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After Red's introduction, Johnny and Yosaku quickly became familiar with Buggy and his crew.
After getting acquainted, Red also asked Buggy about recent developments.
...
"I didn't expect Bartolomeo to have eaten the Barrier-Barrier Fruit so early. This is quite surprising."
After listening to Buggy's report, Red nodded immediately and said with approval: "Very good. Now that you've made initial contact with Bartolomeo's group, let's continue this approach."
"That guy Bartolomeo is a young man with good potential, and the Barrier-Barrier Fruit is also a rare and powerful ability."
"If we can recruit them, it will greatly help our future operations."
"I'll leave you in charge of the specific details!"
Because there was no scenario in the original timeline where Luffy smiled at the execution platform, Red wasn't certain that Bartolomeo would join the Straw Hat Fleet.
For now, they would let everything take its natural course.
"Alright." After discussing Bartolomeo's situation, Red changed the subject: "Let's put the Bartolomeo matter aside."
"Buggy, I called you here because I have something very important to tell you..."
"Your crew should already know about my identity as a Pokémon Trainer, right?"
"Yeah!" Buggy nodded immediately, wiggling his red nose as he said:
"Following Red-sama's previous instructions, I've been completely transparent and already told my subordinates everything."
"Excellent!"
Red clicked on the device inside his body, and in the refreshed Pokémon menu, he saw dozens of new Pokémon move slots! For a moment, a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, and then he smiled mysteriously: "Not bad!"
"In that case, it's time for you to witness the true power of a Trainer!"
"Gather your crew and tell them..."
"To prepare for a whole new world!"
"I will let them experience the power of a [Pokémon Trainer]!!!"
Red stood up with an expression that clearly said "everyone's about to be amazed."
Yes.
He had called the Buggy Pirates here for one simple purpose...
He wanted to give all members of their pirate group Pokémon moves to increase their combat effectiveness.
In the past few days of game time, because there were a large number of "tributes" from Team Rocket trainers after their defeat, plus some excess items he had sold...
Red had successfully collected enough money to purchase all five remaining Technical Machines in the department store.
In addition, he obtained [Helping Hand], [Reflect], and [Play Nice] by completing tasks at the department store, as well as [Sleep Powder] and [Dark Pulse] that he had found at Team Rocket's base...
Red's current number of move teaching devices had reached an astonishing 25!!! Although this was just the tip of the iceberg compared to the hundreds of moves in the entire Pokémon world, it was enough for Red to teach 4 skills to each pirate in the Buggy Pirates.
For the next hour, Red did nothing but sit in the tent configuring skills for the pirates.
Little did he know...
Red had originally thought that most of Buggy's subordinates would be Normal-type Pokémon like Johnny and Yosaku.
The result was unexpected. Among the nearly one hundred crew members, only twenty or thirty had a single Normal attribute! The rest had either single attributes like Fire, Grass, Water, or Electric, or Normal + other dual attribute combinations! Among them were several Dark, Psychic, and other types not found among the Straw Hat Pirates.
It made sense for a pirate group based around a circus~ This variety of attribute combinations was eye-opening even for Red!
However, this also greatly increased the fun of matching their moves.
He equipped many of the moves that no one in the Straw Hats could use on these pirates.
Although due to their own limited abilities, they couldn't become exceptionally strong in a short period even with these moves.
But when the four moves worked together, the effect they could have was even more unusual than the average Devil Fruit ability.
It was enough to increase the overall strength of Buggy's pirate group by 3-5 times! And this was just a conservative estimate.
After all, some Pokémon moves, if used properly, were very likely to... create miracles!
...
At the same time.
Just when Red was acting as a "move tutor" and enjoying the respectful gazes of Buggy and his crew...
Something unexpected happened elsewhere.
The patter of rain drove all pedestrians on the street back into buildings.
On a certain street in Loguetown.
"Zippy Zap!!!"
Zap!
As Nami gave a soft command, bright golden thunder flashed under her feet as she activated the Pokémon move.
However, just when she stepped hard against the wall, trying to use its power to jump to the roof...
A light green barrier suddenly appeared and blocked her path, cutting off Nami's escape route!
"It's useless! You've fallen into my barrier and it's impossible to escape from my grasp!"
Bartolomeo, who crossed his hands in front of his chest making a strange gesture, slowly appeared from around the corner. His face showed a wild grin with sharp fangs protruding.
Around his body was a humanoid barrier that didn't affect his movements, completely covering him.
The rain beat against the barrier, unable to reach his body at all.
Of course, the barrier around Bartolomeo wasn't just used to block rainwater.
Looking carefully...
It wasn't difficult to see that Bartolomeo looked completely different from an hour ago.
His expensive woolen coat was covered in dark scorch marks, and all the fur on his collar was burned away.
His green hair now stood on end, just like Mohji's after being attacked by Nami.
But even in such a mess, he still looked arrogant as he approached Nami.
"Give up resisting!"
