"In that case, that's really wonderful~"
A gleam flashed through Red's eyes as he began to look forward to what the future of the pirate world would become.
In truth, if one were to speak purely in terms of technological sophistication, the current pirate world had long since surpassed the Earth in Red's memory, thanks to Devil Fruit abilities and dream-based technology.
It was just that under the influence of the World Government, those technologies were controlled solely by the military and the powerful.
For ordinary civilians, a village having even a single television could already be considered wealthy.
Most people could only make use of things like radios and semiconductors, with newspapers and other forms of print media still serving as their primary source of information.
But...
A lack of high technology did not mean these residents were poor.
The civilian families that had managed to survive in an era filled with pirates and warlords generally had no small amount of ability themselves.
Aside from special cases like Wano Country, even the worst off usually did not have to worry about food and clothing.
Most of them had at least some savings on hand.
And Red's target was precisely those savings in the hands of the common people.
"Then, Doctor, I'll head back and put together a game design proposal."
"I'll leave everything else to you."
"No problem~"
Vegapunk revealed the reassuring smile he always wore.
Although he knew Red's original intention was to use this game to deepen the Straw Hat Pirates' influence and control over the entire world while also securing a steady, endless stream of income, Vegapunk also understood, after hearing Red's plans for the game, that this was likewise a highly effective way to alleviate the current state of the world being overrun by pirates.
On top of that, if everything could proceed according to plan, the entry fee for this game would also be within the range that the overwhelming majority of ordinary civilians could afford.
To be able to participate in and help create a project that would give the entire world a novel and entertaining new form of recreation was an immense honor to him.
As for whether this game could truly reshape the ecological order of the pirate world as Red predicted, that could only be left to fate.
As Red and Vegapunk's plan was established, massive quantities of resources once again flowed into Thriller Bark...
No!
This mobile island now had a brand-new name...
Technology Island.
Simple and crude, yet enough for anyone in the Pokémon Sea to understand at a glance what the place was for.
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Vegapunk, Red returned to the Going Merry and began, bit by bit, creating a Pokémon game that belonged to the pirate world, based on the world generated by the console world.
And their current game should not be underestimated.
Because from the very beginning, Red had never intended to treat it as merely a game.
The reason Vegapunk was so supportive of Red's seemingly absurd plan was also because he had seen, behind it, a future that could genuinely benefit the people.
To begin with, the lifeforms created within the spirit world by the Sing-Sing Fruit were fundamentally no different from truly existing creatures.
All of those "in-game beings," if one set aside the physical bodies that did not exist in reality, were essentially entities formed by a fusion of spiritual power and memories fabricated by a Devil Fruit.
If that was the case, then now that they had mastered cloning technology and soul transference technology...
Why couldn't they summon into reality the Pokémon that had spent countless days and nights together with players inside the game world!?
This was by no means some delusional fantasy.
Even now, within the Pokémon Paradise of the Kingdom of Alabasta, lifeforms had already been nurtured that were born with Pokémon energy in their bodies.
When the time came, as long as they used the Germa 66 Kingdom's Lineage Factor technology to produce a batch of beings with Pokémon appearances, Pokémon energy inside their bodies, even Pokémon memories in their minds, and the ability to control Pokémon energy and use Pokémon moves...
Then!
Aside from being unable to evolve, who could say they weren't Pokémon!?
As for evolution?
That was nothing more than changing the outer shell. With the power of the Op-Op Fruit, that could be done with ease.
Though clones fitted with Green Blood could not use the Op-Op Fruit's power to grant immortality, doing something like that would still be effortless.
At that time, they would only need to establish a number of Pokémon Centers at fixed points in the real world.
While it would not be as natural as in the Pokémon world, for players loyal to the game, it would absolutely be more than sufficient.
And these Pokémon that could be brought into the real world would become vital helpers for civilians in every region to protect their lives and property.
Although such a method would also come with all sorts of drawbacks, with the power of the Straw Hat Pirates and the top minds of the Scientific Research Corps, Red believed this world would eventually become the way they hoped it would.
And by then, they would be able to head out into the deep cosmos without worrying that the pirate world would continue to produce things like the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
Only when everyone has a gun can the world truly know peace.
