As Nami and the other powerful members of the Straw Hat Pirates made their move, the kingdom armies that had entered the Pokémon Sea were reduced by more than half almost instantly.
Millions of people were imprisoned by various means on nearby islands, to be kept as advance forces for the future development of the moon.
Of course, with only the few members of the Straw Hat Pirates, it would still have been rather difficult to deal with the armies of dozens of kingdoms at the same time in such a short period.
So, to prevent any fish from slipping through the net, Red had specially recalled most of the strong fighters of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet back to the Pokémon Sea.
Returning with them were the giant warriors from Elbaf.
Back when Luffy and the others entered Heaven World to investigate the Road Poneglyph, Red had already used those few empty days to load Pokémon templates onto the vast majority of giant warriors who were willing to formally join under the Straw Hat Pirates.
Perhaps because of the giants' pure nature, most of their type combinations were the standard Normal plus Fighting, with only a small number of giants carrying other types.
And among Normal- and Fighting-type moves, there were quite a few enhancement moves.
In just a few short days, expecting the giants to become skilled at using Pokémon moves in battle clearly would not produce any especially obvious results.
But if it was simply having them use various enhancement moves to make themselves even stronger, there was no barrier at all.
After receiving the boosts from all kinds of powerful Pokémon moves, even the weakest giant warrior was enough to rival pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions.
As for the stronger ones, their strength was simply immeasurable.
On top of that, none of these giants were Devil Fruit users. Even if they entered the sea, they could fight normally.
With the help of these Elbaf warriors, almost none of the kingdom armies that invaded the Pokémon Sea were spared.
...
...
"There really are idiots everywhere, huh~"
Listening to Usopp and the others report the number of people captured, Red, who was stationed at their headquarters aboard the Going Merry, immediately laughed in surprise.
Even he had not expected it...
In this era, when the Straw Hat Pirates were at the height of their power, and when the outside world was already spreading the word that the Straw Hat Pirates would overthrow the World Government, there would still be so many fools who would desperately send troops to attack the Pokémon Sea.
Were they really not afraid of the Straw Hat Pirates settling accounts with them later?
"But with this, at least we won't have to worry about the moon's population in the future."
Very quickly, a satisfied smile appeared on Red's face once again.
But then his gaze turned toward the distant horizon.
He could sense that, far above in the distant sky, something seemed to be approaching.
"Is it the aerospace device controlled by the World Government!?" Red murmured to himself.
Although Joy Boy had said in the Poneglyphs that he had already sent Uranus into outer space, into a void where ordinary people could not find it...
Eight hundred years was a long time. Whether Imu had found Uranus among the stars, or had built a brand-new "Uranus" based on his memories of it, neither would be particularly difficult.
The only question was, without the Mother Flame supplied by Vegapunk, what exactly was Imu using to control Uranus?
"Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, get ready..."
"The enemy will be here soon!!!"
"Oh!"
Hearing this, the three of them, who had already been gathering their strength and waiting for battle, suddenly lit up. They immediately stood one after another, faintly radiating a dense fighting spirit.
They had waited far too long...
Far, far too long for this moment!
...
...
"Lord Imu, the situation seems to be somewhat unfavorable."
"After those allied kingdom armies entered the Pokémon Sea, they all seem to have lost contact."
High above the sky, aboard an interstellar battleship as enormous as an island...
Imu, whose body was covered with various infusion tubes, slowly raised his head and looked down at the four trembling Five Elders reporting to him.
He abruptly clenched his fist, crushing the armrest of his throne into a pile of fragments.
"A bunch of useless trash!!!"
Imu cursed furiously.
No matter what, he had never imagined that an army of several million would fail to even stir up a splash in the Pokémon Sea.
Although those ordinary soldiers were no different from ants before absolute power, even if they were being killed, it should still have taken some time, right!?
How could an entire army be wiped out in such a short period!?
At this moment, even Imu, who had witnessed true power eight hundred years ago, felt a trace of unease toward the power currently held by the Straw Hat Pirates.
How much power of wishes did the Solar Crystal they obtained still contain?
A mere eight hundred years of accumulation—how could it possibly make a pirate crew strong to this degree?
Imu could not understand it no matter how he thought.
