One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

"What… did you just say?!"

Gordon's voice suddenly rose, trembling with disbelief.

He had already explained everything as clearly as possible.

That thing wasn't an ordinary pirate, nor a ferocious beast—nor even any powerful entity known on these seas.

It was Tot Musica.

The Demon King of Song awakened from an ancient forbidden score.

A conceptual entity capable of dismantling reality and denying order through melody alone.

The flames of Elegia from eleven years ago still burned in Gordon's eyes.

The figures of the Red Hair Pirates were as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

Shanks' sword could cleave through raging storms—

—but it couldn't cut through invisible musical scales.

The strength of the Red Hair Pirates could shake the seas—

—but it could not resist an invasion that operated on the level of rules themselves.

What kind of despair was that?

The gulf between mortals and gods.

And the boy standing before him now—this straw-hatted youth.

Even if he was now a Four Emperor of the Sea, Gordon still believed he ultimately belonged to the realm of "mortals."

Gordon's lips trembled.

He wanted to speak, but the words caught in his throat.

Only heavy breathing remained.

Across from him, Rayleigh's face gradually sank into thoughtful shadow.

His fingers tapped lightly against the rough wooden table.

A quiet worry spread through his thoughts.

After all—

Tot Musica had once left the Red Hair Pirates completely helpless.

Even if the Red Hair crew back then hadn't yet reached the towering status they held in the New World today…

Twenty-nine-year-old Shanks already possessed undeniable Admiral-class strength.

He had even begun touching the threshold of an Emperor of the Sea.

If even Shanks couldn't resolve it with sword and Haki, then perhaps the enemy had already surpassed the category of pure combat power.

"…This isn't a matter of strength."

Rayleigh murmured.

His gaze sharpened like tempered steel.

"That 'Demon King of Song'… probably requires a specific key or some special condition to reach its true form."

"Like certain ancient curses… or sealed legends. Using brute force might actually make things worse."

He lifted his glass.

Amber liquor swayed gently inside.

As if reflecting an invisible web of rules.

Truly worthy of the man who had sailed to the end of the world with Gol D. Roger.

With only a few clues and his understanding of Shanks' strength, Rayleigh had peeled away the fog like deciphering a Poneglyph, touching the core mechanism behind the mystery.

And the truth he reached was perfectly accurate.

Tot Musica was not a conventional enemy.

It was a mechanism-type entity, transcending ordinary power scaling.

"Hey… I say we try anyway."

Law rested his cursed sword Kikoku on his shoulder and looked toward Gordon.

His expression remained as calm as ever, but his tone carried a cutting sharpness.

"Your country, your people, and this entire island…"

"…were already buried in the past eleven years ago."

He paused.

Each word fell like a blade tapping the silent air.

"So at this point, you don't really have anything left to fear."

"…My life doesn't matter anymore."

Gordon's voice was dry.

"But you're different. You still have futures ahead of you—"

"—You think we're weaker than the Red Hair Pirates eleven years ago?"

Sanji struck a match and lit his cigarette.

The small flame flickered briefly in his blue eyes before fading into gray smoke.

The usual laziness in his demeanor was gone.

His expression was unusually serious.

"Don't think our captain is an idiot just because he laughs all the time."

He stepped forward slightly, cigarette glowing between his fingers.

"Everything he does looks impossible to outsiders."

"And that's exactly why—"

Sanji raised his eyes.

His gaze was as sharp as forged steel.

"Don't use your despair-soaked standards to measure our captain."

"And don't use them to define the Straw Hat Pirates."

The smoke rings slowly drifted into the air.

But his words were clearer than any blade.

"Just because the Red Hair Pirates couldn't do it…"

"…doesn't mean we can't."

Normally, they joked about Luffy being an idiot or a troublemaker.

They teased and argued constantly.

But that was internal.

If an outsider dared to underestimate their captain—

They had crossed the most unshakable line on this ship.

Gordon froze.

Sanji's words—along with Law's calm certainty—cut through the fog in his mind like a ray of light.

For a moment, he seemed to glimpse the past again.

Eleven years ago.

Those spirited Red Hair Pirates had once stood exactly like this before their young captain—building an unbreakable wall of trust.

But back then, they had been more focused on protecting and enduring.

The people before him now carried something different.

A fierce, almost reckless determination to advance forward.

"…I see."

Gordon murmured.

Something long frozen within his chest cracked open slightly.

He took a deep breath.

It felt like he had inhaled eleven years of silence and weight.

"…Alright."

"I understand."

"I'll tell you everything—every legend and clue about the Demon King of Song."

He bowed deeply before them.

Just as Law had said—

He had nothing left to lose.

