The Moon.
This gray, desolate planet welcomed new visitors.
A little while ago, a strangely-shaped metal spaceship descended onto the planet's surface, spewing flames.
It was quite a coincidence that a very conspicuous location lay on the planet's surface.
It was a semi-abandoned base.
It was a small settlement built over the past twenty-plus years, based on the ruins of the original Birka people.
For a long time, it had been the residence of the people who temporarily stayed on this planet.
However, it was only temporary; once the Sky City was completed, this area lost its significance.
After the temporary residents left completely, the area was virtually abandoned, with only a few small robots left behind.
Of course, abandoned or not, it was still noticeable.
The spaceship that descended from the sky landed directly on the edge of this settlement.
Then, a group of strangely-dressed individuals disembarked.
There was an elder whose neck was tilted downwards, with thick white whiskers on his upper lip and chin, and a monstrous creature with a similarly-shaped neck, but sharply defined angles, looking like a tiger.
There was also a creature with no neck, its head growing directly from its chest, and a mouth like an alligator. Another resembled a weasel but stood upright, wearing a top hat and carrying a long spear on its back.
Everyone wore bizarre uniforms with something that looked like a pressure gauge on their chests.
Only the one carrying the long spear was dressed distinctively, seemingly the leader of the group, wearing a double-breasted black overcoat.
All were species never before seen in the Blue Sea.
These guys seemed to hail from the cosmos, and their numbers were substantial, a sprawling crowd pouring out of the ship.
They seemed very interested in the area. After a quick, unintelligible discussion, they prepared to enter the cluster of buildings before them.
In response, the small robots guarding the area immediately stepped forward and bravely engaged the invaders in battle.
Unfortunately, the people who created these small robots never intended them to be the main fighting force from the start.
Designed as household robots, these little guys lacked significant combat power and were quickly defeated by the invading monsters.
The oddly-shaped creatures didn't immediately destroy all the small robots; they seemed quite interested in them. After examining and commenting on them, they captured all the small robots.
After this, the group could finally begin their unrestricted search throughout the area.
As they searched, they continuously chattered amongst themselves.
It was clear that the architecture gave them considerable shock, especially the houses that looked like they had only been uninhabited for a few years.
Seeing these places, the strangely-shaped fellows chattered non-stop, as if they were scared.
When they moved to the abandoned factory areas, they became excited.
Led by the monster in the black overcoat, these guys excitedly began hauling the discarded machinery back to their ship.
While these monsters were busily working up a sweat, they failed to notice a golden speck of light rapidly approaching from the pitch-black starry sky above.
"Wuwuwuwu!"
Bege clung desperately to the feathers of the great, golden bird-like sculpture beneath his feet. Even a powerhouse like him was nearly flung off.
The wind rushing towards him made it difficult to speak. The air seemed to have solidified, pouring into his throat, almost piercing his digestive system and threatening to burst out his back.
But even if he could speak now, he wouldn't be heard, because the speed of this monstrous bird far surpassed sound!
How could it be so fast?
Boss! At this rate, I might die on the journey before I even get to see the enemies!
Compared to him, King was doing much better. Although he also had to clutch the feathers of the Golden God Bird to stay stable on its back, he was at least much more composed.
However, the man's expression remained serious.
Space Pirates?
Did such things truly exist?
What kind of power did pirates from the cosmos possess?
Since the Boss sent him, he absolutely could not disappoint him.
Besides the two of them, a brilliant streak of lightning followed close behind.
Three people were dispatched in total.
Both the Golden God Bird and the blue lightning were moving at speeds completely unattainable by ordinary people. Thus, they arrived on the Moon very quickly.
The scattered buildings on the gray ground below were already close.
So, the speed of the Golden God Bird abruptly decreased.
Bege finally let out a sigh of relief, looking terrified as if he had escaped death. "I thought I was a goner!"
"Yeah ha ha ha ha!"
The thunder landed on the back of the god bird, condensing into the form of Enel. His Observation Haki had spread out, taking in all the activity on the ground below.
