"Long time no see!!"
The moment they recognized each other, Uta stood up, and she and Luffy embraced. Usopp and the others could only stare, dumbfounded by the sudden development, unable to keep up.
It was Sanji who spoke first.
"Luffy!! What's your relationship with that girl!?"
"She's my childhood friend."
"Child-hood frieeeend!!?"
Ignoring Sanji, who looked ready to weep tears of blood out of jealousy, Luffy began talking nostalgically with Uta.
"I never thought I'd run into you here! Do you live here?"
"No, I just got here yesterday. I'll be leaving again after a short stay."
"Are you sailing on someone's ship?"
"Yeah. I guess I technically belong to Twilight. There was a civil war in Alabasta, and now that it's over, they're doing a concert to help with the recovery efforts. I'm performing too!"
Alabasta held particularly strong memories for Luffy among the islands he had visited. There was Crocodile, of course, but more importantly, there was Vivi, who had been their comrade. Not much time had passed since they parted ways, but he still missed her. Even so, he looked forward and continued his journey. That aside, hearing that Uta was performing in a concert made Luffy beam.
"You're doing a concert... You're really working hard, Uta!"
"Of course! But you're amazing too, Luffy! I saw your wanted poster. A hundred million Berries? You've become quite the villain, haven't you?"
Uta said this with narrowed eyes, though the corners of her mouth quirked into a smile.
A bounty exceeding one hundred million was rare. It was an amount typically reserved for those involved in major incidents, so Uta could imagine Luffy had done something significant... but the newspapers lacked details, so she didn't know exactly what. Still, she could sense that her childhood friend was steadily progressing towards his dream of becoming the Pirate King. She even had a copy of his wanted poster tacked up in her room like a regular poster.
"There's so much more I want to talk about... Are those people your friends, Luffy?"
"Yeah, they're my crew."
"I knew it! Thank you for always taking care of Luffy!"
"Not at all," Nami replied politely.
"I feel like we've had this exchange before..." Usopp muttered.
Uta bowed politely, and Sanji, Usopp, and Nami reflexively bowed back. Vaguely remembering a similar scene in Alabasta.
Usopp asked Luffy, "So who is she, anyway?"
"This is Uta! She's Shanks's daughter!"
"Right, Shanks's... Red-Haired Shanks's daughter!?!?"
Usopp and Sanji's eyes practically bulged out of their heads.
Nami and Sora also turned to Uta, jaws agape. They hadn't met Shanks personally, so they couldn't say for sure, but Sanji started mumbling, "Now that you mention it, she kinda looks like him... or maybe not..."
Since they weren't related by blood, it was natural they didn't resemble each other.
"I'm Uta. Luffy's childhood friend, and kinda like his big sister!"
"You're not my big sister."
"I'm older, so I am your big sister!"
"What did you say!?"
Their bickering was rather endearing. Nami sighed, shaking her head at their childish squabble.
"Hey, Luffy. We have somewhere to be!"
"Oh, right."
"Do you have errands?" Uta asked.
"We got some gold, so we're going to get it exchanged."
"Gold!?"
"Luffy, you idiot!!"
Usopp couldn't help but interject at Luffy's utter lack of discretion, pulling hard on his cheek. The boy had absolutely no sense of danger.
Uta looked surprised, but then seemed to find the situation amusing. "Can I come too?" she asked.
"Sure, why not?" Luffy replied.
"If she's affiliated with Twilight, meeting Kaie-san shouldn't be a problem," Sora reasoned.
"Then it's decided! Though, I've never met this Kaie person."
"You haven't!?" Usopp exclaimed.
After all, Uta had only arrived on the island the day before. Having rarely left Elegia, she had been captivated by the novelty of Midgard and had been wandering around curiously when she bumped into Luffy. Whether it was good luck or bad, her curiosity rivaled Luffy's.
"If you're like Luffy's big sister, does that mean you know Sabo too?" Usopp asked.
"? Who's Sabo?"
"You don't know him?"
"Luffy mentioned having older brothers... Have you never met them?" Nami inquired.
"Luffy, you have brothers? I thought you were an only child?" Sora asked, puzzled.
"I got them after Uta left," Luffy explained.
He had gained two older brothers after Uta's departure. Question marks exploded in Uta's mind at Luffy's incomprehensible statement. Usopp and the others looked similarly confused, but Luffy paid them no mind.
Instead, Uta's attention was caught by something else. "More importantly!" she declared, pointing sharply at the straw hat perched on Luffy's head.
"That straw hat! That's Shanks's, isn't it?"
"Shanks entrusted it to me."
Becoming the Pirate King was his primary goal, of course, but returning the straw hat to Shanks someday was another important objective of Luffy's journey.
