Hello again! The previous chapter was supposed to be this one, but I decide to split it apart and that's why it took so long. On the other hand, this one came sooner as I had a good chunk of it written out already! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I don't own One Piece.
"Do you really have to go?"
"As great as it sounds to keep on beating you into the ground, my place is back at Elegia."
The moment dawn approaches, Abell has already packed up and is ready to set sail with Uta in tow. Naturally, Luffy and Rayleigh were there to see them off. Despite drinking the night away, Abell was still able to get up earlier than Uta and prepared the Uta Shanty which was a feat that the diva has yet to understand. Abell used to get drunk after a bottle of rum, but now she can drink for hours straight and recover without getting a hangover not four years ago. Uta is quite positive the human body doesn't work that way, but she's not going to judge nor bother solving the truth.
"Luffy, before we go I want to give you this." Abell said, extending her hand out.
Luffy looks down at Abell's hand to see a red transponder snail. It was a bit strange since it has a bunch of wires and antennae attached to its shell. What's more interesting is that it is connected to a strange dial. Luffy takes the snail carefully and looks at it curiously as he has never seen a transponder snail quite like this.
"This is a special transponder snail connecting to the island of Elegia." Abell tells the pirate. "If you ever want to talk with us or rather Uta, we may be busy, but I'm sure a call from you every now and then would do her good. Plus, if you want any tips on haki, Uta will be more than willing to help I bet."
"Hey, don't assume stuff!" Uta snaps despite knowing that Abell was spot on.
"Seriously?" Luffy asks excitedly. "Thank you so much, Abell!"
"I'm not tattoo woman anymore?" Abell asks with a chuckle.
"Nope, after all the stories Uta told me about you and her other friends, I won't forget!" Luffy said smiling.
"That's good to hear, but I was starting to get used to that name." Abell said with a laugh.
"You said it was a special transponder snail, right?" Rayleigh asks. "Aside from those strange wires and dial, what's so special about it?"
"I'm glad you asked." Abell said, nodding happily. "It's a one of a kind prototype transponder snail that I made. After years of trial and error, I have successfully made two and I figured that this one should be in your care."
"What does it do?" Uta asks.
"Luffy. Uta. Do you know about how video transponder snails work?" Abell asks.
"Pretty much a smaller snail records and projects the image to a larger snail." Uta answers. "Why do you ask?"
"What if I told you that I combined the two into one snail?" Abell asks, smirking.
"EH?! You can do that?" Luffy and Uta ask in shock.
"What is in your hand Luffy is a snail that can simultaneously put you on video while talking through the mic. In other words, a Video Call Snail." Abell explains. "Want me to show you how it works?"
Luffy and Uta nod eagerly. Abell takes the snail and puts it down then she picks up the speaker phone and takes the dial off and prop it before her. Abell then clicks the button to make a call causing the snail to make a ringing noise which makes everyone else wait with anticipation. Abell goes back on the ship and brings out a blanket.
"Can you hold this for me please?" Abell asks Rayleigh. "Just hold it up like you're a clothesline."
Rayleigh understood and did as Abell instructed. Then, the line picks up from the snail.
"Hello? Abell is that you?" Pitch asks from the other end. "Are you doing a test drive on this thing? You know I'm not that tech savvy."
"Hey! It's Pitch!" Uta said excitedly.
"UTA?! IS THAT YOU?! PLEASE TELL ME YOUR OK?! YOU'RE NOT HURT ARE YOU?!"
There was a bunch of clamoring and two more voices for which Uta can assume is Gordon and Rave, suddenly begin talking. However, the voices were all jumbled together and it became impossible to tell who was talking.
"Calm down you all." Abell ordered. "I want to test the video call snail so can you follow my instructions?"
"Here let me." Gordon said in the background. "Tell me what I need to do."
"See that small vision dial that's attached to the snail shell?" Abell asks. "Take it off and point it towards you."
"Ok got it." Gordon said. "I hope this thing can reach far distances just as you designed it to be."
Abell adjusts the position of the little white dial then suddenly, the snail begins to make a humming noise. Its eyes glow bright as it shoots a light from its eyes to the blanket that Rayleigh was holding up. Just as Abell said, a video feed pops up showing Gordon, Pitch, and Rave.