"Quite a few of them, but, with this level of aura—"
King nodded slightly in agreement. "It seems our home isn't quite the backwater we thought."
Although his eyes couldn't see, his Observation Haki had already scanned everything below more than once.
The strength disparity was clear.
"I'll take care of it."
Enel instantly vanished in a flash of electricity. "Thirty seconds is enough."
"What an impatient fellow."
Bege straightened his messy clothes, a little speechless about Enel's impatience.
King's gaze, however, was already fixed on the strange metal ship on the ground below. "Bege, let's go get that ship first."
"Alright."
Bege sighed.
He was brought here for the purpose of moving cargo.
Enel, now transformed into lightning, landed on the roof of a house in the central area of the abandoned settlement below.
His Observation Haki instantly locked onto all the space pirates.
"Yeah ha ha ha ha! Discharge!"
He spread his arms wantonly, and streaks of lightning leaped from his body.
The brilliant blue lightning seemed to possess a life of its own, curving and spreading out, guided by Enel's Observation Haki, simultaneously shooting towards hundreds of targets.
This was also the effect of sheer willpower.
The leaping, brilliant lightning finally caught the attention of some nearby space pirates.
But it was useless. The incoming electric light instantly knocked these guys unconscious. Even those hiding inside the buildings couldn't escape the pursuit of the thunder serpents.
For a time, lightning flashed in every direction throughout the abandoned settlement.
Even the leader of the space pirates, wearing the black overcoat, didn't have time to draw the long spear from his back before he was struck by the lightning and was smoking all over.
However, Enel controlled the force perfectly; all the space pirates were merely knocked unconscious.
"Tch,"
Enel curled his lip. "A bunch of trash."
He said thirty seconds, but has it even been ten?
That's it?
That's all there is to these so-called space pirates?
If the pirates in the vast cosmos are only this strong, then the Boss's journey to conquer the stars will be much more boring than expected.
While Enel instantly annihilated the space pirates, the Golden God Bird had descended mid-air.
King grabbed Bege and leaped down, landing right next to the strange spaceship.
"It's up to you, Bege."
King said, "That ship should contain what the Boss wants."
The Calamity Company would sooner or later leave the Blue Star to campaign across the sea of stars.
And just as sailing on the sea requires sea charts and means of direction, navigating the cosmos also requires star charts and guidance.
"Leave it to me."
Bege puffed out his belly and walked forward on his short legs.
The moment he lifted his right foot and set it down again, there was a deafening roar, the ground subtly shook, and dust billowed.
His right foot had transformed into an enormous foot made of bricks, stones, and earth!
A colossal Castle Giant, nearly a hundred meters tall, stood here!
Behind him, King looked up at the behemoth before him and nodded slightly in approval.
Although Bege was primarily used as a transport ship within the Calamity Company, he had never stopped striving.
He had grown stronger, the most direct manifestation of which was that his Castle Giant was far larger than ever before!
The spaceship used by the space pirates was not small, but in the presence of the current Bege, it was just a small sailboat.
Bege directly grabbed the sides of the ship and pushed it towards his belly.
The large door on his abdomen slammed open. Then, the large ship rapidly shrunk at a staggering speed, and Bege directly stuffed the ship inside his belly.
Just then.
Crack!
Blue lightning struck the shoulder of the Castle Giant, and Enel's leisurely smiling face appeared within the lightning. "I'm done over there. A bunch of scum, truly disappointing."
"Then what are we waiting for!"
King clapped his hands. "Take everyone back! Don't keep the Boss waiting."
"Understood,"
The massive Castle Giant nodded. "What are you all staring at? Come out and move the stuff!"
Inside his belly, small robots began to rush out.
The space pirates' numbers were quite significant. If the three of them moved them one by one, it would waste some time.
They couldn't keep the Boss waiting.
With the help of these small robots, plus the small robots captured by the space pirates and then freed, in just about ten minutes, all the space pirates were stuffed into Bege's belly.
While the small robots were busy packing people, the three of them weren't idle either.
King left a massive pentagram array in one of the rooms of the settlement.
"This way, travel will be very convenient."
