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"Wow! Is that Red's technique?! It's really spectacular!"
In another corner of the town, Luffy placed his hand above his eyes with a look of wonder on his face.
Of course, compared to his destructive Gomu Gomu no Hyperbeam, the Surf could only be regarded as nothing special.
But even so, seeing how strong his nakama was, he laughed heartily.
Zoro at his side also grinned and said:
"Come to think of it, this seems to be the first time Red has volunteered to fight an enemy, right?"
"I don't know what's so special about these two guys."
...
...
Within the town.
Under Red's Surf, more than half of the entire Baroque Works stronghold collapsed.
As the Pokémon's energy slowly dissipated, the huge waves also vanished without a trace, leaving no water stains on the ground.
Only wreckage remained scattered across the area, along with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine who had been washed away by the massive waves.
This was the magic of Pokémon moves.
"What a satisfying battle!"
Red smiled slightly and said softly.
Vivi and Igaram behind him thought: No, no, no, you're the only one who's having fun!
But the next moment, the two looked at each other with mutual understanding.
If even a crew member who didn't have a bounty from the Marines possessed such terrifying strength, then how powerful must the captain of this group be!?
It seemed that this time, the kingdom would truly be saved!
The night passed silently.
The golden morning sun shone on the boundless sea, making the surging waves appear as if they wore golden caps, particularly dazzling.
At this moment, the sea near Whiskey Peak Island suddenly began to surge like boiling water.
A huge shadow slowly emerged from beneath the water and expanded rapidly.
Soon, a massive mountain peak rose from under the sea.
And this mountain was the new nakama of the Straw Hat Pirates — Laboon!
Seeing this, Red on the Going Merry immediately controlled the seawater to form a guiding wave. Then, he and Usopp stepped onto the wave with the tied-up Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 respectively.
"Good job guarding the ship, Laboon!"
Upon reaching Laboon's side, Red gently touched his skin and said.
Laboon let out a cheerful cry, seemingly responding to Red.
Although they still couldn't understand Laboon's words, they could clearly feel his happy mood.
Fifty years ago, Laboon lost the opportunity to travel with his friends because he was too weak.
Today, fifty years later, he had finally become powerful enough that he no longer needed to be cared for by his nakama, but could in turn take care of them!
It was a pity that Red couldn't fully hear his thoughts.
"We definitely need to recruit Chopper into our crew as soon as possible," he sighed slightly in his heart.
After a few brief exchanges with Laboon based on his guesses, he and Usopp took the two captives and entered the small world inside Laboon's body through the passage above his body.
...
...
Thud!
After throwing the two Baroque Works prisoners to the ground, Red directly moved the beach chair left by Crocus and sat on it.
Usopp stood behind him.
It felt like a scene with a gangster boss.
A subtle smile appeared at the corner of Red's mouth, and then he calmly said to the two:
"You should have calmed down by now."
"I'll give you two choices..."
"The first option is to throw you both into the stomach acid solution outside right now, ending your troubles permanently."
"The second is to behave yourselves and avoid acting rashly. Perhaps we can even establish a cooperative relationship and become good friends."
"Now... make your choice!"
The sensible Usopp immediately stepped forward and tore off the tape from their mouths.
In an instant, both of them shouted:
"Two!!! I choose the second option!!!"
"Wise choice!"
The curve of Red's lips deepened slightly, and he immediately signaled Usopp to release them.
After witnessing Red's true strength and knowing they were in a closed space difficult to escape from, the two dared not make any mistakes.
After being untied, they immediately stood up obediently like primary school students going to meet their teacher, barely daring to breathe.
Regarding their cooperation, Red smiled with satisfaction.
"Good, your attitude is excellent. It seems our next conversation will go very smoothly."
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Red. I am the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Besides your Baroque Works code names, you two must have your own names, right?"
"Well..."
The two hesitated for a moment, then spoke together.
Mr. 5: "Jim."
Miss Valentine: "Mikita."
"Gem and Mikita?" Red nodded. "Nice names. In that case, I'll call you by your original names."
"After all, having failed your mission, you're probably facing the trouble of being hunted down by higher officials now, right?"
He raised his head slightly and looked at the two with amusement in his eyes.
Seeing helplessness and fear flash in their eyes, though they remained silent, Red continued:
"Instead of running around at sea, avoiding pursuit, why not take this opportunity to escape from Baroque Works?"
"After all, it would be a waste if your abilities ended up like this."
"Are you interested in working with our Straw Hat crew?"
Red stood up suddenly and no longer looked at them as if they were prisoners.
Instead, he extended his hand sincerely.
"You've seen that inside Laboon's body, you don't have to worry about being hunted down."
"And as long as you sacrifice a little freedom, you can get a place to live. This deal should be good, right?"
"Well..."
Seeing Red's sudden change in attitude, Gem and Mikita were both stunned for a moment.
Gem asked curiously:
"Excuse me, Mr. Red, what do you want us to do?"
"It's simple!"
Red suddenly reached out to Usopp, and after he came over, put his arm directly on his shoulders.
"Let me introduce you to Usopp, the sniper of our pirate crew!"
"He's also a genius with ammunition!"
Usopp, who was praised, subconsciously rubbed his nose and smiled sheepishly.
But Red looked at Gem and continued:
"And your ability happens to be related to explosions."
"So I'm hoping you two can work together."
"Inside Laboon's body, create a small research center, mainly responsible for the production and research of artillery shells and ammunition."
"What do you think?"
As an absolute offensive ability, the Bomu Bomu no Mi was too powerful!
Even if Gem couldn't fully harness its power, Red didn't want this fruit's potential to go to waste.
Since there was no guarantee of obtaining the Devil Fruit after killing Gem, it was better to make peace with him and put him to good use.
With his fruit ability, he could definitely help Usopp advance to the next level in ammunition development!
And even if Gem's strength became insufficient in the future and he couldn't keep up, it wouldn't matter.
The existence of the Pokémon world was enough for Gem to break through his limits and progress further.
Compared to Luffy, Zoro, and others who became invincible as they grew stronger...
The experience upgrade system in the game world was the perfect plugin for guys like Gem who had capped their potential!
"...Are you going to use my fruit ability?"
After listening to Red's proposal, Gem instantly realized what his purpose was.
But precisely because of this, he suddenly felt relieved.
After all, as long as he remained valuable, it meant the other party wouldn't kill him easily.
Gem knew very well...
Red might be showing him a friendly smile now.
But if he chose to refuse, what awaited him would be either death or being beaten into submission.
It definitely wouldn't end well anyway.
It seemed Red had given them a choice, but there was actually only one option.
"I agree!" Jim replied immediately. "I am willing to stay here and become Long-nose's assistant!"
"Excellent!"
"Then without further ado, from today on, Usopp, you will stay in Laboon's body to practice."
Red immediately raised the corner of his mouth, but then warned:
"However... safety must be guaranteed."
"We can't damage Laboon's body because of mistakes."
"I think with your abilities, such basic problems shouldn't occur."
Hearing this, Gem immediately demonstrated his value by saying proactively:
"Please rest assured, Red-sama, my fruit ability allows me to control whether objects nearby or in contact with me explode."
"I will definitely maintain strict safety controls!"
"I'm reassured to hear that."
"So..."
Red smiled and extended his hand, gripping Gem's firmly.
"Here's to a happy cooperation!"
"Happy cooperation!"