Chapter 275: The Flevance Revolution, A Journey to Alabasta
To claim that the Raid Suits were simply highly advanced cosplay outfits wouldn't be entirely accurate. The suits genuinely possessed extraordinary technological capabilities; however, the ones the children currently wore weren't the "Complete Forms" of the Raid Suits.
Vinsmoke Judge's scientific endeavors weren't purely groundbreaking innovations; they also carried a distinct archaeological nature. While Vegapunk's archaeology focused on unearthing the lost technology of the world's ancient past, Judge's archaeology was strictly focused on recovering the lost technological inheritance of the Vinsmoke family.
Centuries ago, when the Germa Kingdom was at its absolute zenith and virtually controlled the entire North Blue, they had possessed these unique, terrifying battle suits.
However, as time passed and Germa's absolute dominance waned, many critical technological blueprints were lost to history. Fortunately, the core theoretical foundations remained intact. Through decades of relentless research, Judge managed to successfully reverse-engineer and replicate many of these lost technologies.
The Raid Suits were forged from a highly specialized shape-memory alloy that flawlessly combined the flexibility of fabric with the indestructible density of heavy armor. Naturally, the manufacturing process was excruciatingly complex.
By sheer coincidence, Wapol—utilizing his Munch-Munch Fruit—had accidentally synthesized "Wapolmetal," an alloy that possessed remarkably similar properties.
However, before Wapol was deposed and forced into a life of wandering piracy, Wapolmetal remained an exceedingly rare material. Only a handful of elite scientists had ever conducted thorough research on it.
Although, aside from Sanji, Judge's other sons were fundamentally devoid of human empathy, Judge's absolute authority ensured there were no unexpected violent incidents during the medical relief operation.
Yet, among Judge's children, Sanji was truly the only one engaged in literal cosplay. Germa's Raid Suits were intrinsically linked to specific genetic codes. To unlock their true, terrifying potential, the technological suit had to perfectly synchronize with the dormant, modified Lineage Factor within the wearer's body.
The suits they currently wore were merely scaled-down "beta-test" versions. Since Reiju, Niji, and the others hadn't fully awakened their genetic modifications yet, the incomplete suits and incomplete children synchronized adequately enough.
But the current Sanji was entirely, unmistakably an ordinary human. He couldn't draw out even a fraction of the power hidden within a simplified Raid Suit. If the popular comic strip hadn't explicitly depicted a five-member squadron, Judge would have absolutely forbidden Sanji from participating in the deployment.
Currently, Sanji was relegated to the rear, serving purely as a colorful mascot. His siblings possessed superhuman constitutions; they had nothing to fear in a plague-ridden city. But Sanji was fragile.
At the end of the day, Judge wasn't entirely devoid of all feeling toward his son just yet.
The rapid distribution of the serum miraculously halted the apocalyptic spread of Amber Lead Syndrome. The vast majority of Flevance's population, upon receiving the injection, experienced swift and effective recovery. A smaller, critically ill percentage was kept alive and treated through continuous hemodialysis.
Tragically, a portion of the population still succumbed to the illness—whether due to inherently weak constitutions, the sheer chaos of the initial blockade, or the severe lack of fresh water and food before the Ryugu Kingdom's intervention.
Moreover, the medical personnel deployed by Otohime hadn't just administered the serum. They had also meticulously, clearly explained to the citizens the true, underlying cause of the epidemic.
A seed of profound, irreconcilable resentment toward the Flevance Royal Family and the World Government was violently planted in the soil of the White City.
Meanwhile, Judge approached Otohime with a rather pointed question.
"Germa is, at its core, a mercenary organization," Judge noted smoothly. "We frequently handle 'under-the-table' operations. Does the Ryugu Kingdom require our... specialized assistance with anything?"
"The Ryugu Kingdom has no need for mercenary services," Otohime replied firmly.
"War Specialists," "The Army of Evil"—these were the terrifying monikers associated with Germa 66. Their reputation in the North Blue was notoriously dark. Yet, that didn't change the fact that the Germa Kingdom remained an official, recognized affiliated nation of the World Government.
Before they were eventually stripped of their status, Germa retained significant political influence in Mary Geoise. Unlike the completely naive Otohime of the original timeline, the current Otohime possessed a comprehensive understanding of surface-world geopolitics.
Since she was the appointed Governor of the North Blue, she had naturally thoroughly investigated this infamous "local tyrant."
