"Tailed Beasts?!"
Seeing the inexplicable smile on Red's face, a surge of curiosity immediately rose in Moria's heart.
"Tailed Beasts aren't creatures that truly exist in the real world," Red explained calmly.
"You can think of them as fantasy beings—much like Pokémon in the Pokémon world."
"They're powerful monsters formed from pure, condensed energy. Every single one of them possesses strength far beyond human imagination."
"And among them, the strongest can even surpass the power of a Marine Admiral."
"A Marine Admiral?!"
Moria's pupils abruptly contracted.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he understood better than most just how terrifying a Marine Admiral truly was.
Those were monsters of genuine strategic significance—existences that even someone as proud as Moria had to acknowledge… and fear.
But the very next second, Moria froze as a realization struck him.
The people standing in front of him had defeated a Marine Admiral not long ago—an opponent he could never hope to reach.
That crushing mental gap made Moria once again keenly aware of just how vast the difference was between himself and the Straw Hat crew.
Yet Red seemed oblivious to the turmoil in his heart and continued smiling as he explained:
"Of course, trying to recreate fantasy creatures in the real world is, in the end, nothing but wishful thinking."
"But miracles only exist because someone dares to attempt them, right?"
At that moment, a sharp glint burst forth in Red's eyes—filled with anticipation and playful intent.
He spoke fluently, laying it all out:
"Hogback's mastery over biological structures, Franky's expertise in mechanical weapon design, and your Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability…"
"I believe that even if we can't create true legendary Tailed Beasts, we can at least forge biological weapons that will shock the world."
"But…"
Hearing Red's plan, doubt flickered once more in Moria's eyes.
"Lord Red, while a zombie's strength does depend heavily on the quality of the corpse, the strength of the shadow is just as crucial."
"Even if we find the right ferocious beast corpses and create these so-called Tailed Beasts, without suitable shadows—"
"The shadow issue isn't something you need to worry about," Red interrupted, raising a hand before Moria could finish.
"Don't forget—deep beneath the sea, there are countless powerful Sea Kings."
"When the time comes, we can just have Laboon catch a few Sea Kings and extract their shadows."
"Since all shadows ultimately obey your command, there's no need to worry about intelligence or rebellion."
"And as for storing the Sea Kings, that won't be a problem either."
"My partner Usopp is a user of the Storage-Storage Fruit. He can perfectly store all the Sea Kings while keeping them alive."
"In that case…"
Moria froze on the spot.
After hesitating for a long moment, he nodded in astonishment.
"When you put it that way… it really does seem flawless."
Even though he had already become Red's Pokémon, seeing Red plan everything so thoroughly—leaving Moria to simply activate his Devil Fruit ability and gain a legion of monsters—
That feeling of gaining everything without having to worry about anything…
It was way too good!
As expected of a Trainer!
Seeing the gleam in Moria's eyes, the corners of Red's mouth quietly lifted.
The so-called "Tailed Beast Plan" was nothing more than a joke name he'd come up with on a whim.
His true goal was to use this plan as a way for Hogback and Franky to hone their skills and accumulate experience.
And then—
To use that experience and technology to carry out Laboon's first major upgrade!
Previously, due to professional limitations, Crocus had only been able to install simple pipelines and layouts inside Laboon's body to make movement easier.
But now, as the Straw Hat Pirates ventured into increasingly dangerous seas, upgrading Laboon had become an urgent necessity.
Clearly, the evolutionary path used for the Going Merry wasn't suitable for a living organism like Laboon.
So the best solution was to combine Franky's understanding of mechanical frameworks with Hogback's mastery of biological structures—
To give Laboon an entirely new evolution: mechanical armor evolution!
Red firmly believed that once the mechanical structures and weapon systems inside Laboon reached a certain level, Laboon—just like the Going Merry—would trigger the system's evolution mechanism!
…
…
Once all the details were finalized, the terrifying island-sized ship, Thriller Bark, unfurled its massive sails and began sailing out of the Florian Triangle.
After all, when people thought of powerful Sea Kings, the first place that came to mind was the mysterious sea bordering both sides of the Grand Line—the Calm Belt.
In that region, massive, incredibly strong Sea Kings could be found almost everywhere.
It was more than enough to meet all the requirements of the Tailed Beast Plan.
Before the plan officially began, Moria followed Red's advice and dismissed all of his shadows in advance.
First, to bring the Thriller Bark Pirates' style closer to that of the Straw Hats.
Second, to quickly clear out all external personnel on Thriller Bark.
Only then could the Straw Hat crew safely hide within Thriller Bark without being discovered by the World Government or Marine informants.
Recently, as the authority of the World Government and the Marines continued to decline, rebellions erupted across the world.
Pirates, revolutionaries, and even resistance forces from World Government-affiliated nations rose up one after another.
Although these uprisings would soon be suppressed by the combined might of the World Government and the Marines…
The seeds of chaos had already been sown into the soil of this world—and were visibly beginning to take root.
As a result, the World Government now desperately needed a victory significant enough to restore control over the seas.
Because of that, the Four Emperors of the New World, the mysterious Revolutionary Army, the legendary alliance of Golden Lion and Blackbeard, and the Straw Hat crew who had defeated a Marine Admiral…
All of them had become top-priority targets of Marine surveillance.
After all, under the current circumstances, only by defeating enemies of this caliber could the World Government achieve a result with truly global impact.
…
…
And while Marine and Government agents scoured the world searching for traces of the Straw Hats—
The Straw Hat crew had just wrapped up a seven-day-long welcome banquet for their new companion!
It had to be said…
With a musician on board, the atmosphere of a banquet instantly became joyful and lively.
