"'The four directions and above and below are called space; the past and the present are called time.'
"All directions—front, back, left, right, up, and down—constitute space, which is called yu. From the past to the present constitutes time, which is called zhou.
"When time and space intertwine, that is the universe.
"For someone like you, who understands the existence of different times and spaces, this should be easy to comprehend.
"Then, lost one of time and space… allow me to inform you of your next mission!"
The world of Arceus, the Hisui region.
Following the plot, after being driven out of Jubilife Village by the Galaxy Team's boss, Red brought Luffy and Zoro into a small room to meet a special NPC named Volo. There, they successfully received a new main storyline quest…
The Trial of the Three Lake Guardians!
"So it's finally coming to an end."
After completing the dialogue with the NPC, Red couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He really had underestimated just how convoluted the quests in the Arceus game world could be.
Originally, Red had thought that with the Straw Hat crew's current strength, clearing a mere Arceus would be a breeze.
But once he truly began focusing on the main storyline, he realized…
The vast map not only provided more Pokémon for the Straw Hats to level up with, it also made many quests that required searching and exploration incredibly time-consuming and complex.
After realizing this, Red decided he couldn't afford to keep dragging things out.
So recently, he had been pushing the Straw Hats at full speed, abandoning unnecessary side quests and heading straight for the main storyline.
Thanks to all the leveling they had done during this period, the Pokédex experience Red had accumulated had long since reached the required threshold, saving him a tremendous amount of effort.
Thus, after nearly half a month of questing and leveling, Red and the others finally advanced the game progress to the penultimate major stage!
Next, all they needed to do was travel to three locations in the Hisui region, find the three legendary lake Pokémon, pass their trials, and then they could directly challenge the final boss of the first playthrough of Arceus…
The god of time who controls temporal power—Dialga, and the god of space who governs spatial power—Palkia!
For this final sprint, Red had deliberately brought along the Straw Hat Pirates' two strongest combatants—Luffy and Zoro!
After all, the Pokémon they were about to face were no longer like Mewtwo, opponents who relied purely on straightforward combat strength.
Against foes who only knew how to fight head-on, Red believed no one could stand up to Gear Fifth Luffy.
What he feared were underhanded tactics—legendary Pokémon activating their unique, godlike abilities.
In such a scenario, even Red couldn't guarantee that Gear Fifth Luffy would carry him smoothly to victory.
But with Zoro joining in, the success rate would rise to at least eighty-five percent!
"I wonder if legendary Pokémon that can't be captured in the game world still inherit their divine authorities and powers?"
With combat concerns settled, Red had more mental bandwidth to think about other matters.
After obtaining a template as powerful as Mewtwo's, aside from Arceus itself, it would be hard for other legendary Pokémon to truly catch his eye.
So in the Arceus game world, even legendary Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia—whose levels might not even be higher than Luffy's—the only thing that truly made Red anticipate them…
…was the divine authority they wielded!
"Control over time and space, huh?!"
"Don't let me down, dear system!"
After indulging in a bit of anticipation, Red immediately led Luffy and Zoro out of the wooden cabin and headed toward the location of the Three Lake Guardians.
However, once they left the cabin, the expressions on Zoro's and Luffy's faces clearly changed.
Seeing that even Luffy looked deep in thought, Red immediately grew curious.
"What's wrong with you two?!"
"Red, do you think what that woman just said also applies in the real world?!"
As if he had anticipated Red's question, the contemplative Zoro lifted his head and asked in return.
"What did she say?" Red froze for a moment, then quickly reacted."You mean… the concepts of time, space, and the universe?!"
"That's right!" Zoro nodded.
"Ever since hearing her words, there's been something vague yet persistent in my mind. I can't quite grasp it, but it won't go away."
"'The four directions and above and below are space; the past and present are time'… I never thought the Pokémon world would contain such profound understanding."
"I feel like even my swordsmanship is trembling."
At that moment, even Luffy looked up, his expression strange. Scratching the back of his head, he said:
"I didn't really understand what that woman was saying, but it just felt… weird. Like something I can't put into words."
"But I feel like if I could apply it to my Gear Fifth state, something unexpected might happen."
"The universe… would that be more interesting than the sea?!"
"It can strengthen swordsmanship and Gear Fifth?" Red was stunned. He hadn't expected a single passage of words to give Luffy and Zoro such profound insights.
