"You… what are you trying to do!?"
Under Red's mysterious gaze, Gordon's legs—utterly mismatched with the rest of his body—staggered backward again and again.
Only when his back pressed against the age-worn stone wall did a bone-chilling cold creep up his spine.
Even the razor-sharp boning knife in his hand failed to give him the slightest sense of security.
"Relax, Mr. Gordon."
After teasing the elderly man just a bit, Red smiled faintly and stepped forward.
"We already know everything about you and Uta."
"Including the truth behind how the Red-Haired Pirates destroyed the Kingdom of Elegia back then."
"Take it easy. Our captain and Miss Uta are childhood friends."
"We're only here to rescue Miss Uta from Tot Musica."
"Uta… rescue…"
"Wait—what does that mean!?"
Gordon froze.
Even though Red claimed he meant no harm, Gordon didn't dare lower his guard for even a second.
Just then, however, a cheerful laugh suddenly floated in from outside the kitchen window.
"Heehee~ Luffy, you're just like before! This is my 184th win—another clean victory!!!"
"Ahhh—damn it, Uta! You cheated!"
At the sound of Uta's laughter, Gordon instinctively turned to look out the window.
What he saw made him freeze.
On the broken rooftop of a collapsed building, Uta stood above, sticking out her tongue and making faces at Luffy, who had slipped and fallen while grabbing drinks.
"You're just too dumb to fall for something like that!"
"According to the rules, the first one to fall off the roof loses—so that's you!"
…
…
"Did you see that, Mr. Gordon?"
At the same time, Red smiled calmly, having deliberately amplified the distant image and voices of Luffy and Uta using Psychic Power.
Seeing how close Uta was with Luffy left Gordon deeply shaken.
After all, knowing Uta's background, he never could have imagined that she would share such deep ties with two Emperors of the Sea.
"We plan to… take Uta away from here."
Red suddenly stepped closer and spoke plainly.
Gordon's pupils constricted sharply.
He hurriedly turned back to Red.
"Wait…"
"Uta can't leave this place!"
"Why?" Red asked calmly, locking eyes with the unsteady man.
Gordon pressed his lips together, opening his mouth slightly—yet no words came out.
How could he possibly say that Uta possessed power capable of destroying the world, and that leaving this island would expose her to unimaginable danger?
But just as Gordon hesitated, Red spoke first.
"You're worried her power will be discovered… and exploited, aren't you?"
"I understand that concern."
"But you do realize this, right? Uta has already started live broadcasts and is interacting with the outside world."
"She might not be very famous yet, and her audience may still be small…"
"But once someone who understands the truth notices her and decides to use her power—what will you use to protect her then?"
"That boning knife in your hand? This ruined kingdom?"
"Or do you want Uta to summon the Demon of Song again and let the tragedy of Elegia replay itself?"
"I…"
Faced with Red's questioning, Gordon found himself at a loss for words.
For ten years, he had protected Uta perfectly—and so he'd never truly thought about these possibilities.
But ever since Uta found that live-broadcasting Den Den Mushi a year ago, everything had changed.
Over the past year, she had visibly grown happier and more joyful.
Using the music she loved to comfort others was her greatest pride.
And precisely because Gordon knew how hard those ten years had been for her, he chose not to stop her—despite knowing the risks.
Now that Red had laid it bare, Gordon's last thread of wishful thinking snapped.
He stood there dazed, staring at Uta joking around with Luffy in the distance.
"It seems… you still haven't grasped how serious this really is, Mr. Gordon."
Red's voice remained calm, like still water in a deep well.
"Uta… already knows part of the truth behind the destruction of Elegia."
"What!?"
Gordon spun around, his hand clenching tightly.
"Don't look at me like that," Red explained. "It has nothing to do with us."
"When we arrived on the island, we saw Uta watching an Image Den Den Mushi that recorded the destruction of Elegia."
"Luffy's appearance simply gave her an excuse to avoid facing it for now—by focusing on reuniting with an old friend."
"But—"
Red met Gordon's gaze directly.
"If you just leave her to process this on her own… do you really think someone who's been isolated from the outside world for ten years won't break down?"
"…!"
Gordon stood frozen, unable to respond.
Then Red delivered the final blow.
"And one more thing."
"Do you really believe this ruined island is safer than territory ruled by an Emperor of the Sea?"
"Uta's power deserves a proper stage—not to be buried here, where tragedy could repeat itself at any moment."
"I don't know what Shanks was thinking back then—but this is how we do things."
"As long as Uta is willing, we won't let her stay in this place of suffering."
Red gently patted Gordon on the shoulder.
He respected the man for setting aside national hatred for art—but he couldn't understand him.
Knowing Tot Musica was a song with world-ending power… yet choosing to preserve it for the sake of art.
That kind of thinking could probably only be understood by someone who truly loved art.
After delivering his ultimatum, Red turned to leave.
But just then—
A sudden explosion thundered from somewhere near the castle ruins.
"Hm!?"
Red snapped his gaze in that direction.
At the same time, his personal terminal lit up with an incoming call.
