The Germa Kingdom, ruled by the Vinsmoke Family, is a member nation of the World Government, yet they secretly engage in shady dealings. The World Government conveniently turns a blind eye to these actions—coveting their advanced technology.
The two top scientists in the world: Vinsmoke Judge and Vegapunk.
Now that Judge's forces had arrived on Hachinosu, Gion and the others had no choice but to pay attention.
"Vinsmoke Judge!" Gion was the first to speak. "Quite the surprise seeing you here"
"Hmph. Just a bit of business," Judge replied coldly. " We're practically eating dirt back in the North Blue"
Knowing that the Marine officers weren't there to confront him, Judge wasn't interested in any entanglement.
Wasting no time, he turned and left with his flashy trio of red, blue, and green-haired sons, along with Reiju. He didn't even bother acknowledging the Marines further.
In truth, Judge had come to Hachinosu to finalize a lucrative deal. One of the Vinsmoke family's core businesses involved hiring out their elite scientific military unit, Germa 66, to wage war in exchange for resources. This mercenary model was a significant income source for the Germa Kingdom.
This time, someone in the New World had placed a massive order, and the deal was important enough for Judge to handle personally.
With the public execution approaching, anyone with half a brain knew that the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines were on a collision course. As for the outcome? Most underground forces were betting on the Navy. Whitebeard had long been plagued by illness—would he really walk out of Marineford alive?
Besides, the Marines wouldn't be alone — they had the Shichibukai at their side. What a terrifying alliance. Even if Whitebeard could take on two Admirals himself, could his commanders possibly defeat three Marine legends plus another Admiral and the Shichibukai?
Once Whitebeard died, his territory in the New World would be up for grabs. The scramble for land and resources would be ruthless, and those who prepared early would be the ones to reap the benefits.
One had to wonder—if Whitebeard knew all of this, what would he think?
He hadn't even left the New World yet, and already it was boiling over with chaos.
This time, the New World's underground leaders and major players were all converging on Hachinosu.
Pirates ruled the surface of the sea—but the shadows belonged to the underworld.
"New sign-in location discovered. Proceed with sign-in?"
The voice echoed in Elior's mind, making him blink in surprise.
""Sign-in successful. Reward: Rocks' Unrivaled Strength"
"I can feel the power overflowing again!"
It was another perfect sign-in, and Elior grinned.
Unrivaled Strength! Elior felt like he could crush a meteorite with one punch. Whether it was an illusion or not—he didn't care. The idea itself excited him.
"Alright, brothers! Let's feast! Big things come after a full stomach!"
With a wave of his hand, Elior led his crew deeper into the insland.
"Did the captain just get stronger? Was it my imagination?"
Bullet narrowed his eyes at Elior, full of curiosity. He had already been planning to spar with Elior after the war, just for fun—but now he was even more eager. Especially to test that terrifying ability Elior had: freezing time and space.
A voice drifted in from afar. At first, it sounded like a child talking to his mother—but when Elior turned, he quickly realized there was something very wrong with that image.
It wasn't a mother and son.
It was Edward Weevil… and Miss Buckin.
"Captain, what's going on?" Shiryu was puzzled.
"See that stitched-up monster over there?"
"That's Edward Weevil — a brute with terrifying strength."
"Weevil?" Hawkins' expression darkened. "He's no ordinary idiot… that strength of his is monstrous."
"Shiryu" Elior said with a smirk. "Kill that disgusting old hag."
Shiryu didn't react at first—he was about to ask what Elior meant when he noticed the captain already dashing toward Weevil at high speed.
With that, Shiryu charged forward as well.
Of course, Elior had no intention of killing the guy. A monster like that, especially one so stupid he couldn't even recognize himself in a mirror, would be far more useful if manipulated properly. Elior had a strong hunch Weevil had been deceived by Buckin. There was no way they were truly mother and son — that just didn't add up