One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

"Here, try this! Sanji… he's the greatest cook in the world!"

Luffy spoke with his mouth stuffed full of food, his words slurring as he wolfed everything down. Without thinking, he shoved a massive sauce-covered bone—thick with tender meat and smelling irresistibly delicious—into Uta's hands.

Luffy's cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel's, yet his face carried an utterly undisguised pride—almost childlike in its sincerity.

It was as if the thing he was offering wasn't just a meat bone… but the most precious treasure in the entire sea.

"Mm!"

Uta nodded with a smile, catching the bone that was nearly as thick as her forearm.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze drifting across the lively deck until it settled on the blond figure at the galley window—cigarette hanging from his lips while he handled seven or eight pans at once.

A knowing smile curved at the corner of her lips as she said lightly,

"Luffy… you've really changed a lot."

She paused briefly, drawing her gaze back from the distance and placing it on the man in front of her, who was tearing into meat with wild enthusiasm.

The reckless childishness of his youth had long since been replaced by something sturdier—something freer.

And yet his smile remained as pure as a child's.

"From that snot-nosed little idiot who used to run around shouting that he was hungry all day…"

Her voice carried a nostalgic warmth.

"You've grown into quite the dependable man."

The sea breeze brushed past them, lifting a few strands of hair beside her temple.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the bone in her hand as her gaze dropped to the shifting patches of sunlight on the deck. The warmth in her voice slowly faded, like a retreating tide.

"And you even found such incredible companions…"

Her voice grew softer, almost lost in the wind.

"And you became… just like Shanks… one of the Four Emperors."

She spoke the final words slowly and softly, like a distant echo.

Within that quiet tone were pride, a sense of time passing, and the faintest trace of loneliness—carried away by the sea breeze.

"Hehe! Uta, you've changed a lot too!"

Luffy swallowed his mouthful of meat and slung an arm casually around her shoulders, flashing a grin so wide it nearly reached his ears.

"Like, super different!"

He deliberately dragged out the words, making an exaggerated face, mischief shining in his eyes.

"From that bratty girl who used to charge around yelling 'Luffy, you idiot!' all the time…"

He leaned closer, warm breath brushing against her ear as he declared:

"You've turned into… a total crybaby now!!!"

"—LUFFY!!!"

Uta's face instantly flushed red like a startled cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She slapped his arm off her shoulder with a loud smack and glared at him angrily, her amethyst eyes filled with irritation.

"I was praising you properly, and this is how you repay me?!"

She puffed up in annoyance, the giant bone in her hand looking like it might smash into his rubber skull at any moment.

Yet beneath the feigned anger, a glimmer of light quietly flickered in her eyes.

Suddenly, as if a spark of memory flashed through her mind, the irritation in her gaze vanished.

In its place appeared a sly, bright expression—like a child discovering a new game.

"Hey, Luffy."

Her voice softened slightly, tinged with distant nostalgia as a mysterious smile curled at her lips.

"Do you remember… that 'duel' we used to have when we were kids?"

"A duel?"

Luffy froze.

The word was like a key that instantly unlocked the gates of memory.

Almost immediately, he broke into an enormous grin. An invisible, blazing aura seemed to spread out from him.

"Ah! That one—"

He slammed his fist into his palm in sudden realization, speaking loudly and without restraint.

"The duel where you lost 183 times and still refused to admit it every single time?!"

A pure, eager fire lit up his eyes.

The bone he had gnawed completely clean was now held in his hand like a sword, casually but powerfully pointed straight at Uta.

"Alright then! What are we competing in this time?!"

He puffed out his chest, his voice brimming with confidence and excitement.

"I, Monkey D. Luffy… accept any challenge!"

"Huh? Wait—what nonsense are you talking about? You were the one who lost 138 times!"

Uta's face flushed red instantly, defiance blazing in her purple eyes as her voice rose.

"Whaaat?! Say that again! I never lost—you're the one who lost!"

"You lost!"

"No, YOU lost!"

The two of them leaned forward at the same time.

Thunk!

Their foreheads collided.

Like two stubborn calves locking horns, they stood frozen in place, glaring at each other with wide eyes—neither willing to take a single step back.

