Reiju pointed to the flag—a Nordic cross design. The field was black, the cross a deep blue, and stamped over it was a gray "66."
"Germa 66," Jin said lightly. "Of course I know."
Sea wind hissed across the decks. Jin watched Reiju with an easy patience. He judged that the only reason she'd stopped was because Germa 66 wasn't far—close enough to come to her aid, yet not so close that she'd risk leading danger directly to them. She was testing him.
"Germa 66 was founded over three hundred years ago," Jin continued. "A notorious assassin family in the underworld—famed for blitz campaigns that flatten nations, and for a scientific combat corps that stands apart from the world. In children's picture-stories, they're painted as the embodiment of evil—'the Evil Legion.'"
He smiled. "The World Economic Journal even serialized a comic based on 'true Marine heroics'—Warriors of the Sea: Sora. In those pages, the hero Sora, who could stride upon the ocean, led his dream-combiner robot and a flock of gulls to foil the villainous 'Germa 66' again and again."
"Through Germa's constant defeats, the Marines' 'mighty justice' was burnished. It doubled as a convenient brainwashing primer for the kids. The series has fans across the world."
"Most people think Germa 66 is fictional. They don't realize it actually exists."
"After a period of decline, Vinsmoke Judge rose. He revived the kingdom with science. Years ago, he launched wars to reclaim Germa's old dominion over the North Blue, but his campaigns failed to restore the full kingdom.'"
Reiju's heart tightened. He knew too much, which meant his intentions were anything but simple. She had already called for support. Germa's fleets were on their way. All she had to do was stall.
"What do you want, then?" she asked.
Jin's smile was playful. "Didn't you say I liked you, so I chased you? Let's pretend that's the answer."
Reiju's lips curved. "Then at least tell me your name."
"My surname is ancient—an old one. My given name is simple—a common one," he said, perfectly straight-faced.
"…," Reiju blinked.
Beside him, Robin couldn't help rolling her eyes. Completely serious nonsense.
Then Robin's gaze flicked to the horizon. Tiny points of light were winking into existence.
Not just one direction.
All around.
Faint lantern-glow, rocking on the waves, closing in from the night.
In the dark you couldn't make out shapes, but Robin's experience told her immediately—a flotilla. They were being encircled.
Reiju, who had been tense enough to chew through the rail, finally let out a breath. A brighter smile touched her lips. In the North Blue, Germa had no rivals.
Unrivaled in the North.
What she didn't know was simple:
This enemy had sailed from beyond.
Germa's capital wasn't landborne. Germa Kingdom was unique in the world: a nation with no fixed territory, formed when hundreds of snail-ships combined into a mobile realm. Separated, they roamed the seas. Assembled, they became a kingdom. Its people were clone soldiers, engineered via bloodline factors—almost all male, and almost all soldiers.
"If you know Germa 66," Reiju said softly, "then you know what happens to those who provoke us. I advise you to run."
Even after successful genetic modifications, she'd retained her emotions; her heart remained kind. She could not, however, disobey her father's orders. Judge had coded into their blood the tenets of no fear of death and absolute loyalty.
"Lady Reiju," Jin said, voice dropping, "you've just won your family a sliver of hope."
Reiju startled.
Something about him shifted—his presence sharpened, grew cold. The weight of it pressed outward like a stormfront, a force that made the air itself feel thinner. For a moment, he felt unreachable—someone you had to look up to.
What… is this?
Her pulse quickened. An uneasy suspicion bloomed.
He was waiting for Germa to arrive.
Before she could warn anyone, the sea around them surged with movement. From the east, the central castle of Germa's mobile nation rose—hundreds of snail-ships locked together, the Germa 66 flag snapping atop its crown.
Outside the castle stood the Vinsmokes, flanked by ranks of clone soldiers. At the center, tall and imposing beneath a golden horned helm, with long gold hair flowing, was Vinsmoke Judge.
To his left, the first son Ichiji—a mane of blazing red sweeping over his right eye, clad in crimson like living flame.
To his right, the second son Niji—blue, with wave-swept hair and metal gloves, crackling like lightning.
Behind them, the fourth son Yonji—spiky green hair, a face strikingly similar to Sanji's, posture cocky, chin lifted.
The castle advanced, while the ships to either side slotted inward, sealing gaps and knitting a floating land bridge. Columns of "mouse-cars," neat banner-lines, and soldiers at rigid attention formed the Evil Legion's iron phalanx.
Whistle—whistle—whistle!
Several snail-ships opened fire, shells screaming toward the Carrier.
Jin glanced over, clapped once, and called out: "Maya. Thirty ship guards. Law. On deck."
"Don't be lazy," he added with a grin. "It's time for a team fight."
"Get to work!"
Law's face darkened. "Hey, my deal was to perform surgery, not to fight your wars."
On the way from swallowing the Polar Tang to arriving at South Port, Jin and Law had a long, candid conversation—after which they reached a constructive understanding.
Jin had not killed Law to steal the Ope Ope no Mi.
Because Devil Fruits reached their pinnacle only in the hands of those suited to them—those who could awaken them. If he killed Law… who would wield that scalpel?
By the time Jin began truly developing the Munch-Munch powers, he'd recognized a limit: his own bandwidth. He could not personally develop every fruit the ship consumed. That was why the permissions and roles existed—crew could be granted shipborne abilities and develop them, while Jin gained access to the results.
In short—the right crew multiplies the Carrier's and Jin's power.
And his tests with Kuma had yielded another discovery: a crew member who had already eaten a Devil Fruit could still be granted a shipborne fruit ability without conflict. They became dual-fruit users—because the Carrier's grant did not count as eating a second fruit.
Law, bristling at the conscription, only got a quiet reply from Jin:
"Live."
"…???"
"Hey—that flag!" Shachi blurted then, recognizing the sigil.
Law's eyes narrowed. Vinsmoke.
He looked again.
And felt his stomach drop.
A forest of masts. A carpet of hulls. Enemy ships, everywhere.
Surrounded. Again.
Why did that feel familiar?
Whoosh!
A shell arced through the night, its descent line elegant and precise—aimed straight at Law and his crew.
"Damn it…" Law hissed. It felt like being lashed to a pirate's mast against his will.
"ROOM!"
"Cut."
He still deployed his power, slicing the shell neatly into seven or eight clean pieces.
A snail-ship surged close, and identical-faced clone soldiers vaulted aboard.
Jin didn't use the Munch-Munch this time. He left the vanguard to Law, Robin, Maya, and the ship's guards. Mooks and fodder were perfect for blooding new blades.
"Father!"
Reiju had already rejoined her family.
"What happened, Reiju?" Judge asked coldly. "Who are those vermin on that ship?"
Standing with arms crossed, chin up, he radiated disdain.
Reiju quickly described the chaos at Black Port and the black market ambush, then the skirmish during her retreat—and her brief exchange with Jin.
"What?" Judge's voice cracked like a whip. "A commoner dares court my daughter? Reiju—you should have killed them on sight."
"Remember—we are rulers. Royalty. The higher race, born to be served. They are beneath us."
"Erase them from the world."
His order boomed across the deck.
"Understood," Reiju said softly.
She could not defy him. She knew her father: a zealot of power who loathed compassion and mercy. His cold science had burned the feelings from his children—save for her, a single pink ember he had somehow failed to smother.
-------------------------
Patreon 25+ Advance Chapters: p@treon .com / pretendsituation