The Four Emperors of the New World—each ruled their own seas, and each commanded their own vast networks of intelligence.
From the moment the war began, the Red-Haired Pirates' intelligence unit had been fully mobilized. Every development on the battlefield was immediately transmitted back to their flagship, the Red Force, via Den-Den Mushi fax.
However…
Because the Red Force had been coated and sailing through the deep sea until now, all external signals had been completely blocked.
Until this moment.
The Red-Haired Pirates broke through the surface—
and suddenly, every radio signal that had been delayed came flooding in all at once.
The fax machine clattered to life, spitting out reams of reports. Signal after signal appeared in rapid sequence, projecting the chaotic events of the war right before their eyes.
"Nani!!!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates… wiped out?!"
"Destroyed in a dream?! What kind of insane reversal is that?"
"In a dream? Are you kidding me?!"
"Oh, wait—look! That's the president of Fairy Tail!"
"Fairy Tail's Guildmaster, the Fourth Emperor—Sugisawa Yuuto! If it's him, then… well, nothing's too surprising anymore."
"Still, I can't wrap my head around it. How could someone turn a war inside a dream into reality?"
"According to the reports… it wasn't President Sugisawa himself—it was the girl beside him!"
The deck of the Red Force erupted in confusion. Every member of the crew was whispering, frowning, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.
At that moment, the core officers of the Red-Haired Pirates gathered together—Shanks, Vice-Captain Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, Yasopp, Doc Dege, and Navigator Ben Dick, among others.
All of them stared at the live transmission—eyes wide, jaws slack—as the image of a beautiful young singer filled the screen. Her hair, half red and half white, swayed gently as she sang amid the chaos.
"Boss, everyone—what's wrong with you?" said Rockstar, the newest recruit, clutching a stack of reports he'd been about to deliver. "I know the whole 'dream-reversal war' thing is shocking, but come on—the real bombshell hasn't even dropped yet!"
He waved the papers dramatically.
But no one was paying him any attention.
"B-Boss… that… that girl…" Lucky Roux stammered, his voice trembling.
"Uta!" shouted Yasopp, pointing at the image. "That's Uta! Our little diva Uta!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Uta-chan!"
"It really is her!"
"Our Red-Haired Pirates' little songstress!"
"I never imagined Uta would join Fairy Tail!"
Laughter and disbelief spread through the crew.
Doc Dege, Navigator Ben Dick, Lyme Jones, and the others burst out laughing, their hearts swelling with nostalgia.
"Uta, you've truly grown up," murmured Shanks, his expression softening as he looked at the girl on the screen.
"Eh? Wait—Boss, everyone, what's going on here?" asked one of the newer crew members, baffled. "Why are you all reacting like that? What's so special about this singer girl?"
"Boss, you… you actually know her?" another asked, eyes wide.
"Who exactly is she?"
"I know!" Yasopp grinned, his usual swagger returning. "Of course we know her—Uta's our little songbird! The Red-Haired Pirates' very own princess!"
"Eh?! What?"
"There's no way!"
"How come none of us ever heard about this?"
The newcomers exchanged confused looks, completely lost.
"It's natural you don't know," said Benn Beckman, exhaling a ring of smoke as his tone turned wistful. "That was… more than ten years ago."
He took another drag before continuing quietly.
"But remember this from now on—Uta, the princess of the Red-Haired Pirates… is the daughter of our captain, Shanks."
Lucky Roux nodded solemnly, confirming the revelation.
The entire deck fell dead silent.
For a long moment, no one said a word.
Then—
"EHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!!"
Their collective shout shook the ship, echoing across the sea.