After the reorganization was completed, Roy convened a plenary meeting.
The conference room was packed with people: core members, official members, team leaders, and even representatives from peripheral forces.
Roy stood in the main seat and looked around.
"From today onwards, the rules of Hachinosu are officially announced."
The entire room fell silent.
"First, the indiscriminate killing of innocent people is forbidden. The people of Hachinosu are not bandits. Taking territory is acceptable, killing enemies is acceptable, but harming civilians is not."
"Second, attacks on the civilians of Hachinosu are prohibited. No one can touch anyone on the island, whether they are residents or merchants, unless they have committed a crime."
"Third, internal strife and private feuds are prohibited. Any grudges should be reported and resolved. Anyone who resorts to violence in private, regardless of right or wrong, will be punished."
"Fourth, betrayal is forbidden. Once you join Hachinosu, you become a member of Hachinosu. Anyone who betrays you will be executed without mercy."
Four rules, simple and straightforward.
"Anyone who breaks the rules will be executed without exception."
The entire room fell silent. No one objected—nor dared to.
After this round of digestion, Hachinosu is now...
They controlled more than fifty islands in total, with a total military force exceeding 20,000 and more than 100 warships.
This strength, in the New World, has already subtly surpassed that of the other four Sea Emperors.
Roy looked at the statistical report, a smile playing on his lips.
"That's about it."
He put down the report and looked out the window at the sea.
Next, it's time to go see the moon.
The Ark Maxim are moored in the harbor, their golden hull gleaming in the sunlight.
Master Tom stood at the bow of the ship, with several apprentices, making final adjustments.
For the past six months, Roy has been discussing plans to modify the Ark Maxim with Tom and the scientists at the research base.
To stay in space for extended periods, several issues need to be addressed: air supply, propulsion, and protection.
Regarding the air, the research base has designed a circulation system that can convert exhaled carbon dioxide into oxygen. Combined with a large amount of stored compressed air, it can theoretically sustain itself in space for a month.
In terms of power, Ark Maxim was already capable of flying, but Roy still had Tom install several spare thrusters just in case.
In terms of protection, Roy's Telekinesis Field can isolate the vacuum and radiation of space, but for safety, an energy shield was added to the Ark Maxim.
"Hahaha! What a great captain, he's got it all sorted out."
Tom wiped his sweat and said with a smile,
"This ship can now easily fly to the sun, let alone the moon."
Roy glanced at him. "Forget about the sun, I want to live a few more years."
Tom burst into laughter.
Roy turned and looked at the busy people on the harbor.
Bullet is yelling at people in the training ground, Hawk Eyes is teaching Kazami swordsmanship, the Red Count is drinking tea in the garden, and Tesoro is handling business...
Everything was peaceful.
But Roy knew this calm wouldn't last long. The matter of Pure Gold, expansion, the World Government —a whole host of troubles awaited.
But before those troubles arrive, he needs to go to the moon first.
"Notify everyone that there will be a meeting tomorrow."
The next day, in the conference room.
All core members were present.
Roy distributed the lunar data compiled by Olvia to everyone, one copy for each person.
As everyone flipped through the documents, their expressions shifted from confusion to surprise, and then to shock.
"Moon?"
Tesoro's eyes widened.
"Boss, you mean... going to the moon?"
Roy nodded.
"The ancestors of the Skypieans came from the moon, where ancient technological legacies may still be preserved."
If we can find those things, Hachinosu's strength will increase significantly.
The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into chaos.
"To the moon! I'll go!" Yamato the first to jump up.
"I'll go too!" Pea raised her hand.
"Boss, please take me with you!" Tesoro's eyes lit up.
Enel was so excited that his whole body was crackling with electricity:
"The moon! That's the moon! Could it have even more powerful lightning abilities?!"
Savi, Charon, Lafitte, Van Augur, Jesus Burgess... almost everyone was clamoring to go.
Even the usually composed Hawk Eyes and Red Count showed a hint of interest in their eyes.
Roy looked at the excited group of guys and shook his head helplessly.
"Everyone's going? Who's going to manage Hachinosu then?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
Roy thought for a moment, picked up the Den Den Mushi, and dialed a number.
Blub Blub... Blub Blub...
