Germa 66.
It was a name known throughout the world.
Most people recognized it because of a serialized comic once published by the 'World Economy Newspaper' called 'Sea Warrior Sora'. In that story, Germa 66 was the infamous evil organization, boasting countless fans across the globe.
But only the true villains of this world, and those who dwelled in the Underworld, knew the truth: Germa 66 wasn't just a fictional concept. It really existed.
Also known as the 'War House', it was an "Army of Evil" that dominated the Underworld through overwhelming military power and technology far beyond the reach of normal civilization. At its heart was one of the World Government's affiliated nations, the Germa Kingdom, one of the world's most unusual countries.
---
'Splash! Splash! Splash!'
Waves crashed against the hulls of dozens of enormous ships sailing across the sea.
Yet these weren't ordinary vessels. Beneath each deck wasn't a wooden hull, but a gigantic, heavily modified snail. There were no sails; instead, every vessel carried an enormous castle-like city.
Hidden all around those castles were advanced technological devices. Weapon batteries emerged from beneath stone walls while tiny flying reconnaissance drones zipped through the air overhead. Meanwhile, emotionless soldiers dressed in white combat suits and helmets patrolled without pause.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, like copies of the exact same person, because they were. Every single one of them was a clone.
This was the Germa Kingdom.
Although officially recognized as a World Government member nation in the North Blue, the Germa Kingdom was actually a floating nation composed of dozens of massive warships. It possessed no permanent land mass, wandering the seas with the ability to cross even the Calm Belt.
It had almost no true civilian population. Aside from the royal family, nearly everyone living there was a cloned soldier. Whenever necessary, the connected ships separated into multiple fleets. It was said that even a single Germa fleet possessed enough firepower to wipe an entire nation off the map.
Once a campaign ended, the fleets would reconnect, reforming the kingdom itself.
In other words, the Germa Kingdom was nothing less than a floating fortress built entirely for war.
---
At the very center of the kingdom, inside its largest castle...
'BOOM!!'
Within an enormous high-tech training arena, wave after wave of cloned soldiers leaped down from the ceiling.
'BZZT!'
Some carried laser weapons, firing relentlessly from long range, while others wielded swords crackling with electricity or blazing with flames as they rushed into melee combat.
To ordinary people, every single one of these soldiers would be considered elite. Their combat skills were impeccable, their genetically engineered bodies each specialized in different physical traits, and combined with their advanced weapons, a single squad could easily annihilate an entire conventional army.
Yet here, they were nothing more than expendable training dummies being systematically slaughtered.
Vinsmoke Yonji, clad in his green combat suit and sporting spiky green hair, threw a single punch. More than a dozen soldiers exploded into mangled flesh and shattered armor.
Vinsmoke Niji flashed across the battlefield in a streak of blue lightning. Wherever he passed, only decapitated clone soldiers remained.
Vinsmoke Ichiji, clad in crimson, erupted in flames, reducing the clones surrounding him to ash in an instant.
The three brothers slaughtered their opponents with terrifying efficiency. What made it even stranger was that neither the killers nor the killed showed the slightest hint of emotion, only cold, mechanical indifference.
---
Above the arena, on an observation platform, two figures watched the training below.
One was a tall man with long blond hair beneath a metal helmet, the King of the Germa Kingdom and head of the Vinsmoke family, 'Vinsmoke Judge'.
Standing beside him was a short, wrinkled old woman with an ugly, hunched frame: a former member of the Rocks Pirates and Edward Weevil's "mother," 'Buckingham Stussy'.
The two quietly observed the massacre below.
"No matter how many times I watch it..." Buckingham chuckled, "...it's still an incredible masterpiece. You perfectly combined Lineage Factor research with genetic modification. Judge... they're the perfect weapons of war."
"Naturally," Judge folded his arms. "They are the foundation upon which Germa's supremacy will be built."
"Heh heh heh..." Buckingham laughed. "You're still exactly the same as ever, always chasing your own glory. But I suppose only someone like you could accomplish something like this: getting Germa accepted into the World Government and personally beheading the kings of North Blue's Four Nations. I was genuinely shocked when I read that in the newspaper."
Her words were obvious flattery, but Judge raised his chin proudly anyway.
"That was only the first step in conquering North Blue. I merely announced to those fools... that Germa has returned."
He knew Buckingham was flattering him, but he still enjoyed hearing it, because she was talking about the single goal that had defined his entire life.
The Germa Kingdom was an ancient nation. Three hundred years ago, it had truly ruled the North Blue. For sixty-six days, Germa conquered the entire sea through sheer military might before the united kingdoms of the North Blue joined forces to defeat it and strip away its territory.
