Makino's feelings had already become complicated after watching Cain and Shanks clash, but Uta's words had also filled her with genuine happiness.
As for Shanks…
Cain rubbed his chin and looked at the man still crouching in the corner drawing circles on the floor.
"Did I go a little too far just now?"
Then he turned toward Sabo and the others.
"I mean, I wasn't even finished. What happens if they have a kid someday? Is Shanks going to make the poor kid sit alone at the village harbor waiting for a dad who nobody knows when he'll come home—"
Those words stabbed Shanks straight through the heart again.
Makino's chest tightened as she looked toward Cain.
Unfortunately, Cain's mouth was still going.
"There's already precedent for it! He dragged Usopp's dad Yasopp away and left Usopp growing up alone in his village."
"They've come back to the East Blue several times too, but I've never once seen him let Yasopp go home and visit his son—"
"All right, all right! That's enough!"
Uta hurried over and clamped a hand over Cain's mouth.
'You were just wondering whether you'd been too harsh, and somehow you immediately stabbed him twice more!'
Shanks looked even more miserable than before.
Makino worriedly approached him and bent down, resting one hand on her knee while extending the other.
"Shanks, are you okay?"
Shanks lifted his head.
The moment he saw the concern and worry in Makino's eyes, he immediately pulled himself together.
He took her hand, stood up, and smiled.
"Thank you, Makino. I'm fine."
"I just took a bit of damage."
"But please believe me. I'll find the best solution to all of this."
"What happened with Uta taught me just how badly I handled things before."
"So from now on, I'll do my best to be a good husband and a good father."
Makino visibly relaxed.
"Mm."
She nodded.
"I believe you."
Cain watched the scene with unconcealed contempt.
'Where did all that strength go?'
'You had plenty of power when you were cutting up my ass. Now you need someone to pull you back onto your feet?'
Shanks seemed to sense Cain's stare.
He turned and met his gaze with one of his own.
It practically said—
'Even if I lost, I'll never admit defeat.'
The pressure between them showed signs of rising again.
"What are you two even competing over now?"
Uta chopped Cain across the back of the head.
"Exactly, Shanks."
Makino's cheeks reddened slightly as she tightened her grip on his hand.
"Uta's right. There's no reason to keep arguing anymore."
"Because I've already chosen you."
She hesitated.
"Besides… don't you want to know why I insisted that you bring me into this room?"
"And why I kept refusing the alcohol you offered?"
Slowly, she guided Shanks' hand down onto her lower abdomen.
"Actually…"
"Cain was right about one thing."
Everyone's eyes widened.
Even Shanks stared at her with his mouth hanging open.
"Y-You…"
His hand trembled slightly against her stomach.
"Are you saying…?"
"Mm."
Makino nodded softly.
"It's been a little over half a month, judging from the timing."
"I only noticed something was different this morning."
"WHAT?!!!"
Naturally, Cain reacted the loudest.
His Conqueror's Haki almost burst out uncontrollably.
As far as Cain was concerned, Makino had always occupied a place in his heart similar to Dadan.
She was basically another mother to him.
And now Makino was pregnant.
The news struck him like a bolt of lightning straight to the skull.
Cain stared at Shanks, who was now gently resting his hand against Makino's stomach with an incredibly tender smile.
Then self-doubt and guilt came crashing down on him.
'And I thought I won just now…'
He had assumed their relationship had only reached the kissing stage.
He never imagined Shanks had already—
Already gone that far.
And now there was even a child.
Which meant Makino had heard everything Cain said earlier.
That had to have hurt.
A massive wave of guilt swallowed him whole.
Uta, on the other hand, grabbed her head in pure excitement.
Her face practically glowed as she imagined the little sibling she had yet to meet.
She seized Cain by the collar and shook him violently.
"What do we do, Cain?!"
"I'm getting a little brother! Or maybe a little sister!"
"I'm not prepared to be an older sister yet!"
"You've been an older brother before! You must have experience!"
"Say something!"
Cain, who had just been drowning in guilt, was forcibly shaken back to reality.
"I-I don't know either!"
"My situation absolutely does not count as a useful example!"
"My little brother is Luffy!"
Bella, meanwhile, was struggling with an entirely different problem.
"Mama's little brother or sister… and Auntie is becoming Grandma…"
She held her head.
