With Red's introduction, the Johnny–Yosaku duo quickly became familiar with Buggy's crew.
After everyone had gotten to know each other a bit better, Red asked Buggy about what had been happening recently.
…
…
"So Barto already ate the Barrier Fruit this early, huh? That really is a bit unexpected."
After listening to Buggy's report, Red nodded in understanding, then gave an approving comment:
"Very good. Since you've already made initial contact with the Barto group, then keep things going like this."
"That guy Barto has decent potential, and the Barrier Fruit is a rare and extremely powerful Devil Fruit ability."
"If we can recruit him, it'll be a huge help for our future plans."
"As for the specifics, I'll leave it to you."
Since this timeline lacked the original scene of Luffy smiling in the face of death, Red wasn't completely sure whether he could successfully bring him into the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.
In the end, everything would depend on fate.
"Alright."
After finishing up Barto's matter, Red changed the subject.
"Let's put Barto aside for now."
"Buggy, I called you all here this time because there's something very important I need to tell you…"
"About my identity as a Trainer—your crew should already understand it pretty well by now, right?"
"Mm-hmm!" Buggy immediately nodded, his red nose wobbling as he spoke.
"Just like you instructed before, Lord Red, I didn't hide anything. I already explained everything to my men."
"Good. That's exactly what I wanted."
Red opened the system interface inside his body. In the refreshed Pokémon list, dozens of brand-new slots had appeared!
A flash of satisfaction crossed his eyes, followed by a mysterious smile.
"Excellent!"
"In that case… it's time to let you truly witness the power of a Trainer!"
"Organize your people and tell them this—"
"Get ready to welcome a brand-new world!"
"I'll show them what the power of a Trainer really means!!!"
Red stood up, his expression practically screaming the words 'everyone gets broken buffs'.
Yes.
The reason he had summoned the Buggy Pirates alone this time was very simple—
He intended to grant every single member of Buggy's crew Pokémon moves, boosting their overall combat strength.
Over the past several days of gameplay, between the "tributes" collected from defeated Team Rocket Trainers and selling off excess items…
Red had finally scraped together enough money to buy the last five remaining TMs in the department store.
On top of that, he had obtained Helping Hand, Light Screen, and Play Rough from quest rewards in the department store, as well as Rest and Dark Pulse he had picked up in the Team Rocket base.
At this point, Red possessed a staggering total of 25 TMs!
Compared to the hundreds of moves in the Pokémon world, this was still only the tip of the iceberg—but it was already more than enough to give every Buggy pirate a full set of four moves.
For the next hour, Red did nothing else. He simply sat inside the tent, carefully configuring move sets for the pirates one by one.
And only then did he realize something—
Red had originally assumed that most of Buggy's subordinates would be pure Normal-type Pokémon like the Johnny brothers.
But to his surprise, among nearly a hundred people, there were only twenty or thirty pure Normal-types!
The rest were either single-type Fire, Grass, Water, Electric types—or dual types combining Normal with other attributes!
There were even a few Dark- and Psychic-types that the Straw Hat Pirates themselves didn't have!
As expected of a pirate crew modeled after a circus~
The sheer variety of attribute combinations was enough to broaden even Red's horizons!
Naturally, this also made configuring their move sets far more enjoyable.
Many moves unusable by the Straw Hats were all handed over to this group of pirates.
Although their own strength meant they wouldn't become powerhouses overnight even with these moves…
When four Pokémon moves worked in synergy, the results could be even more outrageous than an ordinary Devil Fruit ability.
Enough to boost the Buggy Pirates' overall strength by three to five times.
And that was still a conservative estimate.
After all, some Pokémon moves—when used properly—
Had the power to create miracles.
…
…
Meanwhile.
Just as Red was acting as the Move Tutor, basking in Buggy's crew's reverent gazes…
Something entirely unexpected happened.
Drizzle fell from the sky, driving all pedestrians off the streets and back indoors.
On a certain street in Loguetown—
"Zippy Zap!!!"
Crack!
At Nami's sharp cry, a brilliant streak of golden lightning flashed beneath her feet.
But just as she stomped off the wall, trying to leap onto the rooftop with Zippy Zap's speed—
A pale green barrier suddenly materialized in front of her, cutting off her escape route completely!
"It's useless! You're already within my barrier range—you'll never escape my grasp!"
With his arms crossed over his chest in a strange gesture, Barto slowly stepped out from around the corner, his face twisted with wild laughter as sharp fangs jutted out from his mouth.
Around his body was a human-shaped barrier that didn't hinder his movements, completely enveloping him.
Rainwater splashed against the barrier but failed to wet him in the slightest.
Of course, the barrier wasn't meant to keep out the rain.