It could be said that this yet-to-be-released Pokémon game would be the final parting gift the Straw Hat Pirates left behind for this planet.
In the blink of an eye, time hurried onward.
A full month had already passed since Franky and Laboon completed their modifications.
During that month, aside from leading his companions into the Pokémon world to level up, Red spent almost all of the rest of his time holed up in his room, researching matters related to the Pokémon game.
He did not need to worry about the game world's visual design or the Pokémon models.
The only thing Red needed to do was recreate the game progression of the Pokémon world from his memory and write more detailed identities and personalities for each NPC.
Compared to the Pokémon world created by the console that he and his companions had visited, this Pokémon world would be far freer and more realistic.
Calling it the second world of the pirate world would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
And amid such a relaxed yet tense atmosphere, Moria, who was in Wano Country, suddenly gave Red a call.
"Hm!? What did you say? You've already found Zunesha's location?"
"That's right~ Kishishishi~"
On the Den Den Mushi's face, Moria's wicked, demon-like expression was vividly displayed, followed by his cackling laughter.
"It's all thanks to your fine training, Lord Red~"
"At first, those people of Wano Country were unwilling to help us search for Zou, but later I merely gave them a slight scare, and they obediently cooperated."
"As expected, those members of the Kozuki clan truly do have close ties to Zou."
"So much for being allies since ancient times. In the end, didn't they still obediently work for us?"
"You, honestly..."
Hearing Moria's report, Red suddenly felt his molars itch.
The positive image he had worked so hard to build had been completely ruined by Moria.
But after thinking it over, his expression soon calmed again.
After all, if it were not for someone like Moria, whose face practically screamed villain, the Kozuki clan really might not have handed over the method to reach Zou so readily.
Because Zou was a mobile island that wandered freely across the sea, ordinary Log Poses were completely useless in tracking it.
So there were only two ways to find Zou.
The first was the stupid method: conduct a carpet search through the sea region where Zou might be located.
The second was to use a Vivre Card linked to the life on Zou to find Zunesha's location.
And this was also the main reason why, even after Laboon's modifications were complete, the Straw Hat crew had not immediately set out in search of Zou.
After all, the Kozuki clan definitely had a way to reach Zou, so why waste time on a meaningless search?
And now, upon hearing that Moria had finally forced the Kozuki clan to talk, a smile finally appeared on Red's face.
Honestly, it was also fortunate that the one now in charge of the Kozuki clan was Kozuki Hiyori.
Compared to the others in the Kozuki clan, having endured far too much suffering, Kozuki Hiyori clearly respected and revered life far more.
And that was destined to make her personality different from that of the traditional Kozuki clan.
If someone like Momonosuke had inherited the position of shogun of Wano Country, there might really have been some dramatic scene of refusing to yield even unto death.
In their eyes, betraying Zou's location would undoubtedly be an insult to their noble fate.
For the sake of the spirit of bushido preserved in their bloodline, they would rather embrace death than betray their alliance.
There was no right or wrong in such conduct.
But for the Straw Hat crew, Kozuki Hiyori's way was clearly far more effective.
After some thought, Red said to Moria on the other end of the line:
"That's enough. Since the method to reach Zou has already been found, stop bullying the people of Wano Country."
"Isn't a half-crippled Beasts Pirates already enough for you to mess around with?"
"Kishishishi~"
"Don't worry, Lord Red, I've always been a man of restraint."
Whether Moria truly took the words to heart or not was anyone's guess.
Now, in Wano Country, he was practically like an enfeoffed lord. Not only did he stand above Wano Country's legitimate rule, he also held in his hands a group of Beasts Pirates remnants.
And what good thing could pirates who spent their days swaggering about and abusing their power possibly be?
To subdue them, Moria naturally had to show the appropriate attitude.
But once that attitude was displayed, it was not so easy to rein it back in.
That was why he showed such disdain toward the Kozuki clan.
There was no deeper reason.
Without the Straw Hat crew's approval, the Kozuki clan was fundamentally a disposable existence in Wano Country.
No wonder Moria was showing his true nature so openly.