"Hand over your Devil Fruit! Otherwise I'll get rough with you!"
With his demonic face, his words were particularly terrifying.
If an ordinary girl heard this, she would probably have cried and surrendered immediately.
However...
Standing before him was Nami, who valued treasure above all else!
"You want me to hand over what I rightfully stole?! Do you think that's possible?!"
There was no sign of compromise in Nami's eyes.
Instead, her hands holding the Clima-Tact still flashed with lightning from time to time as she prepared to use Buzzy Buzz to look for an opportunity to escape.
Afterward, Nami taunted Bartolomeo again: "I think it's you who should give up!"
"If you can, please remove that turtle shell for me!"
"Then see how I deal with you!"
"Do you think I'm really stupid?!" Bartolomeo was unmoved.
After experiencing Nami's thunder power once, there was no way he would remove the protective barrier around his body.
If he did, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand up again afterward.
However, Bartolomeo wasn't surprised by Nami's rejection.
He immediately showed a disdainful smile and sneered: "It doesn't matter! My boys will be here soon anyway!"
"They've gone to prepare the insulation gear!"
"I wonder where you'll run when they arrive?!"
As a gang leader, Bartolomeo had no sense of fair play.
Even if his opponent was a young girl, he wouldn't hesitate to use the most convenient, quick, and despicable method.
However...
Bartolomeo expected Nami to panic after hearing this.
But when he looked at her, he saw a sly smile on Nami's face.
"Oh, is that so?"
The corner of Nami's mouth curled upward.
The next second, she raised her head with a flash of triumph in her eyes.
"But..."
"You don't think you're the only one with backup, do you?"
Nami suddenly stretched out her hand and pointed at the sign above Bartolomeo's head:
"See what's written there?!"
"Huh?!"
Seeing Nami's reaction, Bartolomeo's heart tightened for no reason.
He looked up in confusion and read the words on the sign:
"Loguetown - Fresh Farmers Market..."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
He asked Nami, confused.
"It means..."
Nami smiled, then took a deep breath and shouted to the sky at the top of her lungs: "Sanji!!!!!!"
"Come and save me—!!!!!"
Her loud, sharp voice suddenly resounded throughout the entire farmer's market.
Just when Bartolomeo was shocked and confused...
From the distant sky, a figure wrapped in flames suddenly appeared!
"Nami-swaaan——!!!!!!"
WHOOSH!!! Sanji, his entire body burning with raging flames of anger, used the power of his fiery passion to achieve the ability to fly briefly.
Like a demon knight from hell, he followed the distant call and quickly arrived at Nami's street.
Seeing Bartolomeo using his ability to trap Nami, the flames on Sanji's body suddenly grew more turbulent, sweeping in all directions.
At that moment, the blazing flames seemed to pierce the clouds in the sky, making all the rain on the street evaporate.
"Damn bastard!!! Are you the one bullying Nami-san?!"
Sanji's anger had seemingly transformed into actual flames.
He immediately dropped a large fish that was tens of meters long behind him and a pile of almost-cooked food, then jumped into the air, ready to teach Bartolomeo a lesson.
Seeing this, Nami quickly warned: "Be careful, Sanji!"
"His barrier is very strange and can resist all kinds of attacks! Use that move!"
"As you command, Nami-san!!!"
Sanji, understanding instantly, responded.
Immediately, his momentum continued unabated as he aimed a powerful kick at Bartolomeo's barrier with endless blazing flames.
"It's useless! It's useless!"
Although his expression showed slight fear at Sanji's sudden appearance, Bartolomeo still laughed wildly:
"My barrier! It cannot be penetrated!!!"
BANG!!! Sanji's kick struck the barrier.
But just when Bartolomeo thought Sanji would be injured by the rebound force, he only heard Sanji shout: "Diable Jambe, COLLIER SHOOT!!!"
Crack... crack! There was a crisp cracking sound.
Under Bartolomeo's horrified gaze, his supposedly impenetrable barrier suddenly developed several cracks! The next second...
CRASH!!!
Sanji's Diable Jambe technique shattered Bartolomeo's barrier instantly.
The blazing flames mixed with scorching heat descended on Bartolomeo's demonic face as Sanji kicked his head straight into the marble floor.
BOOM!!!
A violent crash echoed through the quiet alley.
A huge crater appeared in the once-flat ground.
Bartolomeo, lying in the crater with his face deformed, used his last bit of strength to turn his head and look at Sanji in disbelief, stammering:
"Why...why...can you...penetrate...my barrier..."
Fwoosh~ A small flame emerged from Sanji's fingertips, lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
"You wouldn't understand~!"
Sanji, who had returned to his normal state, glanced at Bartolomeo contemptuously, then replied decisively:
"Because this is the power of love~!"
Of course, the Brick Break move that can destroy barriers also contributed a little bit.
Sanji thought privately.
The next moment, his eyes suddenly turned into hearts, and his legs spun like tops as he ran toward Nami.
"Nami-san~ You're not hurt, are you?!"