"Hey, looks like it works." Abell said smiling.
Uta and Luffy pop up behind Abell to see for themselves and the Section Leaders and Gordon were all happy with Gordon in tears from relief. Uta was about to cry from seeing her friends and teacher again.
"UTA!" they scream happily.
"Hey, guys. It's been awhile." Uta said, wiping the tears from her cheek.
"I knew you weren't dead!" Rave cries. "How dare you trick us like that!"
"Do you know how concerned I was when I saw your wanted poster?" Gordon asks, shaken. "We warned you not to get in trouble!"
"Uta! Luffy! I'm glad to see that you both are in good health!" Pitch said happily.
"It's nice to see you all too." Luffy said waving to them.
The Elegia residents look a bit worried when Luffy responds and Uta can understand why.
"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about what happened to Ace." Pitch said sadly. "Most of us here have already met him and we know he was a kind soul. Not someone who deserved that type of death."
"It's fine. I'm doing better now." Luffy said, reassuring the group. "Besides, I can't stay sad forever and I'm sure Ace wouldn't want that either."
"I'm glad to hear." Gordon said, relieved. "That aside, I'm impressed by what you have achieved, Abell."
"Yeah. I didn't expect the snail to work so well at a distance this far." Abell agrees. "That being said, the one here with me and the one at Elegia are the only ones I made and are in their prototype phase. It took me two years to make these things successful, so making another one would be tough."
"Do you have the materials needed to make more?" Rave asks.
"No, dials are hard to come by nowadays." Abell admits. "Plus, it's not like we need more of those things anyways."
"Oh well." Rave said.
"We'll hang up for now and let you guys come back." Gordon said. "Where are you even?"
"I'll let you know about it later, but it will be a week long trip back at least if we will be going through the Calm Belt." Abell said.
"It is the fastest way, but is it the safest?" Pitch asks.
"Don't worry, the sea prism stone that is on the hull of the ship has done well to let us pass through the Calm Belt without issue." Abell said reassuringly to the group. "When you're done with the call, put the dial back on the shell, ok?"
"Got it. See you later." Gordon said.
"I'll see you all soon." Uta said waving to the group.
"Bye everyone!" Luffy said, waving.
"Bye!" the group said before the video feed cuts off.
Abell puts the dial back on the snail's shell and hands it to Luffy.
"You understand how to use it?" Abell asks, a bit worried if Luffy understood.
"Kind of?" Luffy answers haphazardly.
"I'll help him if the need arises." Rayleigh said, handing the blanket back to Abell. "I have an idea of how it works."
"Oh! I should give you this too." Abell said, reaching into her pocket.
Abell then hands Luffy a small vivre card for which he accepts.
"Who's vivre card is this?" Luffy asks as he watches the little white piece of paper move in his hand.
"That's Uta's." Abell answers pointing to the diva.
"Stop making vivre cards without my permission!" Uta said angrily. "How many of those do you have?"
Abell ignores Uta's rant and puts her focus on Luffy.
"If the need arises where we may need your help, use that to guide you." Abell said. "Although, since we will both be busy with our own things during the next two years, I doubt our paths will cross anytime soon."
"That's fine." Luffy said smiling. "Having this is reassuring enough."
There was a moment of silence between the two groups as they listened to the ocean breeze pass through.
"Well, if that's it then I guess this is goodbye." Uta said in a sad tone.
"Yeah." Luffy agrees.
Uta and Abell walk onto the Shanty with Luffy and Rayleigh watching silently. Abell takes the helm and activates the paddles which gets the ship moving. Uta stands from the back of the ship and watches as the distance between her and Luffy grows. Uta begins to feel this strange sense of deja vu.
Oh yeah. It's the same feeling I had when we parted back at Windmill Village. Uta thought as she turned away and headed down into the cabin. That same sickening feeling, almost as if I'm regretting the decision I made.
"Uta!"
Uta quickly turns around to see Luffy glaring at her from the shore.
"Next time we meet, I'll be ten, no, a hundred times stronger!" Luffy yells. "And when I see you next, I'll kick your ass!"
Uta couldn't help but laugh as that was the last thing Luffy was telling her.