Still, after receiving Red's reminder, he naturally understood certain things.
After repeatedly promising that he would carry out the mission as instructed, the call finally came to an end.
Then Red, who had been bent over his desk for hours on end, straightened his body and stretched, his bones producing a series of crisp crackling sounds.
"Hoo~ The detailed construction of the Kanto region is about done. It's about time I submitted it to Doctor Vegapunk and the others."
"I wonder how things are progressing on their side now..."
Looking at the large amount of text and images on the screen before him, Red murmured softly.
Half a month ago, he had checked in once with Vegapunk and learned that they had already finalized the ultimate design plan for the game console.
Since they intended to create a spirit world that would never cease, they naturally could not let a normal person like Uta serve as the maintainer of that game world.
So after thorough discussion between Vegapunk and Red, they finally chose Blackbeard to bear this heavy responsibility!
Simply put, they would modify Blackbeard's body the way they had modified Franky, then inject him with the Green Blood of the Sing-Sing Fruit ability.
Although the zombies modified by Moria could not eat Devil Fruits and obtain Devil Fruit abilities, they could, through this method, become zombies that possessed abilities!
Even more crucially...
Blackbeard's body was extremely special and could simultaneously contain three different Devil Fruit powers!
So in Red and Vegapunk's plan, they intended to grant Blackbeard the powers of the Sing-Sing Fruit, the Brain-Brain Fruit, and the Barrier-Barrier Fruit respectively.
With the limitless energy supplied by the Mother Flame...
The "Teach Console" they envisioned would ultimately be able to use the Sing-Sing Fruit to create a permanently existing spirit space.
Combined with the enormous computing power provided by the Brain-Brain Fruit, that spirit world would be able to remain stable for an extremely long time.
And finally, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit would ensure that this Teach Console could continue operating stably under any unforeseen circumstances, free from any outside interference.
It could be said that this was an operational plan measured in centuries, guaranteeing the stable functioning of the Pokémon game.
If Blackbeard's spirit still lingered in the heavens, seeing his corpse used so many times and entrusted with such an important duty, he would surely be moved to shed tears of happiness.
Unfortunately, making three Devil Fruit powers operate simultaneously, even with a unique body like Blackbeard's as a sample, was not an easy matter.
So even though more than half a month had passed since the plan was finalized, Red still had not heard any good news from Vegapunk.
"Perfect. I can use this time to retrieve the Poneglyph from Zou."
"That way, only the final Poneglyph will still be missing."
"I wonder whether that last one is in the land of giants, or in the hands of the Red Hair Pirates."
Red turned his head and looked out the window.
Beneath the sunlight, the azure sea seemed especially full of life.
Red had not forgotten the promise between them and Uta...
To find the Red Hair Pirates and give them a proper beating.
It was just a pity that ever since the Straw Hat crew had fought several major battles against the World Government, the Red Hair Pirates seemed to have vanished from the seas.
Aside from occasionally appearing out of nowhere to wipe out one or two pirate crews committing evil in the territories under Red-Haired Shanks's protection, even the Marines had been unable to discover their whereabouts.
Nor had Red forgotten that Shanks could enter Mary Geoise with ease and speak directly with the Five Elders.
What exactly was Shanks's identity and purpose? That too was one of the mysteries of the pirate world.
But...
"Who cares what it is~"
"The Straw Hat Pirates have no interest in playing house on this planet."
What World Government, what Pirate King—before the Straw Hat crew, whose strength was growing ever greater, whose horizons were broadening, and whose ambitions were expanding, all of it was meaningless.
Once the Pokémon game was finished, Red's next plan was to work with Vegapunk to research the Haki hidden within the ancient robot Emeth.
Once they deciphered Joy Boy's power level from eight hundred years ago and determined what sort of power could utterly crush Imu...
Then the Straw Hat Pirates, with every member emerging like peerless masters after secluded training, would absolutely make the Celestial Dragons and the World Government—who had lorded over the world for eight hundred years—understand...
What it meant for the wheels of history to roll ever forward, and that their very existence would only serve as lubricant to reduce the friction beneath those wheels.
A new world had already arrived!!!
(End of Chapter)