"Is this really the place where that famous diva Uta lived!?"
"It's so run-down~"
High above the ruins of the Kingdom of Elegia, Red stood together with Luffy, Chopper, Jinbe, and Brook. The five of them were enclosed within a barrier formed by psychic power.
"So Luffy's childhood friend actually lived in an environment like this!?"
"It's hard to imagine… that such a beautiful singing voice could come from a place like this."
"No, no, no… back in our time, the Kingdom of Elegia was world-renowned as a nation of music."
"What's truly unimaginable is that a country which gave birth to countless timeless masterpieces… was hiding a demon capable of destroying the world."
Looking down at the shattered remains of the Kingdom of Elegia, Chopper, Jinbe, and Brook all sighed with emotion.
At the same time, Luffy's face was filled with guilt, his fists unconsciously clenching tight.
"I… I always thought she was living happily," he said softly with a sigh.
Now that the Straw Hat Pirates were strong enough to act more freely—and with Vegapunk wanting to research the power of the Sing-Sing Fruit—Red had already shared everything related to Uta with the crew.
After hearing about Uta's experiences, even the usually carefree Luffy suddenly put away his playful attitude and hurried here without hesitation alongside Red.
"I've decided…"
Staring at the ruins of Elegia below, Luffy suddenly spoke:
"Red, I want to invite Uta to join our crew!"
"I will definitely—"
"—save her from that Demon King!"
Back then, when Shanks and his crew had taken Uta out to sea, she was already gone by the time they returned.
Shanks had told him that Uta had left the ship.
Luffy had been sad for a long time afterward, but he always believed that Uta had simply found a world better suited for her.
He never imagined that something like this could have happened to her.
"No problem, my captain~"
Red smiled faintly, his Aura power rippling outward like waves and spreading across the entire island.
In almost an instant, he found the figure he remembered.
"She's here!"
A sharp glint flashed in Red's eyes.
The next moment, a pale pink glow born of psychic power flickered across the barrier.
As the light twisted, Red and the others vanished on the spot.
…
…
At the same time.
Within the ruins of the royal palace of the Kingdom of Elegia, inside a room belonging exclusively to Uta.
The girl with red-and-white hair sat blankly in the dim room, tears streaming uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes as she stared at the projected image before her in shock.
"T-This… what is going on!?"
Uta covered her mouth in disbelief, as if trying to stifle even her breathing.
Because of events from her childhood, Uta had followed her teacher, Gordon, and lived in this ruined country from a very young age.
Over the years, although she never believed that Shanks had used her to approach Elegia for its treasure…
The destruction of the entire Kingdom of Elegia by the Red-Haired Pirates had always been a lingering mystery in her heart.
As time passed, worn down by the years, she buried that question deep within herself—so deep that she had even prepared to never think about it again.
She had planned to spend the rest of her life on this small island of Elegia.
But a year ago, ever since she picked up a livestream Den Den Mushi on the beach that could connect to the outside world…
Uta's world began to change.
For the first time, truly connected to the world, she discovered that her singing was not only beautiful—it possessed other miraculous effects.
Her voice could become a spring that nourished the heart, a medicine that erased pain.
Under Uta's songs, countless people suffering across the world regained smiles of happiness.
And that made Uta feel as though she had finally found the meaning of her existence!
To use her singing to help more people become happy—
That became her life's goal.
However…
Everything shattered today!
Uta never imagined that—
The ones who destroyed the Kingdom of Elegia back then were not the Red-Haired Pirates at all.
On the contrary, they were the heroes who tried to save this country.
"Why…?"
Uta sobbed quietly, covering her face with her hands.
In the dim room, the little girl who had just begun to feel life moving upward again was now as if fate itself had seized her throat.
She had no strength to resist—only soft sobs and choked cries remained.
But just then…
A beam of brilliant light cut through the darkness like a blade.
Whoosh—
A gentle breeze brushed past, rustling the curtains.
It also drew Uta out of her grief.
Hearing the unexpected sound, Uta immediately turned her head toward the window.
And then she saw a boy wearing a baseball cap, stepping on the windowsill and leaping into the room.
"Y-You… who are you!?"
Startled by the sudden appearance of a stranger, panic flashed through Uta's eyes.
But she quickly calmed down, curiosity even surfacing within her.
As someone extremely compatible with the Sing-Sing Fruit, Uta's strength was far greater than her gentle appearance suggested.
Red, who had entered the room directly, stopped where he was and signaled with his eyes and a smile that he meant no harm.
"Sorry for disturbing you so suddenly, Uta."
"I didn't expect the timing to be this perfect. To keep you from misunderstanding anything…"
"I had no choice but to come in uninvited!"
As he spoke, Red gestured toward the projection playing on the wall.
Though the image was blurred by the light, the red-haired figure fighting the terrifying Demon King could still be vaguely made out.
Click!
Uta abruptly reached out and shut off the projection Den Den Mushi.
Only then did she look up at Red in alarm and ask,
"Was that Den Den Mushi yours!?"
"No, no, no~" Red laughed and shook his head. "I just arrived on this island myself."
"But I have to say, the appearance of that Den Den Mushi really caught everyone off guard."
With a light chuckle, Red stepped further into the room.
Although Red was also born in Windmill Village, before his transmigration he had just been a clueless little kid, naturally too timid to get involved with a pirate crew that suddenly appeared.
So he and Uta were practically strangers.
At most, they had exchanged a glance once or twice in childhood.
But in the next moment, the appearance of an arm made Uta's eyes widen in shock.
