Luffy and the others worked together, trying to stop Uta from continuing her actions.
But within the Song-Song World, Uta possessed almost limitless creative power, practically "omnipotent."
This kind of wish-fulfilling ability, without decisive combat power to counter it, made it nearly impossible to defeat Uta head-on.
Even Orin wasn't sure—if he were to activate spatial annihilation now, whether it would simply shred Uta into a pile of musical notes, fundamentally failing to cause any real damage.
As the standoff continued,
Uta began preparing to end everything.
In reality, she raised a small knife, about to stab the unconscious Luffy.
But a hand blocked it.
"Shanks..."
"Why..."
"I suddenly felt like hearing you sing again after so long."
Uta, already lost in her own world and unable to pull herself out, only froze for a moment before bursting into wild laughter like an Uchiha.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"I and the fans of the world are about to welcome a new era!!!"
"But before that, I still want to settle things with you."
Red-Hair calmly watched his own daughter rebel, not taking it too seriously, his eyes full of indulgent affection.
After all, no matter how much Uta caused trouble, what could she possibly do to him?
"Boom—!!!"
At that moment, a massive explosion sounded from afar.
Shanks suddenly looked over. Two figures wearing Marine cloaks flew out from the smoke, rolling several times on the ground before stabilizing themselves and standing up.
"This is..."
Beckman was slightly shocked as he recognized their appearances.
"Kizaru, and Fujitora?!!!"
The somewhat disheveled pair also noticed the gaze of the Red-Haired Pirates, a trace of barely noticeable embarrassment appearing on their faces.
But thinking of the one who caused all this, they quickly felt justified.
"Yo~"
"Didn't expect the Red-Haired Pirates to be here too. Are you here to help the Marines share the firepower?"
Kizaru said with a crooked smile.
"If it's infighting among pirates, it might reduce a lot of unnecessary casualties."
Fujitora gave himself a reason.
At first, Shanks and the others didn't understand what they meant, but they quickly did—because of the tall figure walking out of the smoke, eyes closed.
"Orin?!!!"
Shanks' eyes widened. Since the Summit War, they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
But his condition?
"Whoosh—"
A black beam suddenly shot out. Shanks' Observation Haki was sharp enough to react instantly—he dodged to the side, but a few strands of his red hair were still cut off.
"This is?!!!"
The Red-Haired Pirates were shocked, immediately going on guard. Shanks himself grew serious, gripping his sword tightly.
"Has he lost consciousness?"
Beckman noticed Orin's tightly shut eyes and seemed to realize something. The cigarette fell from his mouth to the ground.
"Even someone like Orin was taken by Uta..."
"Hey!!! Uta!!!"
"Orin used to take great care of you!!!"
In response to the questioning, Uta still wore a rebellious expression.
"Yeah!!!"
"That's exactly why I'm bringing him with me into the new era!!!"
"Damn it..."
Facing Orin, the Red-Haired Pirates no longer had their previous calmness and composure.
Shanks drew his blade first. The sword light of [Gryphon] collided with [Ace], triggering a massive storm of black and red lightning.
A vast amount of Conqueror's Haki clashed violently, the entire world seeming to turn into purgatory as the ground continuously shattered.
Shanks clenched his teeth tightly, cold sweat appearing on his mature face as he shouted toward Uta:
"Uta!!!"
"This has gone too far!!!"
"You should understand—if Orin's power is abused, what kind of catastrophe this world will face!!!"
Even though Orin's body under Uta's control didn't display the overwhelming dominance of its original master, it was still terrifying—let alone the yet unreleased [Music Demon King]…
The Marines also understood that relying solely on the Red-Haired Pirates to stop Orin would be difficult, so they joined the battle as well.
The situation descended into chaos.
In the Song-Song World, everyone fought against the nearly omnipotent Uta.
In the real world, everyone fought against the nearly unbeatable Orin.
The situation fell into a stalemate filled with tension and despair.
At that moment, a pirate ship with a clown-faced figurehead slowly docked at Elegia.
Two figures stood at the bow, observing the distant battlefield.
The thunderous roars echoed across the sky—it was impossible not to notice.
The swordsman carrying a massive black blade narrowed his eyes, watching the clash of black and red slashes in the distance.
"That is… Orin's slash?"
"We saw on the live broadcast that Orin was trapped in the Song-Song World before we came,"
"So why is Orin fighting?"
Crocodile held a cigar, frowning slightly.
"It looks like the battle is quite intense. Is there really someone in this world who can match that guy?"
"That slash belongs to Red-Hair."
Mihawk gave the answer. As a swordsman who loved challenging strong opponents, he was very familiar with that power.
At this moment, Buggy floated out angrily, flames of rage burning in his eyes.
"What the hell?!!!"
"No matter what, we came to rescue Orin, didn't we!!!"
"Shanks, you bastard!!!"
The Cross Guild joined the battlefield, making the real-world Elegia even more lively.
Not long after them, a fleet of extremely luxurious ships also slowly docked. An old man with crescent-shaped hair led a group of knights as they landed on the island.
"Is it Shanks?"
Garling raised his gaze, sensing that power—and Orin's presence.
Shamrock followed behind him, his expression growing serious.
It seemed this operation wouldn't be simple…
...
In another direction, unlike the Cross Guild and the God's Knights moving in groups, a lone figure arrived at Elegia with a cane.
He narrowed his eyes, sensing something. All he could hear were sounds of pain…
"Creating a new world with one's own power?"
Toward such an idealistic grand goal, this elegant nobleman who had just regained his youth showed a hint of approval—and a hint of regret.
As someone who could hear the voices of hearts, he resonated most with pure souls. But such a goal was destined to be impossible.
He came here only because one of his subordinates—a raccoon—was trapped in the Song-Song World.
...
Numerous powerful figures gathered, all to stop Uta from overturning the world.
And the figure standing before them…
Was more like an insurmountable mountain.
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