Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
As the crisp sound of shattering glass rang out one after another, a flash of surprise lit up deep within Red's eyes.
He had originally thought that a distance of one kilometer would pose quite a challenge for Usopp at his current stage.
Yet, relying solely on a homemade slingshot and ordinary lead pellets, Usopp smoothly and seamlessly shattered all ten bottles with ease.
"I really underestimated you," Red murmured in amazement, but he didn't increase Usopp's training demands—even though Usopp had run more than 1.1 kilometers to set up the bottles.
After all, running itself was also part of training.
"That's fine. Keeping the early training simpler might actually do more to build Usopp's confidence."
The Straw Hat crew had already begun learning Armament Haki at an early stage, so they no longer needed to fear Perona's Negative Hollows from Thriller Bark. Naturally, there was also no need for Usopp to maintain an excessively pessimistic mindset at all times.
In fact, from their very first conversation, Red had been deliberately guiding Usopp to recognize his own strengths and value.
Whether it was initially using Usopp's recruitment as leverage, or the things he had just said to him…
All of it was subtly reinforcing one message to Usopp:
You are an important member of the Straw Hat crew.
Red's reason for doing this was simple—he wanted to prevent the split that occurred in the original timeline, where Usopp left the crew.
With Red present, the Going Merry would certainly never suffer such devastating damage again. But the ship's inability to continue sailing was ultimately only the catalyst.
The real cause lay in Usopp's inability to keep up in strength—and the guilt gnawing at his heart.
There was no helping it.
Before undergoing his transformation at Enies Lobby, Usopp truly didn't have many standout moments.
Aside from teaming up with Chopper to defeat two Baroque Works officers in Alabasta, he had mostly been dragging the team down.
So this time, Red wanted Usopp to realize it early…
Even if you lag behind in direct combat, in long-range fire support, you are still an irreplaceable member of the Straw Hat Pirates!
In the pirate world, a sniper isn't an ADC—it's the strongest support who decides battles at critical moments!
And so, as Usopp joined the training lineup, the entire Straw Hat crew—except for Red—immediately entered an era of intense internal competition.
Sitting by the second-floor window of Kaya's villa, Red sipped red wine while asking the butler Merry to prepare sailing supplies and training gear. Below, the Straw Hats bustled about in tireless effort.
"Everyone's fired up at last~"
"That's a good thing~"
Red smiled faintly, satisfaction evident on his face.
...
...
Time flowed quietly onward.
In the blink of an eye, two full days passed amid the Straw Hats' relentless training.
That evening at dinner, Merry finally brought them some good news—
Thanks to the shipwrights working day and night, the Going Merry would officially set sail tomorrow and arrive at Syrup Village!
At the news, everyone—including Red—broke into bright smiles filled with excitement and anticipation.
That very night.
With everyone's consent, Nami once again entered the Pokémon world together with Red.
After nearly six hours of gameplay spread across two days, Nami's leveling speed could only be described as explosive.
On the first day, Red had her continue grinding wild Pokémon in the grass near the starting area, spending just over an hour to raise her to Level 15.
After that, they pushed forward with the main storyline.
Because Officer Jenny had blocked the road leading into Cerulean City, they had no choice but to head north to a massive bridge spanning a wide river.
This bridge had a thunderous name—
Nugget Bridge!!!
More than a dozen Pokémon Trainers who loved battling waited atop the bridge, eager for challengers.
Though it sounded intimidating, their Pokémon were mostly only Level 10–12—not exactly formidable opponents.
After defeating them all, Nami successfully reached Level 16.
From that point on, the experience required to level up jumped from three digits to four, making progress noticeably harder.
Once they crossed the bridge, a man disguised as a Team Rocket member stopped them, explaining that Nugget Bridge had been built to scout outstanding Trainers.
Having passed the test, Red was promptly invited to join Team Rocket.
Unfortunately…
No matter how many times Red said, "I accept," the man stubbornly insisted that Red had refused—leading inevitably to a Pokémon battle.
After defeating the Team Rocket grunt, Red and Nami arrived at Route 25.
There, they met a young man searching for a strong Trainer for his Charmander.
Naturally, Red—the game's protagonist—earned his approval.
Sadly, the game clearly didn't want Red following conventional Pokémon rules.
As soon as Charmander changed hands, it transformed into a TM—Ember, dropping straight into Red's backpack.
After two more hours of gameplay, Red and Nami had reached the end of Route 25 and were facing the final challenging Trainer.
"Nami, use Buzzy Buzz!"
Red showed no mercy, issuing the command the instant the opponent's Pokémon appeared.
The fisherman across from them reacted just as quickly.
"Krabby, use Protect!"
Crackle!
Violent lightning tore through the air, blasting toward the battlefield where a crab raised two massive claws nearly the size of its body.
But a strange light shimmered over Krabby's surface.
The lightning collided with the glowing barrier and dissipated without effect.
"Interesting—a defensive-type Pokémon?"
"Heh, perfect. A money-grinding opportunity delivered right to us!"
"Nami, keep using Pay Day!"
"Hey! Don't treat me like Luffy and the others! I don't have that kind of stamina!"
Even as she complained, Nami raised her hands to her forehead, forming a square-shaped arc like the hole in a coin.
In an instant, dazzling golden light burst forth above her head, coalescing into an enormous gold coin that slammed down toward Krabby.
Just as Red expected, the fisherman ordered Protect again.
While Protect had a high failure rate when used repeatedly, Krabby was only Level 16 and had very few moves.
Under Nami's fast-paced offense, it could only defend.
One Pay Day followed another.
But since the money dropped from Pay Day in the game world could only be used by Red, not Nami herself, there was no joy on her face at all.
Even though Pokémon currency could buy plenty of valuable items—
Still…
"Damn it! All this money can't go into my pocket!!!"
"It's seriously infuriating!!!"
Nami roared in frustration.
Finally, on the fourth Pay Day, Krabby's Protect failed!
The hit sent it stumbling backward.
Staring at the pile of coins that didn't belong to her, Nami's anger exploded.
A specially customized metal three-section staff landed in her hand, crackling with brilliant lightning.
"Zippy Zap!!!"
Crack—!
Golden lightning burst around Nami as she rapidly assembled the staff into a long pole charged with violent electricity, dashing straight at the off-balance Krabby!
Bang!
A direct hit!
Critical strike!!!
The poor Krabby endured several rounds of Nami's assault but ultimately fell to her relentless initiative.
As it collapsed, a faint glow shimmered around Nami's body.
The sacred light that only appears when a Pokémon levels up.
That meant—
After clearing Route 25, Nami had successfully reached Level 18!
(End of Chapter)