"That idiot captain… what childish contest is he starting now…"

Law leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, letting out a helpless sigh—though a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Somehow, scenes like this had become strangely normal.

"Go, Luffy! Don't lose to a girl's forehead!"

Yamato cheered loudly while chewing on meat, pumping a fist in encouragement as her silver-white hair swayed.

"LUFFY! Don't be so rude to such a lovely lady!"

Sanji's eyebrows twisted together in fury. His feet had already unconsciously shifted into a kicking stance, as if he might launch Luffy flying at any moment—before elegantly apologizing to Uta afterward.

"Hahaha! Youth really is wonderful!"

Rayleigh tilted his head back and drank a huge gulp of alcohol, his narrowed eyes reflecting the lively scene.

Watching these youngsters bicker and laugh lately had made even his weathered heart feel strangely light.

Not far away, Gordon silently observed the scene.

His gaze lingered on Uta's bright, animated face.

"Uta… you really look happy."

He murmured quietly, warmth filling his eyes—before a faint trace of worry flickered through them, as though he were weighing an important decision.

"Come now, there's nothing to fear.

There's no need to worry.

My dream… is everyone's wish."

Under the spotlight, Uta sang softly with her eyes closed.

The moment the first note left her lips, it transformed into visible waves of dazzling melody that swept across the audience like heavenly music.

This wasn't simply singing.

It was souls resonating together.

"That was… beautiful."

Even after the song ended, its lingering warmth continued to flow through everyone's hearts.

Without using any power from her Devil Fruit, the sheer force contained within her pure music was enough to shake the soul.

"Tch, it's just singing!" Luffy sniffed stubbornly.

"I can do that too!"

Before Uta could react, his rubber arm stretched—

Boing!

He shot straight onto the center of the stage.

"My turn!!"

The entire venue fell silent.

Luffy… singing?

Even Law slowly lowered Kikoku, and Rayleigh's drinking bowl stopped halfway to his lips.

"Wait! Luffy, don't—!"

Uta's pupils shrank as a childhood memory—dominated by demonic singing—suddenly resurfaced.

But it was too late.

"The eastern sky gets bright so early~

The weather's all foggy~

Everyone's a bunch of idiots—!"

The completely off-key roar exploded across the stage.

Every single note perfectly avoided the actual melody.

The air froze.

The meat in Yamato's hand dropped to the ground.

Sanji's cigarette burned out unnoticed.

Law's brow twisted into a tight knot.

Rayleigh inhaled slowly, his hand trembling around the bowl.

Was the alcohol bad… or had his peaceful days lasted too long that he now had to suffer this?

"I knew it!!"

Uta collapsed to the ground in agony, clamping both hands tightly over her ears.

"This isn't singing… it's psychological warfare!!"

Meanwhile, Luffy only grew more passionate the louder he sang. His limbs flailed wildly in self-invented rhythm, his face glowing with the confidence of someone convinced he was a musical genius.

The devilish singing continued ripping through the silence.

Sometimes, true "power" had nothing to do with Devil Fruits.

For example—possessing a singing voice capable of making even Emperor-level pirates collapse instantly might be the most terrifying power on the seas.

"Southern sun burns so hot—

Idiots sweating like waterfalls!"

Luffy spread his arms wide, swaying left and right with his "perfect" rhythm. His rubber joints swung in exaggerated arcs, each broken note grinding against the listeners' nerves like a saw.

Uta had curled into the corner of the stage, pulling her dress over her head in a desperate attempt to block the soul-piercing noise.

"Help… this is worse than any Sea King's song…"

Sanji ground his heel into the floor, torn between "kicking the captain off the stage" and "maintaining gentlemanly manners in front of a lady."

Veins bulged on his forehead.

Law finally snapped. His pale fingers spread open.

"ROOM—"

A transparent sphere instantly expanded.

But the next second, his face turned green.

For some inexplicable reason, even the power of the Ope Ope no Mi seemed to be disrupted.

Holding his forehead, he growled:

"Idiot captain… has your Haki been marinated into your singing or something?!"

"Puhahaha!"

Rayleigh suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed so hard he started coughing, slapping his thigh.

"Hahaha—this… this is even worse than Roger singing when he was drunk! The terror of the new era… I've experienced it!"