If one looked closely…
It was easy to see that Barto looked completely different from an hour ago.
His expensive wool coat was scorched black in places, and the fur around his collar had been burned away entirely.
Even his green hair now stood straight on end—just like Koby after Nami's lightning ambush earlier.
And yet, despite looking so miserable, Barto still wore an arrogant smile as he faced Nami.
"Give up resisting!"
"Hand over the Devil Fruit obediently, or I won't be so gentle with you!"
With his demonic appearance, those words were especially terrifying.
An ordinary young girl might have broken down crying on the spot.
However—
Standing before him was Nami, the woman who valued money above all else!
"You want me to hand over something I already got my hands on?! Are you out of your mind!?"
Not a trace of compromise could be seen in Nami's eyes.
If anything, the hand gripping her Clima-Tact crackled with lightning as she searched for an opening.
She immediately sneered at Barto.
"I think you're the one who should give up!"
"If you've got the guts, take off that turtle shell!"
"Let's see how I deal with you then!"
"You think I'm stupid!?" Barto retorted, unmoved.
After experiencing Nami's lightning once, there was no way he'd remove his protective barrier.
If it happened again, he wasn't confident he could even stand back up.
Still, Barto wasn't surprised by her refusal.
He quickly curled his lips into a disdainful grin.
"No problem! My men will be here soon anyway!"
"They're already preparing insulation equipment!"
"When that happens, where do you think you'll be able to run?!"
As a gang boss, Barto had no sense of honor.
Even if his opponent was a young woman, he wouldn't hesitate to use the fastest, cheapest, and most despicable method available.
Yet—
Instead of panic, Nami's face showed a crafty smile.
"Oh? Is that so?"
The corners of her mouth curled upward.
The next moment, she lifted her head, triumph gleaming in her eyes.
"But…"
"You don't think you're the only one with companions, do you?!"
Nami suddenly pointed at the sign above Barto's head.
"Do you see what it says!?"
"Huh!?"
Barto's heart skipped a beat.
He looked up and read aloud:
"Loguetown—Fresh Produce Market…"
"What does that mean!?" he demanded.
"It means—"
Nami smiled sweetly, then took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"SANJIIIIIIII!!!"
"COME SAVE ME—!!!"
Her piercing cry echoed through the entire market.
Just as Barto stood there, shocked and confused—
A flaming figure suddenly shot across the sky in the distance!
"NAMI-SAAAN!!!"
Boom!
Wrapped in raging flames, Sanji used explosive bursts of fire to achieve brief midair flight.
Like a demonic knight responding to a distant summons, he streaked toward the street where Nami stood.
When he saw Barto imprisoning Nami with his Devil Fruit power, Sanji's flames surged even higher.
In that instant, the scorching heat pierced the clouds above, completely evaporating the rain over the street.
"You damn bastard!!! Are you the one bullying Lady Nami?!"
Sanji's fury burned as tangibly as fire itself.
He tossed aside a massive fish several dozen meters long and a pile of nearly roasted food, leaped into the air, and prepared to teach Barto a lesson.
"Careful, Sanji!"
Nami quickly warned him.
"His barrier is really strange—it blocks all kinds of attacks! Use that move!"
"I'm at your service, Nami-swan!!!"
Instantly understanding, Sanji answered loudly.
Carrying blazing flames, he kicked straight at the barrier protecting Barto.
"It's useless! Useless!" Barto laughed wildly, though his face twisted in fear.
"My barrier! It's impossible to break!!!"
Bang!!!
Sanji's kick struck the barrier head-on.
Just as Barto expected him to be repelled by the recoil, he instead heard Sanji murmur softly—
"Brick Break · Grilled Meat · SHOOT!!!"
Crack… crack!
A sharp sound rang out.
Under Barto's horrified gaze, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared across the once-invincible barrier.
The next second—
Boom!!!
With the power of Brick Break, the barrier shattered instantly!
A storm of flames slammed into Barto's demonic face, smashing his head straight into the marble ground.
Boom!!!
A thunderous explosion echoed through the silent alley.
A massive crater appeared where the pavement had once been.
Lying in the crater, his face completely distorted, Barto turned his head with the last of his strength and stammered:
"Wh-why… how… could you… break… my barrier…"
Fwoosh~
A small flame flickered at Sanji's fingertip as he lit his cigarette.
"You wouldn't understand~!"
Fully composed again, Sanji cast Barto a contemptuous glance and declared firmly:
"Because this is the power of love~!"
Of course, Brick Break's barrier-destroying effect helped a little too.
He muttered that part silently to himself.
The next instant, his eyes turned into pink hearts, and his legs spun like a top as he dashed toward Nami.
"Nami-swan~! Are you hurt anywhere!?"
(End of Chapter)