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The final song—simple and pure.
Uta took a deep breath. Though every inhalation felt like breathing in shards of broken glass, the searing pain spreading from her lungs throughout her entire body.
The toxicity of the Sleepless Mushroom had long since penetrated her bone marrow, and Uta knew her time was running out.
But she still smiled.
That smile was light, faint…
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, all the madness, obsession, and pain had vanished from her gaze, leaving only an almost transparent gentleness and release.
At that moment, the music began.
No dazzling note armor, no enchanting magical fluctuations—just the simplest, clearest melody.
Uta's voice was soft, yet miraculously cut through all the chaos and noise, reaching the ears of everyone present.
The out-of-control civilians' fists, raised to strike each other, froze in midair.
A middle-aged woman stopped her attack, staring blankly at her dust-covered palms as tears suddenly welled up.
A young soldier lowered his gun, dropped to his knees, and his shoulders shook violently.
Uta's voice began to tremble; blood slid from the corner of her mouth and dripped onto her clothes…
But she kept singing, pouring every last ounce of her life into it.
She turned her head and looked at Shanks beside her.
This Red-Haired Emperor, who had dominated the seas for decades and struck fear into both the Marines and the other Emperors, now had tears filling his eyes. Tears rolled down his resolute face.
Uta gave him a weak yet brilliantly radiant smile.
Shanks wanted to say something, but no sound came out. He could only tightly grasp his daughter's cold hand.
Uta's vision began to blur, but she persisted and sang the final line.
The last note fell gently, like the final leaf of autumn drifting down.
Uta's body went limp and collapsed, like a fledgling bird with broken wings.
In the instant before she hit the ground, Shanks extended his right arm and caught her, pulling her tightly into his embrace.
His movements were so gentle—as if he were holding the most fragile treasure in the world.
At that very moment…
All the consciousnesses trapped in the illusion world returned to reality in full.
The illusion world completely dissipated, turning into countless points of light that rose toward the sky over Elegia.
The song of the new era, in this moment, reached its true, gentle finale.
In God Valley, a deathly silence reigned.
Pirates, Marines… everyone fell quiet at this moment, listening to that song that was the utmost in simplicity yet also the utmost in purity.
No energy fluctuations, no Devil Fruit powers—just a young girl singing her final melody with her life.
"No matter what… even though the whole process was completely wrong…"
Buckingham lay against Whitebeard's broad shoulder, her tone unusually heavy: "Uta's starting point… was ultimately good.
She wanted to bring laughter and joy to this cruel era. I think if she hadn't been prepared to go that far, she wouldn't have eaten the Sleepless Mushroom…"
"She really was… a stubborn girl."
Buckingham murmured to herself. She could hear too many emotions in the song—atonement, farewell, release, and a deeply hidden love for this world.
Little Shanks had stopped playing at some point and lay quietly in Gloriosa's arms.
Listening to Uta's song, his big eyes blinked, then slowly closed as he drifted into sweet slumber.
Only the faint trace of moisture at the corner of his eye remained, as if he too felt sorrow for Uta…
In the real world, on Elegia.
Uta's final song transformed into warm light that enveloped the entire island.
Every person returning from the illusion—whether pirate, Marine, or civilian—felt an unprecedented peace in that glow.
As if hypnotized, they slowly closed their eyes and fell into deep sleep.
In the very last moment before their consciousness fully returned to their bodies, Luffy saw Uta within the light.
Not the mad queen, not the obsessive diva, but the girl from their childhood in Windmill Village—the one who raced with him, pulled pranks with him.
"Luffy." Uta smiled and waved at him.
"Uta!"
Luffy walked slowly toward her, but his expression was unusually heavy…
The two chatted like that in the light—about the races in Windmill Village, about each other's embarrassing moments, about those old days that could never return.
As they talked, both of them began to laugh. After a brief silence, Uta produced the straw hat she had taken earlier and gently handed it back to Luffy.
"Here… I'm giving this back to you."
Uta softly placed the hat on Luffy's head, and then…
"Goodbye, Luffy."
"Yeah… goodbye, Uta."
The light faded. The irreversible ending arrived… everyone had returned.
Consciousness returned to bodies. Under the Marines' organization, the civilians evacuated in an orderly manner. The pirates gathered warily, and the Red Hair Pirates surrounded Shanks and Uta.
But Uta was beyond saving.
Her breathing was as faint as a candle flame in the wind, her face so pale it was nearly transparent.
