Boom!!!
Just as Red and his two companions were locked in a fierce struggle with several of the Five Elders, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from the heavens above.
Already anticipating this, Red immediately looked up—and sure enough, he saw Monkey D. Luffy diving straight down from the atmosphere.
The corner of Red's mouth lifted as he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Luffy!!! The target's right here!!!"
"Roger~"
High above, Luffy—hurtling like a living missile—instantly received the signal. His eyes flared like searchlights, beams of light locking directly onto Saint Saturn.
"Gum-Gum… White Giant Rocket!!!"
BOOM!!!
Before the remaining three Five Elders could regroup and launch a second wave of attacks, a bolt of white lightning crashed down from the sky, slamming squarely into Saint Saturn, who was still restrained by Red's Psychic Power.
Bang!!!
The ice shattered, fragments exploding outward like bullets.
Even the sea below churned violently from the sheer impact.
But before anyone could react, Luffy repeated the trick—once again transforming into a spherical, Dragon Ball–like rocket craft, tightly wrapping Saint Saturn inside.
"This is bad!!!"
Whether it was Saint Saturn, momentarily blinded, or the other Five Elders who had been sent flying by Whitebeard, all of them stiffened in horror.
Saint Saturn frantically lashed out with his massive spider legs, wildly striking the interior of the rocket.
The violent impacts sent Luffy's body swaying left and right, the rocket's surface bulging with sharp impressions from the spider legs.
Clearly, after realizing something was wrong with Luffy's ability, Saint Saturn had no intention of obediently being dragged into space.
"Red! This old monster won't stop thrashing around!!!"
Saint Saturn's resistance made Rocket Luffy wobble uncontrollably, preventing liftoff.
"This stubborn old bastard…"
Seeing this, Red—still in Mega Mewtwo Y form—let a sharp glint flash across his eyes.
Knowing that Saint Saturn served as the Five Elders' teleportation anchor, Red vanished in a blur and directly entered Luffy's body as well.
Dodging a wildly swinging spider leg, Red unleashed a vast surge of psychic energy.
"Behave yourself, you fossil!!!"
Bang!!!
A crisp collision echoed within the cramped interior.
"Oof~!"
Even Luffy couldn't help letting out a muffled groan.
Suddenly, a white flame ignited along the dark ceiling inside the rocket, illuminating everything.
A pair of huge eyes rolled inward, allowing Luffy to see straight into his own body.
"All settled, Red?"
A ridiculously comical mouth appeared beneath those eyes.
Mega Mewtwo Y grinned.
"Of course."
Compared to monsters like Akainu or Aokiji, a single Saint Saturn posed no real threat to Red.
It was only this man's immortality that made him troublesome.
Otherwise, back in the original storyline, Saint Saturn alone would've been enough to slaughter Luffy's group within half an hour of landing on Egghead.
"Damn you insects!!!"
Suppressed by Red's psychic power, Saint Saturn let out a furious, agonized roar from deep within his throat.
Red ignored him completely, instead grinning at Luffy's absurd face.
"Captain—ready for departure?"
"No problem. Hold tight!"
Luffy laughed loudly.
The rocket body began to shake again—but this time, not from external interference.
This was ignition.
BOOM!!!
For the second time, Luffy shot skyward, carrying Red and Saint Saturn straight into outer space.
"No!"
Watching Luffy ascend again, the remaining three Five Elders' expressions changed drastically.
Not only was Saint Saturn the anchor for their teleportation—
Leaving just the three of them behind meant certain defeat against two Yonko-level fighters!
"Keee!"
The massive Itsumade screeched sharply, beating its wings furiously as it chased after Luffy.
But no matter how fast it flew, it couldn't catch up to the rocket streaking toward space like a reverse meteor.
Just like that, right before their eyes, the only Five Elder whose true body was present—Saint Saturn—was carried completely into the cosmos.
Several minutes later.
After Red gulped down his sixth Ether, the rocket encasing him and Saint Saturn suddenly began melting like wax, revealing an irregular opening.
Luffy reverted from rocket form back into his normal Nika form.
Unlike Luffy, who was already used to this, Red—experiencing outer space for the first time—was utterly stunned by the breathtaking sight.
"So this is the universe of the pirate world…"
"No gravity, yet oxygen exists…"
"Even if it's thinner than on Sky Island, as long as your physical body is strong enough, surviving freely isn't a problem."
"Then why… in eight hundred years, has there never been any alien life recorded here?"
"There are even space pirates in the cover stories…"
"And with so many absurd Devil Fruit abilities…"
"Eight hundred years—there's no way only Enel ever made it up here!"
"And why would Imu name the Five Elders after surrounding planets?"
Countless thoughts flashed through Red's mind as he gazed upon the vastness of space.
But he quickly snapped back to reality.
Exploration could wait.
