The implementation of the Sea Draining Plan met with not the slightest obstruction.
On one hand, it was because this was a proposal put forward by the strongest force of the present age, the Straw Hat Pirates.
On the other hand, it was also because, in the face of a future world-ending crisis that might one day arrive, compared to leaving disaster to future generations and trusting in their wisdom, it was naturally far more reassuring to eliminate every possible seed of calamity here and now.
Very soon, one enormous machine after another—machines that ordinary people could not understand at all—was built along the coastal mouths of island after island. They began continuously extracting seawater and carrying out operations beyond the comprehension of common folk.
The Sea Draining Plan was the final plan produced after Vegapunk and the Scientific Research Corps under him researched for three days and three nights, then had Red give the final approval.
Aside from operations Red and Vegapunk had initially studied, such as antimatter spatial diversion and the construction of an artificial lunar sea, this plan also deployed a series of factories designed specifically to consume seawater according to the differing conditions of each region: seawater salt production, seawater desalination, inland seawater transfer, extraction of Pyrobloin factors from seawater, and more.
These factories would become "nationalized" enterprises of the United Government. They would receive massive funding, resources, and technical support from the government, operating without regard for cost—and even in a manner leaning toward charity—while creating local jobs and producing goods on a large scale.
In addition, the game Pokémon World would also fully become a mainstream game with official backing. Although its in-game currency could not be freely exchanged with outside currency, it could be exchanged for all sorts of products manufactured by the "nationalized" factories.
Whether players used those goods themselves or sold them cheaply for money, either would be an excellent choice.
Following the latest announcement left by Vegapunk on the official website of Pokémon World, which claimed that they were about to break through the barrier between virtual and real Pokémon and would soon have the chance to transfer Pokémon consciousnesses from the game world into Pokémon in reality...
Although the potential of real-world Pokémon might not necessarily be the same as in the game world, the mere fact that they would possess near-max loyalty and powerful combat ability was already enough to make countless people flock to them.
The Sea Draining Plan seemed like something that would determine the future direction of the world, yet when actually carried out, its operation was so plain, practical, and down-to-earth.
This was a battlefield between humanity and nature.
As for who the final victor would be, that would have to be left for time to decide.
During this period, the world was destined to be anything but quiet.
Sea Draining Plan projects spread across the globe, purges against nations loyal to the former World Government, promotion of the United Government's new system, liberation of slaves around the world, punishment of those who wanted to fish in troubled waters during this chaotic age...
Even with the help of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and all manner of capable people under the Straw Hats, the United Government had still been busy enough lately to never let its feet touch the ground.
It was said that Dragon, Sabo, and the rest of the high-level leadership had already gone an entire week without properly closing their eyes to rest even once.
But for the great cause in their hearts, this was precisely the scene they had wanted to see.
And at the same time...
Just as the pirate world was undergoing an unprecedented transformation, the Straw Hat Pirates—the ones who had caused all of this—quietly left this planet under the gaze of countless eyes.
That's right!!!
Although everything had been overly hasty and far too rushed, this was the Straw Hat Pirates!
And so, an adventure that began the moment they decided to set off unfolded!!!
...
...
In the vast sea of stars, the Going Merry, wrapped in a layer of dreamlike coating, drifted through outer space. Ripples of deep-blue light undulated across the surface of the coating, as though the blue planet had given its final blessing to this ship brave enough to explore the heavens.
On the deck of the Going Merry.
"Whoa!!! So this is outer space!?"
"So this is what our planet looks like!!!"
"How miraculous. To think this old man would be fortunate enough to witness such a sight in his lifetime!!!"
"..."
"..."
Although the Straw Hat Pirates had long since set the starry sky as the target of their next stage, in truth, the only ones who had ever truly possessed the ability to reach the stars were Luffy and Red.
Everyone else was breaking through the atmosphere for the first time and genuinely witnessing the vastness of the universe.
Even Zoro, who was usually calm and composed, could not help but reveal an astonished expression as he gazed at the magnificent scene beyond the coating. His eyes swept constantly in every direction, as if he did not know where he should look.
"Haha! I wasn't lying to you, was I?"
"The grandeur of the starry sky can only be understood by those who have truly come here!"
Seeing the astonishment on his companions' faces, Red immediately burst into hearty laughter. But soon, he spoke again:
"However, while admiring the beautiful scenery of the stars, you must also remember to stay alert to your surroundings."