"Hello?" came Kaido's gruff voice from the other end.
" Kaido, I need to talk to you about something."
"Explain."
"I need to go out for a while, it might be quite a while. Could you keep an eye on Hachinosu for me?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Where to go?
"Moon."
Kaido was silent for three seconds, then burst into maniacal laughter. "Hehehehe!!! Roy! You said you're going to the moon?! Are you crazy?!"
"Just tell me, are you going to help or not?"
Kaido, having finished laughing, snorted, "Help! Of course I'll help! I was just thinking of going to your place for a few drinks. But Roy, you owe me a favor."
Okay. I owe you a favor.
"But remember to bring Jin; you might need him on this trip!"
Kaido pondered for a moment,
"Make a deal!"
The call ended.
Roy put away his Den Den Mushi and looked at everyone. "Leave Hachinosu to Kaido. The rest of you—"
He looked around.
"Go to everything you want to go."
The cheers nearly lifted the roof off.
Three days later, everything was ready.
The Ark Maxim is docked at the port, all equipment has been tested and debugged, and supplies have been loaded into the hold.
The air circulation system, backup thrusters, and energy shield were all checked three times and confirmed to be in good working order.
At the port, almost everyone from Hachinosu had arrived.
The newly recruited soldiers looked up at the golden spaceship, their eyes wide with amazement.
The most outrageous thing they'd ever seen in their lives was Devil Fruit, and now they were supposed to watch their captain fly to the moon?
Stella stood at the front, her eyes reddening again. But she held back her tears, simply gripping Scarlet's hand tightly.
Scarlet held Rebecca, who was already two years old, and the little girl pointed at the Ark Maxim and babbled, "Ship! Big ship!"
Ginny floated in mid-air, the ghosts around her drifting around. She pouted and muttered, "I want to go too..."
Vera patted her on the shoulder. "Next time."
Kalifa pushed up her glasses, her face expressionless, but her hand holding the pen trembled slightly.
Roy stood at the bow of the Ark of Ark Maxim, looking down at the people below.
" Hachinosu is now in your hands."
Stella nodded vigorously. "Don't worry."
Roy smiled, turned and went into the cabin.
The Ark Maxim slowly rose into the air, its golden hull breaking through the clouds and flying towards the sky.
The people below looked up, watching the ship grow smaller and smaller, farther and farther away, until it became a tiny golden dot and disappeared into the depths of the blue sky.
At the port, Kaido, carrying his spiked club, looked in the direction where the Ark Maxim had disappeared and snorted.
"The moon... that kid, he's a real troublemaker."
He turned and strode toward the palace.
"Bring me some wine! I'm going to drink my fill at Roy's place!"
The Ark Maxim soared through the clouds, higher and higher.
The sea, islands, and ships on the ground grew smaller and smaller until they finally became a blurry blue expanse.
Roy stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the increasingly dark sky above.
Behind him Bullet, Hawk Eyes, Red Count, Tesoro, Jhin, Crocodile, Yamato, Savi, Pea, Enel, Cyrus, Kyros, Moria, Lucci's Squad, Lafitte, Van Augur, Jesus Burgess, and a dozen or so scientists from the research base... Everyone stood on the deck, looking up at the sight they had never seen before.
"Boss," Tesoro leaned closer, his voice trembling slightly, "Are we really going to the moon?"
Roy chuckled, "Scared?"
Tesoro shook his head. "I'm not afraid, it's just... it feels a bit unreal."
Roy didn't speak, but just stared at the increasingly deep sky above him.
The sky changed from blue to dark blue, from dark blue to purple, and from purple to black.
The stars appeared.
At first there were a few, then dozens, then hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands—densely packed, covering the entire sky.
On the deck, everyone was stunned.
"So beautiful..." Yamato murmured.
The Pea's eyes shone like stars. "This is space..."
Enel was electrified and too excited to speak.
Hawk Eyes raised his head, gazing at the starry sky, a glint of light he had never seen before flashing in his eyes.
The Red Count put down his cane, looked up at the starry sky, and a childlike smile appeared on his aged face.
Roy stood at the bow of the ship and took a deep breath.
"Set off."
The Ark Maxim transformed into a golden light and flew towards the moon.