But then he realized…
Compared to the pirate world, with its shallow cultural foundations and rampant brutality, it was indeed rare for them to encounter words with such deep meaning.
This saying, which Red had heard for centuries, was practically a dimensionality-reduction strike to them.
Unfortunately, this was the pirate world, not some cultivation universe.
Otherwise, just this moment of enlightenment alone might have allowed the two chosen ones to gain tremendous fortune from heaven and earth and enter deep meditation on the spot.
Still…
"Time and space, huh?" A glint flashed in Red's eyes as he explained,"The pirate world does have powers somewhat like that…"
"Do you remember one of the Supernovas—Bonney?!"
"Even though her power doesn't seem that impressive right now, her Devil Fruit ability is very likely related to time and space."
"In short… this stuff runs deep. You guys can't quite handle it yet."
"Once we're done here, I'll see if I can give you a firsthand experience of time–space power!"
As long as the system delivered and allowed him to obtain Dialga's and Palkia's abilities, he could let Luffy and Zoro personally experience the power of time and space.
With one being a destiny-backed cheat and the other a genius of comprehension, they might even develop some special abilities.
After all, Nika's power could already create matter out of nothing… time and space were hardly impossible~
Without lingering on the topic, Red immediately led the two of them toward Lake Valor, the Heart Lake where the first legendary lake Pokémon, Uxie, resided.
Fortunately…
Because this quest took place in special terrain, once they reached a certain elevation, Red and the others easily located the Heart Lake.
Guarding the lake was a level 65 Hisuian-form Pokémon—Alpha Goodra!
With a base stat total of 600, level 65 strength, and the unique Alpha bonuses of the game world…
This Goodra's power was already comparable to a gatekeeping Marine Admiral!
Luckily, the system now allowed Red to bring two Pokémon at once, and in wild battles the combat field wasn't restricted to a single Pokémon like in the anime.
Under the combined assault of Gear Fourth Luffy and Extreme Zoro, the two easily defeated Alpha Goodra and successfully completed Uxie's trial.
Unfortunately…
After handing over the required quest item to Red, Uxie instantly vanished, giving Red no opportunity to attack or challenge it.
As direct creations of Arceus—true second-generation gods—the legendary lake Pokémon weren't particularly strong in combat, but each possessed unique abilities.
If he could defeat them, Red would have loved to see their names appear in his template list.
It would also let him confirm whether Pokémon templates granted divine authority.
The three legendary lake Pokémon respectively governed cognition, emotion, and will—the fundamental attributes that construct the spiritual world.
Their abilities were extremely appealing to Red.
However…
"Looks like that'll have to wait until the second playthrough."
Shaking his head, Red sighed softly and immediately pressed on toward the next destination with Luffy and Zoro.
The Arceus game world was divided into two playthroughs.
The first playthrough followed the normal storyline; once all main quests were completed, the space–time rift above the Hisui region could be quelled.
The second playthrough triggered various legendary Pokémon collection quests.
But compared to the relatively easy first playthrough, the second could involve facing multiple Pokémon no weaker than Mewtwo.
That would still be quite stressful for the current Straw Hat crew.
So for now, Red had no intention of capturing those legendary Pokémon.
What he cared about more was…
What kind of reward the system would give him after clearing the first playthrough of Arceus!
"We need to pick up the pace!!!"
The corners of Red's mouth lifted as visions of the future surfaced in his mind.
…
…
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Of course, Red and the others didn't spend twenty-four hours a day inside the game world.
Life's trivial matters still required attention.
Even so, within those two days, they successfully crossed the entire map, cleared all of the Three Lake Guardians' trials, and obtained the story-exclusive item—the Red Chain.
During this process, Zoro gained a massive amount of experience from the three guardians and successfully leveled up to 61, once again widening the gap between himself and Sanji.
It had to be said…
Zoro truly deserved his title as the most charismatic man in the pirate world!
Just a few months ago, he had fallen far behind Sanji due to the Speed-Speed Fruit's ability.
But ever since grasping attribute awakening, his growth had been explosive!
The indestructible Steel-type, the domineering Dragon-type, and the ghostly, sinister aura Zoro had long fused into his swordsmanship…
Three different attributes with distinct effects were each imbued into one of his three blades.