"Bella's brain is getting all tangled up!"
Koala watched everyone descend into chaos and sighed helplessly.
Then she glanced toward Sabo.
He had frozen too.
"Sabo, you too?"
She blinked.
"Wait, why are you leaking electricity?!"
Even after the initial excitement settled down, Sabo remained stunned in place, tiny sparks occasionally jumping from his body.
Koala helped Bella sort out the increasingly ridiculous family relationships, while Cain finally went over and apologized to Makino and Shanks.
After all, some of the things he had said earlier really had gone too far.
Neither Shanks nor Makino held it against him.
In fact, they had barely taken offense at all and simply accepted Cain's apology.
If anything, they found it touching that Cain had thought through so many details on Makino's behalf.
"We don't blame you, Cain."
Makino smiled.
"Actually, if you hadn't said all those things just now, I might still be hesitating."
That immediately caught Uta's attention.
She stepped closer, concern appearing in her eyes.
"Hesitating?"
"Big Sis Makino, do you mean back when Cain and Shanks were arguing?"
"If you already knew you were pregnant, then why did you say something like that?"
"You even sounded like you were thinking of ending things with Shanks."
Makino turned toward her and explained apologetically,
"I've been thinking about how I should tell Shanks."
"I kept worrying about it because I had no idea how to bring it up."
"And when Cain and Shanks started clashing like that, part of me began thinking that maybe I should hide it."
"Maybe even… distance myself from him."
She looked toward Shanks.
"But I don't think that anymore."
"Because of what Uta said."
"And because of what Shanks promised me."
Makino smiled gently.
"I believe him."
Those three words were enough.
Uta understood the feeling perfectly.
If Cain ever looked at her and said something like that, she knew she would choose to believe him without needing any other reason.
Her eyes instinctively drifted toward the person she loved.
Makino also looked at Cain and continued,
"That's why, if you hadn't said what you did, I still might not know what decision to make."
"So really, I should be thanking you, Cain."
"Please stop blaming yourself, okay?"
Cain nodded.
The guilt weighing on him disappeared almost instantly.
Uta visibly relaxed.
Then she eagerly moved over beside Makino.
She pushed Shanks out of the way, leaned toward Makino's stomach, and listened closely.
At the same time, she shot Shanks a fierce glare.
"You said you're going to be a good husband."
"I have no objections to that."
"But if you want to call yourself a good father…"
"You're going to need a serious evaluation first!"
Of everyone in the room, Uta was the one person most qualified to say that.
"Uh… hahaha…"
Shanks laughed awkwardly.
"Of course. Absolutely."
Then Uta immediately continued,
"Good."
"Now tell me exactly when you two got together!"
Shanks' smile stiffened.
"Do we really have to talk about that?"
Two heavy hands suddenly landed on his shoulders.
Shanks turned his head.
Cain and Sabo had appeared behind him, each gripping one shoulder.
Cain might have felt guilty earlier, but that had not extinguished even a fraction of his irritation toward Shanks.
Both brothers spoke at once.
"Yes."
"You absolutely do."
"And we want details."
"As many as possible!"
…
Outside the room, the situation had already reached a complete stalemate.
Lucky Roux had just pulled Lola out of the chaos and was now desperately trying to reject yet another marriage proposal from her.
Katakuri, meanwhile, had been immediately intercepted by Issho after releasing Conqueror's Haki.
The Red Hair Pirates had also surrounded him from behind.
With enemies in front and behind, Katakuri faced a difficult situation.
To protect Brûlée and ensure that the letter in his possession reached Cain, he immediately ordered her to retreat into the Mirror-World and use the mirrors to search for him.
"But Katakuri-nii-san—"
"Go."
Katakuri remained perfectly calm.
"I'll hold them here."
"Don't worry."
"I'll be fine."
He placed the envelope into Brûlée's hand and pushed her toward the mirror created by her ability.
Ripples spread across the surface.
Brûlée disappeared inside.
Katakuri turned back around.
"After all…"
He drew his trident, Mogura, and pointed its blade toward the enemies surrounding him.
His gaze sharpened like a knife as Conqueror's Haki stirred around his body.
"I'm Katakuri."
"I've never lost."
His grip tightened.
"Come at me!!!"