Chapter 257: Germa 66

With the status of a Warlord of the Sea, many matters would undoubtedly become far more convenient.

This was something Gao Wen understood deeply.

Merely escaping pursuit by the Marines and the World Government had already granted him immense room to maneuver.

Although Gao Wen's combat strength was now gradually approaching the pinnacle of the seas.

Yet currently, aside from Keluo, who had already reached the level of a Warlord among the generals and could hold his own, everyone else on Gao Wen's ship still needed time to grow.

Originally, his intention in plotting the path of the Warlords was to buy enough development time for himself and his crew.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Gao Wen did not wish to discard this Warlord guise.

However, if they were to withdraw directly at this juncture, regardless of whether Gao Wen had obtained the Pluton blueprints, they would be placed on the World Government's blacklist, inevitably facing targeting from all quarters in the future.

Even if the World Government might not truly care about this layer of implication, they would still display the necessary attitude.

This was a matter of face; and for an organization like the World Government, which nearly dominated the world, issues of face and credibility were often far more important than one could imagine.

"What do you think?!"

"This matter is more troublesome than we imagined."

Gao Wen shook his head.

"Well~"

Keluo raised a hand to adjust his glasses, an expression of helplessness on his face:

"You've been prone to acting recklessly for quite some time, but this time indeed..."

Keluo's voice gradually faded away.

They saw a girl, barely clothed, timidly approaching Keluo; her gaze was somewhat evasive, yet the curiosity and hope in her eyes were utterly genuine.

"My lord Marine, here..."

Keluo paused slightly, looked at the bread the girl offered, then glanced at the military uniform he had not yet had time to remove, and instantly understood.

He reached out to take the bread, his expression stiff as he nodded:

"Thank you."

"My lord Marine, will we have reinforcements?!"

Keluo's breath hitched, but seeing the tear tracks not yet dry on the girl's cheeks, he simply nodded forcefully:

"There will be, there certainly will be."

"Thank you~"

The girl's eyes instantly turned red; her hands trembled uncontrollably from excitement, and the smile on her face was completely impossible to hide.

She placed another piece of bread into Gao Wen's hand, then quickly turned and hurried back to bring the news to the refugee camp in Water Seven.

There, it was bustling with survivors barely clothed, huddling together to maintain a fragile sense of security.

Just a few days ago, they had thought they would be saved, only to be attacked by Katakuri and his group the moment they saw sunlight.

Not only had the pillar-level combatant Roubo Luqi fallen, but Mayor Bingshan had also been captured by the enemy.

Yet at this moment, hope filled the eyes of these people, all because of a single short sentence from Keluo.

Very soon.

Cheers erupted from there, and beams of gazes seemed to sweep over the location of the two men inadvertently.

Yet the burning hope in their eyes scorched Keluo, making him restless.

Keluo fell silent for a moment, tearing the bread in his hand into small pieces and sending them into his mouth bit by bit.

He ate very slowly, chewing very slowly as well.

Something entirely new surged up from within Keluo's heart, so much so that his originally somewhat sinister eyes became fervent in this moment.

He felt that this uniform, which did not belong to him, had acquired some new meaning at this instant.

After a long while.

Keluo swallowed the last piece of bread, turned his head to look at Gao Wen:

"Captain, no, Vice Admiral Lancelot, what do we do next? Or even for you, are you just going to watch these people perish in the sea?!"

"If the Marines had reinforcements, they would have arrived long ago."

Gao Wen shook his head, sighing as he said:

"The nearest branch base to Water Seven is only a few hundred nautical miles away; if the World Government truly intended to rescue them, the Marines stationed there should have arrived immediately."

"But since there is still not a single sign of the Marines, it can only mean they have already abandoned Water Seven."

Keluo's breath hitched.

There was still a lingering taste of bread in his mouth; it was not soft, yet it tasted sweeter upon entering his mouth than he had imagined.

Keluo argued:

"There are hundreds of thousands of people here..."

"Ohara back then also had tens of thousands."

"But... but the Pluton blueprints are also here; aren't they worried about leakage?!"

"That thing is important, but not that important; even obtaining the blueprints does not mean one can manufacture it."

Gao Wen looked at Keluo and could not help but speak:

"Keluo, we are not Marines."

Keluo froze, feeling a lump of air stuck in his chest that simply would not come out.

He suddenly realized that if it were his former self, he would absolutely never have spoken such words, let alone felt such a stirring, but only now did he feel truly alive.

From the East Blue all the way to here, every person on the Raven had been changed, and Keluo was no exception.

Yet he did not dislike this feeling at the moment.

At the very least, it made him feel like a real person, rather than the living corpse he once was.

"That doesn't matter; what matters is that they need the Navy."

"The real Navy."

Gao Wen fell silent for a moment; his heart was not made of iron and stone, after all.

Moreover, he had originally been an ordinary person beyond ordinariness, so he naturally understood even more clearly what these refugees of Water Seven needed at this very moment.

He could empathize with the experiences and feelings of these people.

Under the great calamity, justice had become their last reliance.

A long while passed.

