Uta's World

"I heard you're a Great Pirate too! Are you all my fans?"

Uta walked step by step towards Cifer with his hands behind his back.

"Strictly speaking, we're not pirates, Miss Uta."

Robin spoke first, correcting her misconception.

"Is that so? It's alright then. Anyway, everyone who comes here is my fan. Let's all live happily together!"

Uta smiled sweetly; the girl's mind was as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

"It was quite unexpected that we didn't see many important figures at this performance."

A figure leaped up and landed steadily on the stone platform.

"Hawk Eyes, what are you doing here?"

His appearance truly surprised Cifer.

"It's nothing, just accompanying a kid who can't go to sea on his own."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl dressed in gothic style clothing and holding an umbrella floated to Uta's side:

"My name is Perona! I'm a fan of yours~ Miss Uta, could I take a picture with you as a souvenir?"

Perona held up her latest camera, her eyes sparkling with golden light.

Of course!

Uta struck a beautiful pose for a photo with her.

"I want one too!"

Seeing this, Chopper tugged at Cifer's pant leg and blinked his big eyes.

"Sure, but I have to take care of something right now~ Sorry~ I'll take a picture with you later!"

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Uta clasped her hands together and apologized to Chopper. Then, a musical note appeared beneath her feet, and she used it to fly away from the stone platform.

"I have a feeling... there's a peculiar scent about Uta, like I've smelled it somewhere before..."

Such close contact made Nolan notice something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Ulquiorra ~ Ulquiorra ~"

As everyone's gaze was fixed on the departing figure, a small figure hugged Cifer's leg and made a somewhat unclear but sweet voice.

Its entire head looked like it was wearing a pure white mask, with only two bewildered eyes showing, and the pair of horns on its head were particularly eye-catching.

"What an adorable child!"

Nolan, Shirahoshi, and the others were immediately charmed and squatted down around Cifer.

"You wouldn't happen to be... Little Ul, would you?!"

Hearing its murmur, Lucci couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. As a shipwright, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he knew his ship better than anyone else.

"Ulquiorra ~"

It nodded, but seemed to only be able to say those two words.

On the other side.

In the real world.

"That's terrifying! It's said that in just a few hours, more than ten million people have been captivated by your voice and fallen into the Uta's World."

Marineford Admiral Kizaru stood on the stage with his hands in his pockets, watching the kneeling girl who kept stuffing some kind of mushroom into her mouth.

"Admiral Borsalino, Mr. Burley, we've tried everything, but we can't wake them up no matter what we do."

At this moment, a marine ran up and reported the results of their attempt to the two Admiral.

"So it really won't work... Please stop the premiere and release them all. I can guarantee your safety!"

Burley's expression was much more serious, and he immediately stated the purpose of their trip.

"No way! They'll all come with me to a New World there are no worries!"

"I promised that I would make sure they could all live happy lives."

Uta shook her little head, eating the mushrooms scattered on the ground, her tone calm but full of anticipation and longing.

"I cannot accept this!"

When Burley clasped his fists together, a huge gust of wind echoed throughout the venue, even causing the Little Ichi marines to sway.

"Then you should come too! After you see this wonderful world, you'll definitely fall in love with it!"

Uta stood up, patted her knees, and prepared to sing again.

No, there isn't.

Kizaru pulled out a full-coverage earplug from his pocket and put it on, then pointed to his own ear, and the marines followed suit.

They have determined that as long as they cannot hear the singing, they will not be taken to the Uta's World.

"Everyone~ There are bad guys trying to stop us from reaching the wonderful New World ~ Let's all work together to defeat them!"

Uta showed absolutely no sign of panic.

She simply clapped her hands lightly, and the audience members who had fainted on the ground all stood up inexplicably.

"They're just ordinary people without any awareness, the navy shouldn't harm ordinary civilians, right?"

Even though she knew they couldn't hear her, Uta still spoke up to explain, as if she were telling herself.

The audience began to surround the group of sailors, not to harm them, but to remove their earplugs.

"This is really troublesome!"

The marines did not want to harm civilians, but they found it difficult to break through their defenses to reach Uta.

Even Kizaru and Burley were unwilling to harm innocent people without an absolute order from above.

"Well then, it's time for our feud, Luffy. Let me personally... use you to end this damned Great Pirate Era!"

A light rain began to fall from the sky, Uta held a short dagger in his hand.

He placed the Straw Hat over Luffy's stomach, hesitated and trembled, and raised the dagger but couldn't bring himself to strike. A tear rolled down his face, which was half-hidden by his hair.

"Let's end it all, Uta! I suddenly... really want to hear you sing."

Suddenly, a voice she both hated and longed for came from the other side, and then a large hand grasped her hands that were hanging in front of Luffy.

"How terrifying~ Even Shanks, one of the 'Three Emperors', has come?"

Kizaru said this, but there was no trace of panic on his face.

"Hahahaha~ You've come at the perfect time! Let me show you! The New World I've created is about to arrive!"

"Everyone! The worst villains have arrived! Let's defeat them together!"

Uta seemed to have gone a little crazy. He stood up and laughed wildly, then waved his hand, and the audience twisted and moved toward Shanks and the others.

"It seems like an opportunity has arrived."

Kizaru seized the opportunity and sped toward Uta, so fast that she didn't even have time to react.

"Clang!"

Shanks instantly blocked Kizaru, and with a swing of his sword, forced him back to a stone pillar at the top of the arena.

"Hey~ Aren't those the Black Winged Great Demon and the executives of Las Noches? It's terrifying that even people like them got dragged into this~"

Standing at the highest point, he naturally saw Cifer and the others sitting or lying on the stone platform at a glance.

"The Black Winged Great Demon and the executives of Las Noches? That's a golden opportunity!"

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Momonga of the Headquarters Vice Admiral got excited and rushed to the stone platform.

"Um?"

Burley's fingers twitched; he almost couldn't resist stepping forward to stop him.

But the next moment, the Momonga that had just climbed onto the stone platform coughed up blood and flew backward.

Seeing this, not only the Navy, but also Uta and Red-Haired were stunned.

"It seems quite lively outside. Would you mind having one more person?"

Cifer had already stood up and was looking down at the crowd below.