Uta's thoughts drifted back to the night Cain first arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
At the time, Cain had already left the bar with Rayleigh.
Uta was still sitting quietly inside Shakky's bar, both hands wrapped around a cup of warm milk as she chatted with Shakky now and then.
"Uta-chan, judging by that look on your face, I'd say you've got someone you like, don't you?"
Shakky rested her elbow on the table, her fingertips lightly touching the rim of her cup. There was a smile in her eyes.
"Let big sis guess. It's that young man Cain, right?"
Uta held her cup of milk and first shook her head, then seemed to nod in a way that was not quite a nod.
Her soft voice was full of seriousness.
"How could it only be Cain? I've always liked everyone—Shakky-nee, Grandpa Rayleigh, everyone… of course, Shanks is the exception. Hmph."
She puffed out her cheeks, but her tone soon shifted, gaining a trace of confusion.
"But Cain is different. The feeling he gives me is special.... To me, he's someone very, very important, but I can't really explain what kind of important he is…"
"It feels a little like how I used to see Shanks back then, but also kind of different."
"Silly girl, the 'like' I'm talking about is love. It seems you still can't tell those two feelings apart."
Shakky lifted the black tea in front of her and took a sip, her tone carrying the certainty of someone who had been through it before.
"Huh? But I love everyone too." Uta blinked, her face full of confusion.
"Looks like you still don't understand."
Shakky smiled helplessly and tapped the tabletop lightly with her fingertip.
"Forget it. This onee-san will tell you a story about me and your Grandpa Rayleigh from back then… Honestly, calling him that still feels a little strange."
…
"So Shanks was found in a treasure chest back then too? Hehe, we really are a little alike."
Uta listened with rapt attention, a flicker of wonder passing through her eyes.
"But Grandpa Rayleigh was really amazing."
"He was. Back then, he was far more handsome than he is now. Nothing like the lousy old man he's become."
Shakky's eyes softened with warmth as she remembered the past.
"He risked danger and pulled me back from the gates of death."
"Just like Cain. He really did save me too."
Uta lowered her head and took a sip of milk, speaking softly.
"Oh? So does Uta-chan understand that feeling now?"
Shakky raised an eyebrow and asked with interest.
Uta lowered her gaze slightly, staring at the milk gently swaying inside the cup. Her voice became small.
"I still don't really understand."
Shakky lifted her warm tea again and took a light sip before saying calmly,
"It's fine if you don't understand. Things like this can't be figured out just because someone explains them to you."
Uta gripped the corner of her clothes tightly.
In her mind, she could not help seeing Cain smiling and talking happily with other people, and that strange, stifling feeling in her chest surged up again.
Her voice carried grievance and confusion.
"But… when I see him staying with other people, I feel uncomfortable. I just want to pull him back to my side. I don't want him smiling at anyone else."
"That's exactly it."
Shakky put down her teacup and reached out to gently rub the top of Uta's head, her voice warm.
"To like someone is to want to share him with the whole world, to let everyone know how wonderful he is."
"To love someone is to want him all to yourself, to keep him firmly inside your own world and not let anyone else take even a little of his attention."
"But the line between those two feelings has always been blurry. Sometimes, true love chooses to let go, while overly possessive affection wants to keep the other person tightly in its palm."
"In the end, feelings are something you sense with your heart. They're not something words can fully explain."
Uta tilted her head and repeated, half understanding and half not,
"Cain… who belongs only to me… letting go?"
Uta might have been exceptionally intelligent, but she was extremely lacking in ordinary life experience.
On the isolated island where she had grown up, she had only ever had Gordon by her side for years.
She had never stepped into a real school, nor had she ever had friends her own age to laugh, play, or share secrets with.
Her understanding of society and complicated relationships was naturally shallow.
Seeing Uta frown and sink into her tangled thoughts, Shakky could not help speaking again to guide her.
"Silly girl, there's no need to worry so much. If you still don't know what love is right now, then leave it to time. One day, you'll find your own answer."
