"Tot Musica, huh?"
"What a pain~"
Step—
As the battlefield burned and smoke filled the air, Orin set foot on the land of Elegia. In that instant, a sleek black suit appeared on his body.
Facing the terrifying Music Demon King, Tot Musica, there was little tension in his expression.
"Hey, Orin!!!"
Through a storm of lasers and lightning, Shanks shouted at the top of his lungs.
"To defeat Tot Musica, just relying on brute force attacks won't—"
Before Shanks could even finish, Orin looked calmly toward the incoming lightning and lasers. His hand moved to his blade.
The moment his sword was drawn, his figure flickered—and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Tot Musica.
His scarlet eyes locked onto the Music Demon King before him.
It was a slash somewhat similar to Shanks', yet infinitely sharper, more tyrannical—carrying even the power to shatter space itself.
"Divine Departure!!!"
Bang—!!!
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
A blinding red light pierced the sky. Tot Musica's body erupted in a violent crimson explosion as space itself fractured and the heavens split apart.
That single terrifying strike directly shredded most of Tot Musica's body into nothingness.
A tremor ran through the air as Tot Musica's form began to twist, before slowly dissolving into warped musical notes and lightning that scattered into the wind.
"…!!!"
The half-finished sentence in Shanks' throat froze.
His mouth hung open, cold sweat trailing down his cheek—he couldn't speak for a long time.
That Tot Musica—
Was taken out with a single slash…
After a brief daze, Shanks let out a half-relieved, half-exasperated smile and shook his head.
Should he say, "as expected of Orin"?
While Orin had just one-shotted Tot Musica, he didn't look particularly pleased.
As he looked at Uta's falling figure descending gently from midair, his mind drifted back to that strange sensation just now.
That moment…
It probably wasn't Tot Musica's full power.
And besides…
He had, out of habit, used the spatial distortion ability of the Warp-Warp Fruit during his attack. But right at that instant of striking, he'd felt something different—an unusual resonance.
It felt like another space… or another world.
Because his attack carried spatial attributes, the slash took effect there too—allowing the strike to truly annihilate its target.
As for what that "space" was—
Orin looked down at the unconscious Uta in his arms, and a thought crossed his mind.
It must be connected to the Song-Song Fruit.
He knew that Uta could create a "Song World" through her singing—those who heard her voice would enter a dreamlike realm governed by her rules, where even Devil Fruit powers could be partially nullified.
And in the real world, their physical bodies would fall asleep.
That meant Tot Musica, to some degree, relied on Uta as its host.
From what he remembered, grown-up Uta became a movie-level boss—so powerful that it took both peak Shanks and Luffy together to bring her down.
So if he were to face a full-powered Tot Musica summoned by an adult Uta someday…
Orin furrowed his brow.
He actually thought seriously about it.
Ten years from now, if he had to face peak Tot Musica, maybe it wouldn't be so easy to one-shot it again.
Maybe…
He'd need two slashes?
Orin shook his head, dismissing the thought. If things ever got troublesome, he could just use the Black Gun instead.
Besides, even if something went wrong, there was always "child of destiny" Shanks and "world protagonist" Luffy to save the day~
As Orin mused to himself, Shanks and his crew rushed over. Shanks gently took Uta from his arms.
"Uta… she's alright, right?"
Shanks asked nervously.
Orin nodded slightly.
"She just fainted."
Hearing that, the others relaxed at once.
"Thank goodness~"
Just then, far off on the horizon, a formation of Marine warships finally arrived—like a movie's late police squad, showing up only after the battle was already over.
"Only showing up now, huh? Are the Marines here to clean up… or to cover things up?"
Orin's mouth twitched as he eyed the distant ships, though he didn't expect much from them.
After all, against Tot Musica, only an Admiral would've made a difference—otherwise, they'd just be useless cannon fodder.
And facing a moving artillery fortress like the Music Demon King, those warships would've been blown to pieces in minutes.
"So, should we retreat with Uta first? If I stay here, the Marines and World Government won't say much."
Orin himself didn't mind at all. After all, the Celestial Dragons destroying nations was practically a routine affair—and Marines often acted as their enforcers. Nothing unusual about that.
So for him, taking the blame for Uta's "destruction of a kingdom" was no big deal—it was barely even an inconvenience.
No one on the seas would dare spread such an incident anyway.
The burning firelight cast their shadows together.
Whether for the sake of his long friendship with Shanks, or out of care for little Uta, Orin felt this was hardly worth mentioning.
Dark and cruel as it sounded, the destruction of a small place like Elegia didn't mean much. For those at the top of the world, the fall of a kingdom held no real consequence.
...
Still—
Uta's Tot Musica had been able to destroy Elegia so easily, perhaps partly because Orin had once helped train her physical endurance?
On the other hand—
Shanks knew well who Orin was now. He'd been to the Holy Land himself and understood just how "special" Orin's position among the Celestial Dragons had become.
Pushing the blame onto Orin would indeed save everyone a lot of trouble—and spare Uta from immense psychological burden.
It was the easiest solution, harmless to all involved. So…
"Sorry, Orin."
Shanks lifted his head and smiled calmly, eyes steady.
"Uta… she's my daughter. Let the Red-Haired Pirates bear this one."
Hearing that, the Red-Haired crew stood silent—but their silence spoke volumes. They were all in agreement with their Captain.
Orin fell quiet for a moment, then grinned and clapped Shanks hard on the shoulder, making him wince in pain.
"You're her father, sure—but don't forget… I'm her half godfather~"
When he found little Uta, Orin had been there too—changing her diapers and rocking her to sleep.
So, walking side by side with Shanks, he joined the Red-Haired Pirates at the mast of the Red Force, watching as the Marine fleet drew near.
Then—
Yeah…
They all stood there quietly, watching the Red Force sail away.