The Going Merry came and went in a hurry. After docking in Wano Country for less than a week, it immediately set sail once more, heading toward the Pokémon Sea.
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Beneath the night sky, the bright moon hung high overhead, and the cool moonlight poured across the deck of the Merry like flowing silk.
Red, who had just returned from leveling up in the Pokémon world with Chopper and Brook, teleported into the dining hall, poured himself a glass of chilled fruit juice, then leaned against the railing and let out a sigh.
"What a pain~"
"If it were just Franky and me, we probably would've already started the modifications by now, right?"
"Sorry, Red."
At that moment, a ghost-like figure suddenly appeared beside him, an apologetic look on her face.
"Haha, that's not your fault, Merry."
Red waved his hand repeatedly, but his gaze remained fixed on the distant night sky, as though peering through time and space itself, toward those extraterrestrial worlds spread across the void like endless landmasses.
"I just don't know when we'll finally settle everything in the pirate world and get to see what's really out there beyond the planet."
"Come to think of it, Merry, your body really does need another evolution."
"Huh? Me?!"
Little Merry raised her head in confusion and looked herself up and down.
Seeing this, Red immediately chuckled.
"I'm obviously not talking about this body of yours right now."
"I mean the Going Merry that carries all of us!!!"
"Oh~ you mean the ship itself."
Little Merry suddenly understood.
When you thought about it, the existence of a ship spirit really was something miraculous.
Even in her ghost form, Merry could move freely. As her level kept increasing, she could even temporarily leave the Going Merry by a certain distance.
And yet, the Going Merry was still her true body. If one prospered, both prospered; if one suffered, both suffered.
In the end, all one could say was that in a fantastical world, nothing that happened was truly strange.
"But didn't I just evolve not too long ago?!"
Little Merry asked curiously.
Red, however, shook his head and replied with a smile:
"It can't be helped~"
"We're just moving forward too fast."
"Even though your level isn't low, if we want to sail through the universe, speed like this still won't be enough."
As he said this, Red couldn't help recalling the aerospace technology from Earth in his previous life.
When it came to exploring the universe, Earth was far ahead of the pirate world by who knew how many years.
Maybe it was because of the World Government's suppression...
But even someone like Vegapunk, full of wild imagination and genius ideas, rarely seemed to think about things like space exploration.
Even though he had already developed technology capable of functioning in near space beyond the planet.
"So even with scientific technology five hundred years ahead of the modern age, it still can't compare to the Great Kingdom from eight hundred years ago!?"
"No wonder the World Government is willing to go all out to hide the Void Century."
"Maybe during that era, there were plenty of forces capable of breaking through the World Government's restraints."
Under the clear night sky, Red sank into thought.
...
...
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.
During that time, Red once again brought Chopper and Brook to clear another Gym, successfully obtaining a Fairy Badge representing the Fairy type, which pushed Red's base power even further.
In addition, through the achievement brought by this badge, Red also successfully drew a Fairy-type move called Moonlight.
[Move: Moonlight]
[Type: Fairy]
[Category: Special]
[Power: ——]
[Description: Consumes Fairy-type energy to restore one's stamina and injuries. The amount restored varies depending on the weather. The better the weather and the brighter the light, the more effective the recovery.]
Even though Red had no idea why a move with absolutely nothing to do with the moon was called Moonlight, its powerful effect still greatly enhanced his combat ability once again.
Compared to Super Potion, which had to be consumed orally, Moonlight was obviously much more convenient and efficient in actual combat, and it couldn't be interrupted by enemy attacks.
At the same time, influenced by Moonlight, Red had successfully awakened Fairy-type energy within his body.
Unlike Psychic-type energy, however, Fairy-type energy was exactly like its name implied—extremely mischievous and difficult to control.
Perhaps because of the nature of the energy itself, Red couldn't wield it as freely as he did other types of power.
But he could clearly feel that after gaining the Fairy type, every cell in his body was being nourished by Fairy energy, becoming more lively and active.
The effect wasn't especially obvious yet, but over time, it would absolutely bring positive improvements to Red's body.
"As expected of the Fairy type. It really is amazing."
Feeling all of this, Red let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
In the very next second, however, his gaze turned directly forward.
After five days of sailing, the Going Merry had finally returned to the Pokémon Sea.
Ordinarily, with the Merry's flight speed, it shouldn't have taken this long.
But halfway there, they had actually discovered an uninhabited Sky Island in the sky.
Calling it a Sky Island was only half accurate. In truth, it was a huge mass of island cloud that could float high in the sky while possessing hardness greater than steel.
This was the pirate world—absurd, yet somehow reasonable.
Excited by the unexpected find, the Straw Hats held a simple little outing on that small Sky Island.
Before leaving, Red directly left behind a psychic mark on it.
It didn't matter whether it would eventually drift above the Pokémon Sea or not.
Since they had seen it, then that island was already theirs.
As it happened, Vegapunk and the others still lacked a suitable aerial base for the manufacture of aviation equipment.
This Sky Island, floating high above sea level within the atmosphere, had come at just the right time.
...
...
Puff...
Rolling clouds of dust burst outward like waves in every direction.
As the Going Merry slowly descended onto the remodeled Thriller Bark, a group of obviously modified androids immediately came out to welcome the Straw Hats.
"Looks like what Vegapunk said on the Den Den Mushi was still being modest."
As he looked at the clones wearing sunglasses, each with varying degrees of metal structure integrated into their bodies, Red's attention was instantly drawn to the places where they had been modified. There, protected behind a hard transparent material, were two tubes of special green liquid.
If Red's guess was correct, that should be the Green Blood Vegapunk had developed—containing Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities.
One tube of Green Blood represented one Paramecia power.
Two tubes of Green Blood naturally represented two Devil Fruit powers.
And among the clones responsible for receiving them, there were well over a hundred.
That alone was enough to prove that in Vegapunk and the others' hands, this technology had already become extremely mature!
And that also meant...
"The age of cyber pirates is about to arrive!!!"
Red grinned and strode forward together with the Straw Hats toward the castle area.
As they approached, the first thing that came into view was a group of flying robots busily working and welding something nonstop.
And the castle, which had once been filled with an ancient and eerie atmosphere, had now been completely transformed.
Although its overall shape had not changed much, the outer walls had already been plated with a metallic shell, shining as brilliantly as diamonds.
Clearly, Vegapunk had renovated the castle in the style of Egghead.
And around the castle stood four newly built construction bases.
Those were the exclusive laboratory zones Red had originally planned for the other three members of the Scientific Research Corps.
Now, construction there was also in full swing.
"Lord Luffy, Lord Red, Dr. Vegapunk and the others are waiting for you in the laboratory~"
The moment they entered the castle, Reiju, dressed in a spotless white lab coat, immediately stepped forward and greeted the Straw Hats with a smile.
Originally Judge's assistant, she had now undergone a complete transformation and become the third-in-command of the Scientific Research Corps. Her main duties were coordinating experimental resources, helping the doctors share progress, organizing regular symposiums, and...
Whenever the doctors looked like they were about to start fighting, stepping in to break them up and calm them down.
(End of Chapter)