Boom!!!
A terrifying explosion suddenly rang out in the silent cosmos.
The immense shockwave forcefully stirred up a massive storm in the thin vacuum of space, surging toward the surrounding empty and unknown regions.
"Hehe~"
"This is the third time you've been hit by me!!!"
In the void, Luffy's fist slammed violently into Figarland Garling Saint's face once again, adding another splash of fresh blood onto his already bruised cheeks.
Two front teeth that had accompanied Garling Saint for decades flew out, drifting freely toward the deepest reaches of space.
"You bastard… Don't get cocky too soon!!!"
Garling Saint forcibly stabilized his body in place after being struck by Luffy, refusing to be blasted away by the immense force.
Though this caused him to suffer even heavier damage, it also gave him a rare opportunity to close the distance with Luffy.
Bang!!!
A heavy punch capable of shattering mountains slammed into Luffy's abdomen, violently distorting his body.
The shock force that passed through Luffy's body erupted into a fierce storm that swept across the entire battlefield.
The two of them fought in the void like this—trading punches and kicks.
Every single strike carried enough power to erase an island in the pirate world. Yet within the immensely tolerant void…
Aside from slightly shifting the orbits of nearby meteors, their attacks produced no other impact whatsoever.
"What a mysterious starry sky~"
Watching Luffy and Garling Saint's battle intensify into a white-hot clash, Red instead sighed in admiration toward the mysterious and vast universe.
After confirming that Luffy had absolutely no issues in this battle, he lowered his figure and flew directly toward the Blue Planet.
Although the battle on Elegia Island had temporarily come to an end, Red still returned along his original route to prevent a counterattack from the Mirabelagon Palace or any unexpected accidents.
Despite Luffy currently trading blows evenly with Garling Saint…
Red knew very well that, up to this point, Luffy was merely familiarizing himself with the brand-new power of his Mega Evolution form.
The strength he was displaying now was still far from the limits of this form.
At the very least, ever since his evolution, Luffy hadn't used a single Fairy-type technique or energy manipulation method.
After all…
A Fairy-type power fused with the power of Nika was far, far, far stronger than Dark-type abilities that influenced consciousness!!!
Because that was now Luffy's primary attribute.
"I wonder if the current Luffy could defeat Imu…"
"Sigh… It would be nice if someone could help test Imu's true strength."
"As expected, the unknown is the most terrifying thing."
While descending, Red suddenly waved toward the distant sky.
The next second, an ornate longsword abruptly appeared beside him, flying rapidly toward the Blue Planet alongside him.
This sword was none other than the Supreme Grade Meito, Zhan Shen, which Red had branded with his spiritual imprint and thrown toward the Blue Planet in advance.
"Well… at least it's not like we gained nothing."
Not particularly knowledgeable about swords, Red casually grabbed Zhan Shen and drew it from its sheath with a metallic clang, revealing a majestic and weighty blade.
"If it's a weapon that Garling Saint used, then even among the Supreme Grade Meito, it should be considered top-tier, right?"
"I wonder which is stronger compared to Dracule Mihawk's Black Blade · Yoru."
"Zoro definitely wouldn't be willing to switch swords. I wonder if Vegapunk has a way to modify it. If not, turning it into a cane sword for Brook wouldn't be bad either~"
With a casual thought, Red had already decided the fate of this legendary blade that was of immense importance to the God's Knights.
Ten minutes later.
As a Hyperspace Hole opened, Red's figure finally returned to Elegia Island.
It had to be said…
Thanks to Vegapunk's technological support, the Straw Hat Pirates had invented practical devices like personal terminals.
Although signal coverage issues meant they couldn't use all its functions outside the Pokémon Sea, just the "real-time location sharing" feature alone had saved Red and the others tremendous effort.
Otherwise, with Red's current strength, he would not have been able to freely travel between space and the Blue Planet like this.
Landing on the Blue Planet was one thing. For someone like Red, who possessed long-distance rapid mobility, even if his landing point deviated slightly, he could quickly find his way back.
