...
"Uta! You're Uta, right!"
Luffy's signature loud voice—carrying a bit of goofiness yet utterly sincere—echoed clearly through the concert venue's amplification system and the light curtain's broadcast, resounding across the entire site and also ringing through God Valley.
On stage, Uta—who had just finished a song and whose emotions had not yet fully settled—froze at this sudden shout.
She instinctively looked up toward the straw-hat-wearing boy who had abruptly rushed onto the stage.
When her gaze landed on that familiar straw hat, her star-filled eyes instantly widened!
"It's me… ah, it's me!"
Hearing Luffy's voice, Uta responded with a mix of uncertainty and surprise, but far more was the stirring of awakened memories.
Luffy's smile grew even brighter. He nodded vigorously, as if confirming some monumental piece of good news.
Seeing Luffy's smile and that straw hat laden with so many memories, a long-sealed corner of Uta's mind seemed to suddenly ignite!
The two signature braids hanging over her shoulders—one red, one white—even lifted slightly for an instant from the surge of emotion!
"Luffy! You're Luffy!!"
Uta's voice suddenly rose, brimming with incredulous joy and the excitement of reunion!
She was no longer the superstar commanding the entire venue; she was more like a girl who had just seen a childhood playmate.
"Long time no see, Uta!"
Luffy waved his hand energetically, his smile as pure as sunlight.
"Luffy!!"
With their identities confirmed, overwhelming joy swept away all of Uta's restraint and stage etiquette.
She completely forgot about the tens of thousands of audience members around her, forgot that the live Den Den Mushi was pointed right at this spot!
Like a child, she cheered, spread her arms wide, and without hesitation rushed forward, throwing herself into a tight embrace around Luffy!
In the remnants of her memory, Luffy was still that snot-nosed little kid from Windmill Village who ran around behind her and Shanks all day yelling about becoming the Pirate King.
Who would have thought that upon meeting again, he had grown into such a tall, upright young man with firm eyes—and still wearing that profoundly meaningful straw hat!
This embrace, spanning long years and vast seas, was filled with pure, blazing friendship!
The entire venue erupted in shock; God Valley was stunned!
"Wh… what?!"
"Uta… knows that pirate?!"
"They… they're hugging?!"
...
The concert audience, who had been furiously cursing Luffy and preparing to "protect" Uta just a second earlier, were now left utterly dumbfounded by this sudden embrace and familiar exchange—their jaws practically hitting the floor!
The massive cognitive dissonance left many people's minds blank. The earlier anger and hostility popped like a punctured balloon, instantly deflating completely, leaving only utter confusion and incredulity.
The Straw Hat crew was equally stunned.
"Hey! That guy Luffy… he actually really knows Miss Uta?!" Sanji's heart-shaped eyes instantly turned into tiny dots; his cigarette nearly fell from his mouth.
"They seem really close…" Nami covered her face, feeling the situation spiraling further beyond expectations.
"When did Luffy get to know such a famous singer?" Zoro held his swords, brows slightly furrowed, but he also relaxed a bit—at least it wasn't leading to a fight.
"Usopp! Chopper! Did you hear that?! Luffy knows Uta!!" Though Brook had no eyeballs, the way his skull turned conveyed his shock.
Usopp could no longer hold back his curiosity and shouted up toward the stage: "Hey! Luffy! What the heck is going on?! How do you know Princess Uta?!"
On stage, the tightly embraced pair finally separated. Uta wiped the corners of her slightly reddened eyes from excitement, while Luffy continued grinning carelessly.
Facing the questions from his crew and the entire audience, Luffy scratched his head and answered in his characteristically matter-of-fact tone—as if there was nothing strange about it at all:
"What are you guys talking about? What's so weird about this?"
He pointed at Uta beside him, then—as if suddenly remembering something—added:
"Uta is…"
Luffy paused briefly, seemingly gathering his words, then clearly and affirmatively stated the identity that countless people had already guessed, yet which he now personally confirmed:
"…Shanks' daughter!"
"..."
Silence.
A deathly silence first enveloped the concert venue, then spread outward like ripples to every corner watching via live broadcast, and finally descended upon God Valley as well.
And then…
"Ehhhhh—!!!"
An indescribable uproar and clamor surged like a tsunami across every place!
"Sh… Shanks' daughter?!"
"Red-Haired Shanks?! That Yonko?!"
"Uta is a Yonko's daughter?! Oh my god!!"
"This is way… way too shocking!!"
The on-site audience was completely thrown into chaos.
Their idol—the diva who brought hope and joy—had the real identity of being the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea who ruled the New World, the Yonko "Red-Haired" Shanks?!
This colossal identity gap was a hundred times more shocking than Luffy's earlier appearance!
In God Valley, the same stunned exclamations and incredulous murmurs filled the air.
"It really… really is father and daughter?!"
"Those who guessed daughter were right!"
"That Red-Hair kid actually has such a beautiful daughter—and she's a huge star?!"
"Now things are interesting: Figarland bloodline, Yonko's daughter, world-class singer… this identity stack is…"
The pirates who had been speculating about Uta's identity earlier now felt a complex mix of "as expected" and "it really is like that."
Though mentally prepared, having it so bluntly confirmed by Luffy still hit them with a powerful impact.
"Waaah!!"
Little Shanks, held in Gloriosa's arms, saw Uta and Luffy hugging and laughing on the light curtain. He seemed to sense that joy as well, babbling excitedly!
His eyes sparkled brightly; clearly, he really liked the "big sister" in the scene and the straw-hat-wearing "big brother."
The most dramatic reaction, however, came from Saint Garling.
"I… I'm a grandfather?!"
This leader of the God's Knights swayed violently the instant he heard Luffy's words, his mouth corners twitching uncontrollably several times.
His face looked as if struck by lightning—mixed with shock, bewilderment, an indescribable complexity…
and… some extremely subtle emotion that even he himself might not have noticed.
Shanks was his son; though still an infant now, Uta was undoubtedly his own biological granddaughter!
This sudden generational leap, and the realization that in this "future" he already had bloodline continuation,
left this Celestial Dragon's highest military representative—who was always known for his cold, iron-blooded demeanor—momentarily at a complete loss, frozen in place.
The Five Elders' expressions were equally spectacular.
"As expected…" Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's voice was low, carrying a tone of confirmation, yet his brows furrowed even tighter: "This girl really is of the Figarland lineage… carrying Celestial Dragon blood."
This identity alone spelled trouble—let alone her close ties to a Yonko emperor and to Luffy of the "D" clan.
Saint Marcus Mars rubbed his brow, his tone helpless: "Red-Haired Shanks became a Yonko in the lower world, stirring up storms.
His daughter became a world-renowned singer in the lower world, with influence spreading across the globe… this father and daughter pair really are…"
Saint Marcus Mars couldn't find the right words and ultimately let out only a complex sigh.
The Figarland branch seemed always to run counter to "rules" and "expectations."
Uta's identity being established was like a massive stone dropped into a lake—the ripples it stirred were far from settling.
This meant that behind what had seemed a simple concert lay even more deeply entangled forces!
The Yonko Red Hair Pirates, the Figarland family (Celestial Dragons), the Straw Hat Pirates with deep bonds to both Shanks and Luffy, and even the possible stance of the World Government…
Everything had become far more delicate and dangerous because of the identity "Shanks' daughter."
On stage, after the initial joy of reunion had slightly calmed, Uta looked at Luffy. Complex light flickered in her eyes—joy at seeing him after so long, relief at his growth… and a trace of something unspeakable, a heaviness hidden beneath her smile?
...