"Why are you suddenly in such a hurry, Red!?"
"Aren't we supposed to be looking for Uta!?"
Chasing after him, Luffy grabbed the windowsill with one hand, bounced his body upward, and leapt into the room.
In the next instant, the two who never imagined they would reunite like this locked eyes.
As their gazes met, it was as if time froze, everything stopping in that single moment.
Then, completely lacking any sense of romance, Luffy pressed down on his straw hat with one hand and laughed as he jumped into the room.
"UTA!!! YOU'RE REALLY HERE!!!"
Luffy strode forward, stopping right in front of Uta and blocking the sunlight that had just entered the room, casting a shadow over her.
Yet within that shadow, Uta felt a familiar warmth she hadn't felt in a long time.
Having just experienced drastic ups and downs in her life, Uta didn't even have time to be trapped by her childhood darkness before all her attention was seized by the person before her.
"L-Luffy!?"
Uta cried out in shock as she recognized him.
Luffy flashed his signature grin.
"Hehehe!"
"Long time no see, Uta!!!"
Even though he already knew what Uta had gone through, Luffy showed no unusual expression at this moment.
Instead, he was as relaxed and joyful as if he were simply seeing an old friend after a long separation.
"It really is you… Luffy!?"
Seeing her childhood companion, Uta instantly forgot her earlier sorrow. She sprang off the bed and threw herself into Luffy's arms.
Childhood sweethearts, reunited here after ten long years.
Off to the side, Red quietly took out a camera that hadn't been used in a long time, using psychic power to mute the shutter as he captured the scene.
At the same time, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"A childhood sweetheart can't beat a fated encounter…"
"But what if it's childhood sweetheart plus fated encounter—how would you deal with that!?"
If they could overcome the demons in Uta's heart in the future, wouldn't she become their future captain's wife!?
Just think of Goku and Chi-Chi from Dragon Ball…
With Luffy's carefree, thoughtless personality, he might really end up pairing with Uta without even realizing it~
"In that case, it wouldn't matter if Hancock gets sidelined by me, right!?"
Red smiled knowingly, no longer worried about the Monkey family line, and quietly minimized his presence, leaving space for the reunited pair.
But the next second, the two suddenly jumped back in perfect sync and burst out laughing face-to-face.
"Luffy, how about a long-overdue match!?"
"Sure! But there's no way you're beating me!"
"What are you talking about? I've beaten you 183 times in a row!"
"Huh!? I'm the one who won 183 times!"
"Hmph~ sore loser!"
"That's not true!"
"Hehehe~ I know a place that's perfect for a match! Follow me!!!"
"Fine! Let's do it!"
After a heated argument that hardly resembled a reunion after years apart, the two immediately ran out of the room together.
Only Red remained, standing there with an amused smile.
"To remember the number 183 so precisely…"
"Luffy, it looks like you can't escape your romantic debts."
As he spoke, Red's gaze shifted to the projection Den Den Mushi left behind on Uta's bed.
Whether Uta had forgotten it out of sheer joy at seeing Luffy, or simply didn't know how to explain everything to him…
"Letting a girl who isn't even ten years old bear things she never should have—no matter how you look at it, that's not normal."
Bang!!!
With a single thought from Red, the projection device embedded in the Den Den Mushi's shell shattered instantly, producing a small explosion that startled the resting Den Den Mushi.
After that, Red turned and left the room.
He wouldn't interfere with the captain's reunion with his childhood friend—but fortunately, there was still someone else on this island he wanted to meet.
…
…
Inside the kitchen of the ruined castle.
Gordon, once a king, now wore an apron and a chef's hat, busily working among pots and pans.
"Uta still has that strange livestream activity this afternoon. Lunch should be something light."
"Hmm… might as well prepare some ingredients for dinner too."
After ten years as a caretaker, Gordon had long mastered all kinds of kitchen skills.
Though his cooking couldn't be called gourmet, it was more than enough to impress.
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the kitchen door.
"Hm!?"
Extremely sensitive to sound, Gordon abruptly froze, listening to footsteps completely different from Uta's. His mind went blank.
After all, for the past ten years, only he and Uta had lived on this island.
Even passing ships were rare, let alone someone landing here and coming this deep inland.
"Who's there!?"
As the footsteps drew closer, Gordon grabbed a boning knife from the counter and fixed his gaze on the doorway.
He wasn't a real chef—he had no qualms about getting a kitchen tool dirty.
But the next moment, the figure that appeared made his expression freeze.
"Y-You are…?"
Gordon's arm trembled.
Unlike Uta, who shut herself away and focused solely on music, Gordon bought stacks of newspapers whenever he went to nearby islands for supplies, keeping up with world affairs.
Mostly, he wanted to know whether the Red-Haired Pirates had completed their mission and would come back for Uta.
And the instant he saw the man before him, Gordon recognized his identity.
"Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates… Trainer… Red!!!"
"Why are you here!?"
His mind completely short-circuited at the thought of a great pirate barging in like this.
But Red merely grinned and stepped forward.
"You should be able to guess my purpose pretty easily, King Gordon…"
"I came here, of course, for that mysterious score capable of summoning the Demon of Song."
"If I remember correctly… its name was something like 'Tot-something,' right?"
"Sorry, the name's a bit of a mouthful. Hard to remember."
"But that score should be in your possession right now, shouldn't it, King Gordon?"
With every step Red took forward, every word he spoke struck Gordon's heart like a heavy hammer.
(End of Chapter)