[Note:
" * " : Indicates abilities that can be upgraded with practice, experience, or unique opportunities.]
> System inner voice ["speaking"] <
> Ash inner speech "speaking" <
{}
UTA'S TRAIL:
A blinding light enveloped Uta, forcing her eyes shut making her instinctively shielded her eyes. For a moment, she felt as though she were floating and as the brightness faded, she found herself standing alone beneath a canopy of towering trees.
The warm rays of sunlight filtered down through the thick foliage, casting golden patches on the forest floor. Birds chirped in the distance, their melodies blending with the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze.
"…Where am I?" Uta murmured, turning slowly in place.
She stood amidst ancient trees, alone. There was no sign of Ash, Lucy, or the others.
"Ash? Guys?" she called, but her voice only echoed back instead of a response.
She frowned and tried to find them with Soul bind Bracelet around her wrist. Normally, it would respond but this time nothing.
"Guess I'll have to do this on my own…" she whispered, then smiled softly. "I hope they're safe."
With that she began walking deeper into the forest. Her boots crunched against dry leaves and twigs.
As she walked, she began to hum to herself — soft melodies, gentle lyrics about dreams and hope.
🎵
"If I follow the light that sings from afar,
Will it carry me home to where my dreams are?"
"Though the winds may falter, and shadows descend,
I'll keep singing my song 'til the very end."
🎵
Her voice, even when quiet, resonated through the forest echoing sweetly. The melody danced around her, and she smiled, skipping slightly to the rhythm.
But the peace didn't last long.
A sharp rustle of leaves snapped her to attention. She stopped mid-step. Her eyes narrowed as her expression shifted in alert.
She braced her stance and activated Tekkai, hardening her body added layer of armament on top.
Then she pushed her senses out extending her Observation Haki, scanning for any presence.
Before she could fully extend her Haki, something sharp whizzed through the air from the trees — a glint of silver catching her eye as she tried to dodge, but it was too late.
Thunk!
A needle struck the side of her neck from above — but it bounced off, clinking harmlessly to the ground, deflected by the hardened defense of her Tekkai and Armament.
She glanced down to see what it was. A needle lay in the dirt, one end glinting faintly with a slick, purplish sheen, making her eyes narrow in serious.
"Poison…?!" she murmured, her voice tense.
She immediately pushed her Observation Haki to its limit. Malicious presences flared to life all around her — scattered throughout the treetops, hidden in the dense foliage, watching her from the shadows with killing intent.
Then, needles came flying from every direction like a storm. She darted to the side, weaving through the barrage. A few grazed her skin, but most clinked harmlessly off her hardened body which was getting irritating.
So, she let it loose — her Conqueror's Haki surged out in full force.
BOOM.
A wave of pure will exploded from her, distorting the air with overwhelming pressure.
The forest shuddered. Birds scattered in fright. Leaves thrashed violently, and then—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bodies after bodies started raining down from the trees, crashing into the ground around her unable to withstand the weight of her spirit.
Uta then eased her breath, letting her Conqueror's Haki recede. The forest had fallen eerily silent, save for the rustling of leaves stirred by the few enemies still collapsing.
She cautiously stepped forward, scanning the fallen figures around her. Their appearances looked wild and savage, bodies covered in rough, dark tattoos that sprawled across their arms, necks, and even faces which she couldn't make sense of.
Each carried crude weapons — machetes, jagged daggers, and spears fashioned from sharpened stone and bone. Some wore scraps of what looked like armor, cobbled together from rusted metal and leather straps.
Their expressions were twisted even in unconsciousness, mouths slightly foaming overwhelmed by her Haki.
Uta frowned, mutters her thoughts. "Who even are these people? Is this part of the trial? Am I supposed to fight them?"
She looked around warily. "Well… they did attack first. Even tried to poison me. I just defended myself."
Just as the thought left her, she heard more rustling. Her instincts flared again, and she immediately expanded her Observation Haki again sensing more presences as they were closing in.
Before she could pinpoint them, they started to emerged from behind the trees with weapons in hand.
Uta sighed, "Oh, come on! At least tell me why you're all attacking me? Seriously…"
She touched the Resonance Pendant around her neck. It morphed into a weaponized instrument.
The pendant shifted and transformed smoothly into a small harp, resting comfortably in her hands. She gripped it firmly, readying herself.
"Alright… let's do this."