"Is that so?" Judge mused, a dark smile playing on his lips. "Once the Amber Lead crisis is fully resolved, the Royal Family of Flevance won't simply abandon their highly lucrative territory. They will undoubtedly return to reclaim their throne.
"Furthermore, it is highly probable the World Government will fully support their reinstatement. But... if they were to encounter an 'unfortunate accident' on their journey back—perhaps a sudden pirate attack—Flevance would officially become an ownerless territory.
"A living Royal Family has powerful backers. But a dead Royal Family has absolutely zero voice in Mary Geoise. The geopolitical fate of this territory would become a blank slate... perhaps mirroring the fate of the Doyle Kingdom?"
When it came to orchestrating flawless, untraceable shipwrecks at sea, the Fish-Men were undeniably the undisputed masters. Judge knew this perfectly well. However, having an external third party execute the assassination provided an impenetrable layer of plausible deniability.
Judge understood that the Ryugu Kingdom desired global prestige. But he firmly believed their ambitions didn't stop at mere prestige.
According to Judge's cold, calculated logic, as long as the original Royal Family died under "reasonable" circumstances and the Heavenly Tribute payments were handled flawlessly, Flevance could be seamlessly annexed into another nation's territory. And Fish-Man Island was more than capable of executing such an annexation.
After all, the World Government didn't care whose name was on the check; as long as the Heavenly Tribute was paid in full and on time, they turned a blind eye to almost everything else.
Of course, if Judge knew that Fish-Man Island possessed an absurd, miraculously negotiated multi-decade Heavenly Tribute tax exemption, his calculations would have been entirely different.
Judge was essentially offering to act as the Ryugu Kingdom's personal black-ops hit squad, hoping to use this blood pact to deeply tether Germa 66 to Fish-Man Island's colossal influence.
Otherwise, the only meager connection he had left was his old acquaintance with Wobbegong.
"No, Mr. Judge. I believe you have severely misunderstood our intentions," Otohime stated, her tone unwavering. "We harbor absolutely no ulterior motives regarding Flevance. This is a purely humanitarian medical relief operation. Nothing more."
"Is that so? Then it seems I was overthinking things," Judge replied smoothly, offering a polite bow.
Judge didn't press the issue further. However, the subsequent geopolitical developments unfolded almost exactly as he had predicted.
As news of the miraculous cure spread, the Royal Family of Flevance swiftly returned from Mary Geoise to reclaim their kingdom.
In their official public statements, they continued to brazenly lie, insisting that Amber Lead Syndrome was merely a highly contagious viral plague that had finally been cured by a "newly discovered" medicine.
They desperately wanted the citizens to resume mining Amber Lead. They needed the mineral to continue dominating the global market to sustain their unfathomable wealth. Therefore, they had to violently sever any public association between the lethal disease and the Amber Lead itself.
"The disease can be cured now anyway. Even if they get sick again, it doesn't matter. Those filthy peasants won't be able to resist the allure of the wealth Amber Lead brings."
That was the exact, callous statement the King of Flevance made in private before issuing the decree to reopen the mines.
Furthermore, the King—fully aware of the truth—didn't bother hiding the mechanics of the toxicity from his inner circle this time. He bluntly stated that since the citizens' bodies had been completely purged of the accumulated toxins, even if they resumed mining, the lethal accumulation would take generations to reach critical mass again. The next outbreak would be their grandchildren's problem.
When that time came, they would simply buy another batch of the cure.
However, the King completely ignored one crucial, agonizing reality: during this catastrophic outbreak, countless citizens of Flevance had watched their loved ones die in unimaginable agony.
Yes, they were cured this time. But who could guarantee there would be a cure next time?
Absolutely no one believed the Royal Family's lies anymore. This horrific outbreak had permanently shattered their trust.
Moreover, the King failed to notice that in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, a massive woman with a vibrant purple afro—or more accurately, an Okama with a purple afro—had quietly infiltrated the nation alongside a group of highly trained operatives.
It was Emporio Ivankov. Having consumed the Horm-Horm Fruit, he seemed to have discovered the ultimate truth of life, declaring himself a "Newkama" and officially leading the Okama army.
The very instant the King of Flevance attempted to forcefully order the citizens back into the Amber Lead mines, a massive, violent rebellion erupted across the nation.
More accurately, it wasn't a mere rebellion; it was a full-scale revolution.
