Chapter 360 - 199

Chapter 199: RED (6): Dawn at the Coast, Moving Forward with a Heavy Burden!The laughter and chatter in the courtyard gradually drifted away into the cool night air. The campfire crackled, its dancing flames gently stretching the shadows of those sitting around it.After half a night of noise and singing, only fragmented whispers and a tacit tranquility remained.Luffy leaned against an old tree root, unusually quiet.Uta slept in the crook of his casually outstretched arm.The hem of her simple white dress, pulled slightly upward by her posture, stopped just at mid-thigh, outlining a breathtaking "absolute territory" under the flickering firelight.It was a fragile and secret boundary between innocence and unconscious allure.Beneath the hem, her legs were slender and long, unlike anything mortal, like jade carved from Moonlight.They were curled slightly in a natural pose, her skin exposed to the night air and the warm flame light, shimmering with a delicate, soft luster like fine porcelain.Her thick, unique red and white hair, resembling a pair of lazily drooping rabbit ears, trembled lightly against her smooth forehead and Luffy's arm with her shallow breathing.The campfire's light danced on her exquisite cheeks, casting fan-shaped shadows under her long eyelashes.And the corners of her mouth held an arc of extreme sweetness and satisfaction, as if she were immersed in a beautiful dream with only happy melodies, writing all her joy and peace on her sleeping face.Luffy's fingertips rested lightly on Uta's cheek, the touch cool, as if he were touching a piece of porcelain too exquisite and fragile.He sighed very lightly, and the sigh quickly dissipated into the sea breeze.His top-tier Observation Haki unfolded an invisible domain in his consciousness, where what echoed was not Uta's steady breathing, but the chaotic and weary "voice" deep within her heart.It was not just the unusual sleepiness of recent days, but a crack and exhaustion deeply rooted in the foundation of her soul, one that even joy could not completely mask.The perspective of knowing everything made this perception incredibly heavy.He could almost see through time, watching how that night's flames and broken musical notes branded a permanent, sleeping scar on her heart...."Gulp—gulp—!"Gordon was tilting his head, guzzling cheap liquor, the liquid spilling from the corners of his mouth and soaking his no longer clean shirt.An unnatural flush rose to his face, his eyes struggling between muddiness and brief clarity.He wiped his mouth hard, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at Luffy."Hey... Straw Hat."His tongue was a bit tied, his voice hoarse but deliberately raised,"You're that... 'Four Emperors' now, right? One of the emperors of the sea...?"He didn't wait—perhaps he didn't dare to wait—for a confirmed answer, and rushed on, as if he had to use all his strength to push the next words out of his chest:"Take her away! Leave this broken island of only stones and memories!"His gaze then fell on Uta, who was sleeping peacefully in Luffy's arms.The embers of the campfire danced with warm light on her fair face, that peaceful sleeping face, free of shadows, unseen for ten years.It caused the fierce emotions surging in Gordon's eyes to melt instantly, turning into a bottomless gentleness mixed with endless regret and love."A girl in the prime of her life..."His voice dropped, becoming choked, yet unusually clear,"Should not be tied here by a useless old man like me, with guilt and lies, to bury her remaining years together!""She should have... She should have possessed the whole world and its applause!"The sea breeze ruffled his graying hair. At that moment, he looked like an ordinary, aging father who had finally emptied himself of everything, just to entrust his last treasure to someone else...."Hoo—"Rayleigh let out a long breath, placing the rough wooden bowl in his hand onto a tree stump, neither too lightly nor too heavily.He raised his eyelids, his eyes, seemingly cloudy but still able to pierce through the human heart, now sharp as an unsheathed ancient blade, piercing straight at Gordon."Tell me."His voice was not loud, but carried an unquestionable weight,"About the truth behind the destruction of Elegia... the Island of Music, over a decade ago."He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the sleeping Uta and the solemn-faced Luffy. Every word seemed to have been tempered a thousand times, landing heavily:"I absolutely do not believe—""—That the man I watched grow up, 'Red-Haired Shanks', would commit such an inhumane act of slaughtering the innocent and destroying a nation."The sea breeze seemed to freeze at this moment, and the crackling of the campfire became the only background sound.Gordon's body trembled visibly, and the wine bottle in his hand almost slipped.He seemed to have had all the strength he had been propping up with alcohol drained by this sentence.His chapped lips moved, his voice ethereal as if coming from the distant sea fog,"It has been exactly eleven years, seven months, and three days."His eyes lost focus, looking blankly at the pitch-black sea, yet as if piercing through the thick curtain of time, reaching that bloody night eternally frozen by flames and broken musical notes.What surged within was no longer pure sadness, but a bottomless, numb exhaustion and melancholy after a long torment."The details of that night... how every musical note turned into a wail, how every strand of flame devoured the masterpiece... still burns repeatedly in my dreams to this day."He slowly closed his eyes, as if unable to bear looking back, or as if forcing himself to stare at that hellish scene once again,"And about Red-Haired Shanks... sir, you are right!""Shanks did not slaughter anyone."His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against rusty iron,"On the contrary... he was the only person that night, besides me, who tried until the very end to stop the tragedy from