"R-Red… Mr. Red, there's still no news from Luffy's side!?"
One week later.
Outside the dilapidated castle on Elegia Island.
A massive bonfire roared fiercely, its blazing flames burning high into the sky.
Suspended over the fire was an enormous sea beast that had already been cleaned and was now sizzling as oil dripped from its body.
Hearing the question from below, Red—who was busy brushing oil and sauce over the sea beast—immediately leaned out through the thick smoke. He raised a hand, signaling Tony Tony Chopper and Jinbe on both sides of the fire to stop turning the roasted "fish."
"Oh, it's Uta~"
Seeing who had arrived, Red jumped down and smiled.
"You came at the perfect time. Jinbe just caught a big fish from the sea—why not try my barbecue?"
"It's not on Sanji's level, but it's definitely chef-grade."
After landing, Red didn't immediately answer Uta's question. Instead, he extended a lunch invitation.
But Uta, who was extremely worried about Luffy, clearly wasn't going to let it go so easily.
She immediately pressed further:
"Mr. Red! I'm not here for lunch!"
"Where did Luffy go? Why hasn't he come back after so long!?"
Uta's face was filled with urgency.
Not knowing the true state of the outside world, she was genuinely worried.
After all, in Uta's understanding, how could a battle possibly last for seven whole days?
"Ahh~ Didn't I already tell you? Luffy is perfectly fine—doing great, actually~!"
Looking at Uta's watery, anxious eyes, Red shook his head helplessly.
"Fine. Since you don't believe me, I'll take you to see for yourself."
Snap~
The moment his voice fell, Red suddenly snapped his fingers crisply.
In an instant, Uta's body floated into midair.
Then, together with Red, she shot straight toward the sky.
"W-What is this!?"
Startled, Uta immediately waved her arms frantically, as if afraid she might suddenly fall.
Although she had experienced the sensation of flying in her own spiritual world before, the extreme speed at which the island beneath her feet shrank into a tiny black dot in the blink of an eye still left her unable to adapt.
At this moment, Red's voice entered her ears again.
"Didn't you want to see Luffy?"
"Don't be so nervous, Miss Uta."
"You'll be experiencing scenes like this quite often in the future."
Red waved his hand, and Uta—who had been some distance away—was immediately pulled over, entering the same psychic barrier as him.
The next moment, Red went all out. Using the combined flight of Hyperspace Hole and Psychic Power, they instantly broke free from the constraints of the Blue Planet and flew straight into the mysterious starry sky.
About twenty minutes later, the two quickly arrived in a vast expanse of void.
Silent and cold.
That was Uta's first impression.
But soon, she was shocked by what she saw before her.
"L-Luffy!?"
Uta raised her head in astonishment, staring at the enormous figure ahead.
If not for the great distance allowing her to just barely see the unforgettable straw hat, she wouldn't have recognized that the colossal being before her was the very Luffy she had been searching for.
"Hm?"
From somewhere unknown, an ancient voice that seemed to echo from every direction suddenly descended into Uta's mind.
The giant before her slowly opened his eyes. Upon noticing the visitors, his face immediately revealed clear joy.
"Uta, Red—you're here!?"
"Yeah."
Red nodded with a smile. With a wave of his hand, he brought Uta directly in front of Luffy's face and asked:
"How is it? What's that guy's condition now?"
"You mean that Celestial Dragon?"
Luffy grinned widely, and beams of Psybeam suddenly shot from his eyes.
In an instant, a vertical curtain of light appeared magically before Red and Uta.
And what played on it…
Was the scene of Figarland Garling Saint battling countless energy-formed Luffys within a pink-colored space.
From his increasingly sluggish movements, it was easy to tell how exhausted he had become.
Even someone as powerful as Garling Saint had been driven into a desperate corner after seven continuous days of battle.
It wasn't that Garling Saint was weak.
It was simply that Luffy's buffs were far too outrageous—the power of Nika, Pokémon power, plus a massive amount of potion-based stamina recovery…
If not for Red being overly cautious—and Luffy never having any interest in becoming the ruler of the world—they would have already prepared for a direct assault on Mary Geoise.
Even so, as Red observed Garling Saint's condition, a trace of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes.
"He still looks in decent shape… As expected of the World Government's strongest warrior."
"Looks like it's time to add some stronger ingredients."
Red's gaze flashed as he stared at Garling Saint on the screen.
The next moment, he looked up at Luffy and said:
"Luffy, I'm switching your move set."
"His combat power has already dropped significantly. Increase the pressure and finish him off quickly!"
"Ohhh~"
"Leave it to me~"
Luffy grinned.
The next moment, Red's mind moved as he opened the backpack interface in the system device and directly replaced Luffy's moves.
This was one of the conveniences after the system upgrade.
Red no longer needed to bring his companions into the game world to switch their moves—including members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and the insect troops raised by Usopp…
It saved him an enormous amount of gameplay time.
Very quickly, Luffy's skill slots—aside from the essential Fairy Lock—were replaced with far more destructive moves.
Hyper Beam, Double-Edge, and the devastating move with a base power of 250—
Explosion!!!
These three moves grew stronger in raw power one after another, each designed purely to inflict maximum damage on the opponent.
However, comparatively speaking, these moves also required longer charging times, making them easy for enemies to dodge.
If it had been Garling Saint seven days ago, relying solely on these damage-based moves would have made inflicting serious harm extremely difficult.
But after seven days and seven nights without rest—and the sacrifice of thousands of clones carrying "farewell gifts"—his condition had drastically declined.
With these clone-delivered attacks added into the mix, his defeat was only a matter of time!
...
...
Meanwhile.
While the Supreme Commander of God's Knights, Garling Saint, was being subjected to Luffy's merciless torment…
Inside Mary Geoise, an event shocking enough to shake the entire world was unfolding.
"What did you say!?"
"You encountered the Straw Hat crew on Elegia Island!?"
"And you even met both their captain and vice-captain!?"
Inside Pangaea Castle, within the Five Elders' council chamber.
Watching Mirabelagon kneeling before the conference table, after hearing her report about the situation on Elegia Island, all the Five Elders revealed expressions of extreme shock. They remained silent for a long time.
After quite a while, it was the bald Five Elder—the strongest among them, whose power surpassed even the level of the Four Emperors—who spoke first:
"This is troublesome… With the Straw Hat crew's mysterious intelligence-gathering abilities, they must have discovered something on Elegia Island. Otherwise, they would never have appeared there suddenly."
"No! This must be reported to Lord Imu immediately!"
After suffering the consequences of withholding information once before, the Five Elders no longer dared to hide anything from Imu.
More importantly…
Even if they mobilized all of the World Government's military power, they still had no confidence in confronting the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Wait a moment."
At this moment, the round-headed Saint Warcury suddenly interrupted:
"If Straw Hat brat Luffy and Trainer Red are both on Elegia Island…"
"Doesn't that mean the Pokémon Sea has no high-tier combat power right now!?"
"Isn't this the perfect opportunity to strike!?"
"Hmm!?"
Hearing this, the other three Five Elders froze momentarily.
So much so that they failed to notice the stunned expression on Mirabelagon's face below.
What's going on!?
Are those two really so powerful that even the Five Elders are this cautious… even planning a sneak attack while they're away!?
This… completely contradicts the World Government's usual style!
However, no one knew the doubts in Mirabelagon's heart.
As if discovering a brand-new world, the Five Elders instantly became excited, seriously analyzing the possibility of launching a surprise attack on the Pokémon Sea.
Saint Mars, the one with the long beard, immediately nodded and said thoughtfully:
"This is indeed a feasible plan!"
"With Garling Saint's strength—even if he can't capture those two from the Straw Hat crew—he can definitely stall them."
"If we urgently assemble a group of top-tier combat forces, it truly would be an excellent opportunity to attack the Pokémon Sea!!!"
"The World Government desperately needs a victorious war right now!!!"
Repeated military failures had severely damaged the World Government's prestige.
According to intelligence from Cipher Pol, several allied nations had begun secretly planning to withdraw from the World Government's rule.
After all, the Heavenly Tribute paid annually was no small sum.
Some nations that had long been dissatisfied with the Heavenly Tribute policy had even decided to stop paying it next year.
It could be said that this was the weakest the World Government's rule had been in eight hundred years.
They desperately needed a war that demonstrated overwhelming strength—so that those harboring rebellious thoughts would understand…
Who their true master was.
However…
"We cannot act recklessly."
The golden-haired Saint Peter spoke solemnly:
"Although Straw Hat brat Luffy and Trainer Red are absent, the one who killed Akainu—Roronoa Zoro—and Black Leg Sanji, who can fight Kuzan without falling behind, are both still in the Pokémon Sea."
"These two are not opponents to be underestimated!"
"Though it carries some risk…"
He raised his head and declared word by word:
"This time, we must attack with full force and ensure absolute victory!"
"Good!!!"
The four Five Elders simultaneously raised their heads and nodded at each other.
In the end, Saint Nusjuro—the bald Five Elder—made the final decision:
"In that case, I will take Mirabelagon to report this matter to Lord Imu."
"The rest of you—assemble forces immediately and prepare for action!!!"
"Human wave tactics no longer work against the Straw Hat crew!"
"This time, we select only elites among elites!"
"Mirabelagon, come with me!"
Saint Nusjuro shouted thunderously. His aura condensed sharply, even causing the long blade in his hand to tremble.
With that, he stood up and led Mirabelagon toward the depths of Pangaea Castle.
...
...
Not long after, beneath the long-unseen Empty Throne.
Having already contacted Imu through mysterious channels, Saint Nusjuro and Mirabelagon knelt one behind the other beneath the throne.
Creak…
At that moment, the sound of a door opening suddenly echoed.
Then came the sound of approaching footsteps.
Step! Step! …
The footsteps were ordinary, yet when they echoed through the vast hall, they inexplicably filled the two below with dread.
Especially Mirabelagon, who was meeting Imu for the first time.
In a sense, the status of God's Knights was equivalent to that of the Five Elders.
Thus, as Vice Commander of God's Knights, she also possessed the right to meet Imu.
However, only Garling Saint—upon being appointed Commander of God's Knights—had ever been granted an audience with Imu.
This was her first time meeting Lord Imu.
Nervous tension filled Mirabelagon's heart.
Then suddenly, an androgynous voice that made it impossible to distinguish gender echoed above them:
"You are saying that the God's Knights encountered Joy Boy and that strange man during their mission?"
"Yes, Lord Imu!"
Saint Nusjuro lowered his head and replied:
"So the Five Elders and I plan to seize this opportunity to launch another assault on the Pokémon Sea and completely destroy the Straw Hat Pirates' base."
"With Garling Saint restraining Straw Hat Luffy and Trainer Red, this is absolutely a perfect opportunity!"
"IDIOTS!!!!!!!"
BOOM!!!!
A thunderous roar exploded directly inside the minds of Saint Nusjuro and Mirabelagon, causing both to reveal expressions of unbearable agony.
The next moment, Imu's furious voice rang out again:
"I thought after the last incident, you had already realized the danger Joy Boy represents…"
"I never expected that after all this time, you would still be such worthless trash!!!"
Boom…
A mysterious force suddenly erupted from Imu's body and spread across the entirety of Mary Geoise.
In an instant, Saint Nusjuro—kneeling on the ground—and the other three Five Elders preparing military mobilization suddenly clutched their throats in agony, their eyes rolling upward as if they were about to die.
Seeing Saint Nusjuro suffering so intensely, Mirabelagon stood completely frozen in shock.
For a moment, hearing the screams beside her, she didn't know how to react.
But immediately afterward, Imu's voice suppressed Saint Nusjuro's screams and continued:
"It seems I have been far too lenient with you."
"The Five Elders truly need some fresh blood."
Imu suddenly raised a hand. A pair of eyes resembling Rinnegan stared down at Mirabelagon as Imu continued:
"Garling Saint will not be returning."
"In that case…"
"From today onward, you will become the new Five Elder!!!"
(End of Chapter)