She stands inside Elegia's palace concert hall. On stage, young Uta sings, her voice climbing to the gilded rafters. Every seat is packed, the crowd roaring its approval. Jannali makes her way down the center aisle, heels ringing on marble, and halts when she spots Shanks and Beckman watching from the wings.
The final note rings out. Applause thunders through the hall. Uta skips over to Shanks and Beckman, cheeks pink with delight.
The memory ripples.
Elegia burns. Uta floats above the rooftops as Tot Musica tears its way into the world. The Red Hair Pirates hurl themselves at the entity until it fades. Uta crumples. Gordon cradles her limp body against his chest while Shanks and his crew sail away into the smoke.
Jannali's stomach turns. "Crikey. They just left her here. Didn't even twig that demon was runnin' the whole show."
The scene smears and re-forms.
Young Uta pounds her small fists against pod glass while men in lab coats tap at their consoles, indifferent. Her blows weaken. Her eyes roll closed.
Jannali's hands curl into fists. "If I ever see those mongrels, they're going to cop absolute hell."
The memory buckles once more.
Now she stands on the deck of the Red Force. Not a soul aboard. The ship drifts without wind or heading, and the horizon is smeared in shades of plum and bruise.
Jannali turns a slow circle. "Oi, anyone there?"
Quick, light footsteps patter somewhere behind her. Jannali follows them. A small figure darts out of sight around the corner.
Jannali softens her voice. "Hey, I'm here to give you a hand. Come on out."
Without warning, Tot Musica's face blazes across her vision, and Jannali reels backward.
She blinks.
The lab snaps back into place around her.
---
Law sees her eyes refocus. His voice is taut with effort. "Well?"
Jannali shakes her head. "I've spotted her, but she's properly bogged. Can't winch her out on me own."
Law clicks his tongue. "I need to change her position."
Jannali gives a quick nod. With a twitch of Law's fingers, Uta drifts down to the floor.
"Marya always reckoned her old man would be the one who'd have to get ahold of her."
Shanks doesn't hesitate. He kneels beside his daughter. He lays a broad hand on her stomach. He looks up at Law and Jannali. "Will this do?"
Jannali stands and rests a hand on Shanks' shoulder. "Yeah, mate."
Law gives the go-ahead with a curt dip of his chin.
Hongo hurries over, two fingers pressed to Uta's wrist, already hunting for a vein.
Law addresses them both. "As soon as you have her, I can pull the entity from her physical body. She is stable for now."
---
Shanks and Jannali stand on the deck of the Red Force. The ship is deserted, adrift beneath that same bruise-colored sky.
Jannali cups her hands around her mouth. "G'day. I know you're here. Brought your old man with me." She glances to Shanks. "Give her a shout, mate."
Shanks searches the horizon, then the bare planks at his feet. "Uta. Uta, where are you?"
Tiny feet patter past. Shanks whirls, searching. A slight figure vanishes around a corner.
Shanks gives chase. "Uta. It's me!"
He pulls up short as a head crowned in red and white peeks around the bulkhead.
Shanks' voice gentles. "Uta."
Young Uta's voice comes out thin and wary. "Is it really you?"
Shanks sinks to one knee, bringing his eyes level with hers. "Yes, it's me. I came for you."
Only her eyes show past the edge of the bulkhead, round and uncertain. "Are you sure?"
Shanks holds her gaze. "Yes, I am sure."
The little girl's lower lip wobbles. "Why did you leave me?"
Shanks' throat works. Guilt digs in beneath his ribs like a splinter. "I am sorry for that, Uta. We didn't know. We thought you would learn to sing and be able to live your dream. We were wrong."
Still tucked behind the bulkhead, Uta sniffles. "There were scary men and there is this scary demon."
Shanks' expression darkens. "I know. We came to take you away from this place. To free you from the demon."
He opens his arms wide. "Come to me and I will take you away from here."
A wet, hopeful hiccup. "Promise?"
Shanks answers without a heartbeat's pause. "Yes. I won't ever leave you again."
The scene dissolves and reassembles.
Uta is a teenager now, alone on the stage of Elegia's empty stadium. Jannali hangs back behind Shanks, third eye blazing as she holds the connection steady.
Shanks faces her across the boards. Uta clasps her hands behind her back, her gaze sliding to her shoes. "I remember everything. Everything my clones experience, I experience too."
Uta turns toward the palace, a grin tugging at her mouth. "Marya and Luffy are fighting them right now. Marya said she would bring you back here."
Her eyes return to Shanks. "I didn't believe her."
One corner of Shanks' mouth hooks upward. "She is stubborn like her old man."
Uta laughs softly. "She really is. I can't believe she even found me."
