta or En-chan. Red, white, and pink shirts filled the streets until the island looked like one enormous moving carnival.
Mixed into a crowd like that, Uta's current outfit didn't look suspicious in the slightest.
If anything, she fit in perfectly.
And more importantly, the style was still unmistakably her own.
"I could walk right through the middle of them like this and nobody would suspect a thing, so stop worrying."
Uta checked the time and saw that the opening ceremony was about to begin. Without warning, she slipped one arm around Cain's waist and dipped him backward.
"Bella! Flower!"
"Yes, Mama!"
Bella gently blew out a breath, and an ice rose immediately formed in Uta's hand.
Uta took the frozen flower between her teeth and slowly leaned down toward Cain's lips.
"Wait for me to come back, En-chan."
Facing this version of Uta at such close range left Cain strangely flustered. Part of it came from the gender reversal, and part of it was the absurdity of his current identity as En-chan.
He spent so long struggling to figure out how he was supposed to react that his face gradually turned red.
In the end, all he managed was a quiet—
"Mm."
…
By the time Uta reached the lower levels of the venue, the opening ceremony for the marriage tournament had already begun.
Quite a few people noticed her outfit along the way and immediately started making comments.
"So he's copying Uta's style because she's En-chan's singing partner? Think that'll help win En-chan over?"
"Pretty desperate, isn't he?"
Similar remarks followed her everywhere.
'Perfect. Not one of them suspects a thing.'
Uta smiled to herself and turned her attention toward Perospero, who was explaining the tournament rules from above.
The marriage tournament would last three days.
The preliminary rounds would consist of large-scale battles on several different islands. Each island would produce its own winner, and those finalists would then travel to Whole Cake Island for the final stage.
Every island's battles would be broadcast live through Visual Den Den Mushi to Whole Cake Island and simultaneously transmitted around the world.
The broadcast itself was being sponsored by World Economy News Paper president Morgans.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—he had apparently been unable to attend personally due to health issues and was said to be deeply disappointed.
Uta thought about the giant bird who had previously ended up looking about eighty percent roasted.
'Probably for the best that he stayed home. If he came here, who knows what ridiculous headline he'd invent this time.'
Just then, a loud argument nearby caught her attention.
Uta turned toward the noise—
and froze.
"Sanji?!"
Then she looked more carefully.
"No… that's not him."
Standing nearby was a young man in a green suit with the exact same distinctive curled eyebrow as Sanji.
Vinsmoke Yonji was complaining loudly to the men beside him.
"Why do we have to squeeze in with all these people? And what's with these outfits? Seriously, why are we even entering this tournament?"
His eldest brother, Vinsmoke Ichiji, wore a bright red suit. He lowered his voice and answered,
"Calm down, Yon—Fourji. This isn't something you or I need to worry about."
"Our job is to openly draw attention for Reiju—Nine, so she can use the distraction to infiltrate Totto Land and investigate the thing hidden here."
Nearby, Vinsmoke Niji, dressed in blue, held a glass of red wine while grinding his teeth.
"That bastard stole something from us and then hid here of all places. This operation came directly from Father. Fourji, control yourself and don't blow our cover."
While the three brothers continued whispering to one another, Vinsmoke Reiju—wearing a long pink dress and blending into the audience—looked around the venue.
Everyone else was dressed in shades of red, pink, or white.
Then there were her three brothers in blazing red, vivid blue, and bright green.
They stood out like signal flares.
"Those idiots…"
Reiju covered her forehead.
"They're shouting so loudly. Do they actually want to get caught?"
Unfortunately, things were only getting worse.
Yonji bumped his fists together and grinned.
"Relax. It's just fighting. I've never been afraid of anyone. Though honestly…"
He snickered.
"Those men are pretty pathetic, aren't they? They're actually willing to fight us head-on just for one woman."
"They aren't like us."
Niji nodded with a look of pity.
"We've already moved beyond such primitive desires. She's only a woman, after all—"
Before he could finish, someone nearby suddenly screamed.
