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Early morning.
A faint white glimmer appeared on the distant horizon, gradually growing brighter with each passing moment.
Within minutes, the dark night sky was banished by the rising light of dawn, and the world began to glow with morning brightness.
"Ah~ That was a great sleep!"
Thanks to his incredible regenerative power, Luffy had slept deeply and soundly through the night. Feeling fully refreshed, he burst out of the ship's door, grinning from ear to ear.
He turned back toward the cabin and shouted:
"Hey! Nami! Is breakfast ready yet?!"
"I'm starving!"
Swish!
A spatula suddenly came flying out of the cabin, grazing Luffy's eyebrow before plunging into the wooden deck with a sharp thunk, vibrating as it stuck.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! All you know how to do is complain!"
"If you yell one more time, there won't be breakfast today!!!"
Nami's angry roar echoed from inside the cabin.
Gulp!
Luffy froze at the thought of missing breakfast, his eyes wide in panic. He quickly clapped both hands over his mouth and muttered nervously under his breath:
"What a scary woman!"
"Hahaha~ Calm down, Nami."
From the cabin, a cheerful voice interrupted the tense moment. Red spoke with a laugh, trying to soothe her.
"Hang in there a few more days! I've already got a chef lined up. Once we bring them aboard, you'll be off kitchen duty for good."
"Really?!" Nami's eyes lit up as she boiled eggs in a small pot. Despite her complaints, she wasn't particularly skilled at cooking and could only manage simple dishes.
"I'm a navigator! Why do I have to do this?!" she grumbled, frustrated but still focused on her work.
As she chopped potatoes, an ominous aura seemed to fill the cabin. It felt as if murderous intent surrounded her.
Even Zoro, who had just woken up, took one look at the scene and silently slipped out of the cabin without a word, avoiding any involvement.
And so, another lively morning aboard the ship began with the Straw Hat Pirates.
Meanwhile, at the same time...
While Luffy and his crew enjoyed the carefree life of sailing the seas, things were far less calm elsewhere.
In Marineford, the headquarters of the Grand Line's Marine forces, an emergency meeting was underway.
"Provocation! This is nothing short of a blatant provocation!!!"
A burly rear admiral with a fierce expression slammed a photo onto the table, his teeth clenched in anger.
The photo showed the Straw Hat Pirates—a group shot of four of them—standing in front of a Marine base, grinning smugly.
Other Marine officers in the conference room shared his fury.
A group of rookie pirates, fresh out to sea, had attacked a Marine base and defeated its officers...
But the worst part?
These audacious pirates had posed for a photo right in front of the base afterward.
Such an act was an undeniable insult to the Marines and a direct challenge to their authority.
"We can't let these pirates escape into the Grand Line!"
The furious rear admiral glared at the photo pinned to the display board, his eyes blazing with determination.
But just as the tension in the room reached its peak, another rear admiral, holding a report in his hand, furrowed his brow and interjected:
"However..."
"Given the strength of the East Blue's Marine branches, isn't it surprising they couldn't hold their ground against this group?"
He adjusted his glasses and raised the report slightly.
"Have you all looked at the rest of the report?"
His words caused a murmur to ripple through the room.
"The rest of the report?"
Several officers flipped through their documents and found the additional pages.
As they read, their eyes widened in shock.
Gasp!
"This... This can't be real!"
"Are you telling me these so-called rookie pirates are this strong?!"
"This has to be a mistake! They're just a fledgling crew!"
"If the intelligence here is accurate, then this is no simple provocation. It's something far more serious!"
"....."
"....."
The room erupted into heated debate as the officers tried to make sense of the startling revelations.
Even the meeting organizer, who had been boiling with anger moments ago, fell silent as he read the follow-up report, his expression growing increasingly grave.
On the second page of the document, a photo from the 153rd Marine Base was attached, providing a bird's-eye view of the aftermath.
The image, taken from the top of a building, showed the base in ruins. Collapsed walls lay scattered around the area, and the open space in the center was riddled with massive cracks, resembling the destruction caused by a powerful earthquake.
But what truly drew everyone's attention was at the center of the image: a colossal fist-shaped crater embedded deeply into the ground.
Below the photo was a short but chilling description:
[Overview of the damage following a sparring session between Straw Hat Pirates Captain Monkey D. Luffy and new crewmember Roronoa Zoro.]
For comparison, another photo of the same space in its undamaged state was included.
The conference room descended into a heavy, oppressive silence.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the rear admiral let out a frustrated groan, rubbing his temples as though trying to ward off a headache.
"Damn it! Why is it that the East Blue always produces such troublesome individuals?!"
He slammed a hand on the table, his expression hardening with resolve.
"The bounties for this group must be issued immediately. The world needs to know the threat these pirates pose!"
Then, with a sharp gaze that seemed to cut through the tension in the room, he continued:
"Notify Captain Smoker in Loguetown. Tell him to intercept the Straw Hats in the East Blue at all costs. We cannot..."
The rear admiral's voice grew even firmer.
"...let them enter the Grand Line. We can't allow them to become another Fire Fist Ace!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines in the room responded in unison, their voices ringing with determination. With the symbol of "Justice" emblazoned on their uniforms, they stood resolute, unafraid to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Meanwhile, back in the East Blue...
"Wait, what?! Zoro, you and Red went to the Pokémon world last night?!"
Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed an accusatory finger at Zoro.
"Why didn't you take me with you?! That's not fair!"
Breakfast aboard the ship had gone smoothly, thanks to Nami, and now the Straw Hats were enjoying their meal. However, when Luffy heard about Zoro's adventure with Red, his mood quickly turned sour, pouting like a child who'd been left out of a game.
Red shrugged helplessly, raising his hands as if to say it couldn't be helped.
"There's nothing I can do about it."
"If I had the option, I'd take you too, but my ability can only support one person at a time."
Red sighed, a hint of regret in his voice.
In truth, he had his reasons. In the Pokémon world, the experience gained from battles was shared among all the Pokémon in a single party. If multiple people could enter the world at once, they could share experience gains even without actively fighting. However, his ability didn't yet allow for such coordination.
'What a shame,' he thought to himself.
Still, Red couldn't help but wonder. If items like the Exp. Share or other tools from the games could somehow be brought into the real world, maybe he could find a way to make it work.
Luffy, however, wasn't interested in the logistics.
Rolling on the ground dramatically, he whined, "Noooo! I want to go on an adventure too! I want to gooo!"
Red sighed and placed his chopsticks down. With a resigned expression, he got up, walked over to Luffy, and firmly planted a foot on his back to stop him from squirming.
"Alright, alright! You win!"
"I'll take you to the Pokémon world today."
Hearing this, Luffy immediately sprang to his feet, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Really?! You're the best, Red!"
"Woohoo!" Luffy cheered, doing a series of somersaults across the deck.
Red shook his head, already second-guessing his decision.
"But listen here, Luffy," he said sharply. "This is a one-time deal. Starting now, whoever I bring into the Pokémon world has to follow my plan. No exceptions."
Luffy stopped mid-flip and gave a toothy grin, saluting dramatically.
"No problem, Red! I promise!"
Then, with an apologetic glance at Zoro, he added, "Sorry, Zoro. I promise I'm not trying to compete with you or anything!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, his usual stoic expression unchanging.
"It's just..." Luffy continued, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "After our sparring match, I feel like I'm this close to mastering that! So I wanna go to the Pokémon world to practice!"