Ever since then, the Germa Kingdom and the Vinsmoke family had wandered the seas, waiting for the day they could reclaim their former glory.
As the greatest genius the Vinsmoke family had produced in generations, Judge had already accomplished what his ancestors never could: he had restored the Germa Kingdom. Using the army he built through science and technology, he amassed immense wealth and forged a partnership with the World Government, allowing Germa to become an affiliated nation despite having no permanent territory.
He had even personally executed the kings of the four North Blue kingdoms that had once united against Germa, an incident known as the "Slaughter of the Four Kings."
But even that wasn't enough for him. His true ambition was to conquer the North Blue once again and fully restore Germa's former glory.
For that goal, everything was expendable.
Judge looked down at his sons, his voice devoid of any warmth or emotion. Turning his own children into living weapons and working alongside the World Government to wage wars across the world gave him not even a moment's hesitation.
"So..." His cold gaze shifted toward Buckingham. "You too, Bakin. You promised me a Warlord to serve as Germa's leverage in expanding its influence, and you failed. My patience has limits."
Buckingham's smile stiffened slightly. "Now, now, Judge. I already told you, Weevil's failure wasn't my fault." She grinned, the wrinkles on her face bunching together. Behind her sunglasses, her expression remained impossible to read. "The plan was perfect. That old fossil Zephyr kept hunting Weevil and me. I let Weevil act as bait, show off his strength, and use the World Government to get rid of Zephyr while we were at it."
Her words confirmed Roy's earlier suspicions: the battle on Mont Blanc Island had been Buckingham's scheme from the very beginning.
Ever since Zephyr founded the Pirate Guerrilla Force, he had relentlessly pursued both her and Weevil. As a former member of the Rocks Pirates, Buckingham knew exactly how powerful, and how stubborn, the former Marine Admiral was. She had long expected Zephyr to discover that she was the true mastermind behind the attack on the Marine recruit ship four years ago.
It was only a matter of time before he came after her, so she sought out her old acquaintance, Judge. Together, they orchestrated this plan to eliminate Zephyr once and for all.
In truth, it had almost worked.
"But Zephyr's student, that Black Kirin, was never part of the plan! He intercepted the World Government's envoy before they could even reach Mont Blanc Island! How was I supposed to predict something like that?!" Buckingham complained bitterly. In her opinion, Judge should have been taking most of the blame. "Weevil was a good boy. Sure, he was nothing more than a primitive consciousness born from stitched-together corpses... but I really did grow attached to him."
She looked at Judge, only to be met with his utterly indifferent eyes.
"Stop saying things neither of us believes, Buckingham. I only care about results," Judge spoke calmly. "It wasn't exactly a secret that I recommended Weevil for the Warlords. Zephyr and Black Kirin are very likely to come after me because of this. If your next bargaining chip isn't good enough... I'll hand you over to them."
It was obvious who held the upper hand in this partnership. Judge didn't care whether Buckingham's excuses made sense; that was Germa's philosophy, power made the rules, and nothing else mattered.
Buckingham's expression froze for a moment. "Heh heh heh... What a cold-hearted man."
Before long, her eerie laughter returned, though her tone shifted.
"You don't have to keep threatening me, Judge," she lowered her voice, the flattery completely gone. "Our new masterpiece is almost complete. You've already seen it yourself: I used the Life Stitch technique I've spent my entire life perfecting, pouring every sample I've collected into it. I even sacrificed one of my treasured Devil Fruits. It isn't a Mythical Zoan... but you know just how rare it is. And I even allowed you to genetically modify it so it would obey only the Vinsmoke family. Isn't that proof of my sincerity?"
She smiled as though she truly meant every word.
"I genuinely want us to work together, Judge. Your genetic engineering, my Life Stitch... if we combine them, the whole world will be ours." She lifted her cane. "You can be the king, and I only ask to be your queen. So... what do you say?"
Judge remained silent.
He knew she was telling the truth, which was precisely why he had allowed her to remain in Germa after Weevil's death instead of turning her in. Buckingham Stussy's 'Life Stitch' technology, developed through her Lineage Factor research, was astonishing even by Judge's standards. Their fields of study were different, but her research into life and genetics complemented his own perfectly.
The entity they had created together, though Buckingham claimed it wasn't finished, was already monstrously powerful.
But make her his queen?
Judge looked at the short, wrinkled old woman before him, her skin thick enough to crush steel, and felt genuinely speechless.
Back when they were both members of MADS, he was in his prime, handsome and brilliant, while Buckingham had been one of the greatest beauties of the era, a renowned physician who supposedly held the secrets to preserving youth.