"Luffy, what do you take the most pride in?" Uta yells at Luffy.
"My strength!" Luffy answers loudly.
"Then, become even stronger and defeat me if you can!" Uta yells back.
"Of course!" Luffy yells. "If I can't beat the strongest diva, then I can never become King of the Pirates!"
Uta can't help, but feel a sense of pride in what Luffy said.
"Just don't be a sore loser when I beat you again!" Uta laughs as she waves goodbye to Luffy.
"Ok!" Luffy yells back as he waves to Uta. "Uta! I will see you again! I promise!"
Uta smiles and walks back up to where Abell is and sits down on one of the chairs. Much to her surprise, Uta's eyes began to water and tears were beginning to stream down her face. Abell looks at her and Uta turns away quickly as she hopes to avoid Abell's gaze.
"Goodbyes are tough, aren't they?" Abell commented as she thought back.
"Yeah, but for some reasons, I feel like me and Luffy are now closer than we are farther apart." Uta said as she wiped the tears from her face. "I'm still a bit tired so I'm going to sleep down below."
"Go for it." Abell said understanding that Uta isn't very emotionally stable. "We still have a long trip ahead of us."
Uta isn't a morning person and waking up this early isn't the greatest for her. Especially with the send off leaving her emotionally drained, the young diva figured that she can catch another few hours of sleep. She walks down below deck and lays down on one of the hammocks. When she closes her eyes, she falls asleep instantly dreaming of a different reality where she and Luffy would have sailed the seas together.
~A few hours later...
Uta slowly opens her eyes to see herself staring at the wooden ceiling of her ship. It took Uta a moment to process the fact that she was back where she belonged and since she hasn't been on this ship for a little less than a month. Uta lets out a loud yawn and stretches her arm in the air. She looks at the clock that is hanging on the wall to see that it is just an hour before noon. Seeing as she might as well get up, Uta combs away her bed hair and adjusts her headset. Uta walks up on deck to see Abell steering the ship with a flask in hand.
"You're drinking pretty early." Uta scoffs as she leans against the railing.
"Relax, it ain't booze." Abell said, chuckling from Uta's comment. "Just tea."
"Sure sure." Uta said as she looked up at the sky. "Since when did you drink tea?"
Abell chuckles from Uta sarcasm and focuses on steering the ship. There was a moment of silence as the seagulls caw in the background.
"So, if you knew about my fake death, I assume you went to Amazon Lily, right?" Uta asks, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I did."
"You met Hancock and her sisters right?"
"Yup."
"...."
"Just say it."
"By any chance, did you meet your..."
"I did."
Uta looks at Abell shocked, but stays silent as she can tell that the atmosphere has become tense.
"She was on that island." Abell said, tensing up. "My mother was there and I had a nice long talk with her."
"How was it?" Uta asks hesitantly. "How did it feel to meet a parent that you almost gave up on meeting again?"
Abell takes a sip from her flask and thinks back to her encounter.
"It was beautiful." Abell answers softly. "One of the greatest moments of my life."
"Yeah." Uta said, looking away. "I understand that feeling too."
"Well, enough of the sappy stuff." Abell said changing the topic. "If you're in the mood to talk, why don't you tell me about what has happened during the time we last saw each other?"
Uta flinches at the thought and can feel Abell's gaze hitting her side.
"Well, I'll guess we have time to kill." Uta said with a sigh. "I'll tell you everything that I know and what I have experienced."
Uta begins her story by explaining how she spent her time training with Rayleigh and Shakky to better understand her strengths and weaknesses. She further elaborated on how far off she is from weak just from fighting Shakky and fails to understand how the current her isn't nearly as strong as what she believes herself to be. Uta then moves on and talks about her reactions to the War of the Best. She tells Abell how shocked she was to see both an emperor's crew and the strongest Marine soldiers fight it out and how she pales in comparison to her. By watching the war, she can also understand what Kuma meant when she treated war as something easy to solve when it wasn't. It made her question her goals regarding how she will proceed with her New Genesis. Uta tells Abell how happy she was when she saw Luffy arrive at the scene to save Ace and how heartbreaking it was to see him fall into despair. It was then that she decided to go after Luffy knowing that he escaped the scene barely hanging on to life. That was when she and Rayleigh decided to go to Amazon Lily despite the risks.