Uta exhaled sharply as the attackers charged her all at once. The forest floor shook beneath their wild rush.
With a sharp strum of her harp, a sudden air slash burst forth from the strings slicing through them forcing the frontliners to halt. She leapt back, using Soru to create distance.
She struck another chord, and sending a ripple of soundwaves exploded outward, blasting away several enemies who had gotten too close. The pressure of the sound tore through the air, sending some of them crashing into trees.
But still more came at her. Uta vanished once again and reappeared behind few of them and with a swept of her leg swept, she used Rankyaku on them.
A series of razor-sharp, crescent-shaped blades of compressed air erupted from her sweeping kick cutting across multiple enemies in front of her. Several of them dropped mid-charge, knocked unconscious or flung aside by the impact.
Another attacker lunged at her with a stone-tipped spear, she twisted swiftly, the harp spinning in her grip. With a sharp metallic clang, she parried them using the frame of the harp, deflecting the spear sending him stumbling back.
More enemies rushed at her from the sides.
She then willed the hidden blades from the side of the harp to extend. Twin metallic edges slid out with a soft shing.
She blocked both incoming strikes, the harp screeching against bone and metal as sparks erupted, and in the next beat, she countered— slashing across their torsos with a deep cut.
One attacker tried to rush her from behind. She slammed her heel upward into his jaw, flooring him instantly. Then, she launched herself upward using Geppo, leaping high into the air.
Uta took a deep breath, filling her lungs.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
She unleashed a scream that ripped through the air like a crashing wave. The sound hit them like a sonic boom.
Dozens of enemies collapsed, blood pouring from their ears, eyes clenched shut, writhing in agony as the sound tore through their senses.
But some, though disoriented and staggering, were still standing. As the final echoes of her voice faded, Uta descended gracefully, landing with a thud.
Uta then unleashed another burst of Conqueror's Haki, slamming through the clearing.
The remaining warriors faltered — some collapsed instantly, foaming at the mouth — but others held on, with still their bodies shaking, blood trickling from their noses
"Tch. These guys sure are stubborn," Uta muttered, tightening her fist.
She vanished using soru, in one instant, her finger pierced through a chest as she used Shigan. In the next, the bladed ends of her harp slashed across another's midsection. She weaved through them, striking at vital points.
One by one, they dropped — blood spraying, weapons clattering.
And as she came to a stop, the last of them collapsed behind her.
Uta exhaled, standing alone amid the aftermath surrounded by fallen bodies with light bruises her and there with the scent of blood hanging in the air.
Uta, seeing the last of them go down, willed her harp back into its pendant form, which now rested against her chest, hanging from her neck.
She exhaled softly and turned away from the battlefield thinking she need to find a better place.
And just like that, she vanished using Soru. With a leap upward, she kicked off the air using Geppo, bounding high above the ground, using the treetops.
Leaves whipped past her as she travelled swiftly, with her Observation Haki fully extended to keep her alert.
After some time, far from the previous place, just as she landed on one of the higher branches — right as her foot was about to touch the surface — her observation suddenly flared.
"Shhhk."
The branch was sliced out from under her the moment she was about to make contact.
She immediately used Geppo, flipping midair, cartwheeling through the air with grace. With one final twist, she landed on the ground in a low crouch — one leg stretched back, fingers pressed into the dirt for balance.
She slowly lifted her gaze, eyes scanning the trees and her surrounding with her Haki still active, searching for any presence.
Whoever had done that wasn't nearby, she can tell that because her Observation had been on the whole time, and she hadn't sensed anyone during the whole time.
Uta's Haki flared again in warning, and she saw someone charge toward her fast, spear raised with a mad look in his eyes.
She stood and walked towards her enemy as he rushed at her, willing her pendant. It began to liquefy, swirling and curling like a snake around her hand.
She raised her arm just in time as the enemy closed in with his spear thrusting toward her. The pendant solidified into a cymbal as her arm moved into a defensive position.
The spear collided with the cymbal with a sharp clang, absorbing the full force of the blow. The cymbal then released the absorbed force and sending him skidding backward across the ground until he came to a halt, several meters away from her.
Uta then narrowed her eyes as she observed her opponent. She could feel it—he is definitely stronger than the guys she'd taken down just before.
Her eyes then flicked to the cymbal in her hand; it bore a slight dent from the earlier clash. And she watched, the metal shimmered faintly and began to smooth itself out, the dent slowly vanishing.