Wado Ichimonji, bearing the Steel attribute, grew sharper and purer, its sword intent pristine and refined.
The Dragon attribute merged into Narukami, unleashing an overwhelming, tyrannical presence from the blade that had once been tempered by countless lightning strikes.
And that eerie, bloodthirsty ghostly aura naturally fused into Sandai Kitetsu.
Though Sandai Kitetsu was originally only an ordinary Meito, through countless battles and the accumulation of immense Haki and energy…
It had now become a blade on par with Wado Ichimonji!
Zoro had used his own body and experiences to temper an ordinary sword into a top-tier blade renowned across the world.
What he was now researching was how to fuse all three attribute energies together, allowing each sword to simultaneously bear all three Pokémon attributes.
This was an unprecedented undertaking!
At least in Red's memory, no one in the Pokémon world had ever accomplished anything like it.
But Red believed that with Zoro's heaven-defying comprehension, he would surely complete this earth-shaking feat!
…
…
After briefly organizing data on the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and issuing new training directives—
And then making a round through the Straw Hat crew to confirm everyone was fine—
Just as Red was about to push through and finish the first playthrough of Arceus in a single day, a sudden call interrupted his momentum.
"Bururururu~ Bururururu~"
Hearing the ringing, Red immediately showed a look of curiosity.
"That's strange. I didn't schedule any calls today."
The thought flashed through his mind.
He quickly picked up the receiver from the Den Den Mushi on the desk.
The Den Den Mushi instantly adopted an exaggeratedly withered expression:
"Lord Red! I'm so sorry…!!!"
"Bartolomeo and I… we were attacked!!!"
"Hm?!"
Red's brows furrowed.
Before he could ask what had happened, a commotion erupted on the other end.
Then the Den Den Mushi was snatched away, its expression turning calm.
Soon, an intelligent, mature female voice came through the receiver:
"So you're the Straw Hat Pirates' vice-captain, the Trainer Red with a bounty of 3.5 billion Beli, huh?!"
"..."
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Red fell silent for a moment, rapidly searching his memory.
After failing to identify the owner of the voice, he replied flatly:
"That's right. It's me."
"Who are you!? Why did you attack my subordinates?!"
"Hehe, so it's true that those two pirate crews really fly your flag… I just wanted to test it. What luck!"
The woman, having seized the initiative, didn't answer Red's question right away and instead mocked him first.
Then, the very next moment, she got straight to the point:
"I'll be direct~"
"I'm one of the Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commanders… Charlotte Smoothie!!!"
"Don't worry, I didn't kill your subordinates. I just taught them a small lesson to make them behave."
"You should be able to tell—I'm not here to be your enemy."
"Go back and tell your captain that in half a month, there will be a lively tea party on Whole Cake Island. Mama has personally ordered you to attend…"
"If you want your subordinates back, then come to Whole Cake Island on time!!!"
"Otherwise… hehe…"
Despite her mature, composed tone and the lack of overtly vicious words, Smoothie's voice sent chills down the spine.
Upon hearing her identity, realization dawned on Red.
Charlotte Smoothie!
A user of the Juice-Juice Fruit, a deputy-Yonko-level powerhouse with a bounty of 932 million Beli!
She was second only to Katakuri in the Big Mom Pirates!
If it was her, defeating Bartolomeo's and Buggy's crews would indeed be effortless—even after they had been strengthened by Pokémon-world power.
So…
They had only just shifted their spear toward Big Mom, and the other side had already issued an invitation?!
Although this method infuriated Red, a cold smile also spread across his face.
"The Big Mom Pirates, huh?"
"You can go back and tell Big Mom—your invitation is accepted by the Straw Hat crew!"
"We'll head to Whole Cake Island as soon as possible…"
"But before that, you'd better guarantee my subordinates' safety."
Though such words exposed a weakness, Buggy and Bartolomeo had helped Red handle countless matters during this time and had shown absolute loyalty to the Straw Hat Pirates.
Even if they weren't quite treated as true companions, they had already earned their place in the crew's hearts.
No matter what, Red didn't want to see Buggy and Bartolomeo die…
Especially since they were attacked because they flew the Straw Hat Pirates' flag!!!
In a sense…
This was already a declaration of war!!!
(End of Chapter)