How in the world had she ended up looking like 'this'?
"...Buckingham. How much longer until the final stage of stitching is complete?" Judge ignored her proposal entirely and changed the subject.
"Very soon. Very soon," Buckingham smiled. "It should be finished within the next few days. Oh, that reminds me... Has Reiju not returned yet? Her campaign in the Volcano Kingdom ended three days ago, didn't it? As her future mother, I can't very well go without meeting my daughter. I've heard she's... a little different from her brothers?"
At the mention of his daughter, Judge frowned slightly. "Yes. She was Subject Zero, the first successful prototype. She's not perfect, as some flaws remain. Even so, she's an acceptable creation. She should return to Germa today."
He still made no acknowledgment of Buckingham's "mother" or "daughter" remarks.
"Heh heh heh... Then I'd better go freshen up," Buckingham laughed as she turned and left the observation deck.
Judge silently watched her leave before turning to the clone soldiers and attendants beside him.
"Deploy the newest surveillance systems. Have the surveillance team keep watching her. Without my permission, she is not to leave your sight for even a second. If she makes any suspicious move... arrest her immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The soldiers and attendants bowed in unison.
Only then did Judge nod in satisfaction.
At that very moment,
'RUMBLE!!'
The ground shook violently. Judge staggered forward, nearly losing his balance from the sudden, powerful tremor.
'THUD!'
A spear appeared in his hand almost instantly, which he drove into the floor to steady himself.
"...The kingdom stopped moving?" Years spent at sea allowed him to recognize the cause immediately. "Open the ceiling!" he shouted.
'Click.'
The massive dome above the castle slowly split apart. Judge, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji all looked upward from inside the training arena.
The Germa Kingdom had indeed come to a complete stop, because directly ahead of it, something enormous blocked its path across the sea.
It looked like... an island?
Judge's eyes widened. A towering mountain floated impossibly above the ocean.
"But that's impossible..."
Germa's route was calculated automatically by its navigation systems, using the newest sea charts supplied by the World Government. They had sailed through these waters countless times; there shouldn't be an island here under any circumstances.
Then Judge realized he was wrong.
From high above the clouds, another colossal shadow came crashing down. Wrapped in blazing flames, it descended like a meteor, scattering enormous amounts of smoke, dust, and debris across the kingdom below before striking the sea.
'BOOOOM!!'
A colossal wave erupted, rocking the Germa Kingdom violently and nearly capsizing it.
Only then did Judge understand what had caused the earthquake moments earlier. He turned in horror as another island appeared behind the kingdom.
"...Impossible."
Finally realizing what he was seeing, Judge pressed a finger against the side of his helmet.
'Click.'
A visor slid down over his eyes, its enhanced optics piercing through the clouds. What he saw made his blood run cold: towering mountains were falling from the sky.
They weren't islands at all. Entire mountain ranges, complete with soil and rock, were dropping from the heavens into the sea. Yet somehow, instead of sinking, they remained standing upon the ocean, creating what looked like islands.
'BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!'
Wave after gigantic wave battered the Germa Kingdom, tossing it helplessly from side to side.
Within moments, Judge finally understood.
"...The kingdom... has been trapped."
Mountains surrounded the Germa Kingdom from every direction, their massive bodies locking the floating nation firmly in place. Sea winds carried endless clouds of dust across the decks, and even Germa's colossal snail warships, machines that could theoretically scale the Red Line, couldn't move an inch.
The countless mountains that had descended from the sky had formed a prison, a cage built to ensure its prey could never escape.
"A Devil Fruit user...?" Judge clenched his fists. "What kind of monster possesses power on this scale?"
Whoever it was, there was no doubt: this was someone who stood at the very peak of the sea, and they had come with hostile intent.
"Father," three voices spoke at once.
Judge looked toward his sons, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji. All three had raised their heads toward the sky. As genetically engineered superhumans, their senses were sharper and their minds calmer, allowing them to instinctively recognize the immense danger above.
Judge looked upward once more. High above, at the place where all those mountains had originated, a lone figure floated down through the air beyond the clouds.
Seated cross-legged, he descended slowly from the heavens.
"...That..." Judge's expression froze. Not because he recognized the man, but because he had never seen him before.
That didn't matter, however, as he could clearly see the mask covering the stranger's face: the face of a tiger.
The figure remained seated in midair as he lazily spoke, his voice echoing across the imprisoned kingdom.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am 'Tiger'... of the Twelve Zodiac. I've been ordered... to erase this nation."
'(End of Chapter)'
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