Before she could think further, her Haki flared again. More figures emerged one by one from the trees, each radiating the same ominous strength.
Without waiting, Uta willed the cymbal into both hands and clapped them together with force. A sharp blast of sound erupted outward, scattering the attackers briefly—but it wasn't enough.
She immediately willed the cymbals to shift, reshaping into a guitar in her grip. Strumming a heavy chord, she sent slicing waves of sound—air slashes—toward her enemies. Some dodged, some were struck, but it still wasn't enough. They roared as they rushed her.
Uta held her ground. Using the guitar to block the flurry of attacks, she countered at close range—strumming sharp, aggressive notes that cut through limbs and even torsos.
Still, more enemies surged toward her. One slashed, another stabbed. Her Haki warned her—but not fast enough. She twisted to avoid the spear, but a blade caught her back, slashing deep and making her stagger forward in surprise.
Even though the slash on her back wasn't deep, Uta was shocked it had broken through her Tekkai — which was further reinforced by her Armament Haki.
She realized immediately: her opponents could use Armament too. Not only that — they knew how to coat their weapons with it. That explained the earlier damage to her pendant. Under normal conditions, such damage wouldn't have been possible.
It was clear now — these opponents were far stronger than the ones she'd fought before.
Uta knew it was time to get serious decided to use her card which might take toll on her.
She remembered what Ash had told her. He had warned her against using her Dream World ability unless absolutely necessary after he saw what it did.
Keeping it active drained both her body and mind — and unlike other powers, she needed to stay fully conscious and in control while using it.
Ash also explained that if she ever had to use it in a dangerous situation, she should try to bring her entire body — not just her enemies' consciousness — into the dream world.
That way, she wouldn't be left vulnerable. He'd promised to find a way to make the ability safer in the future and asked to not overexert herself.
But right now, she knew didn't have that luxury.
Without hesitation, Uta activated her ability by singing. The space around her twisted — the colors dulled; the world distorted. Trees faded into distant, blurred shadows. Her enemies froze in confusion, their eyes darting as they into her dream world.
She had brought them — and herself — into the Dream World.
The sky in the Dream World shifted into a vivid orange hue, clouds swirling in soft shades of pink. The ground beneath them resembled a vast piano, stretching into the distance with glimmering white and black keys.
Around them, the tree trunks looked like long, curved stems, and their leaves were shaped like musical notes, swaying gently as if moved by a silent rhythm.
"Let's match numbers with numbers, shall we?" Uta said calmly.
She strummed her guitar while singing, her voice resonating through the warped dreamscape.
Glowing musical notes burst from the strings, swirling into the air before shifting — each one taking form into a humanoid figure.
Weapons began to form in their hands — swords, spears, hammers — all shaped from sharp tones and chords, forged by sound itself. Dozens of them poured into the battlefield.
"Get them!" Uta shouted. The note warriors charged, crashing into the enemies.
Some enemies were quickly overwhelmed, cut down by the numbers of music warriors. But others fought back with relentless strength — stronger than Uta's current conjured forces could handle for long.
Seeing this, Uta decided to join, she willed her guitar back into its harp form, blades slid into place along its sides. With a burst of Soru, she flickered into the chaos, weaving between enemies slashing them and taking out as many as she can.
At close range, she plucked sharp, vibrating notes that rang like shockwaves, staggering her enemies before slashing them with blades.
But even that still wasn't enough.
Since these guys could use Armament Haki, taking them down was getting harder. Her harp's blades weren't cutting deep enough. She found herself overwhelmed and her music note warriors falling faster than she could replace them.
She decided it was time learn coating her weapon with Armament Haki.
While still moving through the chaos—slashing, dodging, defending—she pushed her Haki outward, trying to extend it beyond just her body and into the harp.
Parallelly, she kept going, fighting with everything she had.
Eventually after some time, her last music note warrior fell. The battlefield felt heavier, quieter. Her breathing grew ragged. The Dream World was still intact, but just barely and she started feeling the burden of maintaining it mid-battle.
Suddenly, a spear pierced her shoulder in the skirmish, her Observation Haki hadn't reacted fast enough this time. The impact drove a cry from her lips. Her focus wavered.
The Dream World shattered like glass.
She staggered back, dropping to one knee. Blood spilled from her shoulder, soaking into the fabric of her white dress, now torn and stained with crimson. She clutched the wound tightly, gritting her teeth as the pain throbbed through her body.