"What about the World Government's fleet?"
For the first time, Imu began to doubt whether he could truly win. His expression grew even darker, and he subconsciously changed the subject.
"How is the World Government's fleet?"
"Reporting to Lord Imu, everything is normal!!!"
Hearing that Imu had not blamed them, the Five Elders let out a heavy sigh of relief before immediately reporting back.
"Mm."
Imu responded in a deep voice.
No matter how numerous the kings' armies were, in the end, they were only small skirmish forces.
The World Government's true reliance still had to be its own army.
Because of the Straw Hat Pirates' previous large-scale slaughter, the original CP0 to CP9 intelligence apparatus had completely collapsed.
But relying on the World Government's deep foundations, they had still integrated all external Cipher Pol Organization members in a short period, along with the new recruits from recent times, and ultimately assembled an N-CP Corps numbering as many as thirty thousand. Added to the Navy's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and officers...
If everything went smoothly, it would be enough to inflict a heavy blow on the Straw Hat Pirates.
Unfortunately...
What Imu and the others did not know was that the Navy, from top to bottom, had already almost entirely become people of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.
Those Navy officers who had originally remained loyal to the World Government had long since been sent by Aokiji to guard Navy bases all over the world.
Although those people were extremely loyal to the World Government that paid their salaries, that did not mean their hearts were evil.
The World Government was indeed nothing good, but pirates who burned, killed, looted, and committed every evil act were likewise not good people.
Over the many years, countless civilians had been protected by those Navy officers.
Even Aokiji, who had already made up his mind, could not bear to directly kill them. Therefore, he could only use this method to drive them away from the battlefield.
In a place no one had noticed, the Navy's warships had already firmly surrounded the World Government's thirty thousand N-CP warships.
As long as an order was given, all the World Government troops would disappear completely upon this vast sea.
After finishing their report, the Five Elders slowly withdrew. Rejoicing that they had not been punished, they were no longer in any state to think too deeply about anything, so they naturally knew nothing about the Navy's actions.
And something else they knew nothing about was the current state of Mary Geoise.
...
...
"Have the signal jamming devices all been installed!?"
"They're installed. After testing, it's now impossible for any signal from the entirety of Mary Geoise to be sent outside."
"Good! Luffy and the others are doing so well, so we can't drag them down either!"
"Everyone, conceal yourselves calmly and wait for the order."
"Understood, Chief of Staff Sabo!"
At the outer edge of Mary Geoise, on the Red Line...
A group of Revolutionary Army warriors hid in pits created by the West Army Commander Morley's Devil Fruit ability, waiting for the right moment to arrive.
Just then, a burst of fire suddenly appeared, illuminating the dim underground cavern.
"Sabo, haven't the signal jammers already been deployed?"
"What are we still waiting for? Why not rush up in one breath and take out all the Celestial Dragons inside!?"
A man wearing an orange sun hat, his upper body bare, walked out from behind the flames.
On his back, the iconic emblem of the Whitebeard Pirates was clearly tattooed.
The newcomer was none other than the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Ace, who had joined this plan to overthrow the World Government at Sabo's invitation!
When he received the invitation, Ace had once asked Sabo whether he wanted the Whitebeard Pirates to help and participate in this operation.
After all, the last time the World Government had plotted against the Whitebeard Pirates from the shadows, they had killed many of their comrades.
The Whitebeard Pirates had long wanted to find an opportunity to take revenge.
But in the end, Sabo did not allow the entire Whitebeard Pirates to participate in this operation.
Because this was not a simple operation.
If everything went smoothly, after today, the sky of this world might take on a different form.
Red had once clearly communicated with the Revolutionary Army on behalf of the Straw Hat Pirates...
They would not take the right to rule the world, but they did need a rear base capable of offering unconditional support to the Straw Hat Pirates.
So in the end, they and the Revolutionary Army came to a decision.
The Straw Hat Pirates would defeat the World Government's strong fighters, then acknowledge the Revolutionary Army's takeover of the World Government and its legitimate rule.
As for what the Revolutionary Army needed to do...
Whenever the Straw Hat Pirates, who had already entered the starry sky, needed any kind of help, the new government formed by the Revolutionary Army had to immediately provide the Straw Hat Pirates with all possible support through the extraterrestrial base.
