Soon, Elbaf's dedicated firefighting team arrived and joined the effort to put out the blaze.
Yes, to protect the Adam Tree, even Elbaf—a nation of people who were all battle fanatics—kept a dedicated firefighting team on standby. That showed just how important the Adam Tree was to them.
While everyone was busy dealing with the fire in front of them, a figure made her way through the crowd and stopped behind Red-Haired.
Her hoodie was split red and white, just like her hair, and its sleeves were wide enough to hide both her hands. Uta pressed her lips together and quietly watched the figure before her.
On the way here, she'd imagined all kinds of ways their reunion might go, and all sorts of things she could say. She could act haughty, for example:
"I finally found you, you bastard, Shanks."
Or she could angrily accuse him, saying something like, "You bastard! How could you leave me in a place like that and run off on your own?"
Or she could question him resentfully: "Why didn't you come looking for me all these years?"
She could even pretend she'd already let go of the past, smile as if nothing were wrong, and say, "It's finally good to see you, Shanks."
She'd thought of so many things to say, but now that they were finally face-to-face, the countless words pent up inside her rose to her throat—then caught at her lips.
Uta pressed her lips together and slowly lowered her head, clasping her hands, unsure what to do.
She wished that idiot Luffy were here. Just like when they were kids, if Luffy ran toward Shanks with a goofy grin, she could follow right after him without a second thought. Then she wouldn't be standing here feeling so awkward.
As she