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After the rescue efforts were complete, Hannabal slowly returned to a state of normalcy.
The municipal hall issued a statement explaining that the widespread fainting incident had been caused by the clash of two powerful individuals, a psychic shockwave that had overwhelmed the populace. All injuries and damages would be compensated.
This served to calm the people's nerves.
Of course, even if they were still upset, they wouldn't dare to cause any trouble. A single clash that had knocked out an entire island of people... you didn't have to be a genius to understand the level of power they were dealing with.
Make a fuss? Were you trying to get yourself killed?
In a world like this, there was an unwritten rule: the strong are the law.
"Tot Musica was... purified?"
Shanks listened as Uta explained why she had left the island.
Jin had found Elegia.
And he had risked his own life to solve the Tot Musica problem.
"Yeah," Uta said. She opened her small hand, and a translucent, yet solid, music box appeared, slowly rotating. A crisp, pleasant melody filled the air, dreamlike and enchanting.
"This is the new Tot Musica," she said. "It will bring happy, joyful music to the world."
Shanks blinked. It was hard to connect this small, crystal music box with that ferocious monster.
"What does it do?" he asked. He guessed that Tot Musica was the awakened form of the Sing-Sing Fruit. He'd never seen anything like it.
"When I use it," Uta explained, "it brings the consciousness of everyone in the world who hears my song into another space. In that space, all matter is controlled by my voice. But... people with strong wills or Haki, like the King, can resist or are immune to my ability."
Shanks was surprised. It sounded... average.
But... "Their consciousness goes into another space... what about their bodies?"
"They fall unconscious."
An image immediately flashed in Shanks's mind: on a battlefield, Uta sings a song, and entire armies fall to the ground. The other side, the one that's prepared, that can't hear her song, can then just... slaughter them.
Uta, with her kind heart, would never do something like that.
But that king...
He had gone looking for her with a clear purpose. Was this part of his plan?
A flicker of worry sparked in Shanks's heart.
He glanced at Uta.
When she spoke of the king, her eyes lit up.
It was clear that she had... special feelings for the man who had saved her, who had defeated Tot Musica and helped her achieve her dream.
Even so, he couldn't just come out and say it. Uta wasn't a child anymore. She had her own judgment, her own feelings.
And how could he be the one to shatter this long-overdue happiness?
"Oh, by the way," Uta said, her voice suddenly changing, perfectly mimicking Luffy's, "Luffy told me to tell you that he's coming for you soon. 'I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!'"
She burst into a peel of silvery laughter.
Finally seeing Shanks, all her pent-up emotions were released. Her last lingering resentment was gone.
She was the same lively, mischievous girl she had always been.
"Luffy?" Shanks smiled, but a note of caution entered his voice. "Did you go to Foosha Village after you left?"
He had a lot riding on that kid.
"Yeah," Uta nodded. "And a lot of other places. Shimotsuki Village, Shells Town, Orange Town, Syrup Village... Oh, and I met Yasopp's son there. Yasopp's wife was really sick, but the King's doctor saved her. I even lent them some money. Yasopp has been out at sea with you guys for so many years. He should really go home and see them. He's not being a very good husband or father."
Shanks rubbed his nose, embarrassed.
"We're a Yonko crew now," he said. "We're being watched closely. Yasopp wants to go back, but if he's seen, it could bring them a lot of trouble. He's doing it for his family."
"Hmph," Uta said. "'It's for your own good,' 'it's for the family,' 'I'm thinking of you'... that's what you adults always say. But you don't understand. What's more important than being with your family?"
She was at that rebellious age, and having been abandoned for the same reason, it was a phrase she particularly hated.
"She's right, you know," Jin said, walking over and interrupting their reunion. "A Yonko crew is supposed to be the freest in the world, right? So why don't you have the freedom to go see your families? Is that really freedom? Or has it become a heavy shackle, trapping you without you even realizing it?"
Shanks shot him a look. "What's it to you?"
"Fine," Jin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "How you live your lives, whether you abandon your wives and children, your daughters... it's none of my business."
He then produced a bill. "This is for the damages from your little... clash. We'll split it, fifty-fifty. Fair's fair, right?"
"Huh??" Shanks was dumbfounded.
"What, a Yonko isn't going to pay his debts? You break things, and you don't pay for them?" Jin said, meeting his gaze.
The two of them were about to go at it again when Uta snatched the bill from his hand.
"This was my fault. I'll pay for it. If you two go at it again, I'll have to pay even more. So please, have a little pity on my wallet."
"Heh," Jin chuckled. "Some people are just poor. A Yonko, and he's going to make his daughter pay."
"I, on the other hand, am not."
Shanks leaped to his feet and snatched the bill from Uta. "Who says I can't pay, you bastard!" He glanced at the bill. It started with a "3," followed by a string of zeros. His eyes widened. "Three hundred million Berries?? Are you robbing me?"
"The manor alone was worth fifty or sixty million," Jin said calmly. "And then there's the other buildings that were damaged by fire and explosions, the medical expenses for the injured, their lost wages, their emotional distress, the hazard pay for the rescue workers... is 300 million really that much?"
Shanks was speechless.
"If you don't have that kind of cash on hand," Jin continued, "I can cover it for you. You can pay me back in gold, silver, or Devil Fruits. Just don't forget the interest."
"I can help," Uta said.
But Shanks's pride wouldn't allow it. He couldn't lose face, especially not in front of Uta.
"It's just 300 million," he huffed. "You just wait."
He went to find Mihawk and borrowed the money from him.
Mihawk may have been a loner, but he was also secretly loaded. After all, it takes money to maintain a certain level of elegance. And with his status, making money was easy. He could just go lop off a few pirate heads.
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With the money paid, Jin stopped bothering Shanks and let him and Uta have their reunion. He had other matters to attend to.
Two days later.
Shocking news came from the New World.
Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords, who had been sent to subjugate the Spade Pirates, had been crushingly defeated by Ace.
The news sent shockwaves through the world.
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Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders were furious.
The successive defeats of the Warlords had led to a questioning of their value among the nations of the world.
It meant that the balance they had created—the balance between the Warlords, the Yonko, and the Marines—was no longer so stable.
The "peace" of the World Government was becoming fragile.
"Hanafuda can no longer be allowed to hold the title of Warlord. He has disgraced the name."
"His strength is insufficient. Strip him of his title."
"And not just that. Execute him. Every day he is allowed to live is another day of shame for the World Government."
In their rage, the Five Elders decided Hanafuda's fate in a few short sentences.
"What about his vacant seat?"
"Our private offer to Ace was rejected..."
"Who else is suitable?"
The Five Elders frowned. They had discussed revoking Hanafuda's title after his defeat by Jin. They had secretly contacted the rising star, Ace, but he had snubbed them. And Morgans had published the story. That's why they had sent Hanafuda after him.
In the original story, Ace had defeated Hanafuda in Paradise, and he had been invited to become a Warlord then. But with Jin's appearance, Hanafuda had been defeated first, and had returned to Wano to recuperate, missing his chance to fight Ace.
The process had changed slightly, but the result was largely the same.
"What about that king?" one of them suggested.
"Hm? Jin?"
"Yes."
"But he's the king of a member nation..."
"So what? Isn't Doflamingo the king of Dressrosa? The Warlords are an institution meant to balance the Marines and the Yonko. I don't see why only pirates should be allowed to join. And if he were to join, it would appease the kings who are questioning the system and help us save face."
"The man who defeated a Warlord... becomes a Warlord? It's worth considering."
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