happening."Rayleigh's pupils contracted slightly, his body leaning forward a little.Gordon's gaze turned to Uta, sleeping in Luffy's arms, filled with endless pity and sorrow.Gordon's voice suddenly rose, filled with a tremor mixed with ancient fear and gnashing hatred, as if the name itself were a blasphemy:"It was 'Totem Gika'—!!"He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles making a rattling sound, as if wrestling with an invisible demon."That is not a legend, not a fable! It is the Song Demon King that has been sleeping in the forbidden musical score since ancient times!""Its essence is not biological, but a kind of... conceptual entity that feeds on extreme emotions and music!"He turned to the sleeping Uta, his eyes full of lingering fear and endless pity:"After Uta obtained the Uta Uta no Mi, the purer her singing and the stronger her emotions, the more she unintentionally 'awakened' it from the abyss of melody.""The concert that night... Uta's desire to create a perfect world, her love for her people... these surging, extreme emotions became the best 'hotbed' and 'bridge' for Totem Gika!"Gordon's breathing became rapid, as if he saw that nightmarish scene again:"It followed Uta's singing and seeped out from the ancient music score. It was not a simple possession, but... resonance control!""It amplified all of Uta's positive and negative emotions, twisted her abilities, and turned the singing that was originally meant to create dreamlike illusions into a demonic sound that deconstructed reality and unleashed chaos!""The entire Elegia became the 'instrument' for it to break free from its shackles and revel to its heart's content!"His voice was hoarse from the horror of the memory:"Its power... surpassed the conventional. It was not simple physical destruction, but a negation of 'order' and 'harmony' itself.""The civilization built by music collapsed like a sandcastle in its 'anti-movement'.""Even the entire Red Hair Pirates, who were at their peak and terrifyingly powerful at the time, could only barely contain it in the face of this invisible, rule-level erosion, fighting for that little bit of pitiful time to evacuate the civilians!""Shanks' sword can cut through steel, but it is difficult to cut through invisible 'dissonant scales'!""In the very end..."Gordon's strength seemed to be drained, his voice dropping, leaving only endless exhaustion and sadness."It was Uta herself. The moment her mental strength was completely exhausted and she fell into a coma, Totem Gika, having lost its 'best carrier', reluctantly retreated back into that ancient demonic musical score that served as its 'anchor'."He looked at Rayleigh, his eyes filled with the blood-red truth:"The destruction of the Island of Music was the aftermath of this 'Demon King's descent'. The fragile structure of reality was simply unable to withstand such a level of 'musical war'.""And Shanks..."Gordon's voice carried a trace of complex, choked emotion,"He stood on the ruins of civilization, holding Uta, who was exhausted and in a coma, and nearly completely assimilated by Totem Gika... He made a cruel and gentle decision.""He could not let Uta know, after she woke up, that she had unintentionally become the 'channel' that destroyed her hometown, and let her bear the weight of the lives of the entire nation. That would completely crush her.""So, he chose to play the role of that 'pirate who took everything'."Gordon's tears fell silently,"He told the survivors this'story', and then, in front of Uta, who had blurred memories and only residual, immense sadness and emptiness after waking up...""He took his crew, took that 'treasure', and left without looking back, amidst Uta's heart-rending cries and childish, hateful gaze...""Leaving behind the eight-year-old her, and an island that was nothing but broken walls and ruins!"The sea breeze howled, sweeping away Gordon's last words, and also seemed to be whimpering for that buried truth about sacrifice and protection.What Shanks carried was never just infamy, but pushing his loved one toward hatred of himself, in exchange for her being able to have a future that might be slightly easier, one where she could struggle forward."Hey, old man. Both you and Shanks... you both got one thing wrong!"Luffy spoke, his tone more solemn than Gordon had ever heard."Uta is stronger than you think!""After she cries, she will continue to sing... but this time, she will sing for what she truly wants to protect."Gordon froze.He saw the young Captain turn his head and reveal a smile without any shadows, a smile that carried a scorching purity similar to the songstress who had destroyed everything."After all,"Luffy patted Gordon's stiff shoulder,"Moving forward while carrying heavy burdens is what it means to be alive.""As for the truth... when she is ready to hear it herself, we will tell her together!"Then, a soft sound.It was Luffy's fingers gently pressing the brim of his straw hat.The straw hat, which had weathered countless storms and symbolized promise and freedom, tilted slightly downward, briefly covering most of his face, revealing only his clearly defined jawline.The next second, he raised his head."As for that..."He paused slightly, as if savoring the name, and then said something that made Gordon tremble, in a tone of ease that was almost like a verdict:"...What 'Song Demon King'?"Luffy stood up, the shadow under the straw hatreceding, his entire face fully exposed to the brightening morning light.He raised his hand, not pointing to the distant ocean or an imaginary enemy, but with his thumb, cleanly and decisively—Pointed to his own chest."Leave it to..."Every word was clanging, like war drums beating on the coast before dawn:"...Us!"The sea breeze seemed to make way for it at this moment, and the rising morning sun just happened to leap out of the sea level, the first ray of golden light piercing through the gray-blue morning mist, falling squarely on Luffy and his partners behind him.