"Before we truly settle down, everyone will have to work a little harder during this period. Don't rest. Monitor the starry sky as comprehensively as possible, without any blind spots."
"Oh, right, Nami."
Red suddenly turned his head and spoke to Nami, who was standing beside Franky:
"How is it? Now that we're in space, can you still use your surveying and mapping ability? Can you make a star chart of the area around Blue Star?"
"For now, there shouldn't be any problem."
Nami looked at the projection ahead that Franky had recorded and produced, then nodded confidently.
"It's just turning a flat map into a three-dimensional one. The complexity has indeed increased, but it's still within my abilities."
"And with Franky recording the entire process, it'll make a lot of my work much easier."
"That's good." Red nodded in understanding.
Constructing a star chart could be said to be the matter they valued most after leaving Blue Star.
Although the Going Merry currently stored a large number of Vivre Cards belonging to the people under the Straw Hats, who knew whether Vivre Cards had a distance limit...
No!
It should be said that Vivre Cards definitely had a distance limit.
The only difference was how far that distance was!
After all, in this world, there could not possibly be anything without limits.
So, in order to avoid problems with the Vivre Cards in the future that might leave them unable to find the way back to Blue Star, a star chart starting from Blue Star would be their only guide.
Fortunately, Franky had now undergone complete modification. His body possessed an exploration radar equipped with Vegapunk devices, allowing him to record every scene the Going Merry passed through as 3D virtual imagery.
Then Nami would use the relevant knowledge to mark out the planets, celestial phenomena, and star regions in those images one by one.
Even if these interstellar environments changed in the future, they would still be able to use the star chart to find the general direction.
And so, the Straw Hat Pirates officially stepped into the starry sky, becoming the first—Star Pirate Crew—of Blue Star!!!
...
...
Time passed like a white colt glimpsed through a crack.
Traveling through the starry sky was even more boring than Red had imagined.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
Yet the Going Merry, which had been advancing by following the "Space Pirates" Vivre Card, still had not discovered even the slightest trace of life in the stars.
However, Red and the Straw Hats were not discouraged in the least.
After all, this was something they had already known before leaving Blue Star.
Vegapunk had once deduced that if Space Pirates truly existed among the stars, and if they could freely travel to and from the moon from beyond the cosmic region Vegapunk could observe...
Then their technology for navigating the universe had to be at least several hundred years ahead of Blue Star, perhaps even more.
Even for Vegapunk, creating such a flying vessel was no simple matter.
Even though... they also had the starship Ancient Weapon · Uranus as a reference template.
According to Vegapunk's research into Uranus, he was confident he could manufacture the lowest-grade spacecraft capable of cosmic navigation within three years.
But three years... might not count as much for a technological leap, but for the Straw Hat Pirates, who were brimming with anticipation, it was far, far too long.
By the time Vegapunk researched brand-new cosmic navigation technology and applied it to the Going Merry, one could say the daylilies would have already gone cold.
So instead of waiting for Vegapunk's scientific results, Red felt they might as well be bolder and directly enter the starry sky.
Whether or not they could find the Space Pirates recorded by the Vivre Card, at the very least, following this direction would give them the greatest chance of encountering lifeforms or forces among the stars.
In any case, on one hand, the star chart gave the Straw Hat Pirates a way out, allowing them the ability to retreat.
On the other hand, even if the star chart became useless, with Red's ability to continuously extract Berries from the console, they would never have to worry about food.
In addition to the large batch of various breedable lifeforms stored in Usopp's Storage-Storage space, and the existence of Redfield, a guy who could obtain lifespan through blood food...
The Straw Hat Pirates also did not need to worry about lifespan.
Survival and time were both things they did not need to fear.
In other words, in this starry sky, apart from powerful enemies and celestial phenomena beyond the range of what they could withstand, they would absolutely be able to find the legendary extraterrestrial lifeforms.
Although the danger was not zero, it had already been reduced to the lowest possible level.
If they still did not dare set foot in the starry sky even under such circumstances, then they would not be the Straw Hat Pirates!!!
...
...
Time flowed by once more.
In the blink of an eye, another three months passed.
It had to be said that, even though they had prepared themselves, half a year of traveling through space still allowed the Straw Hat Pirates to experience what it meant to be "unbearably lonely."
