...
At this moment, the stage was playing out a scene of "misunderstanding" and betrayal…
"Uta! Let my crew go! I…"
Luffy's furious shout was rudely interrupted. With a "pssh" sound, the musical notes binding him slowly dissipated, but Luffy did not attack immediately.
He stood in place, fists clenched tightly, facing Uta and this absurd situation before him.
Even so, Luffy still did not attack Uta or the ordinary people walking up around her. But the civilians who had been hurt by pirates no longer cared about any of that…
They splashed basins full of seawater toward Luffy, still nonstop complaining from their mouths—how could they distinguish good from evil?
"Pirates! Get out!"
"It's all because of you! You ruined Princess Uta's concert!"
"Go die, pirates!"
"Splash!"
The icy seawater drenched Luffy from head to toe.
The weakness of a Devil Fruit user struck instantly. His legs buckled, and he dropped to one knee as all his strength drained away like a receding tide.
"Cough… cough cough…"
Luffy coughed violently, the salty seawater choking his throat.
"Hit him! Beat this pirate to death!"
"It's pirates who make us live in constant fear!"
"Can't you just let us enjoy a nice moment for once?!"
…
The crowd went mad, venting years of fear and resentment toward pirates onto this completely defenseless boy.
The irony was that Luffy and the Straw Hat crew had never been the kind of villains who burned, killed, and plundered.
They were adventurers, dream-chasers, heroes who had saved countless people from tyranny and disaster time and again.
Yet now, they had become innocent targets.
"Luffy-senpai!"
At the critical moment, a shout rang out!
Green-haired Bartolomeo charged forward from the back of the crowd like a loyal guard dog protecting its master!
He crossed his hands in front of his chest, and an invisible barrier instantly unfolded!
"Barrier: Sphere!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rocks, debris, even knives thrown by some people—all crashed against the transparent barrier, producing dull thuds but failing to penetrate even a little.
Bartolomeo stood in front of Luffy, back turned to the attacking crowd.
He lowered his head to look at the weakened Luffy, eyes full of heartache and anger: "Luffy-senpai! Princess Uta's ability is way too troublesome!
We can't beat her right now! And you… you don't really want to fight her at all, do you!"
Bartolomeo had been watching the whole time. He hadn't rushed in impulsively, but seeing Luffy about to be attacked, he finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Looking at Luffy's drained state, Bartolomeo spoke the cruel truth.
Uta's Uta Uta no Mi ability was nearly invincible in this concert venue. More importantly, Luffy would never truly hurt his childhood playmate.
Luffy knelt inside the barrier, seawater dripping from the brim of his straw hat.
He gritted his teeth and slammed his rubber fist hard against the ground: "I'm not gonna give up!"
Even with his strength stripped away by seawater, even misunderstood, even facing his once-most-important friend, the word "give up" did not exist in Luffy's dictionary.
At the center of the stage, Uta watched this scene and suddenly let out a "pfft" laugh.
She tilted her head, her face once again wearing that mischievous, playful expression, as if the cold, commanding figure who had just created this chaos wasn't her: "Here we go again… the sore-loser little brat~"
The speed of her emotional switch caught everyone off guard.
One second she was the ruthless "Songstress Queen," the next she was back to being the childhood playmate who loved to tease.
But just as Uta was about to say something more…
A sudden change occurred!
"ROOM!"
A cold male voice rang out!
"Buzz!"
A translucent spherical space instantly expanded, enveloping the area where Luffy and Bartolomeo were!
Then, with a "whoosh!", in the next instant, Luffy and Bartolomeo performed a perfect vanishing act on the spot!
In their place, a heavy boulder "thudded" down, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"What?!"
"Where'd they go?!"
"Where are those two pirates?!"
The audience looked around in confusion…
Uta's smile froze on her face. Her eyes scanned the entire venue and finally locked onto a certain corner. She murmured to herself: "There are other pirates… hiding here too?"
[Perspective cuts back to God Valley]
"This is… that 'Surgeon of Death' ability, right?"
Silver Axe stroked his chin, brows furrowed. They had already seen Trafalgar Law's bizarre spatial surgical ability in the earlier scenes, so he recognized it at a glance.
Sure enough, the light curtain switched. In a hidden corner of some ruins, Law retracted the hand that had deployed "ROOM."
He was only accompanied by the white bear Bepo; the other Heart Pirates members were nowhere to be seen.
Luffy sat collapsed on the ground, still coughing up seawater. Bartolomeo anxiously circled around him.
"Tra-guy! Thanks again this time! But why are you here? Did you come to watch Uta's concert too?"
Luffy looked at Law curiously, while Law ignored the fanatic Luffy fan Bartolomeo and coldly stared at Luffy: "Straw Hat captain, you almost got yourself killed.
That woman… is no longer someone you can resolve with 'friendship.'"
Luffy raised his head. Beneath the soaked straw hat, his eyes remained stubborn: "Uta, she's just…"
"She's just trapped by her past…"
Law coldly cut Luffy off, his tone as unapproachable as ever: "Everyone has their own obsession. Hers is to deny the entire Age of Pirates… including you."
Law began explaining to Luffy why he was here—something that truly surprised everyone, as none of the people in God Valley had expected Law to appear here as well.
"Earlier this Law guy said Luffy was one of the 'D' clan…"
At this moment, Scopper Gaban stroked his chin, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Could he have some secret too? Or does he also have a name with 'D'?"
Gaban's mind was clearly working fast. He glanced at Roger, Rocks, and Garp across the way, then deliberately raised his voice so the entire God Valley could hear.
As he spoke, he subtly glanced toward the Five Elders' side.
Sure enough, the Five Elders' reactions were so intense it was shocking!
Saint Nusjuro's First Generation Kitetsu trembled slightly in his hand. His face was ashen, veins bulging at his temples, as if he had just heard the most forbidden word in the world.
Saint Warcury narrowed his eyes, fingers unconsciously tapping in a disordered rhythm.
Saint Saturn, Saint Ju Peter, Saint Mars—each of their expressions looked like they had swallowed a fly, a mix of disgust, wariness, and… a trace of barely concealed fear.
That fear was subtle, but it didn't escape the eyes of the top-tier powerhouses present.
"Hey, Rocks…"
Gaban seemed to have discovered something interesting. He turned toward the man not far away who radiated terrifying aura without even trying to hide his anger: "On your side, are there any more with names carrying 'D'?"
The question was extremely provocative, even carrying a hint of "picking a fight."
The Five Elders all turned to glare at Gaban with venomous looks that could almost set him on fire.
But Gaban didn't care at all—he treated them like air and simply smiled as he looked at Rocks.
Rocks D. Xebec—this name itself already contained a "D."
The overlord of the seas folded his arms across his chest, expressionlessly watching the light curtain, then glanced at the Five Elders' reactions. A playful curve tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Let me think… I count as one. My son Teach counts as one."
He paused, his voice calm yet carrying across the entire area:
"As for Beehive Island… among those pirates from different seas and different factions, the ones with 'D' in their names… there won't be few."
As soon as the words fell, the Rocks Pirates camp immediately exploded!
"Boss! My name actually has a 'D' too! John D. Smith!"
"And me! Eduardo D. Rivera!"
"My whole family has 'D'! We just keep it hidden and don't usually use it!"
"I'm a 'D' too! I've been told since I was little never to tell anyone casually!"
...