In the center of the battlefield,
The atmosphere was oppressive, like the dead silence before a storm. The rule-level pressure brought by the assembled Gorosei was like an invisible set of shackles, weighing heavily on the hearts of every defiant person.
Yamato's tall figure stood like the most solid rampart, firmly shielding Uta behind her.
She could feel the slight trembling of the girl behind her, a fear and despair originating from the depths of her soul. She gripped the Wolf-Fanged Club in her hand, her knuckles white from the effort, yet her voice strove to remain calm and gentle:
"Don't be afraid, Uta! Look at me, you'll be fine, absolutely fine!"
Her voice carried an undeniable firmness, attempting to use her conviction to dispel the pervasive despair,
"As long as we haven't given up, hope will never be extinguished!"
However,
Uta's eyes, which once shone with a dreamy radiance, were now dull and lifeless, reflecting the five figures resembling demon gods.
She had personally witnessed Kaido being severely wounded, seen the grim situation even after Red Hair unleashed that astonishing sword strike, and felt the malice from the world's apex that nearly froze her singing heart.
"Could it be... could it be that I... must die here today..." she murmured unconsciously, her voice faint like a candle in the wind, filled with the helplessness and sorrow of an artist facing ultimate violence.
This was not just about her personal life and death; it was the end of all the beauty and freedom her song represented.
This faint and despairing whisper was like the sharpest needle, piercing accurately into the ears of Red-Haired Shanks nearby, and plunging deep into his heart.
Shanks' body, which was originally as solid as bedrock, trembled slightly.
He did not turn around, but his eyes, usually so tolerant and broad-minded, instantly solidified into ice that had not melted for ten thousand years. A surging fury roared silently beneath that layer of ice!
"Clang—!"
The famous sword gryphon in his hand seemed to sense its master's mood, letting out a clear and resolute clang!
The knuckles of his sword-holding hand were white from extreme exertion, as if he meant to crush the hilt, pouring all his boundless protective will and surging Conqueror's Haki into it.
He still stared at the Gorosei ahead, but his cold, decisive words echoed clearly in Uta's ears and above this battlefield shrouded in despair, like an oath:
"Uta."
"As long as I still have breath, as long as my heart is still beating..."
"Unless they step over my corpse, no one in this world will be able to take you away from me!"
There was no passionate shout, only an extremely calm declaration.
But beneath this calmness lay an absolute will capable of shaking rules and severing fate!
At this moment, the Captain of the Red Hair Pirates issued the most direct and undeniable declaration of war against the greatest power in this world, all for the person he intended to protect!
Satan Saint's enormous spider compound eyes coldly swept over the faces of every defiant person present, as if counting a pile of lifeless objects.
Shanks' declaration of war, Uta's despair, the panic of the allied forces... all these emotions were meaningless in his eyes.
There was no need for extra words with mere insects.
He didn't even bother to utter a single grand pronouncement of judgment.
"Act."
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