But her effort wasn't in vain. Of the more than fifty enemies, she had brought down more than half of them within the Dream World.
This was the first time she'd faced such powerful foes.
Until now, Ash and the others usually left the smaller mobs to her—while he, Lucy, Selina, or Ace took on the stronger guys. Even Selina, who didn't show it, was just as much a battle junkie as the others.
Uta never minded. She wasn't a battle fanatic like them. And top of that with the curse of Tot Musica, she had to be careful. But still—she fought alongside them, sharing in their adventures, their struggles, and their laughter.
But later Ash had helped her break from the curse. She nursed back with all their help and grew strong alongside them.
Even though she as them, unlike them, she hadn't faced stronger enemies head-on. Not until now.
And she understood—sometimes, you have to fight your own battles.
She had promised herself: she would stand beside Ash and others until the very end. She wouldn't be a weak maiden waiting to be saved. She would finish this trial—and prove, at least to herself, that she could walk alongside her friends towards their dream.
Bloodied and exhausted, both mentally and physically, Uta stood—staggering sluggishly. Her eyes meanwhile burned with resolve.
Unknowingly, her Conqueror's Haki erupted, as if echoing her defiance.
The pressure hit the battlefield like a wave making her enemies stagger and gritting their teeth, fighting to stay upright.
You could see it in their eyes that they were feeling the weight of her haki.
Uta steadied her breathing, even as her body screamed in protest. She took look at the harp resting in her hands. The cracks were slowly repairing themselves. She gripped it tightly.
Her enemies were still reeling from the wave of Conqueror's Haki she had unleashed. She didn't waste the opening. Using Soru, she shot forward, closing the distance. At the same time, she tried continued to push her Armament Haki into her weapon.
She still hadn't reached that point yet—but that didn't stop her from trying again and again.
She continued to clash with them head-on. Their weapons were tough, since they were layered with Armament, making it harder to take them down. But she kept going, striking, dodging, pushing forward.
But slowly, their numbers began to thin even though it took time to take down at least one. Sometimes she had to be cunning and use their attacks on their own people. But for every enemy that fell, Uta took blow after blow, cuts, bruises but that didn't falter her.
Her Observation Haki had got sharpened during the battle. When only a handful of enemies remained, it flared—warning her just in time of another spear coming from behind.
She instantly willed her harp into a cymbal and spun around, blocking the strike. The cymbal absorbed the force and released it right back, sending the attacker staggering.
Using Soru, she closed the gap in a flash and struck him straight in the chest using Shigan with Armament, dropping him instantly.
Without pause, she turned to the last of the enemies, willing another cymbal. With both cymbals in hand, she hurled them like spinning discs toward the remaining foes.
They cut clean through—one taking head of some, the other slicing through remaining torso.
But just as she released them, at the very last moment, she had felt a shift—a surge through her arms. And then she saw the result. The cymbals, after striking their targets, curved midair and spun back toward her like boomerangs.
She caught them, wide-eyed.
In that moment, she realized what had happened. Her relentless effort to push Armament Haki into her pendant had worked. There was no other explanation for how her cymbals had cut through their defenses coated Armament.
"I did it," she whispered, a small smile forming through her pain. "I've learned to coat my pendant with Armament... finally."
But the moment of happiness didn't last. Her Haki flared again snapping her focus back into place.
From the trees, more figures emerged. They weren't like the last group—they were stronger. Uta could feel it. Stronger than the ones she'd just fought… maybe even stronger than her in her current state.
Her expression twisted in frustration. "What the hell… How many of you are there!?". She knew she couldn't win this—not like this.
Without hesitation, she willed the cymbals into a trumpet and raised it. A powerful blast of sound exploded outward, kicking up a storm of dust and noise, the shockwave sending branches rattling and the enemies momentarily staggering.
It wasn't much, but it bought her a few precious seconds.
She turned and ran, using Soru to sprint through the forest, darting between the trees in the opposite direction.
Behind her, the forest echoed with roars. The enemy came charging after her fast with eyes wild as same twisted madness. Some were too fast that a few nearly reached her, blades cutting the air just behind her back.
Still running, Uta willed her weapon back into cymbals. Mid-sprint, she suddenly stopped, turned, and clapped them together, releasing a sharp shockwave behind her. The force knocked back some of the nearest pursuers, buying her a few more seconds.
She didn't wait. Turning again, she continued running—but her breaths were growing heavier. The toll was catching up to her both her body and mind.
