Chapter 673: 673 The Island of Music, Elegia

"You, you, you, you... Who are you people?!"

The appearance of the Dodo Advance gave Uta a huge fright.

Although this girl kept saying in the movie that she wanted to create a new world without pirates, the reality was that she had stayed on Elegia all this time and knew almost nothing about the outside world.

Her understanding of pirates was likely limited to the Red Hair Pirates.

Furthermore, Uta didn’t start out with such a "grand" goal.

It was only after she became famous and continuously received letters and complaints from her fans that her resentment toward Red Hair for "abandoning" her transformed into a hatred for all pirates.

Combined with the guilt she felt after learning the truth of that year, it gave birth to a desire to escape reality, much like Obito Uchiha...

In fact, her "Uta World" was essentially no different from the "Infinite Tsukuyomi," except one used sound as a medium while the other used sight.

"Uta-chan~ I’ve finally met you Meow~"

(=ω=)

Shermie Meow turned into a flash of lightning and instantly appeared in front of Uta, wrapping her arms around her neck in an enthusiastic embrace.

"I heard your singing and loved it so much, so I specially asked Sherwin-chan to bring me here to find you Meow~"

"I-is that so?"

Gradually recovering from the shock, Uta quickly succumbed to the cat cute appearances. She hugged Shermie Meow back and said happily,

"So you’re my fans? Welcome to Elegia... You must be Minks, right? I heard about your existence when I was a kid, but I never got to meet any. I didn’t expect to see so many at once today!"

Without waiting for Shermie Meow to answer, Uta looked over at Sherwin and the others.

"You guys flew here just now, right? Is this your ship? It can actually fly, that amazing!"

"Are Merfolk really this large?"

"Why does this big sister have horns on her head? Is it an ancient Devil Fruit power?"

"How did you know I was on Elegia? I don’t think I ever mentioned my location."

Although Uta had traveled with the Red-Haired Pirates for a time as a child, her worldliness was not particularly broad.

Furthermore, aside from Gordon, she had not interacted with anyone for over a decade. Consequently, her curiosity and desire to talk were immense. She fired off a barrage of questions, leaving the Felynes struggling to keep up.

Of course, the reason Uta was so defenseless was likely due to the adorable Felynes, and perhaps also because she didn’t see a pirate flag on the Dodo Advance.

After briefly answering Uta questions, Shermie Meow and Sasha Meow couldn’t wait any longer and pulled her into a discussion about music.

One was the future idol of the world, one was the keyboardist of a band from Hell and a Hunting Horn master of the world of hunters, and the other was the reincarnation of the Goddess of Art.

It took the two Felynes less than three minutes to make Uta drop her final shred of wariness.

Just as the three musical geniuses were chatting happily, a man who looked like Frankenstein suddenly came sprinting from the distance.

This person had been drawn by the massive commotion caused by the arrival of the Dodo Advance. He was the former ruler of Elegia, and Uta other adoptive father and music teacher, Gordon.

"Uta! Are you alright?!"

Gordon shouted at the top of his lungs as he sprinted toward them, "You lot! Don’t you dare hurt Uta... eh?"

As he ran closer, he realized that things were not as bad as he had imagined. The newcomer (cat) and Uta seemed to be getting along quite harmoniously.

However, just like Uta situation, Gordon, who had been cut off from the outside world for ten years, had no idea who Sherwin and the others were.

Sherwin had no intention of making a grand display of himself as the "Fifth Emperor of the Sea," nor did he plan to mention that he knew Shanks and Luffy...

Mostly because explaining all of that would be a huge hassle.

Anyway, that music demon wasn’t going to appear so soon, and he already knew the location of Elegia.

At worst, he could just give Shanks a heads-up after Shermie Meow and the others finished their exchange.

Additionally, the mushrooms Uta ate were actually quite worth researching. Haibara Meow would surely be interested.

He would find an opportunity later to warn Uta that eating random mushrooms could lead to serious trouble.

Therefore, the identity Sherwin presented to Gordon and Uta was simply that of a "cat owner bringing his Felynes for a musical exchange."

Of course, given the Dodo Advance extravagant entrance, no matter how naive Uta and Gordon were, they could guess that Sherwin identity was definitely not as simple as he claimed.

But since Sherwin showed no hostility and clearly wasn’t a pirate, they naturally didn’t pry.

"This is no place to talk. Please, follow me. Although Elegia is no longer as glorious as it once was, hosting a few guests is no problem at all."

After confirming that Sherwin and the others harbored no ill will, Gordon immediately invited them to be guests further inland.

"And if we are to exchange music, we’ll need instruments, won’t we? Elegia may not have much left, but it is absolutely the place with the richest collection of instruments and sheet music in the world!"

Even though Elegia had been destroyed years ago, Gordon still held onto that confidence.

Because Sherwin had given them instructions beforehand, the Felynes did not ask any questions even when they saw the ruins of the buildings that had been completely destroyed on the island.

However, even though the Felynes didn’t ask, Gordon himself couldn’t hold back from speaking out...

"This is Elegia proud music hall. Back then, countless famous musicians considered it an honor to perform a single show here."

He pointed to the vast expanse of ruins in the very center of the town and introduced it to Sherwin and the others.

"Unfortunately, it was destroyed ten years ago by a group of hateful pirates..."

Gordon looked desolate.

However, Klee Meow tugged at Sherwin ear, leaned in, and whispered, "This uncle is lying, and Big Sister Uta ound like she in a lot of pain, meow."

(=ˇˇ=)

Hmm?

Sherwin was taken aback. So Uta already knew the truth at this point? He had thought the idea of "Uta World" came first, and then she learned the truth later...

So if she already knew the truth beforehand, why did she still come up with the idea for "Uta World"?

Was it really just from eating those mushrooms?

Sherwin scratched his head, feeling like he could find an opportunity to talk things through with Uta later, saving the little girl from continuing to overthink things...

Yeah, it would probably be best to let Klee Meow tell her the story of "Indomitable Diamond" first.

The reason Uta would go to extremes in the future, aside from Shanks and Gordon being brain-dead and telling her nothing under the guise of "it for your own good," was another important factor:

Uta outlook was too narrow and she lacked the ability to think independently, allowing herself to be led astray by the "online" trends.

Her hatred for pirates was partly fueled by the resentment of being abandoned by Shanks, but most of it was thrust upon her by her fans.

Uta own experience was insufficient to allow her to devise a mature solution, nor could she detach herself from the chaotic influx of information.

As Uta fame grew, more people began to treat her as a "confessional," and Uta—lacking insight yet possessing an overwhelming sense of responsibility—began to see herself as a "savior" amidst their praise and grievances.

In this regard, Uta was actually quite similar to Yamato both were influenced by others due to their limited worldviews and gradually lost themselves.

Solving this problem was actually simple: expand Uta horizons and then make her understand the gravity of releasing the Tot Musica.

Speaking of which, Gordon was also quite muddled. Knowing full well that Uta had the power to release the Tot Musica, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy those scores. He leaned more toward being a musician than a king...

Sherwin couldn’t help but marvel once again at the "excellent" matchmaking mechanics of the pirate world.

Just as Sherwin was calculating how to help Shanks clean up the mess he had left behind years ago, the portable transponder snail on his wrist suddenly began to ring with a "Bulu Bulu."

After he answered, Morgan blustering shouts immediately erupted from his wrist—

"Didn’t you say you were going to Elegia? Why did you run off to Egghead?!"

Sherwin: ???