But if he entered space without precise positioning, in the vast and illusory cosmos, who knew how long it would take for him to find Luffy, who had entered space earlier?
"So… for space navigation, raw strength might actually become less important."
"Powerful scientific and technological support is the truly crucial factor."
After gaining a clearer understanding of Vegapunk's capabilities, Red made up his mind…
He absolutely had to recruit that man into his team.
Vegapunk was the person most capable of changing the world!
Of course… thinking about exploring the cosmos right now was still a bit premature, since the world was still under the control of the World Government.
"Red!!!"
Just as Red was deep in thought, a childish shout suddenly pulled him back to reality.
Raising his head, he saw Tony Tony Chopper—who had returned to his usual adorable appearance—rushing toward him. With his short hooves tapping against the ground, he used Shave, producing rapid swooshing sounds as he advanced at high speed.
Behind Chopper, Brook and Jinbe also appeared one after another.
In their hands, they each carried their spoils of war.
Chopper held a beautifully crafted sniper rifle—the very one that had belonged to Celeste Palace.
Since Chopper himself possessed Ice-type abilities and had recently been studying sniping under Usopp with decent results…
He planned to bring the rifle back and ask Usopp and Franky to modify it into a standard weapon for himself.
After all, a sniper rifle used by a member of the God's Knights was certainly not comparable to ordinary firearms.
Brook's spoils, naturally, were the enormous scythe previously wielded by Saint Abyss.
According to Brook's perception, the scythe's materials seemed to possess some connection to the power of the underworld, allowing it to absorb the life force of nearby living beings and emit an aura of death.
Brook planned to take the scythe back for research. It might even allow him to achieve a breakthrough in the abilities of his Revive-Revive Fruit.
As for Jinbe's spoils… they were rather unique.
Because what Jinbe carried over his shoulder wasn't a weapon or equipment.
It was a delicately handsome man, prince-like in appearance, tightly bound with Seastone chains.
That's right!
Jinbe's opponent, Saint Bal, had successfully gained the opportunity to cling to life thanks to his unique Devil Fruit ability.
The moment Red saw Bal's Devil Fruit ability earlier, he had already made his decision…
He would absolutely keep this man alive, then find a way to have Vegapunk replicate his Devil Fruit.
Powerful physical enhancement, swift underwater mobility, flexible water manipulation, and the ability to survive underwater…
Although it was still a Devil Fruit, the Kappa Fruit allowed its user—even after falling into the ocean—
A Devil Fruit that could grant land-dwelling creatures fish-man-like traits, allowing them to move freely in seawater while possessing considerable water-controlling abilities…
Although seawater would still weaken the user.
But Mythical Zoan types inherently provided excellent physical enhancement. Combined with the Kappa's traits, even in seawater, the user's strength wouldn't be reduced too drastically.
If it could be mass-produced, it could easily create a powerful underwater combat unit.
Previously, Red had considered training a group of Kung-Fu Dugongs and feeding them various Devil Fruits to form the Straw Hat crew's underwater forces.
However, cultivating a batch of promising Kung-Fu Dugongs required an excessively long development cycle.
In comparison, whether it was Usopp's insect army or the genetically engineered soldiers of the Vinsmoke Family, both were far more cost-effective choices.
"Looks like everyone gained quite a lot from this trip~"
After chatting with Chopper and the others and listening to their training plans for the near future, a satisfied smile appeared on Red's face.
However, he had not forgotten the real reason they had come to this island.
Red's gaze shifted toward the direction of the ruined castle in the distance.
Through the powerful combination of Aura + Psychic Power + Observation Haki perception, he could clearly see Uta speaking with Gordon.
The distance was simply too great, though—even for him to hear clearly.
But judging from Gordon's conflicted expression, Red guessed…
Their purpose in coming to this island might be accomplished without requiring much effort at all.
A Devil Fruit user capable of creating a mental world…
In Red's eyes, this was the greatest reward they could obtain from this journey!
(End of Chapter)