The winds of reform swept across the kingdom far faster than anyone could have imagined.
This time, the Nefertari royal family abandoned their traditionally gentle policies.By the afternoon of the same day the public address concluded, one new decree after another spread through every street and alley of Alabasta like bamboo shoots sprouting after rain.
The sheer number of policy changes left countless citizens shocked and bewildered.
But setting aside the more technical policies—such as shutting down Rainbase's casino operations, nationalizing all gaming establishments, launching a desert oasis redevelopment plan, and the Pokémon Park construction plan, all of which ordinary citizens could scarcely understand…
What truly seized everyone's attention was the final announcement Princess Vivi made during the address:
She intended to select elite warriors across Alabasta to form the Thirteen Guardian Divisions.
After all, from the way she described it, Princess Vivi seemed prepared to create a powerful army directly under her own name—in addition to the kingdom's standing military!
And the responsibilities of this new force would differ entirely from the king's army, whose purpose was maintaining order within the kingdom.
According to Vivi's speech, although the name "Thirteen Guardian Divisions" implied protection, the unit's true purpose was punitive.
The principle of its founding was simple:
Those who infringe upon our nation's dignity—no matter how far—shall be punished!
It was obvious to anyone:
This new unit was entirely Vivi's creation under Red's guidance.
In fact, almost all its members were originally agents of Baroque Works.
Individuals like Mr. 1 were directly assigned to this new force by Red himself, taking up captain and vice-captain roles across the first four divisions.
The position of Commander-in-Chief naturally fell to Vivi, who had eaten the Suna Suna no Mi, awakened Psychic Power, and now wielded tremendous authority.
Division 1 Captain: Mr. 1 (Daz Bones)Vice-Captain: Miss Doublefinger (Paula)
Division 2 Captain: Mr. 2 (Bon Clay)Vice-Captain: None for now
Division 3 Captain: None for nowVice-Captain: Miss Goldenweek (Marianne)
Division 4 Captain: Miss Merry Christmas (Dorothy)Vice-Captain: Mr. 4 (Babe)
The remaining members were filled entirely by the original subordinates of Baroque Works' officer agents.
While Baroque's bounty hunters and agents looked like fodder before the Straw Hats—tossed aside by a single punch—compared to the regular military of Alabasta, their strength, intelligence, and overall capabilities were overwhelmingly superior.
Pick any two at random and they could infiltrate cities throughout the kingdom and create mass panic with ease.
Although they had been enemies mere moments prior and were suddenly told to become trusted protectors, leaving many low-ranking agents confused…
Once Vivi, acting as their Commander-in-Chief, offered them stable military pay—paired with the fact that their immediate superiors had already pledged allegiance—
The agents' attitudes changed in an instant.One after another declared they would shed blood for Alabasta's safety!
Of course, the primary duties of Divisions 1 through 4 centered on maintaining internal security within the kingdom.
More specifically: guarding the construction site of Red's grand project—
the Pokémon Kingdom!
Practically speaking, this was a strategic partnership jointly spearheaded by Red and Vivi, with Baroque Works and the Alabasta Kingdom cooperating to protect each other's interests.
Red solved the payroll problem for the former agents, while Vivi gained a formidable cadre of subordinates.
A perfect win–win.
A few days later—
While the people of Alabasta were still reeling from the royal family's sweeping reforms…
The port where the Straw Hats had previously stayed was bustling with fiery activity.
"Vivi! We're out of sand—condense more over here!"
"Okay, on it!"
"Ace! Sanji! Keep the flame temperature steady! Uneven heat will ruin the transparency of the glass walls!"
"Zoro, Mr. 1—these glass blocks need cutting. Get over there!"
"Luffy! Keep it up! Once you finish moving those, you can have lunch!!!"
"Smoker! If you're standing around doing nothing, help the Kung-Fu Dugongs cool the furnace walls!"
"What!? You can't use Water-type moves!?"
"Tsk tsk tsk… Useless, absolutely useless!!!"
"Where's Miss Merry Christmas? Didn't she go dig for groundwater? Why hasn't she returned!?"
"Hurry, hurry! Everyone, keep moving!!!"
"..."
"..."
Amid the lively desert chaos, Red stood atop a hastily erected platform, construction plans drawn by Usopp in hand, shouting instructions at everyone below.
On this day, the world finally experienced the terror of being ruled by a Trainer.
Smoker, having been insulted again, flew up to the furnace exhaust vent, using his Devil Fruit to channel thick smoke upward so it would dissipate in the sky rather than pollute the work area.
Shifting his gaze, he spotted Ace—the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, a man the Marines classified as dangerous—drenched in sweat as he continuously produced intense flames to feed the furnace.
Unable to bear the absurdity any longer, Smoker called out:
"Hey! Aren't you in a hurry to get back to the New World!? Why are you letting this guy order you around!?"
"Hm?"Ace grinned without breaking the steady flow of fire.
"No hurry."
"Red said Blackbeard's disappearance is suspicious. It's possible he's still alive…"
"So I plan to stay in the Park a little longer, see if any new information turns up."
"And besides—"
Ace paused, a complex light flickering in his eyes.
Then he smiled.
"It's rare for me and my little brother to be reunited. And Luffy's got such interesting crewmates."
"So staying here for a while doesn't sound bad at all."
As he spoke, Ace subconsciously glanced at Luffy, who was hard at work.