"Hey! What are those looks supposed to mean?!"

Luffy finished his performance, panting but shining with excitement.

Hands on his hips, he looked at the stunned crowd.

"Well?! Wasn't that awesome?! Way more powerful than Uta's song, right?!"

His answer was ten seconds of suffocating silence.

Thunk!

An empty sake bowl struck Luffy squarely on the head.

"You brat!"

Rayleigh laughed and scolded him.

"Get down from there! If you keep singing, even the Sea Kings will run away!"

Uta slowly lowered her dress from over her head, revealing a lifeless expression.

Her purple eyes looked hollow, like someone who had survived a catastrophe.

"Gordon… I think I need… a very long recovery period… no, ear purification…"

In the corner, Gordon stared blankly.

He slowly raised a hand and patted his own face, confirming this wasn't some terrible illusion.

"Perhaps…"

He murmured weakly,

"Some major decisions… can be postponed."

"Right now, there seems to be a far more urgent problem concerning everyone's mental health…"

Meanwhile, the culprit himself scratched his head where he'd been hit and grinned brightly at everyone's horrified expressions.

"Next time! I'll challenge an even longer song!" he declared.

Everyone's vision went black.

At that moment, they all shared the same thought:

Some battles might be more brutal than conquering the Grand Line.

For example… figuring out how to make their captain permanently give up singing.

"LUFFY—!! You hopeless tone-deaf idiot!!"

Uta finally snapped.

Her purple eyes burned with fury and humiliation.

She leapt forward like a flying musical note and tackled Luffy to the ground.

Thud!

Her slender legs clamped tightly around his rubber waist as she sat squarely on his stomach.

Grabbing his cheeks with both hands, she pulled them outward fiercely.

"Sing now! Go on—be proud of yourself!"

Luffy's face stretched into a ridiculous shape, but he still grinned.

Even with his rubber skin pulled absurdly long, he mumbled triumphantly:

"Puhahaha… getting mad… doesn't change the result…"

He even wriggled playfully, as if this were part of a game.

"I declare—"

he shouted through distorted cheeks,

"The 184th duel between Luffy and Uta—"

"The winner—"

"Is Luffy! That's me!!"

"IDIOT!!!"

Uta's last thread of sanity snapped.

She raised her fist and punched him straight in the face.

Thunk.

Her fist sank into rubber… then bounced back.

Luffy blinked, still smiling as if nothing had happened.

Uta: "..."

She sat there on top of him, chest rising and falling.

Looking at his face—clearly expressing 'Being unbeatable sure is lonely'—a strange mixture of exhaustion and absurdity washed over her.

At the edge of the stage, Rayleigh quietly lowered his sake bowl and stared at the sky, as though wondering if his legendary life had ever prepared him for such a philosophical crisis.

The meat in Yamato's hand dropped again.

She stared blankly, torn between "Luffy is amazing (physically)" and "Is this really okay?"

Sanji's anger mysteriously vanished, replaced only by deep doubt about the nature of reality.

That beautiful and adorable Miss Uta was currently sitting in a rather indecent position… yet somehow he felt a little jealous of that rubber idiot.

Law pressed his fingers to his temple, seriously calculating the feasibility—and ethical cost—of sealing his captain inside a silent spatial pocket with ROOM.

Director Gordon rubbed his forehead.

He found himself reconsidering a major life decision.

Perhaps protecting the world also meant protecting it from a certain kind of mental pollution.

Never had they seen someone so shameless… and so completely unaware of it.

The air was terrifyingly quiet.

Only the faint boing sound of Luffy's stretched face slowly snapping back to normal broke the silence.

Uta finally released him and stood up, brushing her dress smooth.

She lowered her head. Long eyelashes cast shadows across her cheeks.

After a long pause—

She raised her head.

A new flame burned in her violet eyes.

"Luffy."

"Hm?"

"I swear in the name of the future world's greatest diva…"

She spoke slowly and clearly.

"Starting today—"

"I'm putting you through special training."

"Until your singing voice can at least… stop killing the fish in the sea."

Luffy blinked.

"…Huh?"

At that moment, a chill colder than Conqueror's Haki ran down the spine of everyone present.

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