Chapter 423: Confrontation Between Father and Daughter
Uta's singing voice was like an invisible spider web, spreading from the center of the stage, enveloping the entire venue layer by layer.
The pupils of the tens of thousands of spectators gradually lost focus, their smiles stiffening as their movements became like puppets manipulated by strings.
Their cheers lost all emotional fluctuation, replaced by a uniform, synchronized murmuring, much like the chanting of a cult ritual.
Up on the high platform, Luffy scratched his head, his face scrunching up into a knot: "Eh?! Why... do they look like zombies!!!"
Nami, Law, Baby-5, Usopp, and Sanji also realized something was terribly wrong. Only the few of them were still able to remain conscious amidst the singing.
The six of them quickly gathered together.
Law gently brought his fingers together. The light ring of his ROOM flickered as he calmly analyzed: "This is probably the power of a Devil Fruit..."
Nami furrowed her brows tightly, her gaze decisive: "No matter what her goal is, we have to stop her!"
"Understood!!!"
The six of them launched into action simultaneously, their figures sprinting through the flashing lights and the sea of people, charging straight for the stage!
In the center of the stage, the corners of Uta's mouth curled up slightly.
She lightly raised her microphone, her smile gentle yet bone-chilling: "To think you can actually resist my singing... As expected of the Marine elites."
Her tone suddenly shifted, becoming piercingly sharp: "What a pity—but can you really raise your hands against civilians?!"
—BOOM!!!
Soundwaves poured out like a tidal wave. With a light tap of her finger, tens of thousands of spectators and the nearby Marine soldiers suddenly rioted!
Their eyes were hollow, yet their movements were frantic. They swarmed forward like a tide, piling over one another to protect Uta in the center.
The six halted their steps, their expressions all changing drastically.
"Crap!" Nami gritted her teeth and whispered.
"She's actually using ordinary people as human shields?!"
Sanji spun into the air, the fierce winds of his whirlwind kicks surging as he precisely kicked away several people, ensuring he didn't deal them any lethal harm.
Baby-5's arms suddenly transformed, turning into a thick, sturdy steel net. With a swish, it spread open to block the pouncing soldiers: "Law!! Hurry up!!"
"ROOM—Anesthetic Shockwave!"
Law spun the tip of his sword, and blue spatial ripples expanded. The front row of puppets instantly lost consciousness, falling over in swathes like harvested wheat.
With the situation easing slightly, Law issued a cold order: "Sanji, Baby-5, Nami, help me control the manipulated crowd! Usopp, provide ranged support—Luffy, go straight for the target!"
"Got it!!!"
Usopp fiercely mounted his long rifle, his eyes sharp as he took aim at the Diva in the center of the stage.
"Special Attack—Sleep Star!!!"
Fwip—!
The specially-made tranquilizer dart whistled through the air, heading straight for the center of Uta's brow!
—BANG!!!
The bullet was forcibly blocked mid-air by a human figure.
A soldier with hollow eyes lunged forward without hesitation, forcibly taking the bullet with his own chest!
He collapsed expressionlessly, yet the surrounding audience and soldiers continued to cheer in unison. The soundwaves rolled like a tide, eerie and bone-chilling.
Usopp froze, his throat tightening as he couldn't help but growl: "Damn it—!"
"UTA!!!"
Luffy's entire body was covered in scales. His half-dragonized giant claws tore through the air, a thunderous roar shaking the stage as he lunged straight for the Diva in the center.
"Stop singing right now!!!"
In the center of the stage, Uta suddenly spread her wings. Red and white intermingling, she looked like a fallen angel gazing down upon the masses.
She raised her microphone high. The soundwaves surged as if they possessed physical form, unleashing a shockwave capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas!
"Don't even think about it!!! The New Genesis... is unstoppable!!!"
A booming roar shook the entire venue. The light pillars swayed as thousands of spectators chanted in unison, their eerie synchronization resembling the prayers of an ancient sacrifice!
Luffy roared, forcibly breaking through the soundwaves to advance. His scaled claws flashed with lightning, and just as he was about to close in on the stage—
"CLANG—!!!"
A red blur suddenly dashed out from backstage!
Gryphon carved a cold, sharp arc through the air, blocking horizontally right in front of the dragon claws!
Sparks flew! The collision of soundwaves and air currents kicked up monstrous, raging waves, and the stage floor shattered with a massive boom!
"Wh...?!"
