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Marine Headquarters.
Official duties were heavy. Every day, a large pile of official documents from the Four Seas and various parts of the Grand Line had to be reviewed. But this month, Sengoku, as the Fleet Admiral, was already paying attention to Germa for more than the first time.
This time, he was even more suspicious and vigilant than before.
"That bastard brat from Germa is indeed starting to get restless..."
Sengoku's brow furrowed, his eyes filled with a mix of suspicion and anger: "Actually making contact with a Warlord of the Sea, what on earth is he planning?"
But if there was no approval from the World Government, the Marines had no right to interfere with the freedom of a World Government affiliated nation.
Germa's current actions were clearly not yet qualified to attract the attention and importance of the highest authorities in the World Government, the Five Elders.
Merely the contact between two people was not enough to prove that Germa was colluding with a Warlord of the Sea.
What if they were just going to Rain Dinners to gamble? Although no one believed this news.
But the World Government had just approved the application of "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. They were filling the vacancy in this organization for the first time and were planning to use this to deter some pirates. They clearly didn't want any accidents to occur with this force at present, or for any jokes to arise.
If there wasn't a major crime, the World Government couldn't possibly allow the Marines to provoke "Sand Crocodile" Crocodile!
This was also the reason why Ichi had appeared so openly in Alabasta.
Since it was difficult to avoid the omnipresent eyes and ears of the World Government, it was better to appear openly to avoid arousing deeper suspicion.
"According to intelligence, Vinsmoke Ichi stayed in Alabasta for at least three days. What he discussed with 'Sand Crocodile' Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or whether they reached some kind of deal, is still unclear. But the intelligence shows that no conflict occurred during that period..."
A vice admiral with green hair, wearing a white striped shirt and a Marine justice coat, stood straight before the desk, hands behind his back, continuing his report: "And just yesterday afternoon, Crocodile had already led his men away from Alabasta. His destination is temporarily unknown. According to investigations, he seems to have prepared to move his headquarters out of this desert kingdom."
"That fellow Crocodile, I remember ever since he moved into Alabasta all these years, he inexplicably started acting like some kind of hero. But what conspiracy he's secretly plotting, no one knows..."
Buddha Sengoku's fist tightened, his face somewhat gloomy and uncertain, his suspicion deepening:
"Could it be that this fellow's ambition hasn't died, and he wants to advance into the New World again? But what connection does this have with Germa?"
But it was very obvious that even his vice admiral couldn't answer this question.
"Hmph, pirates are pirates. They can't be trusted at all. Can you still expect them to be well-behaved?"
With a cold snort, after pondering for a moment, Sengoku directly ordered: "Keep a close watch on Crocodile's movements. Have CP investigate as soon as possible what this crocodile is really up to!"
"Also, pay close attention to Germa's movements. If he continues to make contact with Gecko Moria or other Warlords or other forces, report it immediately!"
"Yes!"
...
Several days later.
In the Calm Belt, adjacent to the East Blue section of the Grand Line.
No one knew that at this moment, a huge piece of "land" had appeared in the Calm Belt. Germa's flag fluttered in the wind, magnificent and imposing!
This was dozens of Germa warships directly assembled together, forming the Germa Kingdom!
Wearing a large combat uniform, Vinsmoke Judge, who had always been very patient, paced back and forth in front of the castle, looking out at the calm sea from time to time, for the first time showing a bit of anxiety and eagerness.
Carrying the burden of Germa's revival for three hundred years, he had even modified his own children for it, and had even caused his wife Sora to die as a result. Now that he could finally see a glimmer of hope, how could Vinsmoke Judge remain calm?
"Father, don't worry, Ichi just cabled, he'll be here soon!" Reiju found it somewhat amusing but could only console him.
She clearly couldn't understand Vinsmoke Judge's feelings.
In Reiju's eyes, this father of hers was just like most ambitious people, fond of power and fame, but even more cold, heartless, cruel, and even a cold-blooded person who wouldn't hesitate to modify his own children into weapons of war.
In the entire Germa, she could only experience a trace of familial warmth from Ichi.
Although that somewhat unlovable younger brother possessed an even greater ambition than this father of hers, he had never treated her, his older sister, as a tool. He even knew that she didn't like killing and specifically persuaded Vinsmoke Judge to let her be in charge of Germa's intelligence department!
"Hmm!"
Vinsmoke Judge nodded, trying hard to calm his agitated heart.
Through the guidance of the Vivre Card, no matter where Germa's headquarters currently was on this sea, Ichi, Niji, and the others could all come to rendezvous.
For the great cause of Germa's revival, he could be said to have given everything, even dedicating his entire life, fearing that one day it would turn out that this glimmer of hope was just a beautiful dream.
"What is that?"
"Gasp! Flying islands..."
"Leading them is Germa's warship! It's His Highness Ichi and the others!!"
Just at this moment, Germa's soldiers cried out in alarm. Some looked at the distant sea surface in disbelief, their mouths agape, revealing expressions of utter incredulity.
"Whooshâ"
A warship, along with five huge islands, flew across the sky, getting closer and closer.
"To make five such large islands fly directly, that's truly an exaggerated ability..."
Reiju's beautiful eyes couldn't help but narrow, and she felt a cold sweat. If such islands were to crash down, she probably wouldn't even be able to escape.
The legendary great pirate, his abilities were indeed terrifyingly astounding.
"Flying islands, Shiki's abilities indeed..." Looking at the huge islands approaching across the sky, Vinsmoke Judge laughed heartily, clenching his fists somewhat excitedly: ". . Hahaha, excellent! Now Germa finally has its own territory!"
"Old man, Reiju, long time no see..."
The huge warship crossed the sky and arrived above the "Germa Kingdom." Ichi jumped down from above.
"Long time no see..."
Reiju suppressed her surprise and re-examined her younger brother, whom she hadn't seen for several months. She felt he had become even more composed and domineering, vaguely possessing the aura of a superior: "It's amazing you could take down a great pirate like Shiki!"
"Those five islands, are they the resource islands you found?"
Directly ignoring Ichi's form of address with practiced ease, Vinsmoke Judge stared with gleaming eyes at the massive objects floating on the sea surface, which couldn't help but exude a sense of pressure.
"These are what I found after searching with Shiki in the Calm Belt for a long time. Originally, I discovered a gold mine, but unfortunately, it had already been mostly exploited by the World Government. Its value isn't very high anymore, not worth attracting the World Government's attention for it, so I didn't plan to touch it..."
Pointing at the several islands floating on the sea, he introduced to Vinsmoke Judge:
"Through simple detection, they contain (obtainable) rich iron ore, copper ore, and some rare ores. There's also an island similar to Kuraigana Island, a savage beast island, and an island with a relatively good environment, suitable for establishing the Germa capital..."
Even with new types of warships, the Calm Belt was still too dangerous. Moreover, the technology to embed Sea Prism Stone into warships hadn't been around for long. The World Government simply hadn't had time to truly explore the Calm Belt thoroughly. The resource islands he had taken were all currently undiscovered by the World Government. This could be considered an unexpected gain.
That savage beast island was not Rusukaina.
The Calm Belt wasn't as small as imagined; it even contained more than one or two countries. And he simply didn't know the location of Amazon Lily.
"To avoid attracting attention, Shiki will stack these islands together, then place the warship on the topmost island, and directly proceed to Sky Island from an altitude of at least twenty thousand meters..."
Pointing at the azure sky, Ichi directly reminded: "The air above is relatively thin. You all need to be mentally prepared. Also, have the medical department prepare oxygen tanks to prevent some personnel from being unable to adapt to that environment and suffering from hypoxia!"