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With the help of the faint moonlight, Red walked to the stern of the small sailboat.
The sea, illuminated by the moon, shimmered with layers of pale yellow waves.
Looking down at the water below, a blue light flickered in his red eyes.
He muttered softly to the sea beneath him:
"Surf."
Woosh—
An invisible energy flowed from Red's body and spread into the nearby seawater.
Instantly, the affected water seemed to come alive, surging upward in a wild but controlled motion.
In the blink of an eye, a massive wave formed before him.
Unlike last time, however, the wave didn't crash down uncontrollably. Under his command, it held its form, suspended in place.
Red focused on maintaining the wave as he murmured to himself:
"Controlling nearby water with Surf uses much less energy."
"A wave this size only takes a fraction of the energy it did before!"
"And the control is much better too!"
His blue eyes gleamed again as he increased the energy output.
The water responded immediately, gathering and rising higher.
Within half a minute, a towering wave—over ten meters high—loomed behind the Straw Hats' ship, following it at a safe distance.
Any experienced navigator who saw this sight would be left speechless.
"Just as I thought!"
"If I manipulate existing water sources, Surf stops being a one-time attack and becomes a continuous water-control skill!"
"The downside is that I have to maintain the wave pattern rather than having full control over the water itself."
"And without pouring in large amounts of energy, the impact of the wave weakens—it relies mostly on the natural force of the water."
"But... this is still really strong, right?!"
His red eyes flickered with excitement.
At that moment, he imagined the expressions of the enemies who would try to chase the Straw Hats at sea—only to be stopped by the overwhelming force of the ocean itself.
And as he grew stronger, gaining more power throughout his journey, his abilities would only continue to evolve.
Someday, perhaps, he could raise waves as high as ten thousand feet with a single motion—just like Whitebeard!
And he wasn't done yet!
With a flick of his wrist, the massive wave split into two. Then, again and again, until only small waves—each about half the height of the ship—remained.
Under Red's precise control, these waves gathered around the ship, pushing it forward.
In an instant, the ship's speed more than doubled.
Feeling the sudden rush of wind against him, a single thought crossed his mind:
Crap.
I've turned myself into a living motor.
The next morning.
As the first rays of sunlight lit the horizon, the Straw Hat crew woke up one by one.
Stepping out onto the deck, they were surprised to find Red sitting near the stern, meditating with his eyes closed.
Luffy, ever curious, immediately walked over.
"Eh? Red, why are you sitting here!?"
Having spent the most time with Red on the ship, Luffy knew that while he wasn't one to sleep in, he definitely wasn't a morning person either.
Especially after the long adventure they had in the game world the night before.
Hearing Luffy's voice, Red slowly opened his eyes, as if just waking up from a trance.
"Ha~ It's you, Luffy," he greeted with a lazy smile, stretching as he stood up.
Looking up at the brightening sky, he let out a yawn.
"Morning already? That night went by fast."
At that moment, Zoro and Nami, curious about the conversation, walked over.
"So…" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow, "what exactly were you doing all night?"
"Ah, this..." Red smiled softly, leaned against the railing, and stretched out his hand, pointing downward.
"You'll understand if you look here!"
"Huh!?"
Luffy and the others blinked, then followed Red's gesture and looked down.
The next second, their eyes widened in surprise.
At the point where the ship's hull met the sea, a mass of lively, almost sentient waves churned furiously, pushing the ship forward—just like a tireless worker.
Nami paused for a moment, realization dawning on her.
"I knew something felt off about the wind speed this morning..."
"Is this one of Red's new abilities?!"
By now, the crew was used to Red occasionally pulling off incredible feats.
So while they were a little surprised, their main reaction was curiosity.
"That's right." Red admitted with a grin, raising a hand to demonstrate the power of the sea.
Swoosh—
A flash of blue light flickered in his eyes, and suddenly, the once-stable ship trembled.
The next moment, Luffy and the others gasped as the ship was lifted high by a massive wave.
Now, they were quite literally surfing across the ocean.
Seeing their mouths form perfect "O" shapes, Red smirked and introduced his new ability:
"This is my new technique—[Surf]!"
"With this at our disposal, in future naval battles..."
"We'll be unstoppable!!!"
The corners of his mouth curled up confidently, radiating an indescribable charm.
"That's so cool, Red!"
Luffy exclaimed excitedly, his face lighting up.
Now more than ever, he was grateful to have Red as part of the crew.
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Red accepted the praise without hesitation, then waved his hand, returning the waves to their previous state.
He had only demonstrated this ability so his crewmates would understand it—avoiding confusion or unnecessary trouble in the future.
As for the waves still pushing the ship forward...
Though Red didn't exactly enjoy being a tool, he had discovered that his recovery ability was strong enough to offset most of the energy consumption from maintaining Surf.
So, for the sake of faster travel, he had no choice but to "sacrifice" himself.
"Oh, by the way, Nami..."
Red suddenly asked,
"Can you check where we are now? How long until we reach Syrup Village?"
"Let me see..."
Nami pulled out a sea chart from the seemingly infinite storage of her chest and took out a device Red didn't recognize, studying their position.
It didn't take long before she reached a conclusion.
"If we keep up this speed, we'll arrive at Syrup Village around three this afternoon!"
"Really? Seems like my all-nighter wasn't in vain, then."
Red chuckled, then turned to Luffy and Zoro.
"Alright, a new day has begun!"
"Luffy, your Armament Haki training is finally paying off."
"For today, your goal is to keep practicing until you can properly use it in a real fight."
"Zoro, just keep training at your own pace."
"Once Luffy's Armament Haki is solid, he can help guide you... though, honestly, I wouldn't put too much faith in his teaching abilities."
"At the end of the day, you'll have to rely on your own effort."
"Also, your swordsmanship training—"
Before Red could finish, a newspaper gull wearing a beret landed on the railing, letting out a loud cry.
"Huh? Today's newspaper?" Red pointed at the gull. "Nami, you handle the payment."
Money wasn't really his thing.
Since Nami had officially joined the Straw Hats, he had long handed over all financial matters to her.
"Got it~"
Nami answered casually, pulling out some Berries to pay for the newspaper.
But before she could even unfold it, a crisp thud sounded.
A brand-new bounty poster slipped out from between the pages.
The photo on it?
Luffy, grinning widely at the camera.
"Eh!?"
For a moment, everyone froze.
Red reacted first, stepping forward to pick up the bounty poster. Then, he burst into laughter.
"Luffy, you actually got a bounty!?"
"Now your name will be known across the world!"
"Really!? Really!?"
Luffy excitedly jumped over, eyes wide as he stared at the poster in Red's hands.
Big, bold letters were printed on the paper:
[Straw Hat] Monkey D. Luffy
Wanted for heinous crimes, dead or alive!
Bounty: 50,000,000 Berries!!