Hongo knelt beside her, frantically checking, then shook his head in despair: "The poison has already reached her heart… even if we remake the antidote now, it's too late…"
Shanks held his daughter tightly, his arms constricting as if he could use his own body heat to hold back her fading life.
So what if he was an Emperor? So what if he wielded unmatched power and Haki? In this moment, he was simply a father…
"Shanks…" Uta spoke weakly, her voice barely audible.
"I'm sorry…"
Before she could finish, a piercing voice suddenly rang out from the distance.
"Alright, alright~ I think that's about enough…"
Borsalino's lazy voice sounded as he appeared above the ruins, hands in his pockets, yet his tone carried an undeniable threat: "Time to hand Uta over to us, right? This 'extreme evildoer' who tried to destroy the world~"
With his words, the elite Marines led by Fujitora surged in from all directions. Countless gun barrels aimed at the Red Hair Pirates as cold killing intent spread.
The atmosphere instantly grew taut; battle could erupt at any second.
The entire Red Hair Pirates snapped into combat readiness.
Beckman clenched his cigarette between his teeth, eyes sharp as blades. Lucky Roux gripped his fists tightly. Yasopp's finger was already on the trigger…
Everyone stared coldly at Borsalino and Fujitora.
And Shanks slowly raised his head.
He said nothing, simply handing Uta gently to his side before looking at the two Admirals…
In that instant, the air across all of Elegia seemed to freeze.
"This child…"
Shanks's voice was calm, yet it carried the weight of mountains: "is my daughter, the most important family member of our Red Hair Pirates."
After he spoke, red-black energy clashed in the surroundings, cracks spiderwebbing across the ground…
"If you still insist on taking her away…"
Shanks's gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp: "then come with the resolve to die."
The moment the words fell—
BOOM!!!
Conqueror's Haki erupted like a dormant volcano awakening!!!
Red-black lightning-like Haki exploded outward from Shanks as the center, raging in all directions!
This was no ordinary Conqueror's Haki—it was condensed to the extreme, nearly tangible intimidation!
"Ugh!"
The nearest Marine soldiers didn't even have time to scream; they collapsed in droves, eyes rolling back.
Even veterans like Onigumo changed color dramatically, gritting their teeth and straining to hold on, veins bulging on their foreheads.
The lazy smile vanished from Borsalino's face.
He narrowed his eyes, feeling the Haki pressure that seemed capable of tearing space itself, and his expression grew grave: "That's… really terrifying~"
Though blind, Fujitora sensed it even more keenly.
He "looked" toward Shanks, his staff-sword trembling slightly—not from fear, but from an instinctive reaction to that utterly pure "kingly aura."
Under Shanks's icy death stare and terrifying Haki pressure, Fujitora slowly sheathed his blade.
Borsalino shrugged and gradually lowered the hand he had raised to fire a laser.
"Stand down… there are still civilians nearby…"
Fujitora drawled. Borsalino nodded as well. They could fight, but without orders from above, even Admirals couldn't suddenly wage war on an Emperor!
Outside the light screen, the powerhouses in God Valley witnessed Shanks unleashing his full Haki, their expressions varied.
Many of the weaker pirates, even separated by time, space, and the screen, were still shaken by the aftershock of that Haki—trembling, drenched in cold sweat.
"Quite an impressive Conqueror's Haki."
Rocks grinned, his gaze shifting to the sleeping infant Shanks in Gloriosa's arms. There was no mockery in his eyes—only pure appreciation.
"Roger, you really picked up a treasure. That level of Conqueror's… it's worthy of recognition."
"Hahahahaha!"
Roger burst into hearty laughter, pride overflowing: "Who knows, maybe this kid will end up even stronger than me someday! Hahahahaha!"
Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban also smiled, looking at the baby in the swaddling who would one day shake the world, their eyes full of gratification.
Big Mom and Kaido's expressions were far more complicated. They looked at the commanding Red-Haired Emperor on the screen, then at the tiny infant now sucking his thumb in sleep, and for a moment felt dazed.
Whitebeard, on the other hand, took it in stride. He had never cared much for titles or status; he simply laughed boldly: "Gurararara! The younger generation is fearsome!"
But where some rejoiced, others raged.
"That's my son! MY son!!!"
Saint Garling nearly ground his back teeth to pieces. He stared at the majestic Shanks on the screen, then at the two sons "stolen" by the Roger Pirates, rage and unwillingness surging wildly within him.
With such talent in Shanks, Shamrock surely wouldn't fall short.
These two sons—who should have become top combatants of the God's Knights and brought supreme glory to the Figarland family—had instead become "spoils" for pirates!
...