The Germa Kingdom is a very special country, currently the only country on the sea without a fixed territory.
Normally, it's like a building block toy, carried by a giant snail on the sea. When needed, it "combines" to reassemble the territory of the Germa Kingdom.
Unlike Piekro, a notorious assassin clan in the underworld who has no way to become a legitimate member despite his tarnished reputation, Germa solved this problem hundreds of years ago. After all, the circumstances are different and cannot be generalized.
They have a certain reputation in the underworld, their own science and technology have contributed to the revitalization of the country, they have some connections, and they can communicate with pirates and the World Government.
Yes, it's Piltover.
In a sense, the current Germa, apart from having a longer history, is essentially a degraded version of Piltover located in the North Sea.
From this perspective, Judge could sit at the same table as Doflamingo.
In the realm of development, collisions are not the scary part; the weaker party is the one who feels embarrassed. Even if Judge had acted earlier, he would have been seen as a clumsy imitator by outsiders.
Of course, Judge didn't realize this at the time. On the contrary, he thought he was quite wise. Even Oran had chosen this development path, which further demonstrated the correctness of this approach.
"King Riku has arrived in Dressrosa!"
More members of the royal family arrived one after another. Apart from Oran's acquaintances, the others did not pay much attention to Oran's situation, only marveling at the special nature of that ironclad ship.
Those who were more familiar with Oran had already gathered enough people.
"Oran, it's been a long time."
"Isn't this Judge? You guys have really changed a lot."
"The strange thing is that you are the one who looks the same as when you first boarded the MADS research ship, even though seventeen years have passed."
Vegapunk's head grew larger and larger, Queen transformed from a thug into a ball, and perhaps because of his horns, Caesar was the one who most resembled his youth.
Judge has also transformed from a thinner version of Sanji into a middle-aged man.
"What, do you want my secret to staying young forever?"
"Father, isn't that a line from the female doctor in the Drum Kingdom?"
"Don't worry about the details, they're all the same. In this respect, she's probably not as good as me."
In terms of actual results, Oran was more successful than Gureva, but in terms of process, Gureva's maintenance methods were more feasible, since Oran herself hadn't fully understood her own condition.
This applies to both dreams and the body.
"What I meant was, you must have planned everything before coming here. I've never heard of any Shichibukai being qualified to participate in the World Government Summit."
"You'll find out soon enough, but I wonder who's going to be unlucky."
The World Government now has more than 170 member states, but only fifty are eligible to participate in the World Conference. When a new country joins, someone has to leave their position.
Back then, the Kingdom of Woka even planned to hand Kaido over to the Navy in exchange for this position, allowing the Kingdom of Woka to officially participate in the World Government Summit instead of just playing a minor role on the sidelines.
It can only be said that this king has some mental issues. As long as he can keep Kaido on his side, he will eventually get a seat at the council as he gets older.
Thanks to the king's skillful micromanagement, the Kingdom of Woka's attempt to steal a chicken backfired, resulting in the loss of a warrior like Kaido. They could be compared to the king of Charlotte Linlin's Kingdom back then.
"Your Majesties, the bubble pod has descended. Please proceed."
Before Judge could voice his question, the bubble pod on the Red Line had already descended to the ground along its track.
This is the most official route to Mary Geoise, as the area near Sabaody Archipelago and Red Harbor still falls within a suitable climate and airspace for bubbles to exist. Bubbles generated by the Yarchiman mangroves can still be used here as usual, thus giving rise to this special mode of transportation.
Since we're not too far from Mary Geoise, we can still use enhanced bubbles there; but if we're further away, there's not much we can do.
Oran didn't wait in line at all; he boarded the bubble pod with several other kings around him, a move that drew surprised glances from those still in line.
The member states of the World Government are nominally equal, but only nominally. Not to mention Fish-Man Island, which is still discriminated against underwater, even among human nations, those that can participate in the conference are considered superior to other nations.
At this time, countries that did not have the right to participate in the meeting but came here to join in the fun and intend to take the opportunity to conduct diplomacy were queuing up.
They could only get a turn after all the kings who were qualified to participate in the meeting had gone up.
"That person just went up there like that?"
"Yes, Piltover. The strongest country that the World Economic News Agency touted before? It seems they accepted a pirate, right?"
"You only need to read half of the World Economic News newspapers. That's a non-member state zone, essentially a lawless zone, so it's not surprising that they accept pirates."
