Zoro vs. Hawkeye!
This was a scene that, in the original One Piece anime timeline, had been etched in bold strokes—a moment destined to leave a lasting mark.
And in Red's world, it was fated to play out once more.
Even though this battle would largely mirror the original events, ending in Zoro's crushing defeat…
Since this was the path Zoro himself wished to walk, Red naturally wouldn't stand in the way of his companion's pursuit of his dream.
Besides…
"Up until now, it's all just been words. This time, they'll finally get to see for themselves what a top-tier powerhouse at the pinnacle of the world really looks like."
Red murmured to himself.
With Nami and Usopp's combined efforts, an entire crate of limes was quickly squeezed into a painfully sour juice—and poured straight into Yosaku's stomach.
It was already getting late.
After finding a random storage room to settle Yosaku and Johnny, Red and the others returned to their rooms to continue resting.
The world grew quiet once more.
The tranquil sea reflected a sky full of stars, carrying the Going Merry steadily forward.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, after Luffy learned about the connection between Johnny, Yosaku, and Zoro, he happily welcomed the two of them aboard.
And then…
He was promptly grabbed by the collar by Red and dragged to the seawater bathtub to continue the day's resistance training.
The others also found things to do, each getting busy with their own tasks.
The Straw Hat crew's daily routine unfolded just like that—under the stunned gazes of Johnny and a now freely moving Yosaku.
In the blink of an eye, another day passed.
With Red constantly using Surf to accelerate the Going Merry, their speed was nearly twice that of an ordinary ship of similar size!
At the latest, they would reach the floating restaurant Baratie by tomorrow noon.
At dinner, when Luffy heard this news, he was so excited that he danced around with Usopp—
Celebrating the luxurious meals they'd soon be eating every single day.
And after night fell…
Red once again brought Nami into the game world.
…
…
"So Usopp was automatically transferred to the Day Care too?"
Looking at the Pokémon list and seeing the familiar [In Day Care] status on Usopp's panel—unchanged from yesterday—Red broke into a satisfied smile.
Although the leveling speed of 200 experience points per hour was admittedly slow, it was still pure extra profit no matter how you looked at it.
What's more, the NPC granny at the Day Care had said that payment was only required when you wanted to retrieve your Pokémon.
Which meant…
As long as Red never picked Usopp up, he could freeload infinite extra experience from the Day Care.
"Good thing this game scrapped Pokémon breeding. Otherwise, if I somehow ended up with a 'Little Usopp,' I'd have no idea how to explain that to Miss Kaya~"
Red joked with a grin, then immediately dove into the grand endeavor of leveling and clearing maps with Nami.
They had now arrived at Route 6, north of Vermilion City.
Although they hadn't yet encountered any Pokémon, it went without saying that—based on the game's progression—the Pokémon here would definitely be higher level than those on Route 5.
Which also meant richer experience rewards.
Stepping out from the Underground Path, what greeted them was a stretch of lush green grass and a lake with a surface as smooth as a mirror.
Unlike Route 5, Route 6 wasn't particularly narrow.
In fact, it was so short that it exceeded Red's expectations.
Just standing at the tunnel entrance, he could already glimpse Vermilion City in the distance.
Staring at the shadowy outline of the city ahead, Red began thinking:
"Vermilion Gym is Electric-type. Electric against Electric only deals half damage. For Nami, who's also Electric-type, that could be pretty rough…"
"If that's the case, then I'll just have to use that move again!"
Red opened the Pokémon list, his gaze sweeping over Luffy and Zoro.
When he saw that Zoro was only a little over a thousand experience points away from leveling up, he instantly made his decision.
"Alright. When we challenge Vermilion Gym, Zoro will fight."
"Perfect timing to get him leveled up before his duel with Hawkeye—keep him in peak condition."
Even for a battle that was destined to end in defeat, Red didn't want Zoro to lose too disgracefully.
And besides, encountering a top-tier powerhouse like Hawkeye—someone reasonable, who didn't slaughter indiscriminately…
Add to that his connection with Shanks…
Such a golden opportunity—if he didn't let Luffy and the others experience the pressure of a true world-class monster, that would be far too wasteful!
Light flickered in Red's eyes as he contemplated what was about to happen.
Yet his steps didn't slow at all, and he led Nami straight into the tall grass of Route 6.
The moment they stepped in, an orange-yellow canine Pokémon with a soft mane suddenly leapt out.
It was none other than a highly popular first-generation Pokémon—and the standard partner of every Officer Jenny:
Growlithe!
The battle field instantly formed.
A [LV: 16] marker popped up above Growlithe's head.
"A level 16 Fire-type Pokémon, huh? Looks like things really are getting tougher."
Though Growlithe was only a first-stage Pokémon, its base stats already rivaled many second-stage evolutions.
A Growlithe and a Rattata of the same level weren't even remotely comparable in combat power!
Fortunately…
This was still no real problem for Red and Nami.
"Nami—Buzzy Buzz!!!"
Red swung his arm, and a heavy surge of energy erupted instantly.
Already prepared, Nami snapped her long staff forward, unleashing a brilliant bolt of golden lightning.
At the same time, several chunks of rock condensed from Ancient Power shot out from around Red like cannonballs, hurtling straight toward Growlithe!
Noticing that two completely shameless attacks were coming at it simultaneously, the wild Growlithe froze for a split second.
In the next moment, its body curled inward as blazing flames burst forth, transforming it into a massive flaming wheel that charged toward their attacks!
Fire-type move—Flame Wheel!!!
However…
Bzzzt!!!
Flames were never going to be faster than lightning.
With Nami's priority advantage, before Flame Wheel could even gain momentum, the lightning—carrying absolute paralysis—struck Growlithe's body.
The move was forcibly interrupted.
Immediately after, rocks slammed into its body one after another. The Fire-type-countering Ancient Power made Growlithe let out a pained cry.
"Grr—!"
Nami seized the opening, following up with Pay Day, then activated Zippy Zap, swinging her staff down for the finishing blow.
In just a few minutes, the adorable puppy Pokémon was beaten dizzy by the boy-and-girl duo and lost the ability to fight.
[Nami defeated the wild Growlithe, gaining: EXP +106.]
[Command completed. Evaluation: Average.]
[Additional reward obtained: EXP +21.]
"Finally…"
"Even wild Pokémon are giving over triple-digit experience now?"
Watching the notification fade away, Red's eyes gleamed as he smiled in satisfaction.
At this rate of experience gain, not only Nami—even Luffy and Zoro would get to enjoy rapid leveling if they came along!
Just like that, Red and Nami continued forward along Route 6.
Since they had to circle around the lake, the path ended up being a bit longer than it looked.
Even so, in just a little over an hour, they successfully arrived at the gates of Vermilion City.
Along the way, encountering one to two Pokémon every ten minutes, Nami smoothly reached the milestone of level 20, her strength rising yet again!
Compared to the heavy, grounded aura of Pewter City, and the oceanic atmosphere of Cerulean City…
Although Vermilion City was an Electric-type hub and a coastal port city, it felt unusually ordinary—with no striking features at all.
"The devs' creativity really went downhill here."
Red sighed as he entered the city with Nami, planning to head to the Pokémon Center first to recover, then decide whether to push forward or return to Route 6 to grind.
But just then…
A long-legged beauty in a short-skirt police uniform, looking both heroic and sharp, suddenly blocked their path.
"Hey, Trainers over there—please wait a moment!"
(End of Chapter)