North Blue - Unnamed Sea Area
The clouds in the sky churned, and hundreds of warships descended, arriving in this remote stretch of sea.
For the Flying Pirates, tracking down the Vinsmoke Family was a simple matter. The Vinsmoke's territory was a "ship island," a collection of various vessels cobbled together. For others, this constantly moving territory was extremely difficult to find, which was precisely the Vinsmoke Family's method of survival.
But this posed no challenge to the Flying Pirates. The Golden Lion only needed to circle the North Blue with his floating island. No matter how well the Vinsmoke Family hid, they could not escape his eyes. To find the family of assassins as quickly as possible, Shiki deployed all his subordinates, having them spread out and conduct a massive search throughout the North Blue.
With the strength of the Flying Pirates, their arrival in the North Blue was like a higher-dimensional being crushing a lower one. The Golden Lion had once been an absolute emperor who dominated the New World. Even after being dormant for so many years, destroying the North Blue would still be an easy task. If the Marines and the World Government didn't intervene, all the small countries of the North Blue combined wouldn't be enough for him to conquer.
In terms of destructive power, there were very few Devil Fruits in this world that could compare to the Float-Float Fruit. He could simply lift an island and drop it from tens of thousands of meters in the air. How many countries could claim to withstand such an attack? Even Marine Headquarters was nearly destroyed by it back in the day. It was only because the Golden Lion's personality was too arrogant, disdaining such underhanded tactics. If it had been Blackbeard with this power, the Five Elders would probably lose sleep over it.
The Flying Pirates' blatant, large-scale operation quickly attracted everyone's attention. All the powers in the North Blue, including the Vinsmoke Family, grew tense at the Golden Lion's descent from the sky. Marine Headquarters immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to the sudden appearance of the Flying Pirates. The World Government also dispatched a large number of personnel to investigate the reason for Shiki's sudden arrival in the North Blue.
A single appearance had thrown the entire world into turmoil. The Golden Lion's reputation on the high seas was truly fearsome.
In reality, Bellamy could have tried to purchase the location of the Vinsmoke Family's territory through various channels without causing such a huge commotion. But there was no need. The Golden Lion was far more invested in his own legs than Bellamy was. This was not something Bellamy should have to do. He also didn't want to expose himself too much. The more he did, the easier it would be for others to guess his true motives. His ambitions were simply too vast. If they were revealed prematurely, everyone would likely come out to stop him. Even a veteran pirate like the Golden Lion would probably turn on him on the spot if he knew his ultimate goal.
While the Golden Lion had his own information channels, he clearly trusted his own eyes more.
Five days later, the Flying Pirates had searched every single island in the North Blue, large and small. In the end, only a few very remote sea areas remained unsearched. Through a process of elimination, they had basically determined the Vinsmoke Family's current hiding place. The North Blue was only so big. With this kind of carpet-search method, they were bound to find them eventually, unless the Vinsmoke's ship island could sail faster than the Golden Lion's floating island, which was impossible.
At full speed, the Golden Lion could drag his floating island across the entire North Blue in half a month. Unless the Vinsmoke Family could submerge their territory, it was only a matter of time before they were exposed.
And so it was. In just five days, with the coordination of hundreds of warships and a floating island, they found traces of the Vinsmoke Family.
It was only when the Golden Lion's floating island and his Flying Pirates arrived in a remote sea area that the Vinsmoke Family realized he had come for them.
Vinsmoke Judge stood at the highest point of the ship island, watching the massive floating island slowly approach with a worried expression.
"This does not bode well!"
For the Golden Lion to go to such great lengths to find them, he certainly wasn't here for a friendly visit. If they didn't handle this well today, the Vinsmoke Family might face annihilation.
"Yonji, go and prepare the submarines. We need to be ready to evacuate at any moment."
Judge knew very well that a monster like the Golden Lion was not someone they could fight. If Shiki was determined to get something from them, the Vinsmoke Family would find it impossible to move a single inch in this world. Such was the absolute power of the legendary pirate. The Germa 66 army could only flex its muscles in a place like the Four Blues; in the Grand Line, they were nothing.
"Father, what about the laboratory?"
The most important core asset of the Vinsmoke Family was the Lineage Factor laboratory on the ship island. As long as the lab was safe, the Vinsmoke Family could rise again at any time.
"Seal the lab for now. If the situation looks bad, blow it up immediately!"
Judge was a ruthless man. He knew that in front of the Golden Lion, he had no room to bargain. But if things went south, he would rather destroy his life's work with his own hands than let the Golden Lion have it.
"All of you, stand down. I will meet with the Golden Lion myself."
In truth, Judge didn't want to go. A man like him always put his own interests first. If he could, he would naturally want someone else in the family to handle a potentially fatal situation like this. But he had no choice. As the head of the Vinsmoke Family, if he dared not show his face at a time like this, the Golden Lion would probably fly into a rage on the spot. Vinsmoke Judge had personally lived through the Golden Lion's era and had a very direct understanding of his brutality. If it weren't for his laboratory, he would have fled at the first opportunity.
"Golden Lion, why have you come?!"
Judge would soon get his answer.
When the floating island arrived directly above the Vinsmoke's ship island, the Golden Lion leaped from the sky, landing directly in front of Judge.
"You are Vinsmoke Judge?"
Faced with the legendary pirate's direct question, Judge felt an intense sense of suffocation.
"Sir Golden Lion, I am Vinsmoke Judge."
Although he had many things he wanted to say, under the Golden Lion's gaze, Judge felt as if he had been struck dumb, unable to utter a single word.
"Good enough."
"Take me to your laboratory."
Hearing this, Judge's heart sank. He immediately knew this was bad. The Golden Lion's purpose for this trip was his laboratory.