With that thought in mind, Reiju stopped hesitating. Using the invisibility provided by the unfinished Stealth Black technology, she slipped soundlessly through the carriage window and entered without anyone noticing.
Even Pudding, who was focused on the delicate work in her hands, merely shivered faintly at the brief disturbance in the air before dismissing it.
Reiju steadied herself and swept her gaze across the carriage until it landed on the figure projected by the Visual Den Den Mushi.
Sanji.
Her eyes softened almost immediately, a rare trace of nostalgia entering her expression as the corners of her lips lifted.
'It really is good to see that you grew up healthy, Sanji.'
'Though I never expected you to end up joining the Big Mom Pirates.'
Because of the circumstances surrounding Sanji's bounty posters, nobody in the Vinsmoke family had ever learned that he was a pirate, much less a member of the Straw Hat crew. Seeing how close he and Pudding appeared to be, Reiju naturally assumed that Sanji must have somehow ended up in Big Mom's territory after leaving Germa.
Sanji, completely unaware that his older sister was standing only a short distance away, remained focused on Pudding.
"I still can't believe Big Mom called for you at a time like this. Is it because of those memories?"
Pudding nodded gently without stopping the precise cutting motions of her hands.
"Yeah. Mama considers them very important."
Sanji frowned, genuine concern entering his voice.
"Are you still making them right now? You told me before that working with memories like that takes a lot out of you mentally. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Oh, this is fine. The memory Mama asked for is already finished."
Pudding opened a small box beside her.
Inside rested a strip of memory resembling an old-fashioned film reel.
"What I'm working on now is different. These are precious memories involving En-chan-onee-san that I'm making for everyone in the family."
Her expression softened.
"Ever since En-chan-onee-san appeared, I've actually gotten along much better with a lot of my brothers and sisters. So I thought I'd try giving them something as a gift."
"I included a few memories from when she was Cain too."
Pudding tilted the strip of memory slightly so Sanji could see it better through the Den Den Mushi.
Sanji stared for a moment before muttering,
"I really didn't expect that bastard Cain to become this popular just because he turned into a woman."
Then his expression became exasperated.
"Thinking about it that way, all those idiots beating each other half to death over his marriage tournament are seriously beyond saving."
Hidden nearby, Reiju silently nodded.
Absolutely.
That included Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji.
Those three idiots were among the worst offenders.
Still…
'Cain is actually En-chan?'
That was certainly unexpected.
As she processed that revelation, Reiju's gaze gradually shifted toward the box containing Pudding's prepared memories.
Something Big Mom valued enough to specifically summon Pudding at a time like this couldn't possibly be ordinary.
There had to be important information hidden inside.
Reiju quietly decided she would have to investigate it.
…
The hours passed.
By afternoon, the tournament still hadn't resumed.
En-chan hadn't appeared either.
The gathered spectators were beginning to lose patience, conversations growing louder throughout the venue until the atmosphere was on the verge of becoming genuinely restless.
Meanwhile, inside Cain's room—
"WHAT?! HE WITHDREW?!"
Perospero's voice cracked as he shouted, staring at Uta in utter disbelief.
"Yeah."
Uta folded her arms, looking as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Sabo is Cain's older brother. It's not like a big brother is seriously going to marry his little sister."
"So once he withdrew, naturally the opportunity fell to me, Cain's actual partner."
Perospero grabbed his head with both hands.
"We're screwed…"
He began pacing anxiously around the room.
"We're completely screwed!"
His panic was entirely genuine.
"The whole world is watching us tomorrow! Sabo withdrew, Katakuri is injured, and every other contestant who mattered has already been knocked out!"
He gestured wildly.
"Now we don't even have a proper match left! What kind of marriage tournament ends without an actual tournament?! We're going to become an international joke!"
"And once the news loses momentum, people are going to stop paying attention!"
Perospero suddenly froze, his face turning pale.
"If Mama finds out we let things collapse like this, she'll kill us!"
