Meeting

Uta's song carried across the sea, and whether it was the Red-Haired Pirates who seemed to be passing by or the warship that had been stubbornly clinging to the Red Force's tail, everyone clearly heard that beautiful melody.

"Where's that singing coming from?" The soldier operating the cannon to fire at the pirate ship was stunned.

"That's... someone holding a concert?" On the warship, a Marine draped in a cloak of justice held a telescope, taking in the scene within the strait in the distance.

Then, he remembered where they were. "Right, this is Elegia!"

He quickly lowered the telescope and issued a warning to Vice Admiral Garp, who was continuously hurling cannonballs.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

Garp didn't even turn his head, asking back, "What is it?"

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

But Garp just reached out a hand, casually picking his nose, while with the other he nonchalantly tossed a cannonball.

Utterly unconcerned, he said, "You mean this?"

"I noticed ages ago. I'm already on it!"

Garp indicated that if it weren't for the civilians gathered less than a nautical mile away, he would have charged in and given that brat Shanks a good thrashing, just like before.

Then, as if something occurred to him, Garp reached out and inconspicuously wiped his hand on the soldier beside him. "Oh, right, have those two I knocked into the sea earlier been found?"

"..." The Marine soldiers exchanged glances.

"Mr. Bogard has taken a small boat with some men to search, but so far there's been no sign..."

On the other side, the deck of the Red Force.

The Red-Haired Pirates had gathered on the deck. Though they were battered, bruised, low on energy, and wrapped in bandages, when they heard the song from afar, fond smiles still crept onto their faces.

"Uta's singing!"

"We made it in time, at least. It was worth getting that beating from Garp!"

"Seeing us here should keep Uta-chan from being mad at us, right?"

Hearing Uta's song, the spirits of the Red-Haired Pirates lifted, and they felt strength surging through their bodies.

At the bow, a bruised and swollen-faced Shanks stood with a single sword in hand, a hint of joy on his face.

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

Beside him, Beckman silently lit a cigarette, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

"Your singing keeps getting better, Uta!"

A moment later, Shanks reached up and straightened the straw hat on his head, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes.

"Everyone, now we need to buy enough time for Lime Jones and Hongou!"

"Ooh!!" The Red-Haired crew roared with fighting spirit.

At the concert venue, on the stage beneath the giant green crystal.

Uta stopped singing and took a deep breath.

Then, she smiled and waved to all the audience members. "Everyone, the concert is over!"

"The Marines are here. You all need to run!"

At the concert site, everyone stood frozen in place. Gordon shook his head at the sight, then walked onstage to instruct the citizens to evacuate quickly while ensuring their safety.

On the massive reef, Louis let out a wry laugh. Beside him, Yelena pressed a hand to her forehead, barely holding herself together.

"Honestly, who tells civilians to flee for their lives the moment they spot the Marines!"

The two sailing ships offshore gradually drifted away, but the commotion they stirred grew fiercer by the moment.

A sudden, thunderous roar pierced several nautical miles in every direction, and the oncoming gale even kicked up considerable waves at the concert site.

On the distant sea, black-red lightning could faintly be seen exploding. Fist winds raged across the surface, whipping up enormous waves. Slashes swept horizontally over the ocean, splitting the sea into fragments.

The sheer scale of the distant upheaval constantly battered the understanding of Elegia's citizens.

Even from such a vast distance, people could feel the breath of death. Driven by that sensation, they quickened their pace of escape.

Under a crisis unlike any they had ever experienced, the people completed their evacuation in an astonishingly short time.

In the vast strait, only a handful of people remained.

After checking that no one had lingered behind, Gordon slowly walked onto the stage and came straight to Uta's side.

With an extremely complex look in his eyes, he gazed at Uta, whose face was bright with a cheerful smile, and asked softly, "Uta, are you leaving?"

"Mm!" Uta nodded excitedly.

Then she took a deep breath, smiled, and bowed to Gordon. "These past days, I am deeply grateful for Elegia's care and guidance!"

Gordon was taken aback, then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He reached behind him, slowly pulled a thick stack of sheet music from his backpack, and handed it to Uta.

"This is the music you haven't had time to learn yet. I hope you won't waste it—the musical talent heaven has gifted you."

Uta's face bloomed like a flower as she cheerfully took the sheet music from Gordon and hugged it to her chest.

"Of course! I still need to let my companions hear even more brilliant singing!"

Just then, the Prototype Skywing Species scattered behind Uta slowly approached.

Seeing this, Uta waved at Gordon with a bright, radiant smile. "Just wait—I'll become the world's greatest musician. When that happens, I'll hold an unprecedented concert!"

A pair of wooden hands reached out from behind Uta. A humanoid puppet, graceful as a maiden, bent down and wrapped its arms around her. Spreading its snow-white wings from its lower back, it lifted off, carrying the young songstress away into the distance.

Gordon looked up, watching the figure receding against the sun, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"I look forward to that grand concert, Elegia's rising star!"

Splash... Uta landed on a reef.

Graceful figures circled the sky, casting their shadows over the massive rock.

"Uta!"

A voice Uta found deeply familiar called out.

A figure shrouded in a dripping wet cloak stood on the reef, quietly watching Uta.

Beside them, another figure in a similar cloak crouched on the ground, quickly pulling medical instruments from a waterproof bag and having Yelena attach the device's cables to her body.

Uta recognized them both instantly and shouted excitedly, "Lime Jones! Hongou!"

Lime Jones pulled back the hood of her cloak and looked at Uta with relief. "Uta, we made it in time!"

But soon, Uta noticed only the two of them were here, and she briefly lost focus.

On the ground, Hongou quickly operated the instruments, a joyful smile spreading across his face. "Uta, you sang wonderfully. Even facing tens of thousands of spectators, you didn't freeze up. You've grown again!"

Uta snapped out of her thoughts and flashed a proud smile at the two of them.

"I'm your daughter!"

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

As she spoke, Uta glanced into the distance at the Red Force, locked in battle with the Warship, and a faint trace of regret crossed her face. "It's just a pity... Shanks and the others couldn't come..."