Whoosh—
Psychic power receded from Saint Saturn like a tide.
In an instant, the enormous spider regained freedom of movement.
For perhaps the first time in their existence, the Five Elders realized just how precious freedom truly was.
And this time, Saint Saturn no longer carried his usual arrogance.
"W-What… is this power?!"
Floating in space, Saint Saturn stared in shock.
For the first time in centuries, he was completely at someone else's mercy.
Red chuckled softly, exiting the energy-draining Mega Mewtwo Y form and returning to the boy in a baseball cap.
"Welcome to the infinite universe, Saint Saturn."
Red greeted him casually, his mocking tone fully restored.
As for Saint Warcury, who had entered space earlier—
He was already far away in the depths of the cosmos.
Even the slightest deviation in launch angle resulted in a trajectory off by thousands of miles.
Red had no intention of letting the Five Elders regroup in space.
"Cough—!"
Saint Saturn suddenly spat blood, lifting his eyes—filled with fear—as he demanded:
"Pirates… who are you people?!"
"Huh?!"
Red looked amused.
"Our identities? Don't you already know?"
"Or did you bump your head during liftoff and lose your memory?"
"Bastard!!!"
Saint Saturn flew into a rage.
But in zero gravity, he could no longer charge recklessly like before.
His gaze snapped toward Luffy.
"Don't think awakening Joy Boy's power gives you free rein!"
"Eight hundred years ago, he lost to Lord Imu!"
"And today—he will fail again!!!"
"You lowly insects! Don't think you've already won!"
"The World Government's true power has never been revealed!"
Dark flame clouds erupted from Saint Saturn as he hurled himself toward Red.
But suddenly—
A strange light flashed in Red's eyes.
He smiled.
"The World Government's true power… on that, I completely agree."
"That's exactly why we—"
"Never slack off for even a single second!!!"
BOOM!!!
Red swung his arm.
A long chain drenched in venom appeared in his grasp—
Venomous Chains!
Unlike the Pokémon-world version, this chain stretched dozens of meters long!
Under Red's psychic control, the chain lashed out, striking Saint Saturn square in the face.
SMACK!!!
The blow left a humiliating chain mark—low damage, maximum insult.
Of course, such an injury meant nothing to an immortal.
But Venomous Chains didn't end there.
Sss—
Toxic Pokémon energy surged forth, drilling into Saint Saturn's body.
In an instant, the invincible Five Elder was afflicted with Badly Poisoned.
Bad poison was far worse than normal poisoning.
In the Pokémon world, its damage intensified over time.
In reality, it translated into escalating, relentless agony.
At first, the pain was tolerable.
But with every passing moment, it intensified—
Until each second felt like death itself.
For an immortal being…
It was pure torment.
"You brat! What did you do?!"
Saint Saturn flung the chain away, disgusted.
But his body immediately betrayed him.
Red had already Teleported back beside Luffy, waving cheerfully.
"Nothing much. Just a little gift."
"Time's tight. We'll end the chat here."
"Soon enough, your colleagues will be joining you."
"Damn you—!"
Saint Saturn tried to summon his flame clouds again—
But the pain stabbed into his core, freezing him in place.
By the time he looked up, Red and Luffy were already riding the rocket back toward the sea below.
Dozens of minutes later…
Above the now-warm ocean.
Whitebeard and Kaido—somehow—seemed to have grown closer.
One had transformed into a dragon soaring low over the sea, while the other stood calmly on the dragon's tail, staring blankly into the distance.
Anyone unaware might've mistaken them for perfectly synchronized partners.
After all—
Luffy and Red had spent less than an hour launching all the Five Elders into the sky.
Moments ago, this place had been a battlefield.
Now it was empty.
Desolate.
"What… were we even doing here?"
Kaido and Whitebeard stared at each other, utterly confused.
Fortunately…
They weren't alone.
Every World Government soldier present wore the same expression.
Even Aokiji, still holding Sanji at bay, felt the same way.
"Hey, seriously—that attack hit you?!"
"Is your Speed-Speed Fruit just for show?!"
BOOM!!!
"Damn it!!!"
Sanji flew backward like a meteor, flames erupting as he halted midair.
Looking up, he saw a green-haired swordsman floating with arms crossed, three blades at his waist.
That mocking grin was unmistakable.
"Damn moss-head bastard!!!"
"So what if you beat your opponent using Mega Evolution?!"
"If I went Mega too, I'd wipe the floor with this ice guy!"
"Tch." Zoro snorted."Anyone can talk big."
"Beat the Admiral without Mega, and I'll say you won the bet."
"Fine! You said it!"
Sanji's eyes ignited with battle spirit as he launched himself toward Aokiji.
Aokiji rubbed his temples.
"…What a pain."
"How did I suddenly become the supreme commander of this battlefield?"
He'd only come to watch.
(End of Chapter)