Amid Bepo’s apologies, they passed through the crowd and went straight to the backstage area. This was also why Perona chose to leave her body as a spirit; this way, she wouldn’t encounter anything annoying.
“Autograph?”
Uta was telling Cindry about how she felt performing on this stage. She actually wanted to talk with Ann, but after Tesoro took the stage, Ann, in addition to being a special effects artist, also took on the role of the host, so she had no time to chat with Uta.
It was at this moment that the first person ran backstage to ask for her autograph.
“Yeah, yeah, can I get your autograph? Your song was amazing!”
“But I didn’t bring a pen…”
“I’m sorry for bothering you…”
Before Uta could finish speaking, Bepo in front of her suddenly became depressed, causing Uta to be somewhat at a loss.
“Why are you still so negative after all this time?! She didn’t even refuse you. Act normal!”
Perona tried to punch Bepo, but in her soul state, she couldn’t touch physical objects. This was related to her fruit’s development condition; she was now an extremely special soul.
“Don’t mind him, Uta. This guy is always like this. Whenever someone says something to him, he starts apologizing.”
“I’m sorry….”
“I didn’t ask you to prove it!”
“Pfft, you guys have a great relationship. Let me go to the back and see if there’s a pen.”
Cindry laughed at the squabbling youngsters. This was much more interesting than life in the West Blue. Amid the commotion, Uta got her first fan requesting an autograph, and Bepo received Uta’s first signed photo of her performing career.
A photo with landmark significance.
The concert continued, but most of the audience were ordinary people. The industry giants were all busy signing new agreements or working on their tasks.
The next day, the first batch of guests departed, and new guests came in droves. At this time, both Yamato and Ulti signed up for the no-rules motorcycle competition.
The rules were very brutal: you could use any non-lethal means to interfere with opponents, and the first to reach the finish line would win.
Cyclizars were highly intelligent; as long as the attack means were non-lethal, even if people fell off their backs, they could pick them up again. Yamato wasn’t participating for gambling but purely for the competition.
While she was participating in the competition, the newspaper written by Morgans and the accompanying tape were spread worldwide. Of course, the copyright of the tapes belonged to Beasts Fruits. Although this world’s copyright laws were practically non-existent, legitimate businesses couldn’t secretly produce them. With the newspaper’s distribution, Uta’s voice reached more people. She was still far from her goal of being the world’s number one, but she had already reached heights many could never attain.
As Uta’s fame grew, a special situation emerged among her fanbase.
In the photos taken by Morgans, Uta was flying in the sky thanks to the basket carried by Heracross. The picture of that giant beetle was also very clear.
Celebrity influence is a magical thing. There are always people who want the same things as celebrities. Flying is still a dream for many. So, who can refuse a beetle that can carry people around in the sky?
Given Heracross’ carrying capacity, it could carry most people except those who were overly large by nature.
Previously, Arceus released many Heracross into various islands. Indirectly influenced by Uta, a Heracross craze emerged among Uta’s fans and it gained a certain status in the pet market.
But they are Pokémon, not ordinary beasts. Pure violence cannot subdue Pokémon; only those who genuinely want to connect with them might gain Heracross’ approval.
Although they are gentle by nature, when truly angered, they aren’t something ordinary people can handle. When a swarm of Heracross in the sky releases Pin Missile, their destructive power is no less than a small bomber.
Most people who wanted to profit from Heracross met with disaster. Even if some lucky ones caught Heracross, they were often attacked by sea monsters during sea transport.
Moreover, Heracross were widely distributed. Apart from deserts and harsh cold climates, they can be found on most islands. Gradually, no one did this business anymore. Only Uta’s true fans still imitated her, trying to find such a beetle.
Some even wrote to her asking how to capture or raise this beetle, but people who succeeded were few and far between.
East Blue, Foosha Village!
Luffy had already returned to his usual optimism, especially after seeing Uta singing in the newspaper, since it means Shanks hadn’t lied to him.
But at the moment, he wasn’t thinking about this; he was running for his life.
“Hercules, run! Grandpa is catching up! Ace has already been caught!”
Much had happened since Uta left, including Shanks’ lost arm, the sworn brotherhood of the three brothers, Sabo’s “death,” and his goal of becoming the Pirate King.
Occasionally, Garp’s return became Luffy’s nightmare. The fist of love was something even the rubber man couldn’t avoid.
Every time they said they wanted to become pirates, they would get a beating, but they never changed their goal. Moreover, Luffy just found a new way to escape: letting Heracross fly him away.
As long as he could fly away, he should be able to escape.
Since Heracross’ cry was “Hercules,” he chose to call his Heracross that. When he took off, Garp appeared behind him, holding a swollen-headed Ace. [TN: Author uses random words for cries of Pokemon in their novel so I have been using Pokemon names as their cry and Heracross’ cry was Heraaacross, but here I will replacing Luffy’s Heracross name with Hercules since Heraaacross as a name sounds weird.]
“Goodbye, Grandpa! You can’t catch me!”
“That brat….”
Seeing Luffy acting smugly in the sky, Garp dropped Ace and clenched his fist. The next moment, he appeared next to Luffy.
“Grandpa?!”
“Luffy, you think you can escape my fist of love this way? You are still too young for that!”
Seeing Luffy punched back to the ground by Garp, Heracross raised both of its hands and then quietly landed, instinctively knowing this old man was a monster.
……
“It hurts, it hurts! Grandpa, why can you fly?”
“Bwahaha, this is the Marines’ ability. If you join the Marines, I’ll teach you how to fly. How about it? Isn’t it a great deal?”
Seeing Luffy’s interest, Garp continued to persuade him to join the Marines, but Luffy’s brain responded in a fraction of a second.
“I don’t want to! I’m going to be the Pirate King!”
Thunk, thunk. The sound of Garp’s fists hitting sounded, followed by an all-too familiar scene and screams.
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