Fortunately, before this, Red had already had every member of the Straw Hat Pirates undergo several long periods of harsh training.
After confirming that dangers in the starry sky were not common, Red and the others left enough people on the deck each day, while the rest all holed up inside the Going Merry's training space and continued cultivating with full focus.
During this half year, Red had also taken the Straw Hats in and out of the Pokémon World many times.
Now, compared to the final decisive battle against the World Government, everyone's levels had once again undergone a brand-new rise.
At present, the Straw Hat Pirates' average level had already surpassed Level 83!
Among them, Zoro and Sanji had advanced by leaps and bounds all the way to Level 95.
As for Luffy, the strongest among them, under Red's special care, he had gone from his previous Level 93 to his current Level 100!
He had already reached the level cap of the Pokémon games.
And because of this, Luffy also lost the possibility of continuing to gain experience and advance further.
Of course, none of that was the main point.
The level limit was something Red had long anticipated.
Along the way, although the console had displayed all manner of miraculous qualities, most of the rules related to Pokémon still referenced the world of the Pokémon games.
The Level 100 cap was also one of the game rules.
So whether it was to break the rules or to surpass the limit...
On this day.
In the game world, Cerulean Cave.
Boom!!!!
Accompanied by an earth-shattering explosion, a Mewtwo as high as Level 90 ultimately could not withstand Luffy's absurd Nika power and fell beneath his heavy fist.
In an instant, a string of familiar system notification pop-ups flashed across Red's eyes like a flood of messages:
[Congratulations, player, for defeating the postgame final boss of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!—Mewtwo (Level 90). Achievement reward triggered: Legendary Conqueror!]
[Legendary template · Mewtwo template has been updated to the latest level.]
[Congratulations, player, for completing all postgame content of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee! Achievement reward triggered: King of Completion!]
[Detected that the player has already unlocked all games owned by all accounts. Achievement: King of Completion reward failed to trigger!]
Bzzzt...
A distinct sound of electric current suddenly flashed past Red's ears.
On the console interface in front of him, the screen suddenly flickered as if the system had malfunctioned.
However, when Red looked at the scene before him, he seemed to have already grown used to it.
Only, as time passed bit by bit, the frequency of the console's flickering grew faster and faster.
At this moment, seeing such a scene, although Red did not panic too much, he could not help becoming tense.
After all...
"The previous times achievement triggers failed, there was never such a huge change!"
"Now that all Pokémon games have been cleared through their second playthrough, is the console going to change somehow?"
"Will it stay the same and continue as it is? Will it produce new rules? Or will it... directly crash and stop me from using my cheats!?"
Among the three possible options, there was one that Red absolutely could not accept no matter what.
But he did not think his console would simply stop here.
Or rather, if the console's limit was merely the Level 100 cap of the Pokémon World...
Then Red would instead be very sad.
After all, according to Red's observations, Level 100 strength was probably only about the same as Imu on Blue Star.
Aside from immortality and indestructibility, destroying a nation or a city at the slightest motion was as easy as raising a hand.
But compared to the planet-destroying power Red looked forward to, it was still impossibly far away.
So in the end, Red decided to gamble and clear the second playthrough of every game on the console!
This time, he... was going to witness the console's limit!!!
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt...
The chaotic sound of electric current became increasingly urgent, and the virtual light screen in front of Red flickered more and more frequently along with it.
But at that moment, a seven-colored beam of light suddenly flashed from the center of the light screen.
The Nintendo Switch screen within the light screen froze at that very instant.
The electric current in his ears vanished.
Replacing it was an electronic notification sound Red heard from the console for the very first time:
[Ding! Detected that the player has cleared all currently owned games. A brand-new game interface has now been updated. Player, please make your selection.]
Whoosh—
A sharp gleam flashed through Red's eyes.
And the game titles reflected one after another in his pupils caused that gleam to magnify without limit, almost condensing into something tangible.
All of this was because, at this moment, what appeared before Red was one familiar icon and game title after another...
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Dragon Ball: The Breakers
Stardew Valley
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force
Genshin Impact
Octopath Traveler
Shin Megami Tensei V
Bayonetta
Dragon Quest Builders 2
...
...
"..."
"..."
At this moment, looking at the console's game interface—a long list he could not scroll to the end of no matter how hard he tried—although Red really did not want to admit it...
He...
Seemed to have accidentally cracked his own console...
(End of Chapter)