Song-Song Fruit, Uta's Terrifying Idea

Louis, who had originally been uninterested in these things, felt an idea sprout in his mind after hearing the group's conversation.

Could it be the fruit I'm looking for?

Once this thought took root, it quickly consumed his mind, compelling him to take a step forward and draw closer to the crowd.

The members of the Red-Haired Pirates looked quite like small fry at this point in time; their builds and heights were not particularly exaggerated.

Given Louis's height, he could easily get a clear view of the fruit lying quietly inside the wooden crate.

He saw one of them: it was pale pink overall, with wavy patterns on its surface and a stem shaped like a musical note.

It was none other than the Paramecia-type Song-Song Fruit, the fruit that originally belonged to Uta.

It possessed the ability to pull people's consciousness into a Music World constructed from singing. Furthermore, after performing a specific musical score, one could even unleash a nearly unstoppable monster—Tot Musica.

The drawback was that this fruit did not enhance the user's physical stamina. If the user's stamina was insufficient, they would have to burn their own life force to perform for long periods.

All in all, its advantages were significant enough to overshadow its flaws.

Meanwhile, the other wooden crate contained two strange fruits connected by a single stem.

In terms of size and shape, they were no different from ordinary apples.

One had a pink surface with fish-scale patterns. The other was purple, with patterns resembling feathers.

Under Louis's gaze, Shanks and the others picked up the fruits and held them up to the sun, examining them with faces full of curiosity.

"Twins—one with fish-scale patterns, one with feather patterns." Louis's gaze was deep, his face a mix of shock and uncertainty. "To think I'd run into them here..."

"It's a small world..."

An aged figure appeared in his mind—the previous owner of this fruit.

Soon, Lime Jones, with his long blonde hair, walked out from the ship's cabin, holding a well-preserved Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in his hands.

Just then, Yelena approached, watching the scene unfolding before her with a thoughtful expression.

She turned her head to look at Louis with a puzzled expression. "Didn't you say that Devil Fruits are quite rare on the high seas?"

It had only been a little over ten hours since she ate the Wendigo Fruit last night. Yet, in such a short amount of time, two more precious Devil Fruits had appeared before her eyes.

This left her feeling somewhat confused. Were Devil Fruits really that rare?

"..."

Beside her, Louis fell silent upon hearing this; he didn't know how to answer that question either.

Just then, an exclamation from Shanks rang out among the crowd. "Found it. This one is... the Paramecia-type Song-Song Fruit."

"After eating the fruit, the user gains a dreamlike singing voice and can pull people's consciousness into a world constructed by their songs..."

"Song-Song Fruit?" At the front of the crowd, Uta repeated the term subconsciously.

Following this, her purple eyes grew brighter, and a smile of eagerness appeared on her face involuntarily.

"Pulling people's consciousness into a world of song—that sounds so interesting!"

A moment later, the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates gradually turned their gaze toward Uta. Based on the description, they unanimously agreed that this Song-Song Fruit seemed exceptionally well-suited for Uta, who was already determined to become a great musician.

Even Shanks wore a thoughtful expression as he glanced at his foster daughter. He muttered to himself, "The Song-Song Fruit... it truly is quite fitting for Uta."

Upon hearing this, a brilliant smile bloomed on Uta's face. Although she had already anticipated this, hearing the answer with her own ears still made her quite happy.

Seeing this, the others exchanged glances, seeing the amusement in each other's eyes.

Then, Uta gently tugged on Shanks's sleeve, blinking her teary purple eyes. "Shanks, I want this fruit."

Shanks was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly broke into a smile, preparing to hand the fruit in his hand to Uta.

Just then, Yelena wore a puzzled expression and posed a question.

"Uta, are you hoping to use this fruit to make your singing voice sound even more beautiful?"

To this, Uta put her hands on her hips, her fair face filled with pride. "My singing voice is already a dimension apart from other musicians; I don't need a Devil Fruit to improve it at all!"

The group was stunned, gradually realizing that something was off. If it wasn't for the sake of her singing, then why did Uta want the Song-Song Fruit?

For a moment, a faint sense of unease began to shroud the hearts of the Red-Haired Pirates.

Shanks gradually narrowed his eyes. He tossed the Song-Song Fruit in his hand to Yasopp without a trace, then reached out to pat Uta's head, asking in a doting tone, "Uta, if it has nothing to do with your singing..."

"What do you want to do with the Song-Song Fruit?"

To this, Uta raised her hands high, beaming with a blissful smile as she described it to everyone:

"It's a world built by song!"

...The expressions of the group shifted; the unease in their hearts had become reality.

Uta continued, "I want to create a world of music, and live happily forever in that world with you, Shanks, with Louis, and with Yelena!"

Yelena did not understand what Uta meant and looked completely bewildered. But Louis, Shanks, and the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates had their expressions change completely.

Shanks and the others, in particular, had expressions that were terrifying to behold. They stared blankly at their foster daughter, as if seeing her for the very first time.

Louis felt speechless, thinking to himself, There was really no need to drag Yelena and me into this.

Just then, Beckman's voice drifted over from the other side of the deck. "And what are we supposed to do about our physical bodies? If everyone stays in another world, we're going to starve to death, you know!"

Upon hearing Beckman's voice, Uta's eyes lit up. She cleared her throat and said with a smile, "Happiness doesn't require a physical body!"

"..."

As soon as these words left her lips, the hearts of Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates plummeted to the depths of despair. One by one, out of Uta's sight, they cast complex, troubled looks in her direction.

They couldn't understand how Uta had developed such a dangerous way of thinking right under their noses.

In that moment, the idea of having given the Song-Song Fruit to Uta was ruthlessly suppressed in the depths of Shanks's mind.

What pained him most was that they hadn't noticed Uta harboring such tendencies sooner.

If not for Yelena's casual question, they might not have discovered Uta's true intentions until who knows when.

Judging by Uta's past behavior, it was entirely possible that they wouldn't have realized it until she was already on the verge of making this idea a reality.

For a time, emotions like guilt and distress surged within them, casting a thick, heavy gloom over their hearts.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Beckman took the cigarette from his mouth, slowly walked over to Uta, and knelt down to stroke her hair.

"If Shanks and the rest of us don't like that world... would you still force us to go to that world of song?"