"I didn't expect you to be such a loyal and sentimental guy after all~"
Red raised a brow, looking at Queen with some surprise.
After all, in the anime, Queen had never really shown much of a bond with Kaido.
Compared to the other two Lead Performers, Queen seemed more like a business partner who relied on the Beasts Pirates to realize his own value.
But since Red had never intended to kill Kaido and the others in the first place, he nodded without hesitation after hearing this.
"Don't worry. As long as you sincerely work for the Straw Hat Pirates..."
"I guarantee they'll be allowed to live out their natural lives."
As he spoke, Red called to Usopp beside him:
"Usopp, put them away~"
"Got it."
Upon receiving the order, Usopp moved at once.
He spread both hands, and an invisible suction force suddenly appeared, directly lifting Kaido and the other two from the ground. The moment they drew close to his body, they rapidly shrank, then vanished without a trace.
It was as if he truly possessed a sleeve universe.
This scene made the Straw Hats all raise their brows in surprise, caught off guard by the method Usopp had just displayed.
"Huh...?"
Chopper immediately let out a curious sound from beside him.
After all, Usopp had never shown this trick before.
"Heh heh~"
Having long expected everyone's reaction, Usopp gave a proud grin.
"You guys are all working so hard all the time, so I couldn't afford to fall behind either~"
"Besides doing research and raising Pokémon, I've been training seriously too!"
"Even though it turned out a little different from my original idea of storing attacks and impacts inside my body, my Devil Fruit ability still changed a little."
"For example... I can now absorb things with my mind!"
As he spoke, Usopp suddenly thrust his hand toward an open patch of space nearby.
At his palm, a hollow void abruptly appeared.
In the next instant, the air around his hand seemed to be affected by some special power and was violently drawn inward.
A tunnel of air formed in an instant.
The force wasn't very strong, but for the Storage-Storage Fruit, which originally had no offensive capability at all, this was an unprecedented discovery.
When Red saw Usopp's method, a name suddenly flashed through his mind—
Miroku.
One of the main members of the party in the classic anime Inuyasha, he had been cursed by a demon, leaving him with an uncontrollable Wind Tunnel in his palm that could absorb everything.
What Usopp was doing now looked exactly the same as Miroku's Wind Tunnel.
Red remembered that according to the Storage-Storage Fruit's properties, the environment inside its storage space should not affect the outside world.
So unless Usopp had somehow created a vacuum space—which clearly wasn't the case—then he had successfully developed another function of the Storage-Storage Fruit.
And moreover...
To be able to affect the outside environment from afar...
Could it be that Usopp had already found the path to awakening the Storage-Storage Fruit!?
Though it was still impossible to tell how powerful this new ability truly was, it was always something worth celebrating when a crewmate became even stronger.
Only Queen, who had just finished negotiating conditions with Red, looked completely bewildered.
Wait, what!?
Weren't we talking about me, a world-class scientist!?
How did your attention shift this fast!?
"Ahem..."
Feeling ignored, Queen coughed twice, finally drawing some of the Straw Hats' attention back to himself.
Red turned to him and explained:
"Don't worry. Usopp's ability is only making Kaido and the others fall asleep temporarily. It won't cause any harm to their bodies."
"In the future, we might need Kaido to participate in experiments pretty often, so we won't keep him locked up for too long."
"Uh..."
Queen really wanted to say that this wasn't what he was concerned about, but seeing how Red looked eager to start discussing Usopp's new Fruit ability, he ultimately swallowed his words.
And just like that, two of the world's top scientists joined under the Straw Hats' banner.
At this point, every top scientist from the former MADS had now been brought under the Straw Hats.
It was easy to imagine that...
In the near future, the scientific power of the Straw Hat Pirates would undergo explosive growth!!!
...
...
Time slowly passed.
Several hours later, night fell once again, and stars blanketed the land.
All the pirates infected by the virus had finally been completely cured.
And with Queen and Caesar's "heartfelt" explanation, everyone also came to understand exactly what had happened to their bodies.
In an instant, the pirate camp erupted into an uproar once more.
Especially after personally witnessing the Straw Hats defeat Kaido and the others, many of them were practically breathing fire, shouting that they were going to make the Beasts Pirates pay.
And at that very moment, Red's figure suddenly flew out from the Going Merry. Repeating his old method, he amplified his voice and cast it outward.
"Silence!!!"
Like the tolling of an ancient bell deep in the mountains, a thunderous boom rang directly inside everyone's minds, causing the entire crowd to fall silent again.
Then Red directly used Psychic Power to gather everyone's gaze upon himself.
Under the full moon, those mysterious black eyes that seemed to hold everything in their grasp radiated an indescribable authority, making the pirates present involuntarily choke back their breath.
Red spoke:
"The time has almost come."
"It's time to leave this island!"
"Since you've all agreed to join under the Straw Hats, then naturally, I will also help you leave this island."
"That's great! We can finally get off this damned place!"
"Damn it, what kind of stupid festival was this? I'm never joining this kind of excitement again!"
"Mom, I can finally go home~"
"..."
"..."
A group of pirates who had gone through wave after wave of despair immediately burst into excited cheers upon hearing Red's words.
But just then, Red's voice, full of authority, rang out once more:
"However!!"
Whoosh...
His words instantly silenced the entire scene again.
Red continued:
"The Straw Hat Pirates do not feed freeloaders!"
"And the Going Merry can't possibly carry this many people!"
"Whether or not you can truly leave this island will depend on your own abilities."
Swish!
Red suddenly flung out an arm and pointed toward the naval warships that had somehow already gathered together around the outer perimeter of the island.
"If you want to leave this island, then the first thing you must do... is seize a sufficient number of warships from the Marines!!!"
"Don't worry. We'll intercept all of the Marines' high-end combat power for you, but only for half an hour."
"If even under those conditions you still can't escape successfully, then the Straw Hat Pirates have no need to take in such worthless trash!"
"The sea... is a cruel place~"
Pure moonlight poured down, illuminating the faint smile curling at Red's lips and adding a touch of sinister charm to his face.
Yet after hearing Red's words, the pirates present not only felt no dissatisfaction, but instead shouted excitedly.
"OHHHH!!! We're robbing the Marines right from the start!?"
"As expected of the Straw Hat Pirates! What overwhelming boldness!!!"
"Heh, I've been chased by the Marines for half my life. This time, let me have a taste of chasing them instead!"
"With the Straw Hat crew backing us up, what is there to hesitate over!?"
"Brothers, charge!!!"
All of the pirates instantly boiled over with excitement.
At the front, people like Cavendish, Hajrudin, and Caribou stepped forward directly and declared their resolve to Red.
"Vice Captain Red, please rest assured! We absolutely won't fail your expectations!"
"The Marines are nothing worth fearing!!!"
After witnessing the overwhelming power of the Straw Hats, these captains who had once been well-known names in the New World had now completely lowered their pride, and they could no longer wait to join under the Straw Hats' banner.
Those who stay near vermilion are stained red; those who stay near ink are stained black.
They believed that in a miraculous place like the Straw Hat Pirates, they too would surely will usher in their own miracle.
"Very good. Now that's the spirit."
Looking at the pirates below, Red waved a hand in praise without holding back.
Then his gaze shifted toward the sea beyond the island.
At this moment, with his unique Psychic Power and sensory abilities, Red directly met Issho's gaze from across half the island.
Looking at the pirates below, who had already begun moving into action, Red smiled faintly and murmured:
"Then..."
"Let the final act of the Pirate Festival come to an end with this grand war."
(End of Chapter)