At this moment, the concert stage on Elegia was no longer an ocean of song and laughter, but a powder keg ready to explode.
The instant Rehn's words, "Are you available now?" fell, the Elegia Guard stationed at the side of the stage finally reacted.
"Outrageous!!!"
A furious roar came from behind the curtains.
"Where did this madman come from?! How dare you kidnap Miss Uta?!"
"Protect the diva!!"
"Charge!!"
With the clanging of armor, dozens of royal guards in fine armor, wielding spears and swords, surged onto the stage like a bursting flood.
Though they feared the lightning strike from earlier, duty forced them to charge at the round, stout man.
Below the stage, the tens of thousands of spectators, who had fallen into brief silence after the sound system exploded, were reignited when they saw the guards rush forward.
"Get off the stage, Marines!"
"Don't touch Uta-chan!!"
"We want music, not violence!!"
The crowd grew restless. Glow sticks, water bottles, even shoes Rehnd down toward Rehn and Sanji like a storm.
Faced with overwhelming hostility, Sanji simply took an elegant drag from his cigarette. He even had time to fix his wind-blown hair, his eyes still glued to Uta in infatuation, as if the chaos around him didn't exist.
As for Rehn…
He slowly turned his head, looking at the charging guards and the boiling crowd.
In his narrowed eyes, there was no panic, only extreme irritation at having his work interrupted by inefficient "noise."
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue.
"What a bunch of… lowly creatures who don't understand what 'quiet' means."
He didn't even move his feet. He simply raised his right hand and lightly pointed his chubby index finger at the leading guard captain.
"Ten Million Volts."
Zzzzt!!
Without warning, a blinding blue arc of electricity shot from his fingertip, instantly striking the captain's breastplate.
Metal conducts electricity.
And in such a dense formation, human bodies became the perfect conductors.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
The captain let out a single scream before his entire body erupted with sparks, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
The current spread like a living serpent, coursing through armor and weapons, instantly transmitting to everyone behind him!
Crackle!
A series of scalp-numbing electric bursts exploded across the stage!
Dozens of guards fell like dominoes in an instant, smoking, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, without even touching the hem of Rehn's clothes.
Clang! Clang!
Weapons clattered to the ground.
In just one second, aside from Uta, Rehn, and Sanji, not a single person remained standing on the stage.
The air filled with the smell of burning.
"This…"
Uta's heterochromatic eyes widened as she covered her mouth in disbelief.
'The guards weren't top-tier fighters, but they were still well-trained soldiers… and they couldn't even last a second?'
Yet this display of thunderous power did not deter the frenzied fans.
Instead, after a brief shock, the crowd erupted into even greater panic and rage!
"Murder!!"
"The Marines are killing people!!"
"That fat man is a demon!!"
"Everyone, charge! Save Miss Uta!!"
The crowd completely lost control.
Tens of thousands roared together, louder than the concert itself. People in the back pushed forward, trying to break through the barriers like a zombie tide rushing the stage.
Chaos, screams, cries, curses, all kinds of noise intertwined, deafening the open-air venue.
Rehn stood at the center of the stage, listening to the noise that could burst eardrums.
His face… completely darkened.
Not just darkened, distorted with fury.
He slowly took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
"Lord Renzo's nap time… less than two hours left."
His voice was cold as ice.
"And you insects… are wasting my precious time, creating noise that might wake him."
"Unforgivable."
He suddenly raised his head. His narrow eyes snapped open, no longer black and white, but pure, radiant golden lightning!
"If you won't shut up…"
He slowly spread his arms. His butler suit fluttered violently despite the still air.
"Then I'll let the sky… teach you what 'silence' means!!!"
"Rumble Weather Control."
"Thunder God: Gloomy Sky Curtain!!"
BOOOOOMMMMM!!!
A thunderclap like something from primordial times exploded above everyone's heads!
This was no ordinary thunder.
It carried a terrifying pressure, like a hammer smashing into every heart!
"W-what's happening?!"
"T-the sky… it's gone dark?!"
The crowd looked up in terror.
The once-clear skies above Elegia had been replaced by suffocating storm clouds!
