One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 28: On the Verge of Departure

"Since you're so reluctant to see us go, then for the next month, would you like to leave with us and go on an adventure somewhere else?"

In the tavern, Louis leaned down and stroked Uta's head, his expression incredibly serious.

Uta looked up and her purple eyes met his earnest gaze, which was half-hidden by his dazzling golden hair. Louis's smooth skin and well-defined face forcefully entered Uta's line of sight.

The moment their eyes met, Uta felt her heart race, just like when she had been frightened by Yelena's transformation. She subconsciously turned her head away, unable to maintain eye contact. She felt a bit dizzy, for a moment forgetting her sadness and even what Louis had just said.

"..."

The air fell silent. The sad atmosphere of parting faded somewhat as everyone looked on with strange expressions. Only the green-haired proprietress behind the bar was secretly laughing.

Louis watched Uta's reaction and fell silent again. Due to his powerful charm in this regard, he had often seen this kind of situation back on Baal. But in the two years on the Red Force, neither Yelena nor Uta had ever shown any such reaction, so Louis had forgotten about this aspect of himself.

After a moment's hesitation, Louis silently took a step back and spoke to wake the dazed Uta. "Uta?"

"!!" Uta suddenly snapped back to reality.

"I said, would you like to temporarily leave with us?" Louis asked the question again.

Hearing this, a hesitant look appeared on Uta's face, which had just returned to normal. After a long moment, she turned to look at Shanks, Beckman, and the others, a hopeful glint in her eyes. "Shanks? Is that okay?"

The crew's expressions varied. They opened their mouths as if to speak, but in the end, said nothing. They quietly looked at Shanks, waiting for his decision.

However, to everyone's surprise, Shanks turned sideways, rested a hand on his chair, and gave Uta a doting smile. "Uta, you have to have your own opinion."

"We will support any reasonable decision you make!"

Shanks looked at Uta's hopeful eyes, a shadow of melancholy in his own heart. Uta, it's about time you tried living a life away from us...

The New World is very dangerous. It will be hard for us to protect you there...

Shanks planned to find a suitable place for Uta to grow up safely before he and his crew entered the second half of the Grand Line. But Uta had never left the Red Hair Pirates since he had found her in that treasure chest. It would be very difficult to ask her to live alone in a strange place. Moreover, Shanks felt that if he were to propose this idea, the moment Uta shed a single tear, he would give up and just stubbornly take her with them to the New World.

Now, Louis's offer to take Uta away temporarily gave Shanks hope.

Two years had been enough for Shanks to see Louis's character. He was kind to everyone except those affiliated with the World Government. His talent was nearly unrivaled, and he had already begun to turn that talent into real strength. Two years ago, he was already a powerhouse who could hold an absolute advantage against a CP0 agent. Now, his strength had grown even more. Protecting Uta in the East Blue, or even Paradise, would be no problem at all.

In short, this was a trial run for Shanks to let Uta experience life away from the Red Hair Pirates. Whether Uta chose to leave the East Blue with Louis in the future, or to be settled somewhere in the East Blue by him, this was a good first step.

Although, it was a little unfair to Uta...

"..."

Uta heard his words, lowered her head, and fell into deep thought.

"Don't rush. Just give us an answer tomorrow," Yelena said, not pushing her, but gently giving Uta enough time to think.

The next day, at the small port of Foosha Village.

Yelena carried a huge backpack, with her heavy, long-handled war hammer and some purchased dehydrated vegetables placed by her feet. Her eyes were fixed on the sea, letting the oncoming sea breeze whip her long white hair. The backpack mostly contained clothes and daily necessities for herself and Louis, as well as some medicine. As for meat, Yelena hadn't prepared any. Both the frost of her Wendigo form and the constructs from the Life-Life Fruit gave them海戰能力 (sea combat capabilities); they didn't need to worry about meat. This sea was very dangerous, but it also held countless resources.

"Yelena, where's our first stop?" Uta's somewhat joyous voice sounded beside Yelena.

Yelena looked down at Uta, who was also carrying a backpack, and a smile appeared on her face. In the end, Uta had come along with her luggage. She felt that compared to just resting on this island, going out on an adventure with them would be more interesting. After spending so long with Shanks and the others, an occasional adventure without them would be nice too.

"That depends on Louis's decision when he gets back. He's our captain now."

Uta was taken aback, then realized that seemed to be the case. She turned her head and looked around, searching for any sign of Louis. In the end, she found nothing. Her face fell again.

Just then, Shanks and his crew walked over from a short distance away. "Uta, you didn't bring a lot of your clothes and accessories!"

Uta looked back at Shanks, a slightly exasperated look in her eyes. "What's the point of bringing so many dresses and accessories on an adventure?"

For this trip, Uta had only brought a few low-key outfits and essential daily items. She believed that when she was with Louis and Yelena, she couldn't be treated like a treasure as she was on the Red Hair Pirates' ship. She felt she had to play the role of a proper partner; being too delicate wouldn't do.

"That would just make me a burden, right?" Uta's clear voice echoed in the port, stunning the members of the Red Hair Pirates. Then, they all started to laugh.

"Boss, you underestimated Uta's determination!"

"Uta's grown up now!"

"Yeah, you've grown to the point where you're thinking about your partners..."

Shanks pressed down the straw hat on his head, hiding half his face, but the slight upward curve of his lips betrayed his gratified mood.

Then, under everyone's gaze, he pulled out a treasure chest from behind his back and handed it to Uta.

"What's this?" Uta was curious.

"The Sing-Sing Fruit you wanted two years ago." Shanks knelt down, looking as if he wanted to commit his daughter's appearance to memory. "You've grown a lot. We feel we can trust you to eat this fruit now..."

However, Uta did something Shanks never expected. With a radiant smile, she pushed the treasure chest containing the fruit back.

"I don't want it!"

"Why?" Shanks made an exaggeratedly surprised face.

Uta turned her head, closed her eyes, and waved her hand, feigning a proud posture. "Louis and Yelena are both Devil Fruit users."

"If I eat a fruit too, and they fall into the sea, I won't be able to save them!"