"We don't even know if that place has formed a complete country, so how can it be called the strongest in the world?"
There wasn't even a navy escort; it seems the navy simply doesn't care about them, and they can't afford the cost of naval intervention.
Sending the navy on unplanned operations costs money, and only member states have the right to pay for it; the navy can even be seen as a membership-based mercenary organization.
You have to pay to become a member before you can continue to pay for services.
"But he went up with those kings."
"And that ship... is it made of iron? It looks more expensive than a warship."
The member states are the only true countries; this is a common understanding among the member states. No matter how outrageous the claims made elsewhere are, if they haven't seen it, they will treat it as rumors.
For example, almost none of the kings present believed that Whitebeard was protecting his territory and the people on the islands; they only felt that Whitebeard was using force to oppress everyone.
Like frogs in a well, or blinded by a leaf, these kings, in a sea where information doesn't flow smoothly, preferred to speculate about the unknown based on their own understanding, even though many things simply didn't make sense according to their logic.
As they talked, they began to think that the Navy and the World Government had made a mistake in the list, but their thoughts and discussions could not stop the bubble pods from ascending.
"Is this curly-browed girl your daughter?"
On the pod, Oran looked at the royal family member brought by Judge; the one with curly eyebrows was clearly Judge's bloodline.
"Yes, she is Reiju, just like your daughter."
Judge refers to Frankenstein. Leriana's birth was mysterious; like Stussy, she suddenly appeared on the ship shortly after landing.
Judge and Queen both had speculations, but no evidence. Frankenstein was different. The core members of MADS all knew that the person raised as a daughter was a robot created by Oran.
"Same here, Judge, you really dare to say that."
"It will just take some time, and besides, it's not my most successful work, it's just a prototype. I will surpass yours."
Others might not understand, but Oran did. When Judge said "the same," he meant that this was also one of his own creations.
Although Reiju was born naturally, with a more normal birth process than Frankenstein and Lyriana, her genes were modified by Judge's bloodline factor, making her essentially a superhuman.
Four years old this year, she is Judge's first creation. She cannot disobey Judge's orders, but she retains emotions, which is a point of failure in Judge's eyes.
"I see. You're quite persistent, Brand. Look at that cloud. I think it's a bit of an eyesore. What do you think?"
Oran didn't offer any opinion; instead, he looked up at the sky.
The bubble gondolas had already climbed quite a bit, but there were still clouds at higher altitudes.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right; that cloud does indeed look very oppressive."
When they're out and about, Brand will agree with whatever Oran says, as this symbolizes the majesty of royal power.
"So, let's get it out in the light, Jin, let's make a move."
"yes."
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the other royals on the gondola, Project Shiki suddenly drew a longsword from his waist and swung it at the clouds above.
[Slice through the waves!]
An invisible sword aura ripped through the sky, and the thick clouds were cleaved open by Project: Shiki's sword, allowing golden sunlight to stream in and shimmer with iridescent colors as it reflected off the bubbles.
"That's much more comfortable now. Due to limited resources, this is all I could do. Judge, if you want to surpass me, you'll have to work much harder."
In other words, Oran didn't bring Lyriana along, otherwise that would have been the perfect answer to Judge, but Project Shiki would have been the same here.
This also has another layer of meaning: even if it is an emotionless creation, Judge is still far inferior.
Snap~ Snap~ Snap
Apart from Brand's clapping, the ship fell silent for a moment; the king in this pod seemed to be shocked by Oran's behavior.
As the gondola continued to ascend and passed over the sea of clouds above, they could see the scars on the clouds that had never healed. With the change in angle, the sense of awe became even more intense.
Even after the gondola reached the top of the red earth and came to a stop, some people remained on the gondola, still in a daze.
"What? Aren't you all getting off? Or are you planning to sit in it and go down again?"
Oran, who had disembarked from the pod first, looked back and, instead of urging the guards above, urged the people behind him to hurry up.
"Father, we've arrived."
Reiju tugged at Ragage's sleeve.
Among those who were stunned was Judge, who had been lost in thought since earlier. All his years of hard work had been aimed at surpassing his opponent and proving himself.
Judge was making progress, and Oran was not standing still either. Before they knew it, Judge discovered that Oran had reached a more distant shore.
"Sidil, you're still as annoying as ever. Don't just stand there, Reiju, come along."
Judge muttered to himself before stepping onto the Red Line, even taking the opportunity to shift the blame.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"