The massive fleet of snails moved forward.
Standing by the window, Vinsmoke Judge watched as the fleet steadily climbed upward, a faint smile curling on his lips.
The Navy's blockade of the New World had been a huge help to him — it allowed him to secretly transport essential supplies to Knock.
Over the past year, he had gained substantial support and covertly taken control of several affiliated nations, all without anyone's knowledge.
He just hadn't made things public yet. After all, he still needed more land...
For more than twenty years, the Vinsmoke family had struggled without the slightest progress in their revival. Yet in less than a year of cooperating with Knock, they had secretly seized control of several nations, right under the government's nose.
Judge grew increasingly convinced that his alliance with a Yonko had been an absolutely correct decision.
Reiju leaned against the doorway behind him, her expression blank as she watched her father envisioning his glorious future. Yet, she couldn't muster even a hint of excitement.
With emotions and thoughts of a normal human being, Reiju couldn't shake the feeling that allying with pirates was a terrible idea.
The Navy was at its peak right now; it was only a matter of time before the pirates were wiped out. When that happened...
Bzzzt—Bzzzt—Bzzzt——
A piercing alarm suddenly blared, throwing the entire fleet into high alert.
Every soldier instantly moved into combat readiness.
"Who's there?!"
But it was all in vain...
Beside the enormous climbing snails, dense vines burst forth. Some pierced straight through the giant snail bodies, while others shot into the ship cabins, branching out endlessly and impaling the soldiers through their chests.
Yet there was one thing all these attacks had in common — every living being pierced by the vines shriveled up rapidly, drained of all moisture and energy...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions echoed throughout the fleet.
Within seconds, the only things remaining were the dried corpses nailed to the surface of the Red Line and countless vines whipping through the air.
Only a few members of the Vinsmoke royal family, equipped with their advanced technology, managed to escape skyward.
Hovering in the air, Judge broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes wide with terror.
"Ah—ah—!"
He opened his mouth, but could only make fragmented sounds, unable to form complete words.
Reiju's heart trembled at the horrifying sight. The other three brothers, however, looked on with curious amusement — stripped of emotions since childhood, they didn't even know the meaning of fear...
After draining every last bit of life below, the countless vines paused for a moment — then suddenly stretched upward, lunging toward the floating royals.
They tried to resist — unleashing fire, electricity, poison, and other powers toward the oncoming vines. Their attacks looked powerful... but they were useless.
They didn't even have the chance to flee. The vines coiled around them, piercing their bodies and draining them dry.
Then, a mocking voice echoed from above.
"Struggle all you want, pitiful little things."
Aramaki descended slowly from the sky, a cruel smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Die in your hopeless struggle, traitors."
"Oh my~"
"And there's even a lovely lady among you~"
"What a shame!"
"Sakazuki-sama's orders were clear — everyone except the main culprit is to be eliminated~"
Though he said it was a shame, his actions were merciless — he poured even more power into his vines.
In an instant, every one of Judge's children except the main culprit was drained of all their blood and energy.
The vines quivered, and their withered bodies shattered like brittle glass, scattering into fragments...
With a flick of Aramaki's hand, the vines hurled the corpses toward the Red Line.
BOOM!
They slammed into the solid ground, breaking apart into pieces before tumbling into the endless sea.
Aramaki slowly floated down before Judge, studying the terrified man, who was sobbing and sniveling uncontrollably.
"Honestly..."
"How does someone as spineless as you dare defy the World Government?"
"You've wasted my precious time meeting my idol!!!"
His expression twisted as he absorbed some of Judge's life force.
Feeling his vitality drain away, Judge shivered violently, stammering,
"Don't kill me... don't kill me... please don't..."
Looking at such a pathetic creature, Aramaki lost all interest. A vine extended from his fingertip, spearing through Judge's body and suspending him in the air as he drifted toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Unbelievable... trash like this cost me several months of delay..."
The main reason was that the Red Line was simply too long — it circled the entire world. Even with bits of intelligence, he didn't know the exact routes, so he'd had to search aimlessly...
After Aramaki left, the countless vines that had pierced through the massive fleet and clone soldiers gradually withered, losing all power.
The dried corpses nailed to the Red Line... fell one by one into the sea...
...
The New World, New Marineford.
The imposing fortress basked in the light of the setting sun, radiating an unusual calm.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
As the final signature slid across the document, Karol let out a long sigh.
"Phew—"
"Finally done."
He rose, stretched lazily, and rolled his shoulders.
Massaging his neck with one hand, he walked out of the office and leaned against the parapet, admiring the view for a while.
Then, as if sensing something, the entire island seemed to grow noticeably hotter.
Tap, tap—
The sound of leather shoes echoed on the stone floor.
A surge of magma suddenly appeared at the edge of the wall, condensing into a human form.
Sakazuki's voice followed.
"Good work."
Karol smiled, glancing to his side.
"So you've finally returned, Fleet Admiral-sama."
"A moment later and I might not have held out any longer."
It had been months since Sakazuki began reorganizing the planetary magma veins. Because he had to travel deep through the Earth's molten core, he couldn't bring any Den Den Mushi with him — so they'd had to wait.
He'd barely managed to stall Aramaki all this time. Though he'd fed him some false information, it couldn't be too obvious — and still, it only delayed things by a few months before Aramaki found the Vinsmoke family.
Thankfully, not long ago, Issho had been dispatched to Fish-Man Island. Aramaki was currently heading there to rendezvous...
Sakazuki chuckled softly.
"Believe in yourself — you did well."
Karol rubbed his forehead with a helpless sigh.
"You really aren't afraid of chaos, are you?"
Sakazuki only smiled in response. The slight upward curve of his lips said enough — he was in a good mood.
Karol raised a brow.
"Judging by your expression, I'd say the magma vein restructuring went smoothly."
"You seem rather pleased."
Sakazuki gave a low laugh, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"Just imagine those foolish pirates..."
"Trying to destroy those two islands, flipping the table — only to realize the button is still in our hands."
"Their faces..."
He turned his gaze toward the sea and said quietly,
"Will be absolutely priceless..."
Watching Sakazuki's smile, Karol couldn't help but laugh softly himself.
"How wicked of you."
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki..."
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total