"Gum-Gum · Tri Attack · White Gatling!!!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
Terrifying giant fists, powerful enough to stir up cosmic storms, rained down upon Imu's massive demonic body like a torrential downpour. Randomly clinging to each fist were one of three different elements: lightning, flame, or ice.
In an instant, Imu's colossal body was like a piece of fish pressed down on a chopping board, left helpless as heavy fists hammered wildly into him.
His body trembled ceaselessly beneath the brutal assault. Flames scorched him. Ice cracked his flesh. Lightning ravaged him.
With every blow, he spat out a great mouthful of blood.
"The battle… is over~"
Standing in the distance as he controlled space, Red watched the scene before him and could not help letting out an inexplicable sigh.
After countless years, Imu and his ancestors, who had sought to control the world, had their ambitions utterly shattered in this moment by Luffy's all-out strike.
Having left the Blue Planet, Imu had lost the supply of natural energy, and with it, he had completely lost any chance of victory.
As thunderous impacts rang out one after another, Imu's presence gradually faded, until finally…
His body, covered in various Pokémon energies, shot violently into the depths of space like a meteor.
But before he could fly far, a pitch-black spatial wormhole suddenly intercepted him from behind, once again sending his weakened body back before Luffy and Red.
"Straw Hat Pirates…"
Imu hovered in the void, raising his blood-soaked head. His scarlet Rinnegan-like eyes fixed tightly on Luffy and Red, as though he wanted to carve their images forever into his mind.
That was what he wanted.
And… that was exactly what he did.
Whoosh!!!
A burst of Sacred Fire appeared from Imu's body from who knew where, then rapidly burned and spread, soon completely engulfing him.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
A miserable howl tore from Imu's mouth. Under the scorching of the sacred flames, Imu's body billowed with black smoke like a wicked demon being drenched in purifying holy water.
Amid the twisting agony, Imu's body slowly transformed from its demonic form back into a human form. Yet the black smoke rising from him did not lessen because his body had shrunk. Instead, it grew even denser.
As the Sacred Fire devoured him, his body gradually turned to ash. With his final breath, he looked at Luffy and Red with venomous eyes and roared loudly:
"Joy Boy!!! Lily!!! You will not win!!!"
"You will never win!!!"
"The power of darkness resides in the human heart! Sooner or later, I will return again—just like you—and once more throw this world into chaos!!!"
"Just you wait!!! Hahahahaha…"
"What are you babbling about!?"
Whoosh!!!
Red impatiently snapped his fingers. The burning flames instantly grew even fiercer, making Imu's screams even louder.
The signature move of the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, Sacred Fire, seemed to have an extremely powerful restraining effect on Imu. Its effectiveness was far better than Luffy's punches and kicks.
Of course, that was also because Luffy's attacks had already consumed a massive amount of the natural energy inside Imu's body. Otherwise, with Red's current strength without loading a Legendary Pokémon template, it would have been impossible for him to inflict such severe damage on Imu.
In the end, beneath Imu's resentful and unwilling gaze, his body slowly vanished before Luffy and Red.
"Everything… is over."
Red sighed wistfully once more.
For some reason, overthrowing the World Government's rule had been something they had long looked forward to. Yet now, as he watched Imu disappear into the void like this, not the slightest ripple stirred in his heart.
The pirates in his heart… had ended just like that?
Red did not know what he was supposed to feel at this moment. But when he turned and looked at Luffy's huge, sparkling eyes, all the melancholy in his heart vanished in an instant.
"Hey, hey, Red! We already beat the World Government!!! Does that mean we're going on an adventure through the stars next!?"
"That's right~"
Red smiled and nodded, then looked toward the Blue Planet beneath his and Luffy's feet.
Faint white clouds wrapped around the planet's surface like gentle gauze. Sunlight passed through them, refracting into gorgeous rainbows that painted the entire planet like a dream.
"Next up is our adventure through the stars!" Red said with a faint smile.
A moment later, a beam of rainbow light suddenly broke through the atmosphere and descended above the Pokémon Sea.
"Luffy! Red!!!"
Seeing the two descend, everyone from the Straw Hats immediately greeted them warmly.
Anyone who did not know better would think they were welcoming some great figures.
Although… the two of them did indeed count as great figures now.
"Hello~"
Knowing that his companions were joking around with him, Red casually waved back, but his gaze quickly swept over the starship below.
On the warship known as Ancient Weapon · Uranus, the deck was currently packed with people.
