Joy Boy had recruited the two most powerful nations in the world at that time.
The Moon People's Kingdom of God went without saying, but the other country—Alabasta.
If Ren Kurogane remembered correctly, wasn't Alabasta one of the founding Twenty Kings? Why had they been recruited by Joy Boy back then?
And if they were allies, why did they later join the crusade against Joy Boy, only to "betray" the alliance at the critical moment to help him?
This Alabasta is a bit too strange... Ren complained inwardly.
Robin continued her narration: "As for the specifics of what happened within that nation, Joy Boy didn't leave a detailed record. He only stated that their country was very successful, but he underestimated human desire, which led to the final catastrophe."
"The Twenty Kings united for various reasons, labeling Joy Boy as a 'Great Pirate' who sought to destroy the world. Through a sneak attack, they defeated Joy Boy and razed his kingdom."
At this point, Vegapunk jumped out, looking frantic. "What about the technology? Was none of that nation's technology left behind?"
Robin shook her head. "No. There was only this information and a final message from Joy Boy."
"What message?" Everyone looked at Robin, their eyes filled with curiosity.
"Er..." Robin hesitated, then smiled. "He left a smiley face and wrote a huge string of 'D's' next to it."
"Huh?"
Watching the stunned crowd, Luffy was the first to burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I figured you'd make faces like that!"
After regaining his composure, Ren asked, "What about the One Piece? What did Joy Boy actually leave behind?"
"That thing? It's a collection method for 'Scientific Faith Energy,'" Franky interjected with a sigh. "Man, I feel like that stuff isn't even as good as my cola power!"
"Faith, huh?" Ren lost interest instantly. He guessed Joy Boy had used Moon technology to technologize the power of faith, intending to mass-produce "gods."
"Well, that's all we know. To be honest, I have zero interest in the Three Ancient Weapons or Joy Boy's kingdom plan," Luffy said. "The country I want to create isn't some place where everyone is forced together. That's too much trouble!"
"I just want everyone to be able to sail freely."
Luffy wasn't as grandly idealistic as Joy Boy. He just didn't want the Red Line blocking the path; he wanted the Grand Line to be less of a nightmare to navigate; he wanted the four seas to be connected so that anyone could set out to sea whenever they wished.
However, in Ren's view, Luffy's idea was actually more radical.
If Joy Boy wanted to centralize everyone for development, Luffy was pushing the world's history a massive step forward toward decentralization. What stopped the world's progress wasn't just the Navy or the World Government—it was the Red Line and the Grand Line. These two physical barriers perfectly divided the planet into four isolated pockets. Civilians knew the other seas existed, but no one knew what was happening over there.
Even nobles were merely "earth emperors" of their small ponds. Once they left their home islands, they had no idea how they might die—be it by pirates, extreme weather, or being swallowed by a Sea King. The azure ocean was filled with the threat of death.
Luffy wanted to remove those threats, allowing anyone to sail at will, ushering in a true "Great Age of Discovery." There would be chaos initially, but after that, global civilization would advance at lightspeed.
But as the saying goes: The children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Future problems were for future people; it wasn't Ren's concern.
"So, what do you plan to do next?" Ren asked. "The Red Line isn't exactly easy to destroy."
Luffy grinned. "There's always a way! Shishishi!"
While the pirates were celebrating, the Revolutionary Army and the Navy were tensely awaiting news. If Luffy truly led a horde of pirates to attack the World Government, the entire world would descend into total war. Neither the Revolutionaries, the Navy, nor even Red-Haired Shanks wanted to see that scenario.
Fortunately, Luffy had no intention of becoming the "Overlord of Pirates," which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief and return to their own agendas.
On Ren's ship, Hina sighed with emotion. "I thought the world would go wild because Luffy became the King, but it's actually calmed down."
"It's just the calm before the storm," Ren remarked. "If it doesn't explode now, it will in a few years. But that has nothing to do with us. Bepo! Go pressure Vegapunk. Tell him to hurry up with the spaceship. In three years, I'm heading for the sea of stars!"
Bepo left to carry out the order and soon arrived at Vegapunk's laboratory. However, the scene inside shocked him.
In a sterile white room stood several large vats filled with green liquid. Soaking inside the vats were several white-haired figures.
Sensing someone behind him, Vegapunk grumbled, "Stop nagging! You can't just 'build' a spaceship overnight. Our exploration of the universe is far too limited. Is there oxygen? What's the temperature? These are things I have to calculate!"
Though Vegapunk's attitude was poor, Ren was very patient lately. Even being brushed off didn't make him angry. He simply walked over to Vegapunk's massive head and began poking, poking, and poking it, which quickly elicited painful wails from the old scientist.
After that day, Old Veg finally realized who the boss was and obediently began working on the ship. In his spare time, however, he continued his own research, occasionally cloning an Ancient Zoan fruit or two.
During this period, Ren didn't stay in the New World. With his current strength, he could cross the Calm Belt at will and planned to tour the other seas.
The "Good Brothers" Space.
"I thought it would be a world war, but everyone is surprisingly patient!" Ninja Ren sighed.
"Well, the canon events didn't happen. The Seraphim are still lying in Vegapunk's lab. Since neither side's combat power has reached its peak, they won't choose to start the final battle now."
Scientific Ren smiled. "If things continue this way, maybe it really will transition to a new era through moderate means, just like Shanks hoped."
"Speaking of a new era, I'm getting ready on my end too!" Hollow Ren noted. "Thanks to the efforts of the great scientist Szayelaporro, Las Noches is officially connected to the internet! Now I spend my days scrolling through short videos from the Living World!"
"Oh? That sounds sweet!" Ninja Ren was envious. Konoha didn't even have many TVs, and even if they turned one on, there were barely any channels. Since film technology was still in the celluloid era, watching a movie meant going to a theater or waiting for a professional with a hand-cranked projector. It was very backward.
The Scientist Ren felt nothing; after all, he was the boss of a short-video company back on Earth. Though, during his days on Earth... he didn't actually watch them much! He was either cultivating or researching; he had no time for entertainment. Thinking back, Scientist Ren felt his current life was finally getting interesting!
Super Beast Ren wasn't present. For this cycle, he stayed in the Seventh Parallel Universe. He spent his days traveling and occasionally having afternoon tea with Snow Queen, seemingly intent on "conquering" this super-powerful beauty.
To this, the brothers could only wish him success.
One relevant follow-up question: Since Las Noches now has internet, should Hollow Ren start a "Live Stream from Hueco Mundo" to troll the Soul Society, or should Ninja Ren focus on introducing "modern entertainment" to Konoha to distract the villagers from the White Fang incident?