"Hmm," Uta hummed, looking at Luffy with narrowed eyes. She seemed to have various thoughts running through her mind, but she didn't voice them. "Well, whatever," she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets, and followed Sora as the group started walking again.
"Anyway, why did you suddenly disappear back then?"
This was the one question that had bothered Luffy for years. Uta had been the musician of the Red Hair Pirates, sailing the seas with Shanks and the crew. Luffy had always begged to go along, but Shanks had never taken him seriously, sailing off and returning after a few months. That had been their routine. But one time, only Uta hadn't returned.
There had been nothing unusual about her when they set sail, but the faces of the returning Red Hair Pirates had been uniformly grim. When Luffy searched for Uta, Shanks had told him:
—Uta left the ship to pursue her own dream.
There had been no word of farewell. Luffy couldn't possibly accept Shanks's explanation just like that. He had gotten into a huge fight with Shanks... and although they eventually made up after a complicated series of events, the incident had remained lodged in the back of Luffy's mind ever since.
"Hmm... What did Shanks tell you?"
"That you left the ship to follow your dream."
"I see..."
Uta's expression shifted drastically from moments before, becoming incredibly troubled. Even her hair seemed to droop, reflecting her mood.
As she wrestled with what to say, Luffy seemed to sense her difficulty. "Well, it doesn't matter," he said nonchalantly.
"As long as you're doing okay now, that's enough. I don't need to know what happened between you and Shanks and the others."
"Luffy..." Uta stared at him, eyes wide.
Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, understanding this side of Luffy, exchanged small smiles. Sora smiled warmly, pleased by the trust between them.
Uta, however, pouted and kicked Luffy's shin. It didn't hurt him, being rubber, but the sudden impact made Luffy angry.
"What was that for!?"
"Don't get cheeky, Luffy! ...Seriously, where did you learn to act like that?"
The Luffy of the past wouldn't have been capable of this. He would have pried relentlessly, without any tact, and Uta had been agonizing over how to explain things, anticipating just that. But the Luffy standing before her now had considered her feelings and implicitly told her, "You don't have to talk about it."
Luffy had experienced many things Uta didn't know about. He wasn't the same boy she had bickered with back in Foosha Village. Uta was forced to understand this. Unsure how to put her feelings into words, she looked troubled and turned her face away, avoiding Luffy's gaze.
***
Midgard was vast. Partly built as a logistics hub, it boasted not only numerous warehouses of considerable size but also roads and buildings designed to accommodate giants without inconvenience. The island itself was quite expansive.
The warehouses lined the island's outer perimeter, with markets situated slightly further inland. The island's center housed administrative facilities and the residential district for its inhabitants. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was an unspoken rule that outsiders generally stayed away from the central area. Of course, expecting pirates visiting for the first time to adhere to such rules was futile, so entry into the residential district itself was typically restricted.
"There aren't many shops around here."
"We're near the residential area. You can find most necessities at the market, but since there are quite a few pirates there, the shops around here are mostly for the residents."
There might not be any rare finds, but daily necessities and groceries could usually be purchased nearby. This arrangement had likely been implemented due to past troubles arising from the scale difference with the giants and conflicts with pirates during the island's early days.
"Outsiders generally aren't allowed in the residential area. Well, the place we need to go is adjacent to it, but not inside, so we don't need to enter."
Following the path along the outer edge of the residential district, they saw an exceptionally large building at the island's center. Shaped like a castle, people commonly referred to it as the royal castle, though the island had no king. The appointed branch manager for Paradise, under Kanata, determined all policies.
Sora assumed Kaie would be there and was about to announce their arrival—when their path was blocked. Or rather, Uta's path was.
"Found you, Uta."
"We told you to wait quietly in your room. You naughty girl."
"Ugh..." Uta groaned.
"Who are you guys?" Luffy demanded.
Seeing Uta turn pale and hide behind him, Luffy stepped forward. Sandersonia and Marigold frowned at Luffy for interfering.
"And who are you?" Sandersonia asked.
"I'm Luffy. Uta's friend."
"You just arrived yesterday and already made a friend?" Marigold questioned.
"Ah, well. Luffy's an old friend, or rather, a childhood friend..." Uta stammered, her explanation trailing off awkwardly before the two sisters.
Usopp and Nami had already taken refuge behind Sanji, who watched the scene unfold, cigarette dangling from his lips. He could tell they meant Uta no harm, so he decided to observe for now.
"We are her escorts," Sandersonia stated.
"She's one of Twilight's precious songstresses. Escorts are only natural, wouldn't you agree?" Marigold added.
"Anyway, since you snuck out without permission, you'll have to face punishment."
"If our sister finds out you've been acting selfishly, we'll be the ones getting yelled at."
"But it looked like fun, and waiting in the room was boring..." Uta protested, pouting.