Aside from Red's companions and the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, there were also major Marine forces, the army of the Fish-Men, and the giants who had rushed over from Elbaf to help.
The enormous starship actually felt somewhat crowded at this moment.
However, within that crowd, there was no trace of the Five Elders.
Clearly, before Luffy had dealt with Imu, Zoro had already joined forces with powerful fighters from various sides and cut the Five Elders down beneath his blades.
At this very moment, aside from the Straw Hat Pirates and a small number of others, everyone on the starship was looking up at Luffy and Red in the sky with eyes full of anticipation.
Imu had not returned. The outcome of this battle was already obvious.
Many people who did not understand the Straw Hat Pirates very well had already begun imagining the scene of the Straw Hat Pirates ruling the world.
And they, at the very least, would be counted among those who had helped the new ruler rise to power!
Unfortunately, the "founding of a nation" speech they had been waiting for did not appear.
As the Straw Hat Pirates' spokesperson to the outside world, Red looked down at everyone below, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.
"Thank you all for your hard work~"
"Now that the greatest enemy on this planet has been completely eliminated, next…"
Under countless watching eyes, Red suddenly spread his arms and shouted loudly as if Luffy himself had possessed him:
"It's time for a banquet!!!!!!!!!!!!"
His deep voice rang out across the entire sea like the tolling of a great bell carried by the wind.
When everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates heard this, irrepressible smiles instantly appeared on their faces.
And many people who already knew the Straw Hat Pirates also revealed smiles that said, "As expected."
Although quite a few people were still confused, as they heard the waves of cheering rising around them, they could not help being infected by the atmosphere and joined in cheering as well.
A joyous aura spread throughout the entire Pokémon Sea.
…
…
This banquet lasted for an entire month!!!
During that month, forces friendly with the Straw Hat Pirates continued arriving from outside the sea, extending the life of the banquet even further.
And during the banquet, news of the World Government's collapse spread to every corner of the world.
In truth, what the world heard differed somewhat from the actual situation…
In the reports published by the major media outlets, the fall of the World Government was the result of the joint efforts of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.
Although anyone with sharp eyes could tell at a glance that the Revolutionary Army's role in this probably did not even amount to one percent.
Even so, many ordinary people who did not know the truth began singing praises of the greatness of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.
Of course, even more of the praise fell upon the Revolutionary Army.
After all, compared to a pirate crew, the Revolutionary Army, which had traveled everywhere for the sake of the people, was clearly more worthy of praise.
And this was exactly what Red and the rest of the Straw Hats wanted to see.
Fame and fortune were not what they desired.
For the Straw Hat Pirates as they were now, reputation was no longer something they needed to deliberately pursue.
On the contrary, if they wanted the Revolutionary Army to establish a new government that could legitimately replace the World Government, then, to the Straw Hat Pirates, that was something far more meaningful.
A bit of fame was merely a tool to achieve their goal.
The banquet went on for a full thirty days, and the world remained shocked for thirty days as well.
Even though people had already made some preparations, the sudden change of dynasty still startled everyone under the heavens.
Fortunately, one month later, sunrise was still the same sunrise, and sunset was still the same sunset.
Under the Revolutionary Army's thorough preparations, the transfer of power did not cause too much impact on the ordinary people at the bottom.
Because the battle that belonged to the Revolutionary Army had only just begun at this moment.
Their next task was to build a provisional government upon the foundations of the World Government, then use the authority of that provisional government to challenge every unreasonable feudal system throughout the world.
As for those kings and nobles who refused to obey the provisional government's arrangements and refused to accept the new government's reforms?
Sorry!
The Revolutionary Army might not have been able to defeat Imu and the Five Elders, but taking down a tiny feudal nation was no problem at all!
…
…
"Then… the name of the new government will tentatively be set as the United Government. When the time comes, each nation and force will send one ambassador to be stationed at the United Government, and all matters will be discussed jointly."
"Besides that, Red, is there anything else you would like to add?"
After reading out the document in his hand, the newly appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations, Sabo, suddenly raised his head and looked toward the other end of the conference table…
At Red, who was attending this new united conference as the representative of the Straw Hat Pirates!
"I have no objections~"
Red, who had been called on, smiled faintly.
Regarding the Revolutionary Army's related ideas, he had already held a multi-party meeting with Dragon, Sabo, Aokiji, Issho, and the others before the conference began.
