Reunion

Uta's singing reached the sea. Both the Red-Haired Pirates, who seemed to be passing by, and the warship hot on the Red Force's heels could clearly hear the beautiful melody.

"Where's that singing coming from?" asked a soldier, startled as he fired the cannons at the pirate ship.

"Is that... someone holding a concert?" On the warship, a Marine wearing a justice coat raised a pair of binoculars and took in the scene in the distant strait.

Then he remembered where they were. "That's right, this is Elegia!"

He hurriedly lowered the binoculars and warned Vice Admiral Garp, who was still hurling cannonballs.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

Garp didn't even turn around. "What is it?"

"This is Elegia. Someone's holding a concert on the island. We have to drive the Red-Haired Pirates away!"

Garp merely raised one hand and calmly picked his nose. With the other, he casually tossed out a cannonball.

"You mean that?" he said, unconcerned. "I noticed ages ago. I'm driving them off right now!"

Garp figured that if there hadn't been civilians gathered a mile away, he would have charged in and given that Red-Hair brat another savage beating, just like before.

Then Garp seemed to remember something. He reached over and discreetly wiped his hand on the soldier beside him. "By the way, have they found those two people I knocked into the sea earlier?"

The soldiers looked at one another.

"Mr. Bogard took a boat with some men to search for them, but they haven't found anything yet..."

Meanwhile, on the deck of the Red Force.

The Red-Haired Pirates had gathered on deck. Though they were covered in bruises, looking exhausted, and wrapped in bandages, their faces still softened into affectionate smiles when they heard the singing in the distance.

"Uta's singing!"

"We made it just in time. That beating from Garp was worth it after all!"

"Now that Uta-chan's seen us, she won't be mad, right?"

Hearing Uta's song lifted the spirits of the Red-Haired Pirates, making them feel as if they'd regained all their strength.

At the bow, Shanks stood with a sword in one hand, his face bruised and swollen. A delighted smile appeared on his face.

"Uta, we didn't break our promise!"

Beside him, Beckman silently lit a cigarette, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Your singing gets better and better, Uta!"

A moment later, Shanks adjusted the straw hat on his head, determination flashing in his eyes.

"Everyone, we have to buy Lime Jones and Hongou enough time!"

"Yeah!" the Red-Haired Pirates cheered, their fighting spirit soaring.

At the concert, on the stage beneath the enormous green crystal.

Uta stopped singing and took a deep breath.

Then she smiled and waved to the audience. "Everyone, the concert's over!"

"The Marines are here. Hurry and get away!"

Everyone at the concert stood frozen. Seeing this, Gordon shook his head, then went onstage and hurried the people of the kingdom to safety.

On the enormous reef, Louis couldn't help laughing when he heard that. Beside him, Yelena pressed a hand to her forehead, barely holding it together.

"Honestly, who tells people to run for their lives as soon as they see the Marines?"

The two sailing ships offshore gradually receded, but the commotion they caused grew ever more violent.

A sudden boom thundered across several miles. The gale blowing toward them even stirred up a commotion at the concert.

In the distant sea, flashes of black and red lightning flickered. Fists battered the surface, raising enormous waves. Slashes swept across the ocean, splitting the sea apart.

The sheer scale of the distant clash kept shattering the people of Elegia's understanding of the world.

Even from far away, they could feel the breath of death. Driven by it, they hurried their escape.

Faced with a crisis unlike anything they had ever experienced, the people evacuated in an astonishingly short time.

Only a handful of people remained in the vast strait.

After checking that no one had been left behind, Gordon slowly walked onto the stage and went straight to Uta.

He looked at her bright, beaming smile with a complicated expression and asked softly, "Uta, are you leaving?"

"Yeah!" Uta nodded excitedly.

Then she took a deep breath and bowed to Gordon with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of me and teaching me during my time in Elegia. I'm truly grateful!"

Gordon was taken aback, then the corners of his mouth lifted. He reached into the backpack behind him and slowly took out a thick stack of sheet music, offering it to Uta.

"These are the pieces you haven't had a chance to learn yet. I hope you won't waste the musical talent you were blessed with."

Uta beamed as she accepted the sheet music and hugged it to her chest.

"Of course not! I'm going to let my friends hear even better songs!"

At that moment, the Prototype Skywing Species who had been scattered behind Uta slowly approached.

Uta turned to Gordon with a bright smile and waved. "Just you wait. I'll become the world's greatest musician, and then I'll hold a concert unlike anything the world has ever seen!"

A pair of wooden hands reached out from behind Uta. The graceful, girl-shaped puppet bent down and gathered her into its arms. Its snow-white wings unfurled from its back, and it soared into the sky, carrying the young songstress away.

Gordon gazed up at the figure as it flew away with the sun behind it, a smile curling his lips.

"I'll look forward to that grand concert, the new star of Elegia!"

"Splash..." Uta landed on the reef.

One graceful figure after another circled through the sky, surrounding the enormous reef.

"Uta!"

A voice she knew all too well rang out.

A figure shrouded in a soaked cloak stood on the reef, watching Uta in silence.

Nearby, another cloaked figure crouched on the ground. He quickly took medical equipment from a waterproof bag and had Yelena attach its cables to her body.

Uta recognized them at once and cried out excitedly, "Lime Jones! Hongou!"

Lime Jones took off his hood and looked at Uta with relief. "Uta, we made it!"

But soon he noticed there were only two of them, and his expression faltered for a moment.

On the ground, Hongou quickly operated the equipment, a happy smile on his face. "Uta, you sang beautifully. You didn't get nervous even in front of tens of thousands of people. You've grown so much!"

Uta gathered herself and gave them a proud smile.

"I'm your daughter!"

"How could I possibly be scared of just a few tens of thousands of people?"

As she spoke, Uta looked into the distance at the Red Force battling the warship, a faint note of regret on her face. "It's just a shame... Shanks and the others can't come..."