Shanks extends a hand. "Come on, Uta. Let's go home. Everyone is waiting for you."
Her eyes fill and shine. "I have been waiting for so long for this. I imagined it so many times."
Uta scrubs away a stray tear with the heel of her hand.
Shanks speaks quietly. "You don't have to imagine it anymore. Let's go home."
Uta nods. Her fingers stretch toward his. She takes a step forward—
The world tilts.
A churning black vortex yawns open behind her and drags her backward into its throat. "SHANKS!"
Shanks lunges after her. His fingers close on empty air. Uta is gone.
Shanks whips his head around. Behind him, Jannali is snapping Gosan together into a spear. "Oh, rack off."
Shanks follows her line of sight.
Tot Musica fills the horizon, its colossal bulk towering over the Elegia Colosseum.
Shanks fixes the demon king with a cold stare. Griffon hisses free of its sheath.
---
In the lab, Hongo crouches over Uta's motionless form, fingertips pressed to her throat.
Sweat trickles down Law's temple as he works the implanted devices free of her body, one by one.
Hongo's head snaps up. "Dammit!"
Beckman steps closer. "What is it?"
Hongo tears through his bag. "Her pulse is erratic."
Law's voice is flat and grim. "She is going into shock."
Bepo whimpers. "What do we do?"
Sanza scrambles forward. His body stretches and swells into his Devil Fruit form—a white tiger crowned with golden horns, three tails streaming behind him. "I can help!"
Hongo, instrument raised, freezes. Sanza has planted both paws on Uta's chest, and they shine with a soft golden radiance.
Hongo sets the instrument aside. He feels for her pulse again. Slowly, the tension drains from his shoulders.
Law lets out a breath. "Whatever he's doing, it's working."
---
Sanza blinks into existence in the throne room of Elegia's castle—back in his human form. He spins on his heel.
"How did I—? Where is this?"
A shadow shifts at the edge of his vision. His head snaps toward it. "Show yourself!"
A girlish giggle answers.
Sanza squints into the gloom. "Eliane?"
Young Uta pops her head out from behind the throne. "No, silly. I am Uta!"
Sanza stares, head tilting. "You are smaller."
Uta snickers. "So are you. Why did you shrink?"
Sanza huffs. "I did no such thing. I do not shrink."
Uta taps a thoughtful finger against her lip. "Shanks?"
Sanza draws himself up, deeply offended. "I am no such person. I am his nephew."
Uta's brow wrinkles as she works it through. "You are his..."
Sanza puffs out his chest and plants a thumb against it. "I am the next Supreme Commander!"
Uta gives him a blank look. "The next what?"
The room lurches. Both children windmill their arms, fighting for balance, and lose—toppling into a tangle of elbows and knees.
Sanza groans. "What was that?"
Uta rolls off him. "It's Shanks. When I tried to go with him, the demon king pulled me away."
Sanza props himself up on his elbows. "And now you are here."
Uta settles back on her heels. "Yeah. I don't know how I got here, though."
Sanza gets to his feet and crosses to a window. Far below, arcs of Haki carve through the air toward the Demon King, which twists aside from each strike.
Uta pads over beside him, and together they peer through the glass.
Sanza squares his shoulders. "We should find our way down there."
Uta hesitates. "But it might happen again."
Sanza turns to her with a confident grin. "I am with you now, and you are my cousin."
A shy smile curves Uta's lips.
Sanza offers his hand. "I won't let anything bad happen. That's the Supreme Commander's job."
Uta giggles and laces her fingers through his.
In a heartbeat, they are standing on the stage of the Elegia Colosseum.
---
Jannali tucks and rolls across the deserted stage. "Flamin' heck! It's having a lend of us!"
Shanks unleashes another crescent of Haki. "We need to find Uta. I don't know what effect beating this thing will have on her."
Jannali opens her mouth to answer just as Sanza and Uta flicker into view.
Jannali nearly fumbles her spear. "Oi! What're ya doin' 'ere?"
Shanks looks back. A smirk spreads across his face at the sight of Sanza clutching Uta's hand.
Sanza explains in a rush. "I was helping her in the lab, and then found her in the castle."
Shanks gives an approving nod. "Good job, kid."
Sanza juts out his chin. "I don't need praise from you!" His cheeks burn pink anyway.
Shanks bites back a laugh. "Of course not. But don't let go of her hand until we are out of here."
Sanza steals a glance at Uta, who is beaming. He tightens his grip. "Right!"
A roar shakes the Colosseum. Every head turns as Tot Musica plunges toward the stage.
Crimson light flares in Shanks' eyes. He sinks lower into his stance