In his previous life, he had not been some kind of political enthusiast, but after spending enough time online, what he had absorbed by osmosis was enough for him to propose some ideas that made Dragon and the others' eyes light up.
It was not that Red's political insight was particularly extraordinary.
It was simply that the political methods of the pirate world… were far too low-level!
If speaking purely of politics, perhaps any random professional from Earth working in a related field could come over and run circles around Dragon and his group.
But who told this world to be one where strength reigned supreme?
Many times, what determined the direction of events was not political factors, but simply whose fist was bigger.
"Very well!" After receiving Red's answer, Sabo nodded and was just about to declare the meeting adjourned.
But at that moment, Red suddenly raised his hand.
"Wait a moment!!!"
"I have nothing to say about the United Government's policies."
"However, the real reason I came today is actually because I have an even more important matter to explain to everyone."
"Hm!?"
Hearing Red's words, the Revolutionary Army's high-ranking members, the heads of nations that had joined the United Government ahead of time, the former Marine high command, and everyone else present immediately focused their attention and turned their gazes toward Red.
The people of the world might not know the inside story behind the transfer of power, but they understood it very clearly…
The only reason the Revolutionary Army had been able to replace the World Government was entirely because of a single word from the Straw Hat Pirates.
All they could say was that Dragon had a good son!
Others relied on their fathers, but Dragon had directly relied on his son to obtain the qualification to rule the world.
"Everyone, you should all already know about the future in which the world will be swallowed by the sea, correct?"
Red raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone. He immediately saw a sea of deeply furrowed brows.
Regarding the final curse the Lunarian race had placed upon the world, Red had already informed the entire world when he published the Poneglyphs.
Thus, the fact that the world would one day be swallowed by the sea was no longer much of a secret.
It was just that the information contained in the Poneglyph reports had been far too overwhelming. Coupled with the fact that the sea had not undergone any strange changes over the past few decades, no one had really kept the matter in mind except for special regions like Water 7, where the city was swallowed by a tsunami once every year.
Now that they heard Red bring up this matter again, everyone immediately pricked up their ears.
Red got straight to the point.
"Everyone, I regret to inform you that this matter is not as relaxed as the rumors spreading among the public make it seem."
"According to Dr. Vegapunk's predictions and deductions, perhaps in less than three hundred years, aside from the Red Line and some Sky Islands, there will no longer be a single piece of land left in the entire world."
"Three hundred years? Perhaps that sounds very far away to all of you here. But for your nations, your forces, and the newly established United Government…"
"I imagine this is already an urgent problem, is it not?"
"This…"
Sure enough, after hearing Red's words, everyone immediately knitted their brows tightly, worry appearing in their eyes.
Whether they could personally empathize with Red's statement or not, a world that would be destroyed three hundred years later was not something acceptable to people who had just been preparing to display their grand ambitions in the New World.
"Red…" Sabo opened his mouth, just about to say something.
But Red directly raised his hand and stopped him, then smiled faintly.
"Of course, since we have already discovered the problem, naturally, we also have ways to solve it."
"What I want to tell everyone is… in a few days, the Straw Hat Pirates will activate multiple sea-drainage plans. At that time, we may need the support of certain countries and regions. When the time comes, I hope everyone present will provide us with some convenience."
"Of course, of course!"
"That is only natural!"
"With the esteemed members of the Straw Hat Pirates here, we will feel even more at ease!!!"
The representatives of the various kingdoms nodded repeatedly, without the slightest thought of resistance.
The strength of the Straw Hat Pirates was one aspect. More importantly, no one wanted their own country to be completely destroyed a few centuries later!
"Excellent!"
Facing everyone's attitude, Red smiled in satisfaction and gently tapped the tabletop with his finger.
"Then next, members of the Straw Hat Pirates will be heading to several countries one after another. When the time comes, I ask everyone to give us your full support."
"In addition, the activation of these plans may not necessarily be a bad thing for all of you."
"The lowering of the sea level will inevitably expose more land from beneath the seawater. When that happens, perhaps the territory of your countries will even grow a size larger!"
"We will discuss the specifics once we arrive on-site."
"Sabo, if there is nothing else, I will head back first!!!"
Whoosh~!
Before Sabo could answer, Red's figure suddenly vanished.
Only a swivel chair that was still spinning remained behind, along with the slowly rebounding butt-print on the seat, as though proving someone had indeed been here just a moment ago…
(End of Chapter)