The distance between Whole Cake Island and Sweet Island was roughly a hundred miles.
With a fast ship, it took less than an hour to arrive.
As Caesar and the others chatted, night fully descended, and their ship slowly docked at Sweet Island's harbor.
"Have those Marines been staying on their warship this whole time? Won't they starve to death?"
Caesar glanced sideways at the G-5 Branch warship he'd captured, now shrouded in darkness like a solitary island.
Linlin shook her head. "It's only been a few days. Besides, Katakuri mentioned he arranged for food to be delivered, but those stubborn Marines refused. They said they'd rather starve than eat a single grain from the Beast God Pirates."
"Hmph, the Marines are all stubborn fools, especially those from the Navy Headquarters. Each one is like a rock in a latrine—stinking and hard. I once captured a few Marine Vice Admirals with decent strength, trying to make them submit. Heh, in the end, they all starved themselves to death."
Kaido tossed the large liquor jug onto the deck with a thud, then leaped down to the harbor shore with a loud boom.
"Liquor emboldens the cowardly, Kaido. Had enough to drink? Want me to fetch some more? My place still has some Oolong Tea brewed by Smoothie."
Caesar teased in a mocking tone.
"Fuck off!" Kaido replied bluntly with a single word.
The trio moved quickly, arriving in no time at the house where Pudding was staying.
Caesar didn't enter either, just like Linlin last time, instead peering through the small window for a glance.
Inside Pudding's room, Yamato, Pudding, and Sanji were standing or sitting with varied expressions, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness.
Sanji stared down at his toes, seemingly counting how many he had.
Pudding seemed to hesitate, glancing alternately at Yamato and Sanji, looking troubled.
Yamato, meanwhile, crossed her arms, accentuating her ample chest, exuding an air of nonchalance.
Noticing Pudding's restless glances, Yamato snorted coldly.
"What are you looking at? Didn't I say it already? I'm marrying you—divorce Sanji!"
"No!"
Pudding covered her ears, shaking her head like a rattle drum, her ears burning red.
Sanji choked on Yamato's words, coughing violently, nearly passing out.
"Yamato! Stop causing trouble! You… you're a woman! How could I marry you? No—even if you weren't a woman, I wouldn't marry you! I'm already married to Sanji!"
Pudding mustered her courage and finally blurted out a long retort.
After speaking, she felt her face burning fiercely.
She felt like she was going insane.
'What kind of logic was Yamato operating on?'
'How could she just randomly take a liking to me? We're both women, for goodness' sake!'
'How could women and women possibly…'
But then, Yamato lifted her snow-white neck proudly.
"Who said I'm a woman? Hmph, I'm a man."
"Gah—!"
Sanji collapsed face-first onto the floor, unable to endure this devilishly complicated situation any longer, cleanly passing out.
"Did I come to the wrong place? Or are my ears playing tricks on me? Pudding, Yamato, what kind of act are you two putting on here?"
Suddenly, a deep, booming voice rang out from the window, startling the two girls who had been engrossed in their exchange.
Seeing it was Caesar, Pudding's face flushed scarlet with embarrassment, wishing she could burrow into a hole.
Yamato, however, remained unfazed.
She snorted and pointed at Pudding.
"I'm marrying your daughter Pudding. Tell her to divorce Sanji!"
Outside the window, Caesar scratched his head and straightened up, looking at Linlin and Kaido beside him with utter confusion.
"Am I hallucinating? Is this a side effect of a dual Devil Fruit Ability? Kaido, I think I just heard your daughter say she's marrying mine?"
Linlin's expression turned odd as she recalled what she'd seen last night when she came to pick up Pudding.
She'd thought it was one thing.
Turns out, it was something else entirely.
This was downright absurd!
Kaido's lips twitched, his already stern face instantly contorted.
With a violent shake of his arms, he roared, "You ungrateful brat! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Take this Thunder Bagua!"
"Now, now, she's just a rebellious youngster," Caesar quickly intervened, holding back the furious Kaido and trying to calm him down.
"Hmph, I don't care. I've taken a liking to this woman. If you don't agree, I'll elope with her sooner or later!" Yamato lifted her chin stubbornly.
Pudding groaned and buried her head under the blankets, unwilling to hear any more of Yamato's nonsense.
"What? You dare try to kidnap my precious daughter Pudding? Take this Thunder God Eight Trigrams from me!"
Caesar flew into a rage, releasing Kaido and rolling up his sleeves, ready to teach Yamato a lesson about respecting elders.
"Bastard, she's my daughter! Who gave you the right to discipline her? Get back here!"
Kaido immediately grabbed Caesar, and the two brothers began wrestling fiercely.
"Look at what you've raised—no sense of politeness at all, she keep spouting nonsense left and right!"
Caesar leapt up and punched Kaido square in the eye, sending him stumbling back.
"None of your damn business! Have you ever raised a child? If yours are obedient, it's all Linlin's doing!"
Kaido retaliated with a punch to Caesar's nose.
"That's because my bloodline is superior! How have you been raising this kid? You've ruined them!"
"Rebellious kids just need a good beating—no need for all this complicated nonsense!"
...
Linlin shook her head with a bitter smile, watching the two brothers brawl without a shred of dignity.
"Stop it, you're going to bring the whole house down," Linlin scolded irritably.
Ignoring her, Caesar and Kaido continued their tussle.
Buzz...
A chilling aura descended, enveloping the two.
Linlin's face darkened as she raised a massive blade.
"I said, stop it."
The brothers immediately froze, quickly releasing each other.
Caesar rubbed his nose and coughed.
"Yamato! Stop talking nonsense and come out. Don't you remember what I told you about tonight?"
In the room, Yamato—still acting defiant—shuddered, her expression turning dazed.
"I... I want to go too!"
Pudding, who had been eavesdropping under the covers, jumped off the bed and ran to the window.
Caesar's face broke into a bright smile as he extended a massive hand.
"Of course, my dear. Let's go see if your Uncle Kaido's preparations are ready. Or should we wait a few more days?" Linlin glanced at the bewildered Yamato and chuckled.
"No!"
At Linlin's words, Yamato snapped out of her daze, leaping through the window in two strides and landing before Kaido.
Father and daughter locked eyes, Yamato's expression was complex.
"I want to know... if I've been wrong about you all along," Yamato said firmly.