It wasn't just the miners and the doctors who rose up. Even the Royal Army—who had ruthlessly suppressed the citizens in the past—refused to protect the King this time. The soldiers themselves were victims of Amber Lead Syndrome.
While the Royal Family—who knew the truth—could strictly avoid direct contact with the toxic ore, the ordinary soldiers could not.
Spearheaded and tactically commanded by elite officers of the Revolutionary Army, the Royal Palace of Flevance was breached in a matter of hours.
As for the Marines...
There were indeed Marine forces stationed nearby. In fact, a highly elite warship personally commanded by Vice Admiral Tsuru was operating in the immediate vicinity.
However, these Marines didn't lift a finger to aid Flevance. They had vastly more pressing matters to attend to. Donquixote Doflamingo was currently operating nearby, and taking down his syndicate was their absolute, top-priority target.
Furthermore, the Revolutionary Army hadn't come to conquer territory. After orchestrating the massive uprising and toppling the regime, they didn't attempt to establish Flevance as a permanent rebel base. They simply evacuated the population.
Flevance's landmass was relatively small. With meticulous prior planning, the revolutionaries swiftly evacuated everyone willing to leave, relocating them to a secure, hidden territory. Flevance was transformed into a desolate ghost town overnight.
As for the returning Royal Family? No one knew whose hands ultimately ended their lives in the chaos. The empty, highly developed land of Flevance was eventually partitioned and annexed by the surrounding nations after a brief period of diplomatic negotiation.
Since the Heavenly Tribute was calculated per capita, annexing an empty city didn't increase their financial burden to the World Government in the slightest.
The international community paid little attention to the fall of Flevance. In their eyes, it was merely the inevitable, self-inflicted consequence of an incompetent Royal Family failing to manage a domestic crisis.
The so-called "Revolutionary Army" was widely dismissed as a pathetic group of rats scurrying in the gutters—causing a brief disturbance before immediately fleeing. They were deemed incapable of achieving anything of true significance.
If it hadn't been for the sheer, coincidental bad luck of the local Marines being entirely preoccupied with hunting Doflamingo, the rebellion never would have succeeded. Or so the world believed.
The Doyle Kingdom officially remained entirely neutral throughout the incident, though they did quietly take in a portion of the homeless Flevance refugees. The current demographic majority of the Doyle Kingdom consisted of those who had once been oppressed as "lower-class citizens."
They empathized deeply with the miserable plight of those brutalized by tyrannical royals and were more than willing to extend a helping hand.
Meanwhile, back in the Ryugu Kingdom, Nereus was reviewing two entirely separate after-action reports: one filed by Otohime, and the other by Jinbe.
The core narrative of both reports was identical, but they presented radically different attitudes toward future diplomatic operations. Otohime heavily advocated for a slow, peaceful approach to gradually influence the surface world, firmly opposing the use of military force unless absolutely necessary.
Jinbe, on the other hand, bluntly suggested that the restrictions on deploying military force should be significantly loosened. Otherwise, resolving these crises was far too aggravating and inefficient.
Just as Nereus finished drafting his replies, Nanamo casually strolled into his office carrying a stack of documents. This was an exceedingly rare sight; normally, handling paperwork was absolutely not her style.
For decades, Amber Lead had been an unparalleled luxury export. Just as Seastone was exclusively produced in Wano Country, the entire global supply of Amber Lead originated solely from Flevance.
Following the Flevance Incident, the Revolutionary Army didn't hide the truth. They widely publicized the horrifying reality: Amber Lead Syndrome was caused by Amber Lead.
Art pieces, luxury fuel, high-end tableware, premium cosmetics—Amber Lead had deeply permeated the daily lives of the global aristocracy. It was even used as a high-end food seasoning!
Some oblivious genius had once tasted raw Amber Lead, noted its faint, pleasant sweetness, and aggressively marketed it globally as a "Healthy Sugar."
To flaunt their unfathomable wealth and separate themselves from the commoners, status-obsessed royals across the globe went out of their way to consume products laced with it.
Although the toxicity accumulated incredibly slowly and a few uses wouldn't cause immediate harm, once the terrifying truth was exposed, absolutely no one dared to touch Amber Lead ever again. The Ryugu Kingdom and the Germa Kingdom even received frantic, highly classified communications from numerous affluent nations, desperately begging to purchase stockpiles of the Amber Lead antidote purely as a precaution.