"I figured that was the case." Abell said as she steered the ship. "If it's for Luffy, almost anything, right?"
"Yeah." Uta said, leaning into her arms. "I would do anything."
"Then that would also mean you told him the truth then, right?" Abell asks cautiously. "I can't imagine that going well."
"I had to calm my nerves for sure, but I knew that no one else would be there for him." Uta said. "I would be a failure of a childhood friend if I had the power to help him and didn't."
Uta explains her trip to Amazon Lily to Abell next. She explains how during the trip to Amazon Lily, she finally concluded 'Where The Wind Blows' which was a song she put on hold for years. She also expressed shock on how she managed to kill a sea king for which Abell was skeptical about. Uta then talks about how she and Rayleigh finally went to Amazon Lily and how she met Luffy who was bandaged and bloodied. Uta explains how emotional she and Luffy were when they embraced and she finally told him her true identity and apologized to Luffy for lying to him. After the two reconciled, they caught up on everything and made amends with each other finally recognizing each other as the childhood friends they were. Uta exclaims to Abell on how happy and relieved she was when Luffy forgave her. Not only that, but Luffy also revealed to Uta how he has already figured it out due to Ace telling Luffy the truth during his final moments. Abell didn't respond so much as she silently paid her respects to Ace. Uta then continues in her story and explains how she revealed to Luffy the truth behind her disappearance and what she was up to during the past ten years regarding staying on Elegia, making music, and making a crew of her own. It was only after she caught up with Luffy did she meet two Warlords of the Sea, Jimbe and Hancock.
"Huh? You met Jimbe?" Abell asks, shocked. "How did that happen?"
"He was the one who saved Luffy's life during the war." Uta explains. "Apparently, he was against the war and refused to fight for the Marines cause and so he resigned."
"How is it that you always befriend the strangest of people?" Abell asks as she focuses on steering the ship.
Uta explains how shocked she was when she first met Hancock and her sisters who were natural super fans of hers. Her first impression of Jimbe was that he was a more humble and down to earth type of fellow making it easy to have a conversation with him. Since the two already saw her with Luffy, Uta at first came clean that she knows Luffy on a personal level and later came forward to them with her true identity after they've gained her trust.
"Ok, that explains why you entrusted Hancock with your history, but explain to me how you got yourself caught up in invading Marineford." Abell said impatiently.
"I'm getting to it!" Uta spat back. "Geez."
Uta then talks about how she, Luffy, Rayleigh, Hancock, and Jimbe begin to think about what they should do now that Luffy has recovered and Luffy's first natural response is to head back to Sababody. Naturally, Rayleigh found this as a bad idea as he found Luffy far too weak to continue on his journey. It was then decided that he should train for at least two years so he can get strong enough to journey through the New World. However, there was an issue with that plan. There was no way to communicate to the rest of the crew. Knowing how loyal they are to Luffy, they would probably get to the location as soon as possible especially with the recent news of Ace's death. With that Rayleigh suggested going back to Marineford where they can easily create a commotion and send a message via newspaper for which the crew would only understand.
"And how exactly did YOU get wrapped up into that mess?" Abell asks, losing her patience.
"I'm getting to it!" Uta repeats angrily. "Don't you have any patience?"
"I've been patient for several days too many." Abell said glaring at Uta. "Don't you try and pin this on me."
"Sorry." Uta said, understanding her place. "I'll continue."
