Uta suddenly bowed deeply towards the distance, "Th-thank you very much, Four Emperors, for saving me!"
Kaido heard it from afar and snorted two streams of steam from his nose: "Worororororo! Little girl, if you want to thank me, sing me 'Binks' Sake'!"
As he spoke, he suddenly ripped open his raspy throat and howled a few lines himself, instantly collapsing half a ruin.
"Shut up, you stinky old man!" Yamato yelled, then gave Uta an awkward smile, "Well... do you want to come back to Wano Country with us? Onigashima's karaoke equipment is the latest model!"
Uta gently shook her head, her pearl-white hair scattering like dandelions in the scorched earth wind.
"Thank you..." Her fingertips brushed the faded musical note necklace on her chest, "But this island has long been my only home."
Suddenly, all the Den Den Mushi turned in unison towards the coastline; Red-Haired Shanks was walking over the waves, the dragon pattern on his cloak glowing blood-red in the setting sun.
He stopped ten paces away, the shadow cast by his Straw Hat's brim obscuring his trembling pupils.
"Uta..." His Adam's apple bobbed three times before he could force out a sound, his agate ring deeply embedded in his palm, "These years..."
"What is Red Hair doing here?" Uta suddenly spun around, the hem of her diva dress drawing a decisive arc, "Pirates are not welcome here—especially a great figure like you."
Each word was like an ice pick, yet tiny cracks appeared at the end of each syllable.
Shanks suddenly dropped to one knee on the scorched earth, a movement that made all the surrounding pirates gasp.
"I'm sorry..." He tore off his cloak, letting it fall into the sewage, "I should have taken you with me then, but—"
"But what?" Uta suddenly spun around, flinging a sky full of sheet music, the pages hitting Shanks's face like snowflakes, "Because I'm the monster that destroyed Elegia? Because you were afraid I'd go berserk again?"
The crew members of the Red Force all knelt down; Yasopp's old gun fell into the sea, splashing waves.
"No!" Benn Beckman screamed, clutching his head, "We were afraid you wouldn't be able to handle the truth—"
"Then why!" Uta's scream shattered the remaining glass, musical note sprites wildly dancing around her, "Those spirits ask me every night in my dreams! Why is only the diva allowed to live in the sunlight?!"
She suddenly grabbed a handful of scorched dirt and threw it at Shanks, "You raised me for twelve years with your so-called gentle lies... Shanks, you are more cruel than the Celestial Dragons!"
Beckman suddenly rushed forward and pressed his hand on the Captain's shoulder: "Enough! If you keep talking, she will—"
But he was pushed away by Shanks's backhand, the Four Emperors' Conqueror's Haki uncontrollably sweeping out, and the sky instantly filled with lightning and thunder.
"Get out." Uta's voice suddenly fell silent, her pupils contracting into crimson musical notes, "Before I send you all to your graves with the Devil King's Melody."
Dark purple sound waves condensed at her fingertips, and the ground beneath her began to crack.
The most heart-wrenching scene froze here; Shanks picked up his mud-stained hat, gently placed it on Uta's trembling head, and as he turned, a tear hit the scorched earth.
"All hands..." His command was broken by the wind, "Withdraw from the Elegia sea area."
Just then,
As the last Marine warship was about to become a black dot on the horizon, a destructive roar suddenly erupted between heaven and earth!
A brilliant white fireball rapidly expanded from within the ship, and the entire warship broke in half like a torn paper boat, its burning mast crashing into the surging waves with a mournful howl...
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