Luffy's pupils shrank violently, his face written all over with sheer disbelief.
"Red Hair?!!"
Shanks held his sword single-handedly, his red hair whipping fiercely in the wind. His gaze was as cold and sharp as a blade: "Don't even think about hurting her."
Uta's singing came to an abrupt halt. Her purple eyes trembled as she stared at the familiar back standing protectively in front of her, her voice shaking:
"Shanks... you..."
Shanks sheathed his sword. He turned around, his gaze gentle yet brimming with pain. His voice was hoarse: "Uta... please, stop."
"Stop?"
Uta's fingertips dug fiercely into her palms. Deep red blood slid down her palm lines, and the microphone cracked in her grip, emitting a harsh, ear-piercing static.
She suddenly laughed, but the smile was twisted and hideous: "On the day you abandoned me on Elegia... why didn't you say 'stop' then?!"
"What are you doing jumping out now, pretending to be a loving father?!!"
A sharp pain pierced Shanks' heart. He took a step forward, his voice cracking: "Uta! I left you by Gordon's side... to protect you!!!"
"Protect?!!"
Uta's manic laughter erupted violently, tears and fury intertwining in her purple eyes.
The wings on her back suddenly flared out. Purplish-black soundwaves swept across the venue like the whispers of a demon.
"Throwing me away like garbage... this is your protection?!!"
"Look around you, Shanks—!!"
"I am already stronger than anyone else!!! I can make the entire world fall asleep in eternal bliss!!!"
Her voice suddenly dropped low, murmuring by his ear like a nightmare, carrying an eerie gentleness:
"I am going to create a utopia without pirates, without war..."
"Even you... can find happiness in this dream—"
Uta tilted her head slightly, her smile absolutely chilling.
"Dear Father."
Shanks looked at Uta in the center of the stage, his pupils shrinking violently.
That face, once filled with innocent smiles, was now thoroughly twisted by paranoia and fanaticism.
"Uta!!!"
His heart ached. The image of a colossal, shadow-shrouded demonic figure suddenly flashed in his mind, as if silently mocking his late arrival and incompetence.
"NO!!!" Shanks roared, his figure turning into a blur as he charged toward the stage.
However—
"BOOM—!!!"
Accompanied by Uta's heart-rending, lung-piercing singing, terrifying soundwaves exploded outward!
The power of the Uta Uta no Mi was completely unleashed, transforming into an invisible storm that swept across the entire venue!
In a split second, tens of thousands of spectators, thousands of Marine elites, and even Nami, Luffy, Sanji, Law... all of their pupils quaked!
—Immediately after, their bodies abruptly stiffened. Like puppets with their strings cut, they collapsed to the ground one after another!
The entire clamor of the concert was reduced to dead silence in this instant.
The world seemed to fall into a standstill.
...
Within the mental world, brilliant golden light illuminated heaven and earth.
Uta stood tall and high. The golden spear and golden shield in her hands gleamed, and the jetpack on her back burned with blazing flames. She had transformed into a battlefield Valkyrie, looking down upon the masses.
"Welcome to Uta World—"
Her voice echoed like a goddess, yet carried an irresistible authority.
...
Meanwhile, in reality, the entire venue looked like a puppet theater.
The collapsed crowd lay quietly on the ground, leaving only Uta's singing still echoing in the empty air.
Suddenly—
Tap—Tap—
The sound of footsteps rang out.
No, to be precise, there was no actual "sound".
The figure was clearly tall and burly, wearing a Rear Admiral's cape, emitting a faint halo of light around his body. Yet as he walked over the rubble and wooden planks, there wasn't the slightest noise.
It was as if even the air itself was deliberately holding its breath.
A cigarette dangled from the corner of Rosinante's mouth, his eyes carrying a trace of expected helplessness.
"Oh my, oh my... no wonder Mr. Roy specifically had me make this trip."
He lazily scratched the back of his neck, a roguish smile hooking the corners of his lips: "I was wondering what it was about—so it turns out to be this kind of massive trouble."
His gaze swept casually across the venue, landing on Law and Baby-5, who had been leaning against each other right before passing out.
A glint flashed in Rosinante's eyes, and he instantly broke into a mischievous grin.
He bent down and cheekily forced their hands together, even making a point to adjust their fingers into an "interlocked" grip.
"Youths, right~ You just gotta be a little more honest with yourselves."
He blew out a smoke ring, a flash of ease and slyness passing through the depths of his eyes.
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