One Piece: Starting in God Valley as a Slave

Uta gazed at the Tot Musica in her hands with astonishment. Carl smiled and said,

"Uta, this time, you've turned misfortune into fortune. From now on, Tot Musica will be your personal guardian."

As someone who possessed the Song-Song Fruit and displayed exceptional talent, Uta was the ideal summoner for Tot Musica.

However, compared to the overwhelming power of Tot Musica, Uta was still too weak to control its ferocity.

Thus, Carl had "purified" Tot Musica.

Now, Uta could activate Tot Musica through her Song-Song Fruit abilities, allowing it to fight for her without the risk of it going out of control.

Tot Musica had essentially become a combat machine, perfectly in sync with Uta's will, without causing her any emotional distress.

To put it simply, Uta now had a powerful "mecha" aligned with her heart—a "mecha" with Admiral-level strength.

However, summoning Tot Musica consumed far more stamina than merely using her Song-Song Fruit. In her current state, Uta could only maintain Tot Musica's combat form for three minutes at best.

But, of course, three minutes was more than enough to defeat 99% of people in the world.

Uta clenched the Tot Musica in her hand, looked up at Carl, and softly said,

"Thank you, Uncle..."

Carl smiled faintly and said,

"Now that you know I'm your uncle, there's no need for thanks."

Shanks finally snapped out of his daze and leaned in, saying to Uta,

"Uta, why don't you dismiss your Uta World now?"

Uta nodded silently, then hummed a short tune. The vibrant, colorful space began to dissolve into sparkling lights, bringing everyone back to the real world.

Outside, people were still in a dazed state. They, too, had been drawn into the Uta World by her singing, amplified through a Den Den Mushi.

In the royal palace, Uta bowed deeply to Carl and Shanks' group.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I did something foolish just now..."

Shanks waved his hand with a laugh,

"It's fine. Honestly, thinking back, that Uta World was pretty interesting. It was a unique experience."

He turned to Beckman and the others, asking,

"Don't you all agree?"

Beckman was the first to nod in agreement, and Lucky Roux, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a piece of roasted meat, shouting for a banquet.

Gordon was still recovering from the shock, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. At that moment, a low voice sounded from behind him,

"Hey."

Gordon's body stiffened, realizing he was now in the shadow of a towering figure. Slowly, he looked up to see Katakuri's sharp-toothed grin.

Katakuri towered over the pale-faced Gordon and asked calmly,

"You're the king here, right? Can you get me some donuts? I forgot to bring any when we got off the ship."

Gordon hadn't expected this intimidating figure to ask for something so simple, and the stark contrast struck him with a sense of dissonance. Seeing no immediate response, Katakuri frowned slightly,

"Did I scare you?"

Gordon snapped out of it and hastily replied,

"No, no, not at all! I'll have someone prepare donuts right away!"

He hurried out to arrange for the donuts, returning with palace servants carrying platters of the treats for Katakuri.

Meanwhile, Uta remained with her father, Shanks, and her uncle, Carl.

Shanks laughed heartily as he shared tales of his adventures at sea, each story prompting gasps of amazement from Uta. Seeing her wide-eyed wonder, Shanks' grin grew ever prouder.

Carl, holding a glass of red wine brought by a servant, watched with an amused smile.

Shanks grew more animated with every tale. Finally, he extended an invitation to Uta.

"Uta, how about coming back as our musician?"

To Shanks, Uta's excitement over his stories of adventure was a clear sign she'd want to rejoin their crew.

However, Uta shook her head and turned to Carl, her eyes filled with hesitation.

Carl raised an eyebrow, curious.

"What's wrong, Uta? Don't you want to go out to sea?"

Uta bit her lip, her cheeks flushing pink. She shyly said,

"I do, but right now, I want to visit Marineford..."

Shanks was stunned.

"What!?"

Carl arched an eyebrow and asked,

"Marineford is the Marine Headquarters. Why would you want to go there?"

Uta clasped her hands behind her back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She stammered,

"Uncle, when I interacted with my fans, they often mentioned you and said they wanted to meet you. So, I..."

Carl tilted his head, a playful smile on his face.

"So, what?"

Uta scratched her head nervously and continued,

"I told them I'd perform at Marineford and use a live broadcast Den Den Mushi so they could see you. I even asked Mr. Gordon to send a request to Marineford for the concert, but we never got a reply..."

She looked up at Carl with a pleading expression.

"Uncle, does this mean my request was denied?"

Carl paused to think before replying,

"I don't know about this. It might have been overlooked by the Public relations department."

As Fleet Admiral, Carl was the undisputed leader of the Marines, but that didn't mean he handled everything personally. If he did, he'd never leave his office.

Matters like Uta's concert request fell under the purview of the PR department. Recently, under Stussy's management of the World Economy News, her collaboration with the Marine PR team had kept them exceedingly busy.

Moreover, the recent upheavals at sea—including the fall of three Yonko pirate crews—had the PR department working tirelessly to manage the fallout. A concert was likely far down their list of priorities.

With this in mind, Carl chuckled and said,

"How about this, Uta? Come back to Marineford with me, and I'll arrange it for you."

Uta let out an excited cheer and threw herself into Carl's arms.

"Yay! Uncle, you're the best!"

Meanwhile, Shanks stood off to the side, his face a picture of despair.

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+240 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg