"So fast, and it's already over?!"
Inside the chaotic Room of Flowers, Red's brows shot up the moment he saw Zoro and Sanji jump up from the lower level carrying a corpse that looked exactly like Red-Haired Shanks.
In the next instant, he directly used telekinesis to seize Saint Shamrock's corpse. After notifying Usopp aboard the Going Merry through the mental network, he immediately sent the body over.
Although the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit had already left Saint Shamrock the instant he died, the corpse of an Emperor of the Sea-level powerhouse still held tremendous value, whether it was turned into a zombie by Moria or used by the Scientific Research Corps to extract Lineage Factor and create a clone.
While transporting the corpse, Red also took the opportunity to ask Usopp about the situation outside Pangaea Castle.
After learning that everyone else had already returned to the Going Merry, he refocused his gaze on Luffy's battlefield against the Five Elders.
"The timing's about right."
Red narrowed his eyes, thought flickering within them.
Just as Imu did not know what cards the Straw Hat Pirates were holding and therefore did not dare show himself...
Red, who likewise still did not fully understand Imu's true strength or the source of that power, was sticking to one principle: if he could avoid direct contact, then he would avoid direct contact as much as possible.
As things stood, Luffy, Zoro, and the others appeared to have already reached the top tier of combat power in the pirate world. On the surface, it almost seemed impossible for anyone left to be their match.
But in Red's eyes, the three of them—as well as every member of the Straw Hat Pirates—still had enormous room to grow.
At the very least, until someone forced out Imu's true level, he had no intention of fighting an unprepared battle.
"What a pity... we still never found out what the national treasure of the Celestial Dragons actually is."
"I should've reminded Issho back then. He swung too fast and completely forgot that little matter existed~"
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Red raised his head and spoke to all his companions through the mental network:
"Everyone, get ready. We're withdrawing!"
"Okay~"
"No problem!"
"..."
"..."
Replies rang out one after another in Red's mind.
Only Luffy, who was still in battle, stiffened and complained pitifully through the mental network:
"Eh?! But I was just getting into it!"
"Do we really have to leave right now?!"
Ever since the battle on Elegia, Luffy had not had a truly serious fight in a long time. He had been looking forward to a battle where he could go all out.
The Five Elders before him, though individually weaker than him, could still occasionally wound even his Nika body when the four of them fought together.
Of course, those injuries would quickly heal thanks to Regenerator, but that alone was enough to prove how powerful the Five Elders really were.
And with their bizarre ability to refuse to die no matter how much he hit them, this battle had been exhilarating for Luffy.
But soon, Red's voice rang out in his head:
"That's enough. The story in the Sword/Shield world is almost at its end now, and the Pokémon we'll run into next are only going to get stronger!"
"If that's still not enough, we can just start a second playthrough of Legends: Arceus when the time comes. There'll be plenty of strong opponents there for you to fight to your heart's content!"
"Huh?! Really?!"
The moment he heard Red paint that beautiful picture, Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement and anticipation.
"Of course it's real. Since when have I ever lied to you?" Red replied without hesitation.
And under Red's persuasion, Luffy finally gave up on continuing the fight against the four monsters in front of him.
Still, if they wanted the Going Merry to retreat safely from Mary Geoise, Luffy needed to keep them occupied a little longer.
Whoosh!
A flash of divine light streaked by, and Red vanished from the Room of Flowers together with Zoro and Sanji.
Their conversation inside the mental network had not been heard by the Five Elders, and all of the elders' attention was locked entirely on Luffy.
So from beginning to end, they never realized that the Straw Hat Pirates were preparing to withdraw.
And so, Luffy alone remained in the Room of Flowers as a giant white warrior, fighting the four enormous monsters to the death.
Meanwhile, outside Pangaea Castle, Red had already begun the final step in getting the Going Merry moving before they left Mary Geoise.
...
...
High above the clouds, at an altitude of ten thousand meters, Red stood with one hand supporting Laboon's small body, his gaze fixed on the Mary Geoise region below, which had long since shrunk into nothing more than a tiny black dot.
"Ready, Laboon?!"
The corners of Red's lips curled upward as he smiled and asked the little fellow beside him.
Laboon, who had long been excited beyond measure, slapped his tail fiercely and let out a sharp cry from his tiny body.
"Aoo~"
"Looks like you really can't wait anymore!"
Able to sense Laboon's emotions through Aura, Red's smile widened even further.
Then he pointed straight at Mary Geoise below.
"In that case, I'll leave everything to you!"
"After today, your name will resound across the world!"
"And at the same time, everyone will learn that among the Straw Hat Pirates... you exist too!!!"
"AOOO~!!!"
Under Red's encouragement, the fighting spirit in Laboon's eyes surged more and more intensely.
Its gaze then locked onto the Red Line below.
Even though they were now ten thousand meters up in the sky, far too high to clearly see Mary Geoise, the Red Line—splitting the entire world in two—remained strikingly obvious.
And that was also the target Laboon had been struggling against for fifty years.
For fifty years, regardless of pain or injury, it had rammed its body into that rocky continent again and again—the continent that had torn it apart from the Rumbar Pirates.
But now, not only had it reunited with its old companion, it had also gained a brand-new life.
Then this time, let it use the very thing it had done for the past fifty years to prove its existence to the entire world!!!
"AOOO~!!!"
Having made up its mind, Laboon let out a resounding cry.
In the next instant, it leapt directly out from Red's grasp and into the open sky.
Without Red's psychic power supporting it, its body immediately plummeted downward at terrifying speed.
Its tiny size reduced air resistance to almost nothing, and coupled with its horrifying weight, it became like a meteor falling from the heavens, smashing straight toward the Red Line below.
At an altitude of one thousand meters above the Red Line...
Usopp and Brook watched the falling Laboon with tense expressions.
"It's coming! It's coming!!!"
At that moment, Usopp finally spotted Laboon descending from above. He immediately shouted in excitement, then grabbed the remote device in his hand and pressed the play button.
In an instant, countless sound shells, amplified through loudspeakers, simultaneously broadcast Laboon's mighty cry, as if a majestic dragon had descended upon the world.
"Hm? What's that sound?!"
Some Celestial Dragons who had somehow survived the great chaos looked up toward the sky where the sound had come from.
In the next second, their expressions abruptly changed, their faces draining white.
Because in their vision, an enormous monstrosity suddenly appeared directly above Mary Geoise, like a dark silhouette from another world, blotting out all light and plunging the whole city into darkness.
"Th-That... what is that?!"
A group of brain-damaged Celestial Dragons still stood there dumbly pointing at the sky, asking absurd questions.
But many more of them had already descended into complete panic.
They did not know what that colossal thing in the sky was.
But they did know one thing very clearly...
If that thing came crashing down, then every last one of them would meet only one fate...
Death!!!
In an instant, the already chaotic Mary Geoise exploded into full-blown bedlam.
Those once-arrogant Celestial Dragons now looked like ants that had lost their queen—running in circles in frantic confusion, yet utterly unable to do anything meaningful.
But how could Laboon, descending from ten thousand meters above, possibly give them any chance to escape?!
"AOOO~!!!"
The clouds churned violently in the sky.
Excitement gleamed in Laboon's eyes. Its metallic skin scraped through the air, producing a shrill and ear-piercing howl.
As a sound thunderous enough to make one's brain buzz erupted, the Celestial Dragons on the ground and all their guards could feel nothing but overwhelming Pressure.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was no surprise, nor the slightest chance for the Celestial Dragons to flee.
Massive weight + terrifying speed + a move belonging to gigantic Pokémon alone—Body Slam!
Laboon, gathering the power of its entire body, smashed directly into the urban district of Mary Geoise like a meteor from outer space.
In that instant, the whole world seemed to tremble.
A mushroom cloud of dust and debris shot up directly above Mary Geoise, engulfing the entire holy land in a world of haze.
"What?! What happened!?"
The violent tremor quickly reached Pangaea Castle.
The dense dust shrouded the entire castle, turning even the brightly lit Room of Flowers dim and murky.
And just as the four Five Elders were wondering what exactly had happened outside, a figure that made their eyes widen in fury suddenly appeared in the Room of Flowers.
"Hey, Luffy!"
"The stuff outside is done. Time to retreat!"
Red, who had teleported into the Room of Flowers, completely ignored the Five Elders and shouted directly at Luffy.
"Oh!? Got it!"
Luffy froze for a moment in realization, then answered at once.
In the next second, he gave the Five Elders a sheepish grin.
"Sorry, big monsters. This fight ends here!"
As soon as the words fell, Luffy's body rapidly shrank. At the same time, he exited his Nika form and returned to being a smiling boy in a straw hat, appearing beside Red.
"What did you say?!"
The furious Five Elders roared:
"What do you think this place is?!"
"You think you can come whenever you want and leave whenever you want?!"
"Heh-heh~ You should probably ask yourselves that question instead!"
Summoning a psychic barrier with one hand to envelop Luffy, Red bared his teeth in a grin and replied to the Five Elders:
"I just hope that after today, you'll still be able to recognize... what this place even is anymore!"
"Alright, let's go, Luffy."
Whoosh!!!
Without giving the Five Elders any chance to continue spewing nonsense, Red and Luffy vanished from the Room of Flowers in an instant.
"Damn it!!! Those lowly inferior creatures!!!"
Watching Red once again leave right in front of them, unharmed, using spatial abilities for who knew how many times now, the Five Elders could only roar in impotent rage.
And just as they exchanged glances, reverted back to human form, and prepared to go report the situation to Lord Imu...
A hurried burst of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the Room of Flowers.
In the next moment, a suited staff member appeared at the doorway.
When he saw the Five Elders through the still-open door, he immediately ran into the Room of Flowers.
"Five Elders! This is bad! Something terrible has happened!!!"
The man shouted as he ran forward.
But what he did not expect was that his desperate effort to report to the Five Elders as fast as possible would not earn him any reward at all. Instead—
"You bastard!!!"
Slash!!!
An icy flying slash burst forth from the bald Five Elder's blade.
Already in a terrible mood because the plan had failed, he barked furiously:
"Who allowed you people into the upper levels?!"
"You lowly vermin dare trespass into this place? Your courage is getting bigger and bigger!"
Seeing the bald Five Elder kill the suited man, the other elders did not find anything wrong with it either.
What kind of place was the Room of Flowers!?
Normally, even they, the Five Elders, would not dare barge in at will. How could some mere inferior creature be allowed to set foot here?
Even if, after all the repeated battles, the place was now ruined beyond recognition.
As long as Lord Imu had not denied the existence of the Room of Flowers, then this remained a place forever forbidden to lower creatures.
So even though they could tell the suited man had come to report something important, the bald Five Elder still killed him on the spot.
Rules could not be broken!
However, seeing that even in death the man's finger remained stubbornly pointed toward the window, the Five Elders followed his gesture and looked outside.
And in the next moment, their expressions became even more horrified and disbelieving than the dead man's had been.
Outside Pangaea Castle, Mary Geoise—which, though it could not compare to Pangaea Castle itself, had at least once been prosperous and magnificent—
had now completely vanished!
In its place was a gigantic crater that covered the entire castle district and most of the main urban area!!!
No!
It wasn't just a crater!
Even as the Five Elders stared, a massive waterfall—like a hole torn open in the sky—came crashing down from above, pounding the deepest part of the crater again and again like artillery shells.
Before long, that wave-like flood completely filled the cavity, turning it into a vast, churning lake that buried every trace of the Celestial Dragons' former existence beneath the water.
"Hey, Five Elders!!!"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from the sky once more, jolting the four elders back to their senses.
They looked up and saw Red hovering in the distant sky, smiling and waving at them while holding a tiny black whale in his arms.
When he saw them look over, Red immediately grinned and called out:
"The Red Line used to be so barren before. Nothing but rock. Way too boring—easy to get aesthetic fatigue!"
"So this time, I helped you build a scenic lake right next to Pangaea Castle."
"That way, all you have to do is look up and you'll get a beautiful lakeside view outside your window. Comfort level maxed out."
"And since we're all old friends, I won't even charge you for the renovations this time."
"So try not to thank me too much!"
Whoosh!
The instant his words fell, Red used Teleport and returned with Laboon to the Going Merry waiting high in the sky.
Under the hideous gazes of the Five Elders, the Going Merry—its charge long since complete—released a Coup de Burst and instantly shot away from the Red Line, streaking off into the distant sky.
(End of Chapter)