With the relationship between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army, certain terms and restrictions were quickly agreed upon.
Just like that...
A deal with the world as its stake had been set in place during a calm discussion between several people.
As long as they could win this battle, the world's political power would be equivalent to being in the hands of the Straw Hats and the Revolutionary Army.
If the Whitebeard Pirates insisted on inserting themselves at this time, then even if Whitebeard himself had no extra ambitions later on, it would be hard to avoid some of his subordinates and adopted sons doing unnecessary things.
It was precisely to prevent such a situation that the Whitebeard Pirates absolutely could not be allowed to join today's matter.
However, as one of the few organizations in the current world outside the Straw Hats' command that still had some strength, it would also be unreasonable to give the Whitebeard Pirates no proper standing at all.
That was why having Ace, who was Luffy and Sabo's brother, participate in this operation was the most suitable arrangement.
Once the Revolutionary Army truly took power, they could use this opportunity to promote Ace, then use Ace to appease the Whitebeard Pirates behind him.
Although they had yet to formally become the rulers of this world, both the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army had already divided this cake up early.
All that remained was the final cut!
...
...
"It's here!!!"
Within the Pokémon Sea, watched by countless eyes...
On a massive sheet of ice, Red abruptly raised his head and looked toward the sky not far away.
Luffy and the others, who had sensed it as well, also raised their heads one after another.
The thick sea of clouds suddenly began to rotate, forming a chaotic vortex.
In the next instant, a pitch-black blade abruptly stabbed down from above the clouds. It tore through the cloud vortex, and at the same time, it tore open the entire sky!
After the mysterious black object sliced across the heavens, it did not pause in the slightest and continued rapidly descending.
Accompanied by a piercing hum, it was like a colossal creature suddenly poking its head down from ten thousand miles above. After discovering Red and the others, it instantly locked onto its target and direction.
A powerful wake erupted once again, supporting the pitch-black interstellar battleship in the sky as it slowly descended.
Splash—!!!
The sudden gigantic object pressed the sea surface into a smooth concave shape, continuously extending downward into the sea below.
"This thing... doesn't really look like something made by the people of the moon, does it?"
Looking at the interstellar battleship before him, a faint flash of surprise suddenly passed through Red's eyes.
Originally, he had thought that the so-called Uranus was nothing more than an interstellar mobile weapon created by the people of the moon using the power of the Solar Crystal.
But now that he had seen Uranus's appearance with his own eyes, Red found it impossible to believe that this had been created by the ancient people of the moon.
Because its style was simply too similar to products from the futuristic sci-fi worlds in Red's memories!
And by "future," he did not mean the "future" created by Vegapunk through super-advanced technology.
He meant the future in Red's memories...
A composite of one interstellar battleship after another that had appeared in all sorts of films and television works!
Its exterior was made entirely from a pitch-black, glossy unknown alloy. The whole ship was sharply angular, with two massive wings on either side. Its concealed propulsion system made the battleship look as though it had been formed in one seamless piece.
Yet if one looked closely, they would discover that the smooth metal surface might not actually be smooth. Instead, it seemed to be condensed from countless mysterious particles, tiny to the point of subtlety.
Just from its exterior, Red knew that this single starship could absolutely and brilliantly satisfy all kinds of needs for interstellar travel.
"If we can seize it and have Vegapunk modify the Going Merry based on its technology, then we'll never have to worry about accidents during interstellar voyages again!"
Red's eyes flashed. In his heart, he had already listed this gigantic battleship before him as spoils belonging to the Straw Hat Pirates.
And in the next moment, a passage abruptly opened above the enormous starship. A platform carrying Imu and the Five Elders slowly emerged from the "straw hat" battleship.
"You lot..."
For the first time, Imu appeared in public, releasing an aura different from Conqueror's Haki—gloomier, and far more terrifying.
But the instant he opened his mouth, Red abruptly pressed the Pokémon bracelet on his wrist.
In an instant, the power of Mega Evolution and the power of Dynamax acted upon Luffy at the same time.
Red swung his hand forward directly.
"Luffy! Beat him up for me!!!"
(End of Chapter)