Even without signal coverage from the Pokémon seas, terminals could still communicate directly at close range.
The call connected, and Chopper's anxious voice burst out.
"Red, something's wrong!"
"A World Government ship has landed on the island—and they've found us!"
"There's someone insanely strong on their side—he knocked Jinbe flying with a single blow… we can't stop them!"
"Someone who can send Jinbe flying!?"
Red's expression tightened as he realized the gravity of the situation.
"I understand! Stay safe—I'll be there with Luffy immediately!"
The moment he finished speaking, a pitch-black spatial wormhole opened before him.
Just before stepping into it, Red turned back to Gordon.
"If nothing goes wrong, the people here for Uta have already appeared."
"I'm going to check things out. Since we don't know how many enemies there are, go find Uta and hide with her!"
The black wormhole flickered—and Red vanished within it, leaving Gordon standing there, stunned and helpless.
…
…
Elsewhere, along the coast of the Kingdom of Elegia.
A group of elegantly dressed, imposing figures appeared high above the island.
"Wasn't that the Seven Warlord of the Sea—Knight of the Sea Jinbe—who got blown away by the Supreme Commander?"
"Why is he here!?"
Among the group, a woman wearing a hat, with long golden hair and a strange firearm in hand, stared down at the crater Jinbe had created, muttering curiously.
At the very front stood an elderly man whose hair and beard formed a peculiar cross-shaped crescent.
His tone was grim.
"Something's not right."
"It seems someone noticed this island before we did."
His gaze pierced past Jinbe and swept deeper into the island.
Using powerful Observation Haki, he quickly sensed two figures hidden among the ruins.
"Who's there!?"
Whoosh!
In an instant, his figure vanished from the sky.
…
Moments earlier, Chopper had just ended his call with Red.
As he lifted his head to report to Brook—
Brook's voice reached him first.
"Watch out, Chopper!!!"
Chopper's eyes widened.
Without time to process what was happening, he immediately shrank from his human form into his hybrid form.
The next instant, a terrifying slash—powerful enough to split the island—sliced past just above his head and tore into the forest beyond.
BOOM!!!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted, the ground trembling violently under the blow.
Chopper's face turned deathly pale in midair.
But having survived countless battles, he didn't panic.
His small body burst with explosive power.
The moment he landed, he flipped several times, rapidly widening the distance between himself and the attacker.
"Impressive… dodging my sneak attack."
A lofty voice sounded from behind him.
"Who are you!?"
Whoosh!
Brook appeared like a ghost between Chopper and the mysterious man, blocking his line of sight.
"Hmm?"
The man paused when he saw Brook, frowning slightly.
"You are… the Straw Hat Pirates' Soul King—Brook!!!"
"Why are members of the Straw Hat Pirates here!?"
He asked with curiosity.
Figarland Garling Saint.
Yes—
The mysterious man standing before Brook and Chopper was none other than the Supreme Commander of the World Government's most secret and powerful force—
The Celestial Dragon, Figarland Garling Saint!!!
And accompanying him on Elegia Island were the entire God's Knights.
With Saint Saturn's death, one seat among the Five Elders had been left vacant.
By rank, Garling should have succeeded him.
However—
After witnessing Saturn's death and the horrors of the antimatter world, Imu was utterly terrified.
Instead of immediately filling the vacancy, he issued a new order to the World Government:
Collect all mysterious powers across the world.
He had to understand what that space capable of restraining him truly was.
Otherwise, even sleep would bring him nightmares.
Cowardly as he was—
This was a man who possessed the power to rule the world.
The Five Elders dared not hesitate.
The World Government mobilized all its strength to investigate every strange power known to exist.
Time-traveling rainbow mist, cursed holy swords, flutes that controlled memory…
One by one, artifacts once thought to belong only to fairy tales surfaced—and were brought to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Today, the God's Knights had come to Elegia under direct orders from the Five Elders to investigate the legendary Demon King—Tot Musica.
A being said to possess the power to destroy the world.
And among the World Government's forces, only the God's Knights were deemed sufficient for such a task.
What they hadn't expected was—
Upon landing, they encountered Jinbe by the shore, apparently setting something up.
The dismissal of the Seven Warlords had already been announced worldwide.
Hunting down the former Warlords was now the Marines' responsibility.
Though the Marines did not represent the World Government—
Their enemies could be treated as such.
So Garling casually struck Jinbe down.
Thus leading to the present scene.
Since Chopper's normal appearance had never appeared in Marine intelligence, Garling initially failed to recognize him.
But Brook's appearance made him realize—
Today's mission was far from ordinary.
Perhaps—
They needed to prepare for a full-scale battle.
Sure enough, as that thought crossed his mind, a black spatial wormhole opened behind him.
A relaxed, teasing voice followed.
"Well now~"
"To think we'd run into the God's Knights outside Mary Geoise…"
"This really makes us feel… honored~!!!"
Red stepped out of the Hyperspace Hole with a light chuckle.
Behind him stood someone already in Gear Fifth · Nika Form, fully prepared for battle—
One of the four Emperors of the Sea… Monkey D. Luffy!!!
(End of Chapter)