Mary Geoise Port.
Yamato leaped down from the warship, the impact of her landing startling several timid royal family members from small kingdoms nearby.
They had never seen a woman over two meters tall with a pair of red demon horns on her head.
Screaming "A ghost!" they fled in terror.
Yamato scratched her head, puzzled about what had just happened.
But fortunately, Yamato was clever—when she couldn't figure something out, she simply stopped thinking about it.
She then walked over to Jack, who was nearby.
"Jack, little bro! Did Father have you pick someone up?"
"Little bro?! We're the same age!" Jack rolled his eyes.
"As for who I was supposed to pick up... he's already entered Mary Geoise from the side."
Yamato nodded.
She remembered Jack was supposed to fetch someone called... "Gekko Moria"?
The details were unclear, but among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, this person seemed the least famous.
"What are you two... chatting about here?"
Strolling down from the warship was none other than Hawkeye.
This was Yamato's first independent assignment, and as her senior, Hawkeye had chosen to accompany her to keep an eye on things...
Definitely not because he was interested in that guy named Shanks!
Absolutely not!
"Mihawk, we were just curious about the Seven Warlords of the Sea..." Yamato said with a grin.
"Are they really that strong?"
"Of course." Hawkeye nodded without hesitation. "Take Red-Haired Shanks, for example—the one you and I went to fetch. He's incredibly strong, monstrously so. And his vice-captain is no pushover either."
"I see."
Yamato and Jack nodded in unison.
As the two dumbass of SWORD, they had never met the Seven Warlords, but they had witnessed Hawkeye and Enel sparring.
If even Hawkeye said the Warlords were strong... then they probably were.
"How exciting! I want to become a Seven Warlord of the Sea too someday!"
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea are pirates... and you're a Marine now!"
"Oh, right, right. I'm still getting used to the change in status."
The conversation between Yamato and Jack was overheard by Shanks as he disembarked.
Shaking his head, Shanks muttered to himself, "These little marines are really a handful... I suppose only Michael can whip them into shape."
"You're absolutely right, Dad."
"..."
"What's wrong, Dad?"
"...Why did you follow me off the ship?"
"I just came down with you normally?"
"...Never mind. Michael wouldn't care about something this trivial anyway."
Shanks sighed.
When it came to Michael, he liked to think he understood him well.
Despite being utterly ruthless toward pirates like them... his tolerance for children was surprisingly high.
Even as he mentally complained about this, Shanks found himself doing the same thing.
...
"So, you brought your adopted daughter along?" Michael tilted his head, locking eyes with Uta, who was hiding behind Shanks.
"Kid, your hair is... uniquely bizarre."
"It's natural! I can't help it!"
"By the way... your daughter hasn't eaten any weird Devil Fruits, has she? Like one shaped like a musical note?"
"Of course not," Shanks shook his head. "I'd never let Uta eat something like that."
"Good, good..."
Michael exhaled in relief.
It seemed that by altering Shanks' storyline, he had indirectly steered Uta away from her predetermined fate.
Without consuming the Sing-Sing Fruit, she had never been raised as a musical prodigy on Elegia, nor had she unleashed the island's demon.
Thus, Shanks never had to leave her behind to make her a true singer.
And in the future, there would be no scenario where Uta, consumed by hatred for her father and crewmates and despair for the real world, would attempt to drag everyone into a "Sing-Sing World"—a perfect fantasy where they could live together forever.
This was tantamount to averting a world-ending catastrophe!
In a way, even Imu wasn't as terrifying as this girl.
But who knew if that damned Sing-Sing Fruit might seek her out again?
Ever since he ate his own Devil Fruit years ago, Michael had come to believe that these fruits... possessed wills of their own.
Wills that seemed to follow the threads of fate.
Like how Michael had orchestrated Shanks and the others to deliver the Gum-Gum Fruit—or rather, the Nika Fruit—to Luffy.
Logically, it should have been an arduous task.
Yet, everything had inexplicably gone smoothly.
Even Borsalino, who should have been at Marineford that day, had coincidentally been called away to Egghead Island.
So, to prevent such a scenario from recurring... Michael needed a plan.
"...By the way, Uta, what do you like to do?"
"I want to be a brave warrior of the sea!"
"Uh... you and a certain long-nosed kid would get along great—yeah, Yassop's son." Michael sighed.
"Anything else? Any hobbies or talents?"
"Personal talent?" Uta frowned. "Does singing well count?"
"It counts, of course it counts." Michael smiled, having waited precisely for this response.
"Yamato, go to the Seraphim Ship and bring back the crate labeled '1' from the storage room."
"On it!"
Yamato dashed out energetically and soon returned just as briskly, carrying a small wooden crate.
"The Paramecia-type Tone-Tone Fruit... can convert sound waves into attacks." Michael opened the crate and pushed it toward Uta.
"It's yours."
"Wait, what...?" Shanks and Uta exchanged bewildered glances.
"Why?"
"Never mind why. The point is, this Devil Fruit's is perfect for her... Surely you can see how much this child desires to grow stronger?"
Listening to Michael's words, Shanks couldn't help but nod.
"...Tone-Tone Fruit? Will I become really strong after eating it?"
"Devil Fruits, especially Paramecia types, depend mainly on how well you develop them." Michael shrugged.
"But as a brave warrior of the sea, you'd welcome this challenge, right?"
"Of course!"
Without hesitation, Uta picked up the Devil Fruit and took a big bite...
Then burst into tears.
"...This tastes even worse than Dad's cooking!"
"Be grateful you even get to eat, you brat!"
Outside the door, Katakuri and Perospero stood side by side.
"Brother, to be honest, I don't really want to go in."
"Why?"
"I just feel like once we step through that door, our entire vibe might get completely derailed."