Not natural black, but a strange dark purple, with golden lightning writhing like dragons within!
Crackle! Crackle!!
Day turned instantly into night.
Only the lightning tearing through the sky illuminated tens of thousands of pale, terrified faces.
The air pressure dropped sharply.
Static electricity filled the air, making everyone's hair stand on end.
A primal fear, called "natural disaster", gripped every throat.
"If you don't stay quiet…"
Rehn's voice, amplified by the thunderclouds, became vast and divine, like a god speaking from the heavens:
"I will level this place… to the ground."
BOOM!!!
A lightning bolt as thick as a barrel struck the ground before the audience, blasting a ten-meter-wide crater!
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The roaring crowd was instantly muted, as if someone had pressed a button.
Tens of thousands froze mid-motion, not daring to breathe.
Some even collapsed in fear, wetting themselves.
They stared at the man bathed in lightning,
Like a demon god.
This… was not human power.
This was a Logia monster.
"Good."
Rehn's expression softened back into a gentle smile.
He clapped his hands lightly.
"Much better. Efficient."
"Silence is the greatest respect for art, isn't it?"
He turned to Uta.
Her face was pale.
'This man… he wasn't joking.'
If anyone made a sound, he really would strike them with lightning.
"Miss Uta."
Rehn made another polite gesture.
"The environment now meets VIP standards."
"Please."
"Don't keep Lord Renzo waiting."
Uta bit her lip, glancing at her trembling fans, then at the storm above.
She knew she had no choice.
"I… understand."
Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to stay composed.
"I'll go with you… but please don't hurt them."
"Of course."
Rehn smiled.
"As long as they remain this quiet, I am a very reasonable pacifist."
Under the fearful, despairing gazes of tens of thousands,
Under the storm-filled sky,
The world's greatest diva, Uta, like a princess taken by a demon, followed the fat man and the curly-browed man down the stage… toward the harbor… toward that massive black warship.
No one dared to stop them.
No one dared to speak.
Only after they disappeared, and the storm clouds slowly dispersed…
Did suppressed sobbing begin to echo through the crowd.
…
Meanwhile, in a shadowed corner of the venue, two cloaked figures clung to the wall, drenched in cold sweat.
"T-that just now…"
One lifted his hood slightly, revealing a sweating face behind sunglasses.
It was Rockstar, a rookie of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit… the strongest among Logia…"
The other spoke in a low voice.
He was Benn Beckman, the Red-Haired Pirates' intelligence officer.
Even the Den Den Mushi in his hand trembled.
"That fat man… isn't just a Devil Fruit user."
"In that instant… the aura he released… that was Haki!"
"And that level of Observation Haki… and fruit mastery…"
"He's just as strong as the rumors say."
"A monster like that… is only a butler under Haiiroyo?!"
They exchanged looks, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
They had been sent by Shanks to secretly protect Uta.
They thought that as long as they didn't encounter Admirals or Yonko-level threats, they could handle anything.
But now… that overwhelming dominance made one thing clear:
If they had stepped out earlier, they'd be no different from the fallen guards.
"This is bad… this is huge!"
Rockstar wiped his sweat.
"Miss Uta has been taken! And by G-5!"
"We must report to the boss immediately!"
Beckman quickly dialed the Den Den Mushi connected to the Red Force.
purupuru puru
The call connected.
A lazy, carefree voice came through.
"Yeah? Is Uta's concert over? Was it great? Hahaha!"
"Boss!! Something's wrong!!"
Beckman shouted urgently, "Uta… Uta has been taken!!"
"…What?"
The laughter instantly vanished.
In its place, a terrifying pressure.
"Who did it?"
"G-5 Marines! The men of Haiiroyo!"
"They suppressed the entire concert! That fat butler… even changed the weather!"
"They said… they're taking Uta to sing a private performance for Renzo!!"
…
Silence fell on the other end.
"Haiiroyo… Renzo…"
Shanks' voice turned low, heavy with anger.
"They took my daughter… to sing for them…"
"Good."
"It's time… we pay our new neighbor a visit."
"Turn the ship!!"
Shanks' voice roared through the Den Den Mushi.
"Destination, G-5!!"