One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 950: Chapter 950: Goodwill or Malice? The Arrival of the Germa Kingdom

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The next moment, Nami’s face went entirely black. Swinging her arm, she delivered three swift punches, smashing them squarely onto the heads of the trio.

Immediately, Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper cried out in pain. Massive bumps welled up on their heads, growing rapidly at a pace visible to the naked eye.

"Law, keep talking!" Nami said, her face dark and her tone chillingly cold.

"Uh..."

Looking at the trio clutching the swollen bumps on their heads and whining endlessly, and then at Nami, who was radiating a terrifyingly murderous aura, Law couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Forcing himself to avert his gaze and calm down, Law continued, "God Enel possesses an exceptionally wide-reaching Observation Haki. It can easily blanket one or two entire islands. According to my information, he is currently stationed right in Nakor. Therefore, we absolutely cannot enter Nakor. In fact, it’s best if we don’t even go near its perimeter."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Zoro frowned, asking, "If we can’t even get close, how the hell are we going to break in and rescue them?"

"We need to find a way to draw Enel away. Or, better yet, wait until the Chris Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates officially go to war. When that happens, Enel, as a core member, will definitely be deployed. The Chris Pirates’ executive officers and overall military strength in the area will be drastically reduced. Only then will we have a chance to slip into Nakor!"

Law pulled out a topographical map of Brady Island and pointed to the icon representing the royal capital, Nakor.

"However, before these two behemoths clash, there might be a breakthrough point right in this sector." Law looked thoughtfully at the map, sliding his finger across the parchment before pressing down heavily on the western and northern regions of Brady Island.

Those two areas were...

The Arms Manufacturing District and the Medicine Garden!

...

Meanwhile, dozens of giant snail paddle-ships were swiftly entering the territorial waters of Brady Island. The fortress-like hulls bore flags emblazoned with two thick, black digits: ’66’.

"Look! That’s a massive fleet!"

"What?! Has the Big Mom Pirates launched a full-scale invasion?!"

"No, those aren’t Big Mom’s tart ships. That’s Germa 66!"

"What are the Germa people doing here? Aren’t they allied with Big Mom through marriage? Are they acting as the vanguard to attack us?!"

A patrolling sailing battleship spotted the dense cluster of dozens of giant vessels on the horizon. The Marine soldiers immediately went on high alert, and someone was instantly dispatched to report to the interior using a Den Den Mushi.

The military force of dozens of giant snail ships essentially meant the entire Germa Kingdom had mobilized. It was no wonder the soldiers on the patrol ship were exceptionally tense.

Given the military might and advanced technology of the Germa Kingdom, while they were far from matching the entirety of the Chris Pirates, they could still cause tremendous trouble if they struck either Micity Port or Unzan Port.

Before long, Aeridar and the other high-ranking officials of the Chris Pirates inside the city of Nakor received the report.

Aeridar, Gilbert Arlan, Mina, Enel, and Dimitri quickly gathered in a meeting room to discuss Germa’s sudden arrival. As for the others, they were either too busy with their own tasks or simply too lazy to show up. As for Enel, he was purely bored out of his mind and had tagging along just to listen in.

"According to the patrol ship’s report, Germa has deployed their entire nation. Yet, the moment they entered our waters and encountered our patrol, they halted. They claim they want to initiate contact with us," Arlan noted, rubbing his chin with an amused expression.

Dimitri’s brow furrowed slightly in thought, remaining silent. Beside him, Mina was casually playing with the gold diamond ring on her finger, looking thoroughly bored.

Then there was Enel, who held a crisp green apple, crunching into it noisily.

"Vinsmoke Judge brought the entire Germa Kingdom with him. What is he playing at?" Aeridar looked at Arlan and Dimitri, a flash of surprise in his eyes. "Could he be coming to defect to me, planning to scrap the marriage alliance with Big Mom?"

It wasn’t that Aeridar was narcissistic. Judge was a world-class military strategist and scientist, famous for his world-shaking feat in the North Blue, the ’Slaying of the Four Nations’.

If Judge truly intended to align with the Big Mom Pirates, he should be acutely aware of the disparity in strength between the two sides. He wouldn’t have brought only Germa’s forces, nor would he have halted his entire kingdom in territory controlled by the Chris Pirates just because of a single, small patrol ship.

"Why don’t we just go out and ask him directly? Why overcomplicate things!" Enel waved his hand impatiently. He casually tossed the apple core into a nearby trash can, manifested another green apple out of thin air, and took another bite.

At that moment, Mina extended her arm, her pale, slender fingers flicking casually as she interjected indifferently, "We are about to go to war with the Big Mom Pirates, and Big Mom is the last person who would willingly give up Germa’s military strength."

"Therefore, that fellow Judge has only two choices. Either he agrees to proceed with the marriage, or he refuses. And the consequence of refusing is directly making an enemy out of Big Mom!" Finishing her thought, Mina let out a soft chuckle, openly mocking Judge’s predicament.

The room fell into a brief silence before Dimitri nodded, picking up where Mina left off to continue the analysis. "What remains uncertain is Judge’s actual choice. If Judge agreed to the marriage with Big Mom but is intentionally coming to us to act as an undercover mole, intending to betray us at a critical moment by using Charlotte Brûlée’s ability to smuggle Big Mom’s forces inside... we must guard against that."

If Judge truly was a mole, he would only need to hang a mirror in every single room of Germa 66’s fleet. By exploiting Brûlée’s Mirro-World abilities, an immense army from the Big Mom Pirates could be silently transported right into the heart of the Clifford Kingdom.

If that happened, the Chris Pirates would be struck from within and would inevitably face an unprecedented, catastrophic defeat.

Hearing Dimitri’s analysis, everyone’s brows furrowed. Even though Judge was a king, such a scheme was entirely within the realm of possibility. Germa 66 comprised some of the world’s top mercenaries, and Judge possessed formidable military intellect; it wasn’t beneath him to risk himself in an espionage plot.

"Have Mina swap places with Millie. Let Millie come with me to see what Judge is thinking. We can use her power to perceive whether he harbors any malice toward us," Aeridar proposed after a moment of deliberation, finding a solution.

Millie’s Sense-Sense Fruit allowed her to perceive the good or evil intentions within a living being’s heart. If there was hostility, Aeridar would know instantly that Judge was a spy. Not only could they eliminate him on the spot, but they could also play dumb, turning the tables on the mole to deal a devastating blow to the Big Mom Pirates.

"No problem, works for me!" Mina shrugged, looking at Aeridar with a smiling face.

"Then it’s settled!"

"Good plan."

"Whatever floats your boat," Arlan, Dimitri, and Enel voiced their agreement one after another.

Shortly after, Millie, who had been assembling a search squad inside Nakor, swapped duties with Mina and accompanied Aeridar toward Unzan Port.

Meanwhile, Vinsmoke Judge, along with his eldest daughter Reiju, had already left the vessels of the Germa Kingdom. They boarded a small boat and stepped onto the docks of Unzan Port. Diego Backan was personally hosting them as they awaited Aeridar’s arrival.

This encounter might very well trigger the first true clash since the Big Mom Pirates declared war on the Chris Pirates.

Then again, it might just be the catalyst that elevates the Chris Pirates’ might to a whole new level.