"As for how love develops—whether you take the initiative or quietly wait—those are simply two different choices. Neither is inherently right or wrong."
"Is… that so? Taking the initiative, or waiting?" Uta asked softly, her tone full of uncertainty.
Only then did Uta remember that Cain had been like that.
He had stepped on orange clouds, held that strange long staff in his hand, and as for his head… well, he did not seem to have been wearing anything there.
Just that especially eye-catching pink hair.
He had descended from the sky and come to find her on his own, bringing a bright pink ripple of color into her stagnant life.
So what should she do?
Take the initiative?
Or wait?
…
When the live broadcast of the Summit War spread across the seas, Uta was acting according to Cain's plan.
She controlled Doflamingo's body, laying out each piece of the scheme step by step.
But when Lilith appeared in her vision, the taut string inside her snapped, and she could no longer hold herself together.
She poured most of her mind into Doflamingo's clone at Marineford, using that body to teach Lilith a lesson.
Meanwhile, her real body on the Sabaody Archipelago merely stood frozen in place with her eyes closed, maintaining consciousness but paying no attention to anything around her.
Fortunately, Rayleigh stayed beside her the entire time.
But Rayleigh did not know that Lilith's appearance was causing the darkness in Uta's heart to spread and grow, inch by inch.
'I don't understand. I still don't understand, Shakky-nee. This jealous feeling… Does waiting not work? Why is this happening? Shakky-nee, I don't understand. Why… why would someone like her appear beside Cain? Is waiting really useful? So I really do have to take the initiative?'
As her emotions surged, musical notes began drifting from Uta's body while she used her Devil Fruit ability.
The air twisted sharply, and the scenery around her changed in an instant.
"What exactly is this? Uta, is this you…?"
Rayleigh's heart tightened at the sight, and he immediately called her name in a deep voice to wake her.
Uta suddenly came back to herself.
The strange phenomenon surrounding her receded like the tide, and everything returned to normal.
Staring at the space that had just twisted and transformed, Rayleigh's expression grew even more solemn.
Shakky naturally noticed the disturbance as well and hurried over to check on her.
After a long examination, they found nothing unusual with Uta's body.
It was right at that moment that the Summit War broadcast showed the scene of Shanks apologizing to Uta.
Seeing that nothing seemed wrong with Uta for the time being, Shakky's gaze fell on Shanks in the screen.
She immediately turned and rushed back into the bar, determined to contact him no matter what.
But she dialed the Den Den Mushi again and again, only to receive the busy tone of no one answering from the other end.
...
The present.
At this moment, Rayleigh, still wearing that ridiculous mushroom costume in the center of the archipelago, was hurrying toward Shakky's bar.
The pirates behind him soon spotted his figure.
Unfortunately, that bizarre outfit prevented them from recognizing that the man before them was the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
The pirates immediately started shouting at the top of their lungs.
"IT'S HIM! HE KNOWS THAT PINK CAIN! CHASE HIM! WE HAVE TO SAVE MISS UTA!"
"AFTER HIM!"
"BASTARDS, KEEP IT DOWN! DON'T CAUSE A RIOT! WE HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT MISS UTA SAID!"
"YES!"
Rayleigh paid no attention to the pursuers behind him.
His steps never slowed, and his brows were tightly furrowed as he thought to himself,
'Honestly, why did that brat Cain run so fast? I didn't even get the chance to tell him the important part. Uta, she…'
…
Uta was jealous!
Inside Shakky's bar, realization suddenly flashed through Cain's mind.
He was just about to explain when his eyes swept over the changes taking place on Uta's body, and the words abruptly caught in his throat.
His face filled with shock.
"Uta, you…"
A gorgeous outfit had suddenly appeared on Uta's body.
A crown rested on her head, and she held a spear and shield in her hands.
A jetpack was attached to her back.
Around her, countless strange soldiers had already emerged.
But these things were only supposed to exist inside Uta World.
So why had they appeared in reality?