"LOOK! EN-CHAN-SAMA IS HERE!!!"
Uta, who had been watching the Vinsmokes, immediately turned toward the raised platform.
Cain—now appearing as En-chan—had finally emerged.
She wore an elaborate formal dress woven from red and white fabric, with long gloves covering her arms. White lace layered over a red underlining created a faint pink hue, giving the entire outfit an elegant and striking softness.
The moment En-chan raised one hand and waved to the crowd, the entire island erupted.
Uta smiled and waved back.
Meanwhile, the three Vinsmoke brothers who had been arguing only seconds earlier all looked up.
Niji and Yonji, who had just been acting so superior, instantly developed enormous hearts in their eyes.
"BEAUTIFUL!!!"
"So the prize for winning this tournament is actually… actually… actually someone that gorgeous?!"
The two stretched out their tongues, hearts still blazing in their eyes as they twisted around and waved shamelessly toward En-chan.
Because most of their lives had been spent training and fighting, they barely paid attention to outside entertainment. Neither of them had ever bothered watching Uta and En-chan's concerts.
So the first time they saw En-chan in person, every bit of suppressed lust they claimed not to possess came exploding out at once.
"Control yourselves. You look ridiculous."
Only Ichiji maintained a calm voice.
"We must follow Father's orders and win this tournament."
A thin stream of blood immediately ran from his nose.
Niji and Yonji both rounded on him.
"Wasn't Father's order for Reiju to investigate that thing?! Since when did it become 'win the tournament'? Explain yourself, Ichiji!"
"If you want to win, you'll have to get past me first! If beating everyone means I get to marry her, there's no way I'm letting you steal that chance!"
"I am merely carrying out Father's will."
Ichiji continued pretending to be dignified.
A second later, all three brothers were wrestling each other on the ground.
Reiju covered her forehead again.
"…Idiots."
…
"Huh? Those guys are already fighting?"
Elsewhere in the crowd, Ace watched the three brothers brawl and couldn't help staring.
He was currently wearing a long white cloak similar to those worn by Marines or Whitebeard, except there was no emblem on the back. It conveniently covered the Whitebeard Pirates tattoo on his back, while a fake mustache had been stuck beneath his nose.
Thankfully, it wasn't the bizarre nose-hair style Roger had once worn.
Ace had instead chosen a curved crescent mustache resembling Whitebeard's.
Combined with the cloak, the disguise was somehow good enough that most people failed to recognize him.
He couldn't risk entering under his real identity. If Totto Land learned Fire Fist Ace had joined the tournament, the Big Mom Pirates would immediately become far more cautious.
"Still, this place really is lively."
Ace looked around.
"As expected of En-chan. She really is popular."
Then his expression twisted.
'But she's my little brother!'
'That bastard! Why the hell is he getting married?!'
Ace clenched his fist in frustration, only to notice another contestant nearby—a heavily bearded man who looked far older than most of the others.
His expression immediately darkened.
'Seriously?'
'You're that old and you still came here trying to get your hands on my little sister?'
His hand instinctively moved toward the weapon at his waist.
Then Ace sighed and forcibly suppressed his killing intent.
He glanced down at the sword instead.
After the battle on Hachinosu, practically the whole world now knew that Fire Fist Ace fought using Whitebeard's weapon, Murakumogiri. Bringing it here would expose his identity almost instantly, so he had been forced to leave it behind.
Garp had therefore arranged another weapon for him.
Not Nidai Kitetsu.
Not some ordinary blade.
The sword hanging at Ace's side was none other than the former Pirate King Gol D. Roger's personal weapon—
Ace, one of the Supreme Grade Blades.
When Roger left the Oro Jackson, he had taken the sword with him. He never met Rayleigh or the others again afterward and eventually turned himself over directly to the Marines.
During that period, there was probably only one person who could have known exactly where Roger's sword ended up.
Garp.
So it wasn't particularly strange for the weapon to surface here.
As for how it had been transported all the way into the New World—that part was simple.
Buggy Delivery.