At first, Uta was against going and wanted to head back to Sabaody, but Luffy pressured her and so she went in. When Abell interrogates on how she was so easily pressured, Uta reluctantly reveals that Luffy asked her when they were bathing, for which Abell bursts out laughing. She didn't expect for Uta to fall under such a pure method and is surprised she hasn't gone any further for which the diva cheeks burn with embarrassment. Uta then continues her story and explains how she went and devised a plan to hide her identity during the raid the following day by disguising as a masked warrior. With the help of Hancock, it was easy to come up with an outfit and if they time it right, they can stage her death afterwards to ease suspicion if people put a bounty on her, for which they did. Uta explains how she helped Luffy, Rayleigh, and Jimbe invade Marineford and what part she played during that ordeal. After the deed has been done, the group went back to Amazon Lily to recuperate and let Luffy heal. After a few days of waiting and partying at the Island of Women, Uta decided to go with Luffy to train until Abell picks her up due to the plan that she and Hancock made in order to prevent Uta from being a suspect and killing off her alter ego. She also talked about her time on Rusukaina where Rayleigh explained the powers of haki and how Uta realized that she has barely scratched the surface of unlocking her true potential. When she was on the island she also told Abell about her first real fight with Luffy. He was stronger than any of the Section Leaders and admittedly thought he would've beaten her a few times, although the two were simply sparring. However, Uta could tell that after training for a few days at Rusukainu, she has gotten a whole lot stronger.
"That brings us to today." Uta said after letting out a loud exhale. "Damn, how long was I talking for?"
"About three hours." Abell said, yawning. "Your vocal chords never fail to amaze me."
"Well, at least tell me you enjoyed my little tale." Uta said as she stretched her arms out.
"Trust me, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for an explanation." Abell said with a light chuckle. "Not going to lie, it was a better story than I expected."
"It better be, I have to tell this same story to the others when I get back." Uta said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Speaking of, when will we get back to Elegia?"
"By going through the Calm Belt, it will be a simple one week trip." Abell answers as she steadily steers her ship.
"A week?!" Uta screams in shock. "Is Elegia really that close to Amazon Lily?"
"By Calm Belt? Yes." Abell answers as she takes another sip of her flask. "Amazon Lily and Elegia are surprisingly close to each other."
"How come we never traveled through the Calm Belt more often?" Uta asks curiously. "This ship is already equipped with Seas Stone hulls."
"We never had a need to travel through the Calm Belt anyways." Abell answers casually. "Even though sailing through the Calm Belt is more easier than traveling through one of the blue seas and the Grand Line, there's not much to see in the long run and our stops are nowhere near that stretch of ocean."
Uta nods and is silent as she looks back.
"You're thinking that maybe you can visit Luffy soon since it's only a week long trip, right?" Abell asks, somewhat annoyed.
"Am I that easy to read?" Uta asks, embarrassed.
"Only to me." Abell said with a laugh. "The others have been very busy and so I'm sure that you won't have time to even think of leaving Elegia anytime soon."
"You have a surprise for me?" Uta asks eagerly. "I can't wait."
"We haven't been sitting still for a whole month twiddling our thumbs." Abell said smiling. "It's a game changer that will require all hands on deck."
"Oho! Looking forward to it." Uta said smiling. "It's going to be a long week though."
"You just hang in there until we get back to Elegia." Abell said with a laugh. "A week will go by soon if you're patient."
Since the trip back to Elegia will be one way with no need for stopping, Uta spent the majority relaxing below deck writing music and basic training. Occasionally, she and Abell will take the time to play some checkers and will talk together doing some free time. After a week, the pair finally see the island of Elegia come up from the horizon after an hour of dawn. Uta could cry at the sight of her home. It has been so long since she has touched Elegia soil. Abell begins to steer the vessel towards the island and as she gets closer, Uta notices something unusual about the layout.
"Hey, Abell?" Uta asks.
"Yeah?"
"Was that building always damaged?"
"That's not the only one."
Uta's eyes widen as she sees the reconstructed buildings of Elegia were all ransacked and some destroyed. However, the damage was quite minimal and it wasn't as if the island was burned to the ground. Still, anger filled Uta's heart as she clenched her hands into a fist.
"Who did this?" Uta asks silently.
"Pirates." Abell answered. "Many came to Elegia on pure luck due to their new found eagerness of finding the One Piece."
Uta then recalls what Whitebeard's last words were and understands what Abell meant.
"Is everyone safe?" Uta asks worriedly. "They all looked fine from the video call we made last week."
Abell bursts out laughing causing Uta to look at her strangely.
"You underestimate your friends." Abell laughs. "Those pirates never stood a chance against us and Gordon doesn't have a single scratch on him. After all they are no match for Red's Section Leaders."
"I know you guys are strong, but that doesn't mean that I won't worry about you guys." Uta stutters.