Spurred on by the promise of food, Luffy was sprinting across the sand while carrying a glass block the size of a small mountain.
"This kid's strength… did it get even higher?"Ace couldn't help marveling.
During their last spar, he had nearly been defeated by Luffy's fists.
As unwilling as he was to admit it, Luffy's mastery of Armament and Observation Haki had already surpassed his own.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Luffy grew even stronger than he was!
"No way! If I let Luffy surpass me this easily, Marco and the others will laugh me to death!"
In that instant, Ace's mind filled with a comic-like scene:
Him, defeated by Luffy, lying face-down on the deck…while chibi versions of Marco and the others stood in a circle, mocking him through flared nostrils.
Ace was happy his brother was growing stronger—
But if Luffy surpassed him entirely…
That was unacceptable!
Having lived aboard the Moby Dick and enjoyed its warmth, Ace had long stopped worrying about personal strength.But now, for the first time in ages, competitiveness burned anew.
If nothing else, he wanted to bully Luffy a few more times while he still could.
"Hmm?"Seeing Ace drift off mid-sentence, Smoker made a confused sound.
But by now he understood:
Despite Ace's scary title and status as an officer of a Yonko crew…
He was basically just another idiot like that Straw Hat brat.
Seeing Ace completely lost in his imagination, Smoker simply floated away to resume smoke ventilation.
And so, through everyone's combined efforts, a massive circular zone enclosed by towering crystal glass walls—large enough to rival a small town—rose from the desolate desert sands.
Under the scorching sunlight, rainbow hues shimmered across the crystal bricks, giving the entire area a dreamlike atmosphere.
Four gateways opened in the cardinal directions.
Above each gate, Usopp had designed and built gigantic statues of Pikachu, Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise, each carved with a distinct expression—cute, imposing, calm, proud.
Red loved them.
"Not bad at all!"
Looking at the rapidly taking shape Pokémon Park, Red smiled with satisfaction.
Though the interior was still an empty patch of desert, Miss Merry Christmas—the kingdom's underground expert—had already created numerous fountains and small streams, gifting the land its first sources of life.
Meanwhile, Usopp's research into rapid-growth tropical vegetation was nearing completion.
All that remained was cultivating enough seeds and planting them throughout the park.
Thanks to the insects Usopp controlled, this task—normally requiring huge manpower—had become almost trivial.
And because Red had focused his recent training effort on Usopp and Chopper, they had already reached level 32 and 34 respectively.
Soon, with their Grass-type energy, they would help transform the barren zone into a livable ecosystem.
As for why Red had named this place Pokémon Park…
Naturally, because he intended to bring real Pokémon into this world.
"Anniu, this area will be your domain from now on~"
"Do you want Usopp to redesign your habitat? Or should we arrange it like your old home—with rocks and caves?"
Within the park, near a newly constructed saltwater beach, Red was speaking to a Kung-Fu Dugong.
He had met this Dugong—and nearly a hundred of its kin—when he, Nami, and Usopp were planning coastal routes some time ago.
Kung-Fu Dugongs were adorable creatures native to the waters around Alabasta.
They looked like a mix between turtles and seals, loved fighting more than anything, and frequently challenged passersby…
And once defeated, they would immediately acknowledge the victor as their master and beg to be trained in order to grow stronger.
Despite their innocent nature, their intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary wild animals.
They fully understood human speech and could hold proper conversations.
Given such traits, Red had long planned to cultivate a Dugong population inside the Pokémon Park.
So when he encountered their tribe, he naturally seized the opportunity.
After sparring with them, all of the Dugongs acknowledged Red as their master and joined his ever-growing Pokémon roster.
Pokémon: Anniu
Level: 16Gender: —Nature: DiligentType: Fighting / WaterAbility: Swift SwimMoves: NoneEXP: 0 / 1021
HP: 63Attack: 44Defense: 44Sp. Atk: 34Sp. Def: 41Speed: 35
This was the status of Anniu, the leader of the Dugong tribe and the strongest individual among them—named personally by Red.
To be fair:
Anniu's talent paled compared to the Straw Hat crew.
But by Red's calculations, its base stats already surpassed those of Baroque Works' Mr. 4 and Miss Doublefinger, and were almost comparable to Mr. 2 Bon Clay.
Although Anniu was the tribe's strongest and not representative of all Dugongs…
Even so, Red had observed that their tribe's average base stats still exceeded those of Mr. 4's caliber, and were certainly far superior to Royal Guards like Pell and Chaka.
It was hard to imagine that such individuals had once been considered Alabasta's "guardian deities."
As part of their territorial agreement, Red granted both the Dugongs and some of Cobra's personal guards a selection of Pokémon moves.
But unlike Vivi, whose unique lineage allowed multiple attribute compatibilities…
These desert-native warriors shockingly did not develop even a single Ground typing—let alone others.
Nearly all of them came out as Normal + Fighting.
Not that the typing was bad—
But it meant their use of Pokémon moves would be limited in variation.
Moves were technique, not raw power.
That was simply the deal.
Red wasn't going to waste precious training time on them.
Especially now—after much convincing from Red and Chopper—many powerful desert species and their leaders had agreed to relocate their tribes into Pokémon Park.
All Red needed to do was finish assigning their habitats, and the most foundational part of the Pokémon Park—
the Pokémon themselves—
would be complete.
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(End of Chapter)