"So?" Nereus asked, glancing at the documents Nanamo dropped on his desk.
"Those suicidal idiots were literally eating toxic ore as a luxury seasoning!" Nanamo grinned fiercely. "If we harvest some rare, visually stunning, non-toxic minerals from the deep sea, slap some incredibly pretentious packaging on them, and aggressively market them... doesn't that massive, sudden void in the global luxury market belong entirely to us?!"
"Let me guess," Nereus chuckled. "This brilliant scheme was Tesoro's suggestion?"
"Exactly! The man is an absolute, undeniable genius at making money. If I hadn't recruited him, it would have been a catastrophic waste of talent."
Given the proper stage and resources, Tesoro's terrifying business acumen was finally being fully unleashed. While he hadn't contributed much in terms of raw combat power, the staggering dividends he was funneling into Nanamo's personal accounts were undeniably massive.
Even Tesoro himself hadn't realized that making money could be this effortless.
He had attempted similar entrepreneurial ventures in the past, but the obstacles had been insurmountable. He lacked the high-level connections to secure official trade permits, and more importantly, he completely lacked the martial might required to protect his shipments from pirates.
Forget pirate armadas—Tesoro hadn't even been able to fend off the local mafia demanding exorbitant protection fees.
After several brutal failures, he had been forced to return to his old, sleazy hustles. But now? Everything was different.
None of those fatal obstacles were his problem anymore. He simply needed to provide a highly lucrative, actionable business plan. The Ryugu Kingdom possessed the absolute political leverage to secure any trade permit, and the Neptune Army provided an impenetrable umbrella of violent deterrence to safeguard their cargo.
This absolute security granted Tesoro a limitless, unfettered stage to exercise his genius.
If Stella hadn't firmly anchored Tesoro to his conscience and moral bottom line, he could have earned astronomically more. After all, if one abandoned their morality, the sea was overflowing with hyper-lucrative, blood-soaked industries.
"If you want to do it, then execute the plan," Nereus permitted, waving a hand. "You and your team are far more adept at handling this sort of thing than I am."
Having received official Royal authorization, Tesoro's marketing machine immediately roared to life. Today's Fish-Man Island was no longer the isolated, victimized nation of the past; its global reputation had fundamentally shifted.
Luxury deep-sea minerals—things completely alien to the surface world—possessed an inherent, mystical allure. With Tesoro's flawless marketing, dominating the luxury market was absolutely feasible.
Simultaneously, in the first half of the Grand Line, an unmarked ship flying absolutely no flags was rapidly approaching the desert kingdom of Alabasta.
Aboard the ship were two individuals sporting large, black-feathered wings on their backs—Amphelite and Chloe. Lying exhausted on the sun-baked deck nearby was a highly miserable-looking Yamato.
"It's so hot... even the sea breeze feels like an oven..." Yamato groaned, her tongue hanging out. "Is this what a Summer Island is like?"
"It's not just a Summer Island," Amphelite explained calmly. "The vast majority of this nation's landmass is covered by an endless desert. Even among Summer Islands, Alabasta is considered exceptionally, brutally hot."
"I'm so jealous of you..." Yamato mumbled, staring at Chloe, who hadn't broken a single bead of sweat despite the sweltering heat. For the hundredth time, Yamato deeply envied the Lunarian constitution.
Not only were they immune to all diseases, but they could wear whatever they wanted regardless of the environment. Whether they wore heavy winter coats in the blazing desert or short sleeves in a sub-zero blizzard, their bodies effortlessly adapted and maintained perfect thermal equilibrium.
"If you're so hot, why don't you just make some ice?" Chloe tilted her head, looking at Yamato in genuine confusion.
"Oh... right. I forgot I had Devil Fruit powers..."
Shifting into her hybrid beast form, Yamato quickly exhaled a thick cloud of frost, rapidly constructing a massive, sturdy igloo on the deck. The thick ice completely insulated her from the surrounding heat.
As the ice slowly melted, it continuously absorbed the ambient heat from the air. Because the igloo was so massive, it essentially functioned as a giant, open-air air conditioner for the entire ship, allowing the ordinary Fish-Man sailors to finally escape the oppressive, desert heat.
"By the way, Aunt Amphelite," Yamato asked, poking her head out of the igloo. "What exactly are we doing all the way out here? Can you tell me now?"
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you