The moment Cain heard the words the whole world is watching, however, his attention sharpened immediately.
Even Ace looked surprised by how quickly Cain perked up.
Cain lightly pressed a hand to his chest, thought for a moment, and smiled.
"If all you need is attention, then Uta and I can just—mmph!"
Uta covered his mouth before he could finish.
"No."
She gave him a warning look.
"We're completely out of the hormone medicine. Neither of us can change back yet."
Then Uta dug through Cain's belongings until she found one of his recording Den Den Mushi.
"Use this instead."
She handed it to Perospero.
"It's a new song I've been writing recently. The style is a little different from my usual music, but it should be enough to get everyone's attention."
Perospero stared at the two of them in bewilderment.
Why were they so invested in helping?
Did they genuinely want this entire ridiculous marriage tournament to spread across the whole world?
He didn't understand it at all.
Still, he took the recording and hurried outside.
And once Uta's new song began playing, the influence of a world-famous diva became immediately obvious.
The restless atmosphere settled almost at once.
Interest in the broadcast surged again, drawing in even more viewers than before.
Including people at the very highest levels of the world.
…
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Pangaea Castle.
The Room of Authority.
Several of the Five Elders had been watching the broadcast from Totto Land when a report arrived from outside, and they ordered the visitor to enter.
The man who stepped into the chamber was Figarland Shamrock.
"You called for me?"
Shamrock entered with his usual composed expression, his gaze passing over the assembled Elders.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn cleared his throat.
"There's something we needed to explain to you."
He gestured toward the side entrance.
"Previously, we temporarily borrowed Killingham and Sommers for an operation."
"We summoned you today because we're returning them to your command."
At his signal, the two members of the God's Knights entered through the side door.
Their footsteps were steady.
Their expressions looked normal.
Yet something about them was wrong.
Compared with before, their eyes held far less life, and both men were unusually silent and rigid.
Shamrock stepped forward and examined them carefully.
Their appearances were correct.
There were no obvious physical abnormalities, nor did they seem to be impostors created through some Devil Fruit ability.
Even so, Shamrock's brow remained furrowed.
They were simply too stiff.
Too dull.
Too unlike themselves.
"They completed their assignment successfully and eliminated the enemy," Saturn explained. "However, they also suffered damage during the operation."
"Not physical damage."
"Mental trauma."
"For the time being, neither of them is capable of ordinary speech."
Saturn paused.
"And since sending them on that mission without properly consulting you was indeed our mistake, we won't deny responsibility."
Shamrock slowly turned his eyes toward him.
"You mobilized members of the God's Knights without issuing formal written orders."
His voice became colder.
"You crossed a line."
"That is precisely why we called you here personally," Saturn replied. "To apologize."
His gaze briefly shifted toward Killingham and Sommers.
From the outside, both men appeared to have been restored.
Only the Five Elders themselves knew the truth.
Inside each man's skull now sat an artificial mechanical brain, designed by Saturn over the past year to reproduce enough basic behavior and memory patterns for them to continue functioning as people.
Speech, however, had proven far too complex.
So Saturn had simply removed that function from the design.
Shamrock gave a cold snort.
He clearly had no interest in prolonging the conversation and turned to leave with the two Knights.
Then his steps abruptly stopped.
Something on the projected screen caught his attention.
And suddenly—
he couldn't look away.
"As expected, not a single participant has shown enough strength to pose any real threat to the World Government."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro spoke in a flat voice.
"There's little reason to keep watching this broadcast."
As he finished speaking, Uta's singing gradually began flowing from the projection.
"What comes next is merely a prerecorded song," Saint Topman Warcury said sharply. "The matter actually worth our attention is whatever Big Mom intends to reveal tomorrow."
The screen clearly showed a recording Den Den Mushi playing the track, so none of the Elders paid the music much attention.
But after several moments, something began to feel strange.
Shamrock was still standing exactly where he had stopped.
Motionless.
Listening intently to that familiar voice.
Saturn frowned.
"Why are you still here?"
"Uh…"
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