Even Red, usually the calmest at such gatherings, found himself genuinely enjoying it under Brook's musical influence.
"This… this is life~!"
Early the next morning, as he looked at his companions sprawled out in all kinds of bizarre sleeping positions, Red—already awake—chuckled and shook his head.
With a flicker of thought, he opened the Pokémon information interface.
The next instant, a chibi skeleton wearing an elegant suit appeared before his eyes.
[Pokémon: Brook][Level: 42][Gender: ♂][Nature: Jolly (+Defense, -Sp. Defense)][Type: Ghost / Ice]
[Ability: Wandering Spirit(When engaging in close combat, there is a chance to swap souls with the enemy, instantly gaining 100% compatibility and control over the enemy's body with no side effects.
PS:Activation and termination are controlled by the ability holder. Maximum swap duration depends on the mental strength of both parties.)]
[Moves: —][EXP: 0 / 5419]
HP: 140Attack: 93Defense: 110Sp. Attack: 120Sp. Defense: 121Speed: 120Total: 704
These were the stats of the Straw Hats' newest member, Brook.
Comparatively speaking, Brook's innate talent wasn't particularly outstanding within the crew—one could even call it "average."
Even his level was lower than Franky's, who had joined not long ago.
However—
The moment Red saw the ability assigned to Brook by the system, his previous thoughts vanished instantly.
Wandering Spirit!
If Red remembered correctly, this was a brand-new ability introduced in Generation Eight.
Originally, it allowed users to swap abilities with opponents.
But under the system's extreme modification, this ordinary ability had been given an absurdly terrifying effect!
Body swapping?!
Perfect compatibility with the enemy's body and abilities?!
That meant once this ability activated, Brook could instantly seize control of a powerful enemy's body and all of their strength.
Meanwhile, that enemy would be left with an unfamiliar skeleton body.
Whether they could even adapt to such a body was questionable.
And even if they somehow did, Brook could terminate the soul exchange at any moment.
By then, who knew how much damage Brook might have already done using the enemy's body?
A single ability had forcibly elevated an otherwise "average" Brook to a level even Red couldn't fully fathom.
"These past few days, I've been busy letting Moria and the others taste the sweetness," Red muttered.
"It's about time I help everyone power up again."
"I wonder when Luffy's Mega Evolution will finally trigger~"
"If he could enter Gear Fifth right now, we wouldn't need to play hide-and-seek with the Marines anymore."
"And there's also the bugs Usopp's been cultivating…"
"I'm still waiting for them to help me hold off the combat power of an Elite Four-level opponent!"
Recently, Red had been roaming the caves of Victory Road in the Pokémon world.
The Pokémon there were high-level, with relatively single-type attributes, making them easy to counter—his ideal grinding spot.
One after another, wild Pokémon with strength comparable to Marine Vice Admirals were defeated by Red, his partners, and even members of Moria's crew—eventually turning into experience points.
After several days, despite his experience gain being halved, Moria's strength skyrocketed—or rather, recovered.
His level had successfully reached 58.
With just a bit more of Red's "favor," he would return to his peak.
As a result, Moria had been extremely obedient lately.
Even after learning that the so-called Tailed Beast Plan was merely a pilot project for upgrading Laboon, he supported Red unconditionally.
Having regained his power, Moria now followed Red around like a shadowy lackey—clearly evolving from an arrogant onion-head into a devoted underling.
Even the three weirdos couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh:
"This isn't the Captain Moria we know…"
"Hey, everyone," Red called out. "After resting for so many days, you should be refreshed by now, right?"
"We've already reached the central region of the Calm Belt—this area has the most Sea Kings, and the strongest ones."
"If you don't want this island to end up completely overturned, I suggest you get a bit serious."
Golden sunlight poured down upon the isolated island that hadn't seen light in who knows how many years.
At Red's call, the Straw Hat crew gradually awakened from their drunken stupor.
"Huh? Is the banquet already over?!"
Forcefully booted up by Red, Luffy scratched his head, looking dissatisfied.
"Everyone was having so much fun—why not just hold another day-long banquet?"
Unrestrained freedom—that was Luffy's view of sailing and adventure.
Unfortunately, Red, who preferred preparedness over indulgence, had no intention of letting him continue.
"Tsk tsk, just like you, Luffy."
"Seven days of madness and you're still not satisfied."
"But sadly, today I have to help Usopp till the fields. If we don't do it now, the seed production plan will fall behind!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Red used his psychic power to lift Luffy up directly—leaving him no chance to argue.
"Zoro, Sanji—haven't you always wanted to fight Luffy at full strength?!"
"In the Calm Belt, there's almost no chance of passing ships, so no need to worry about anyone noticing the commotion…"
"I say we do it today!"
"Pick any location you like—just don't destroy Thriller Bark!"
With that, Red tossed Luffy straight between Zoro and Sanji.
The two, who had long wanted to test themselves against Luffy, immediately lit up with excitement.
"Alright! Leave Luffy to the two of us!"
For once, the two didn't argue and instead moved in perfect sync, grabbing Luffy together.
Moments later, violent tremors echoed from an island behind Thriller Bark.
Roars like dragons, raging flames, and enormous fists appeared intermittently, turning the scene into utter chaos.
…
…
At the same time—
Not far from Thriller Bark, within the Calm Belt, a massive ship slowly emerged, dragged forward by two enormous serpents.
On the deck, a tall green-haired woman with an oddly disproportionate head pointed toward Thriller Bark in shock.
"Elder Sister… there's an island ahead…"
"No—!"
"That looks like… a pirate ship!!!"
(End of Chapter)