Sonia and Marigold glared, causing Uta to instinctively hide behind Luffy again. She was quite literally a frog being stared down by snakes.
"Never mind your excuses, get back to your room now. If Sister finds out you've been wandering around—"
"—If I find out, what is it, Sonia?"
Sonia jumped, startled by the voice coming from behind her. She and Marigold whirled around to see a woman standing there imposingly. Long black hair, a stunning figure. A woman who captivated all, young and old, male and female—the acting Empress of Kuja, Boa Hancock.
"To meet the Kuja Empress in a place like this..."
Sora's face twisted slightly. Tyrannical, selfish, self-centered... Hancock was beautiful and strong, but her personality was worse. As a subordinate of the Seven Warlords, she had no bounty, but her strength ranked among the top tier within Twilight. Causing trouble would likely result in being unilaterally beaten.
Hancock reacted to Sora's words, tilting her chin up in a condescending manner.
"Correct yourself. While I am the captain of the Kuja Pirates, I am not the Empress. That title belongs to the one who rules Kuja, the strongest and most beautiful—Kanata-sama."
"...Right, my apologies. I don't know much about you."
"Hmph. Do not forget, I am merely the acting empress."
Hancock stated this haughtily, her gaze looking down—in fact, she looked down so extremely that she ended up looking up at Sora.
Luffy and the others had never seen a woman quite so beautiful, nor one with such an overwhelming presence. Usopp was cowering behind Sanji, whimpering, "Scary."
"Wh-What a scary woman. Right, Sanji... Sanji?"
Usopp, who had been distracted by Hancock's presence, finally turned his attention to Sanji. Sanji had turned to stone.
"EHHHHHHHHH!? Why is he petrified!?" Usopp shrieked, his eyes and teeth practically popping out.
Nami, who had also been hiding behind Sanji, finally noticed upon hearing Usopp's cry. "Why!?" she exclaimed in shock.
Sora, Luffy, and Uta also stared, aghast. Sanji, petrified mid-swoon with hearts in his eyes, was an incredibly bizarre sight.
"The rumor about ships attacked by Kuja turning into silent stone statues... Was that your doing!?"
"What!?"
Sora remembers a rumor she had heard in the past and looked at Hancock with hostility.
Hearing this, Luffy also clenched his fist, revealing his hostility.
"You turned Sanji to stone! Change him back!!"
"I did nothing," Hancock stated flatly.
Sonia and Marigold knew the signs of Hancock activating her ability; they knew she couldn't petrify someone without any action. So, seeing the petrified Sanji only added to their confusion. Hancock herself could only be bewildered, being accused and targeted with hostility for something she hadn't done.
"Liar! Then why is Sanji petrified!?"
"I told you, I know not!!"
Hancock hadn't used her powers, so she was technically innocent, but she was the only one present capable of petrifying someone. Circumstantially, she was the culprit, yet she vehemently denied it.
Sonia and Marigold were equally baffled. "Why don't you just try releasing the power?" Sonia suggested.
Though furious, Hancock conceded it was the quickest way. She turned her palm upward and blew a gentle breath onto it.
"Awaken..."
As Hancock leaned close, blowing her breath towards Sanji—he cried out "Melting Love!!" contorted his body, and promptly turned back to stone.
"EHHHHHHHHH!? Why did he turn to stone again!?" Usopp screamed.
"It is not my fault!!" Hancock insisted.
As they were clamoring, a woman emerged from the royal castle before them. She had purple hair tied back at the nape of her neck and possessed a calm aura.
"...What is all this commotion?"
"Kaie-neesama! These people were disrespectful towards me!!"
Hancock whirled around, enraged, only to find Kaie's face already close. Kaie, being considerably taller than Hancock, bent down slightly, grasped Hancock's chin, and tilted her head up. Bringing her face close enough for her breath to touch Hancock's skin, Kaie whispered.
"You mustn't get so angry, Hancock. It ruins your beautiful face. You should be more graceful."
"Ah, Kaie-neesama... such..."
Hancock, who had been furious moments ago, became docile under Kaie's whispered words. Sonia and Marigold shrieked softly, covering their faces with their hands while peeking through their fingers.
Releasing the now-calm Hancock, Kaie straightened up and turned her gaze towards Luffy's group. There were many unfamiliar faces, but one she recognized. Kaie smiled warmly at Sora.
"Welcome back, Sora. I heard from Komurasaki. Apparently, you have business with me?"
"Y-Yes..."
Sora, still reeling from the rapid turn of events, blinked owlishly before handing the letter Komurasaki had entrusted to her to Kaie. Kaie accepted it without opening it and tucked it away.
"It's not appropriate to talk out here. Please, come inside first. Let us welcome you."
Smiling, Kaie gestured towards the royal castle, inviting them in.