Then, through the gaps in the trees, she spotted something—looked like ruins. Cracked stone, broken pillars, worn steps half-swallowed by nature.
As she neared it, she noticed something unusual. The enemies behind her were slowing down. A few of them even stopped pursuing her completely.
She understood one-thing, something about those ruins made them halt. Sensing this, she pushed herself harder, sprinting toward the ruins.
But in her exhaustion—her Observation Haki became dull. And because of that, she didn't notice one of them hadn't stopped pursuing her.
Suddenly. A massive shadow lunged from the side surprising her.
She didn't even have time to process, when a massive hammer came crashing into her ribs, knocking the air from her lungs. Uta was sent flying—slamming into dirt and stone, rolling until she came to a stop at the entrance of the ruins.
Blood spilled from her mouth as she coughed, her body battered and covered in dust.
Groaning, she lifted her only head weakly looking at her enemy who did this to her.
The said enemy stood only a few meters away, snarling at her. Wild-eyed, he gripped his weapon tightly, growling like a beast. But he didn't step forward. He just stood there—watching her.
Uta, still trying to stay conscious, gave a small smirk looking at him.
The enemy growled louder, irritated by her look—but after a moment, he turned and left, vanishing into the trees.
With she let herself fall back against the ground, her chest rising and falling in heavy breaths, with only thought in her mind— "Finally, at least for now I'm safe."
She willer her cymbals to its default pendant form again gently resting against her neck.
Grunting, Uta slowly pushed herself up. Her body ached, but she managed to stand and step into the ruins. Once inside, she leaned against the side wall and slid down, finally sitting as exhaustion pressed down on her.
She reached into her inventory bag, pulling out an advanced healing potion. She drank it slowly, feeling the warmth spread through her as the worst of her wounds began to close.
Then she took a healing pill for good measure, but despite the recovery, she closed her eyes and rested—her body shutting down from the strain.
A couple of hours passed before her eyes fluttered open. It was dark outside now. She slowly sat up.
Just then, her stomach let out a loud grumble.
"...Ugh, right." She gave a tired smile, pulling out some food and water she had saved in her inventory bag. Once she finished, she leaned back, exhaling. "Haa... That does it. I feel full now."
Her gaze drifted toward the dark interior of the ruins. "Now... why did those guys even attack me? And what's this trial really about?"
She thought about the enemies who had chased her so relentlessly—only to stop at the edge of these ruins. Not a single one dared to enter.
"Hmm… Maybe I can find some kind of clue in here."
With that, she grabbed a sturdy piece of wood wrapped a cloth and lit a small fire at one end, and cautiously went deeper into the ruins with the flickering makeshift torch.
While exploring deeper into the ruins, Uta made a few more torches, placing them along the walls to light up the path behind her.
Eventually, she reached a larger chamber and the first thing that caught her eyes was the murals drawn on the walls.
She lit several more torches and placed them around the room, giving herself enough light to see. The murals came into view slowly, rough from time, but still partially intact.
She didn't know how to properly decipher them, but she could still try to make sense of what she saw.
She saw two main figures in the carvings. One looked vaguely like the people who had attacked her. The other figures were strange. Its lower body looked fish-like—similar to the fishmen she remembered from Nami's village stories.
The murals showed scenes that looked like battles between them. Each side seemed to worship different beings—one mural had the land people kneeling before a towering figure, while the fish-like ones did the same toward another.
It looked like these two groups had a long-standing enmity.
One particular mural showed a figure singing. A group of people was shown reacting—some reaching toward the figure, others seemingly enraged. But the rest of the mural had been lost to time, too damaged to read clearly.
Uta stared at it in silence.
So far, all she could gather was that these two groups had a history of conflict, and something about singing seemed to affect the land dwellers.
She blinked and muttered getting why she was attacked, "What the… Since when did people start attacking just because someone's singing?"
Then her eyes landed on something else—near the center of the chamber stood a single stone pedestal.
To be continued...
Hey everyone! I'm always looking for ways to make this story even better, and I'd love to hear your ideas. What powers do you think should be available in Ash's store? Maybe you have some cool concepts for abilities, weapons, or items that could make the adventure even more exciting!
Feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments, and if there's anything specific, you'd love to see in future chapters, let me know! I might even integrate your ideas into the story.
Also, don't forget to give some Power Stones if you're enjoying the journey! Your support means the world. 😊