Even his life had long since become an unnecessary gift.

If this faint hope could truly create a miracle…

If these people could cut through the sorrow that had haunted this island for ten years…

Then even if his life burned out right here—

He would have no regrets.

So even if the chance was only a thread—

He had to grasp it.

"Shishishi… don't worry. Leave it to us!"

Luffy's voice was as bright as ever.

He looked down at the peacefully sleeping Uta in his arms.

His rubber arm gently supported her.

Then he raised his head and flashed a completely cloudless grin.

Behind that smile was something harder than any oath.

He had already decided.

Just like when he decided to become King of the Pirates.

Just like when he decided to protect all his friends.

This time—

He would end the eleven-year-long crying of this sea in his own way.

The sky slowly brightened.

Uta gradually opened her amethyst-like eyes.

And Elegia Island finally welcomed…

…the truth.

"Luffy… what are you talking about?"

Uta's heart froze.

"It was Shanks and his crew who betrayed Elegia! I saw it with my own eyes—"

"What you saw was a lie."

Luffy interrupted calmly.

But his words were absolute.

"The Demon King appeared through your song and devoured the entire country."

"When the Red Hair Pirates arrived, it was already too late to save anyone—except you."

Each word sliced into the world she had built for eleven years.

Uta's eyes widened.

Her lips trembled, but no sound came out.

She shook her head desperately.

But something deep inside her—something she had suppressed for years—began collapsing.

Fragments of memory resurfaced.

Shanks' pained eyes when he carried her away.

The silent faces of his crew.

Gordon's complicated gaze.

"…Why…"

Her voice finally emerged, hoarse like a broken violin.

"Why lie to me for so long…?"

"Because you were too young."

Luffy looked directly into her eyes.

"And Shanks is that kind of person."

"He'll carry the heaviest things on his shoulders—even if the whole world misunderstands him."

The tears finally burst.

Not anger.

Not sadness.

But complete collapse.

Uta curled into herself, nails digging into her arms.

"I'm a monster… My existence itself is a disaster…"

"Hey."

Luffy's voice sounded close.

She looked up through tear-blurred vision.

At some point, Luffy had already wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you done crying yet?"

The blunt question stunned her.

"I'm asking you."

Luffy leaned closer.

"If Shanks were here right now… what do you think he'd say?"

Uta opened her mouth.

The image of the red-haired man appeared in her mind.

Not the "false" smile she had imagined for years.

But the real one.

The smile he wore on the deck of the Red Force, rubbing her head and saying:

"Uta, that was a great song."

"…He'd say…"

Her voice was barely audible.

"…'It's not your fault.'"

"But he'd also say—"

Luffy continued,

"'If you really want redemption, then stand up and face the real bastard.'"

Luffy suddenly stood up.

His straw hat settled firmly on his head, casting a determined shadow in the morning light.

"The Demon King hasn't been defeated yet, Uta."

"It's still out there. And it might hurt more people."

He pointed toward the ruins.

"Those people who disappeared because of your song—"

"Has their revenge been taken?"

The words struck like lightning.

Uta's mind cleared instantly.

"I…"

She stared at her trembling hands.

"My voice is its medium… how could I possibly—"

"Then fight in a different way."

Luffy said it like it was obvious.

"There are five of us here."

"And everyone fights differently."

"You wouldn't be the first person who needed help to win a fight."

Then he grinned.

And suddenly that grin became dazzling.

"And besides, Uta—music isn't just the Demon King's weapon, right?"

"On the Red Force, your songs made everyone dance with happiness."

"In my memory, your music is the greatest thing in the world!"

Uta froze.

A distant afternoon flashed into her mind.

A young Luffy clapping excitedly—

"Uta! Sing another one!"

"Music isn't wrong."

Luffy crouched down to meet her eyes.

"The one who used it is."

"So how about it?"

"Want to come beat that bastard with us?"

"Your way. Our way."

"The Straw Hat Pirates' way."

His eyes were like the deepest ocean.

Filled with unwavering trust.

Uta's breathing slowly steadied.

The tears had stopped.

Only faint streaks remained at the corners of her eyes.

She looked at Luffy.

The little brother she once protected had grown into a captain capable of protecting others.

His gaze was warm.

Unshakable.

It filled her with strength she had never felt before.

Uta nodded firmly.

Her voice was still hoarse—but full of determination.

The wind lifted her red-and-white hair, strands flying in the morning light.

Her beautiful figure seemed reborn beneath the rising sun.

Like a phoenix emerging from flames.

She slowly stood up.

In her amethyst eyes—

The despair and confusion were gone.

Only a steady light remained.

She knew it.

A new battle was about to begin.

And this time—

She would not fight alone.

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