"I'm just messing with you." Abell said. "If you didn't care as much then those two wouldn't have been waiting for you at the shore for who knows how long."
Uta looks towards the shore to see two female figures waving to her from the shore. Much to the diva's delight, Pitch and Rave were standing at the shore awaiting her. Uta smiles happily as she waves back to them.
"PITCH! RAVE!"
"UTA! WELCOME HOME!"
Abell laughs out loud as she watches her three friends let out tears of joy.
"You guys are pathetic." Abell sighs as she steers the boat to the dock.
Before Abell could dock the ship, jumps off the boat rocking it greatly and lands into her friend's arms creating a giant dust cloud. Once the dust clears, the three girls can be seen hugging each other happily while crying tears of joy.
"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Pitch cries as she embraces Uta. "I'M SO HAPPY YOUR BACK!"
"We made sure to keep Elegia safe while you were gone!" Rave said, hugging the diva. "We got much stronger too!"
"I'm just so happy that we are together again!" Uta said snuggling against her two friends. "I'm just glad that you two are alright."
"WAAAHHH!"
As the three cry into each other's arms, Abell slowly walks over to break them apart.
"We can all celebrate later, right now I believe we have something important to show her." Abell said. "Something that Uta would drool over."
Pitch and Rave's eyes brightened up as they understood what Abell meant. The Section Leaders lead Uta to the opposite end of the island.
"Ok, so hear this." Pitch said facing Uta. "A marine vessel came by the island, but instead of Marines on it, there were pirates sailing it!"
"The pirates came here to Elegia and were about to pillage the place, but we beat them up and kicked them out." Rave said. "The battle was hard and the island sure didn't take the beating easily."
"You destroyed a Marine battleship?" Uta asks. "A bit over the top, don't you think?"
"A Marine vessel stolen by pirates would be better off sunken into the sea." Abell said with a click of her tongue. "It would be a shame upon Marines to let that ship sail under those pirate's command."
"So what did you do to all the pirates?" Uta asks curiously. "You didn't call the Marines, did you?"
"We trashed the entire crew, tied them up, and set them sailing on a tiny row boat." Abell said, causing Uta to laugh.
"Wow, I haven't heard that story in a long time." Uta laughs. "That brings back memories."
"Learned from the best." Abell said smiling. "Anyways, I did say that stolen Marine vessels should be sunk, but this one is different."
Uta looked at the ship to see it partly damaged, but what most caught her was the design of the ship. It was smaller than most Marine vessels she had seen and the color of the ship was brighter with the letters 'SSG' painted on the side of the ship.
"This is the Marine's Special Science Group ships." Abell said. "It doesn't have the same offensive capabilities as a battleship, but it's still equipped to go sail across the Calm Belt."
Abell then leads Uta on board where several piles of treasure were found along with several crates. These pirates have already taken this boat around the sea judging from its condition for who knows how long. Abell then waves to Uta and points her to a suspicious large crate that has barely been touched.
"The pirates have gone through almost all of the ship's resources, but left this. Something they found useless." Abell said, opening the crate. "However, I think you have a much better use for this."
Uta looks inside to see a bunch of yellow transponder snails with brown shells. They had a strange attachment on top of it and had the letters 'SSG' labeled on their sides. Uta picks up one of the snails confused on its purpose.
"What kind of snail is this?" Uta asks.
"A transponder snail that helped me create that video call snail I showed you." Abell said smiling. "According to the label, this is called a Livestream Snail and is capable of making worldwide broadcasts."
"Worldwide?" Uta repeats.
Uta's eyes widen with shock and the Section Leaders all smile as they can see the diva get a shot of inspiration.
"We're going to work ladies." Uta said, smiling happily. "I hope you're ready because Diva Red is making a huge comeback!"
"We're ready! Our diva is back!"
Whew, chapter over. Uta is now home and everyone is together again. Unlike the movie plot where Uta finds the snails washed up on the shore, the Section Leaders got a hold of the snails while Uta was out and about. I guess we're about to see what Uta has in store with those livestream snails. Speaking of snails, the video transponder snail that was drawn was done by mario24757 and you can find more of his art on his instagram account. Hopefully I can pump out the next chapter before Christmas but who knows. I'll see you all in the next chapter! Bye!