Effman wiped the cold sweat from his face and looked up. "Alucard-sama, we are not here to hire you, but simply to inform you that your enemy is planning to take over the North Blue."
Alucard remained in his relaxed pose, with one leg crossed over the other. "I have many enemies. I don't know who you're talking about."
"The Vinsmoke Family."
A shiver ran down Effman's spine as he remembered the recent events in the North Blue. He composed himself and continued, "Their military might has already surpassed that of any single nation in the North Blue. It's only a matter of time before they crush the Joris Kingdom, one of the Four Nations."
"The Vinsmoke Family..."
Alucard mused on the name, lost in thought.
Effman, unable to contain himself, offered a reminder. "Th-They are..."
He stopped himself, realizing he had spoken out of turn, but Alucard didn't seem to mind. A faint smile touched his lips. "Ah, yes. The family that once ruled the North Blue and exterminated my own clan."
Effman immediately switched from a single-knee kneel to a full, two-knee kneel, his head slamming against the ground. "I deserve to die!"
"Heh... So you want to use me to solve your problems?" Alucard saw right through their intentions.
"I dare not lie, but the Vinsmokes are your sworn enemies, Alucard-sama, so... we did have a little of that in mind," Effman said in a hushed, lowered voice, not daring to look up at him.
"And you won't ask the government for help?" Alucard retorted. The Four Nations of the North Blue were World Government-affiliated countries, weren't they? Logic would dictate that if they were attacked, the government would intervene.
"There's too much at play here. The government has been evasive and is turning a blind eye to the almost-defeated Joris Kingdom. I believe the Vinsmoke Family has connections within the government," Effman speculated.
Alucard's sunglasses flashed with a reflection. "So you shamelessly came to a pirate for help?" At that, Effman and his men bowed their heads even lower.
Alucard said no more, standing to leave.
The North Blue... the Vinsmoke Family...
Alucard sat on his ship, lost in thought. He remembered that before joining the World Government, Vegapunk had a research partnership with the Vinsmoke Family.
The timing was perfect. Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were both actively searching for the Road Poneglyphs that pinpoint Laugh Tale's location. For now, there was no direct conflict between the Three Monsters and the Whitebeard Pirates.
Since Alucard had no interest in Laugh Tale and the Vinsmokes were an old enemy, he decided to take a side trip.
To get from the New World back to the North Blue, the fastest route was to go back to the Grand Line, then use the Hidden Shadow ability to cross the Calm Belt. However, this method consumed a lot of his energy.
While Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were still in the New World, they had dispatched most of their subordinates to find the Road Poneglyphs.
In a previous operation, the World Government had spread false information that Roger's former crewmate, Hidann Tribar, had one. This led to a fierce battle between two of the Three Monsters, but in the end, it was a classic case of the crab and the clam fighting, with the fisherman getting the spoils.
Despite being deceived once, the incident had made them both smarter. Now, they knew the right way to search for the Poneglyphs: follow Roger's old route and scour every place, or, even better, hunt down his old crew and torture the information out of them, one by one.
This was the proper way to find the stones.
Because of this, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin had sent out more than half of their crews to search, making the Whitebeard Pirates the strongest faction in the New World for the time being.
But the Three Monsters remained unafraid. Alucard's words in Dressrosa had been etched deep in the minds of the other two: "Whitebeard... he's lost his ambition."
....
North Blue, Joris Kingdom.
As one of the Four Nations of the strongest sea, the North Blue, its strength was comparable to some of the major countries on the Grand Line, with Dressrosa being an obvious exception.
A biting wind blew through the air. Since it was winter, a thick layer of snow covered the ground. But in the Joris Kingdom, the white snow had turned a crimson red. A terrible war had taken place.
The Vinsmoke Family vs. the Joris Kingdom.
After less than half a month of fighting, the Vinsmoke Family had achieved a crushing victory. What's more, this result was achieved while the Vinsmoke Family's "Cloning Project" was still not yet perfected.
The head of the Vinsmoke Family and King of the Germa Kingdom, Vinsmoke Judge, stated after the war that if the cloning project were complete, he was confident that he could take the Joris Kingdom in five hours.
With a massive physique not unlike Doflamingo's, he wore a pure black coat with a '6' carved on each of its bottom corners, which connected to form '66'.
His curly hair almost completely covered the cape behind him. He was currently standing on the Joris Kingdom's King, as if the man were a mere insect. Opposite him, several men in small sunglasses were taking pictures of him with their cameras.
Behind Judge stood five children, four boys and a girl, all around seven or eight years old. They all looked remarkably alike, and if their heads were shaved, you could say they had the exact same face.
They were the five Vinsmoke siblings: Reiju, the eldest daughter; Ichiji, the eldest son; Niji, the second son; Yonji, the fourth son; and Sanji, the third son!
Among them, Sanji stood out from the other four. He wore a thick cotton coat, while the other four wore neat pants and short-sleeved shirts. Sanji's attire was normal for the winter, but precisely because of this, he was the least favored of the five Vinsmoke children!
After the photo shoot, Judge kicked the Joris Kingdom's King away like a soccer ball and asked, "What's the next target?"
"Report, sir. It's the Harald Kingdom. It's the closest, and at full speed, we can get there in less than three days," a subordinate in a white lab coat quickly stepped forward and reported.
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