On a desolate island, a girl with hair colored red on the right and white on the left, wearing headphones and feathered clothing on her upper body...
...and wearing a white miniskirt paired with a black bow tie on her lower body, with a coat bearing her own logo draped over her, was singing on the barren land.
Her singing voice reached across the entire island, but unfortunately, there was only one listener for such a wonderful voice.
As the song ended, a burst of applause rang out on the island. Uta's adoptive father, Gordon, stood amidst the ruins, clapping and praising Uta's beautiful singing.
While clapping, Gordon said, "Wonderful, Uta. Your singing is truly amazing. I have nothing left to teach you."
Holding the microphone, Uta's eyes dimmed slightly. "Is that so? But here, can my voice be heard by the world?"
Gordon comforted the somewhat sad Uta, saying, "Don't worry. Didn't a few transponder snail drift ashore earlier? Someone will spread your voice throughout this world."
Uta's expression improved slightly, and she regained her energetic look. "I'm going for a run. For future concerts, I need to train and get into good shape."
Seeing the revitalized Uta, the zombie-like Gordon had an imperceptible smile on his face, then complained about his old friend in his heart.
"That guy Shanks, after all this time, he hasn't found a trustworthy person to come and take Uta away. Her talent shouldn't be buried here."
Of course, what he didn't know was that this area would soon become lively, and the person Shanks trusted was about to arrive.
On the Argo, Monkey D. Hera was looking at the Marine records regarding the 'demon king of song' and Elegia. When she saw that the Red Hair Pirates had destroyed Elegia, she began to think.
"No, Shanks isn't that kind of person. If he were just obsessed with treasure, wouldn't it have been enough to just not escape from the God's Knights? This isn't his style."
Hera recalled memories from her past life, only to sadly discover that she hadn't had time to watch the movie where Uta debuted; she had only heard 'New Genesis' and that famous 'Team-wiping tune'.
Tossing the newspaper aside, she temporarily put down these matters that required thinking. "Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time. I'll find Uta first before worrying about anything else."
Seeing Hera finally throw the newspaper away, Kuina happily said to Hancock, who she had bet with, "See? I won. I told you Hera wouldn't read the newspaper for more than 20 minutes."
Hancock was somewhat unwilling to have lost to Kuina, but she still accepted her defeat. "This time, I was careless. Next time, I will win it back."
Nami, Ain, and Theseus were controlling the Argo at full speed. Reiju and Perona were busy in the kitchen, while Hancock and Kuina were fishing while making bets.
Looking at the peaceful Argo, Hera sighed with emotion. "It's truly wonderful. Without realizing it, I already have 7 companions."
The goal of 10 companions set by Hera was getting closer and closer. About to welcome her 8th companion, Hera began to feel a bit melancholy.
"Is 10 companions a bit too few? What should I do if the crew is full?"
The worried Hera was soon attracted by a fragrance. Her small troubles were immediately thrown to the back of her mind as her body instinctively moved toward the smell of roasted meat.
On the other side, the Gold City, which had set off earlier, was still some distance from Elegia due to the weight of the gold and power issues. From the sky, it looked like both sides would arrive at roughly the same time.
Night fell quietly, and after a busy day, Hera returned to her warm bedroom. The Argo no longer needed anyone on night watch; in these waters, no one could catch up to the Argo at full speed.
Just as Hera was about to crawl into her warm bed, two figures quietly slipped into the Captain's bedroom.
Kuina, who had won the rights to Hera's night from Hancock, had been waiting for a long time with her ally Ain. There was even a potion Ain had obtained from Reiju floating beside her.
Seeing the two waiting for her in her room, Hera turned around, saying, "Oh, right, safety is most important. We still need a night watch after all."
She turned and grabbed the doorknob, wanting to open the door.
Kuina and Ain didn't stop her, just silently watching Hera. After several attempts, Hera found that the door seemed to have been locked tight.
"Theseus, have even you betrayed me?"
On this warship, only Theseus, the Ship's Spirit, could do such a thing. Finding escape impossible, Hera could only accept reality and face the two in front of her.
"What a coincidence. Are you two here to sleep as well?"
Kuina and Ain looked at Hera as if they were looking at prey that had fallen into a trap.
Ain looked at Hera, licked her lips, and said, "Of course. We came specifically to sleep with the Captain. The Captain wouldn't refuse, would she?"
Kuina's face flushed slightly as she rolled her eyes at Hera. "I said it before, didn't I? Whatever others do to you, I'll do too. So I had to ask Ain for help. You're not scared, are you?"
Since things had come to this, Hera naturally wouldn't back down; otherwise, what would happen to her dignity as Captain? "I'm not scared! As for you two, don't go begging for mercy."
The spirit dress on her body dissipated into particles. Tonight was destined to be a night of battle.
This wasn't the first time Hera had faced two enemies at once, but Kuina and Ain were truly the earliest Crew members; they had been with Hera even before the Argo.
Relying on their familiarity with Hera, the two made her feel that their cooperation was even more difficult to deal with than the combination of an angel and a fallen angel.
It was hard to say whether choosing to flee or choosing to stay damaged Hera's dignity as Captain more, but judging by Hera's failure to show her face late into the next day, it was likely her defeat.
Of course, this wasn't to say Hera's combat ability wasn't strong, but facing the joint attack of a spirit and a half-spirit, even the experienced Hera couldn't find an opportunity to strike back.
In particular, the degree of compatibility from the spiritual power itself strengthened Hera's perception a bit. Additionally, Hera noticed that the spiritual power within Ain's body was nearing its limit.
Ain now urgently needed a way to compress the spiritual power in her body; otherwise, the excess spiritual power would be more than her body could bear.
However, Hera already had a solution for this situation. In the afternoon after recovering her strength, the dial of Zafkiel emerged behind Hera.
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