After the array was completed, King nodded with satisfaction. "It's done. Let's head back."
"Hehe!"
Bege suddenly gave a strange laugh. "Can we really teleport back from this far away? Even Imu said he wasn't entirely sure!"
"We won't know unless we try."
King said this while taking a deep breath, then held his breath, seeming to sense something.
Then.
"I feel it!"
King suddenly raised his eyebrows. "Let's go!"
A cloud of smoke abruptly rose.
The next moment, he had vanished without a trace.
"It actually worked!"
Bege exclaimed in surprise. "This is too convenient!"
In that case, couldn't they just have Enel, that bastard, come over first, leave the array, and then call them over?
But this was merely a thought to himself.
Even if Bege had ten thousand times the courage, he would never dare to question the Great Boss.
In any case, it was time to go back.
Bang! Bang!
Two more plumes of smoke rose out of thin air, and Bege and Enel also vanished from the lonely planet.
At the same moment, on the top deck of the Calamity City, high in the skies over a New World location on the Blue Star.
A bolt of black lightning shot up from the huge pentagram array painted there.
"Wow,"
Amidst the thick black smoke that rose with the black lightning, Bege's voice, full of amazement, rang out. "We actually came straight back!"
A second ago, they were still on the Moon!
Imu, what a terrifying guy!
However, the more terrifying Imu was, the more it proved that the Boss, who easily defeated him, was the most terrifying existence.
Now Imu had become the Boss's puppet, and his immense power could only be used by the Boss.
"Let's go, time to see the Boss!"
King said.
Soon, Roa received the three of them in his palace.
Also present were numerous monsters who had arrived upon hearing the news.
After all—
"Hey, did you really catch them? Pirates from space?"
Even Kaido was a bit anxious.
"Jie ha ha ha ha!"
Golden Lion Shiki was equally expectant. "What are you waiting for! Bring them out!"
Who wouldn't be excited? They were aliens!
Bege didn't respond immediately, only respectfully looked up at Roa, who was sitting high on the throne, with Robin draped over his left arm and Hancock over his right, looking utterly decadent.
"What are you waiting for?"
Roa said with a smile.
He was also very much looking forward to this.
There was nothing left on this planet that was worth his anticipation other than Luffy.
The future campaign lay in the sea of stars.
"Yes, Boss!"
Bege no longer hesitated, opened the door on his belly, and released the group of strangely-shaped space pirates all at once.
If Roa's palace wasn't wide enough, these several hundred space pirates would have completely filled the room.
"Hmm? These guys are the space people?"
Katakuri examined the bizarre creatures with interest. "They look strange."
"This planet we inhabit is so narrow, yet it has already bred so many races,"
Roa said with a smile, "In the vast and boundless cosmos, there are naturally even more drastically different races!"
Saying this, he looked with interest at Charlotte Linlin, who was equally astonished. "Aunt Linlin, what do you think? Want to try breeding a few space people?"
"Mama mama! What a good idea!"
Charlotte Linlin didn't find this shameful at all.
For her, this was purely a matter of collecting.
Do they truly exist?
Space Pirates?
Robin was slightly stunned.
A joy she couldn't suppress immediately rose in her heart.
In that case, Roa would eventually leave this world!
"What are you waiting for?"
Kaido urged. "Wake one up and ask! What is the cosmos really like!"
Roa gestured to King with his eyes.
King bowed respectfully, then stepped forward and stomped on the foot of the space pirate leader wearing the long trench coat.
With an audible snap of bone, the space pirate's slender leg was instantly broken by King's stomp.
"Ah!!"
The unconscious space pirate immediately snapped back to consciousness.
He let out a sharp, piercing scream.
While screaming, he also noticed his current predicament.
He reached back in terror, pulling out the long spear, and spoke in an unintelligible language.
"It seems we can't communicate."
Roa tilted his head. "Redfield, could I trouble you?"
"I was curious too."
A phantom-like figure appeared in front of the pirate, grabbing his neck.
Redfield raised the corner of his mouth.
Mind Reading, initiated!