Gao Wen spoke:

"If we intervene in this matter, the opponents we will face next are the most top-tier monsters of this entire sea."

Xiang Keluo slanted a glance at Gao Wen:

"Are you, of all people, afraid of having too many opponents?!"

"Heh~!"

Gao Wen chuckled lightly, did not respond, and simply summoned the system panel, his gaze falling upon the Conqueror's Haki column:

【Conqueror's Haki - LV-4: 8989/25000】

When previously attacking the Totto Land fleet, Gao Wen had briefly clashed with Big Mom for one move, harvesting over a thousand points of Conqueror's Haki experience.

Now, Conqueror's Haki was growing ever closer to advancing to LV-5 and awakening a new branch attribute.

The advancement of Conqueror's Haki required battle after battle, and the stronger the opponent, the higher the yield.

According to previous deductions, reaching level five for any skill constituted a metamorphosis; and as the representation of this world's pinnacle power, once Conqueror's Haki underwent such a metamorphosis, Gao Wen's strength would become even greater than it was now.

And if one wished to find opponents strong enough and numerous enough, Water Seven was the best opportunity right before their eyes.

While pondering this,

Gao Wen bent down, placed his hand on the ground, and sensing the vast reserve of ley line energy beneath Water Seven, the corner of his mouth curled into a ferocious smile:

"In that case, let's make a huge scene!"

"Since we cannot currently find a way to preserve this Warlord of the Sea skin, we might as well pull off one big job directly."

Once,

in order to obtain the title of Warlord of the Sea, Gao Wen had shown goodwill to the World Government in every possible way, yet ultimately received only a naval crackdown in return.

Conversely, after displaying his strength and capturing Zephyr to prove his power, the World Government immediately chose to bow its head.

Humans themselves are inherently masochistic, liking to be coerced; in this regard, the World Government was no different.

"Indeed..."

A look of realization appeared on Xiang Keluo's face:

"You, fellow, are simply not cut out to be a pirate; of course, I cannot claim to be a qualified pirate anymore either, but this feeling..."

"Isn't bad!"

"Since we've decided to stay, I'll go make preparations for battle deployment first."

Having said this,

Xiang Keluo stood up and walked toward the distant crowd, soon leaving amid their surrounding escort.

These people were originally a defense force jointly established by Bingshan and Franky.

Though called an army, in reality most of these individuals were thugs from the Franky Family or employees of the Galley-La Company.

Gao Wen even spotted several familiar faces among them.

The Square Sisters, Kiwi and Mozu; Zambai, squad leader of the Franky Family; Paulie, foreman of the Galley-La Company; Tilestone, and others.

Originally, even if not mutually exclusive like water and fire, the two sides would never interact until death, yet facing the pressure of pirates, they were forced to join hands.

After battle after battle, even though they still cursed each other verbally, both sides had developed a few degrees of mutual recognition.

Now, with Bingshan missing and Franky heavily injured and comatose, the local defense force was easily taken over by Gao Wen's group, who were disguised as the Navy.

It was just that when truly taking over the defense of Water Seven and choosing to fight a path to survival for these ordinary people, both Xiang Keluo and Gao Wen fell silent.

There were simply too many enemies.

To say that Water Seven was surrounded by three inner rings and three outer rings would still be an understatement.

Countless pirate ships drifted densely across the sea, shrouding Water Seven like dark clouds.

The majority of them were merely here to try their luck, hoping to become the chosen ones, yet in the end could only serve as fodder for Sea Kings.

Although among them were not a few with bounties exceeding one hundred million, outstanding figures known by name in Paradise, they were far from being troublesome.

What truly made even Xiang Keluo feel a headache was what Van Augur, responsible for reconnaissance, reported: those few pirate flags hailing from the New World; these people were the real trouble.

The New World was different from Paradise and the Four Blues; that place was the true concentration camp of monsters, where the Four Emperors gathered, and beneath them countless powerful figures existed.

And now, those monsters, one by one, were rushing to Water Seven like sharks smelling blood.

Night fell.

Sanji stood at the dock, joining forces with Zoro and Van Augur, engaged in killing the invading pirates.

In the port, the sounds of killing shook the heavens; countless pirates, like a tide, landed under the fire of the defense force, killing with ferocious expressions, yet they were no match for the trio, being completely crushed within a few exchanges.

But this was merely the beginning.

As the first wave of pirates retreated, more pirates entered in a steady stream; dense artillery fire exploded in the night sky, and crimson flames nearly ignited the entire world.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Amidst the roar of cannon fire.

Sanji took a deep drag on the cigarette in his mouth, his gaze falling upon that familiar flag bearing the "66" emblem in the distance, his expression growing exceedingly complex.

Following Sanji's line of sight, Van Augur narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression gradually turning solemn.

As a sniper, Van Augur possessed vision far surpassing that of ordinary people.

Even at night, and even without relying on Observation Haki, Van Augur could still clearly make out the tall middle-aged man standing on the deck in the distance, along with the several young figures trailing behind him.

"Germa 66, big shots from the North Blue, who once even dominated the entire North Blue; this time, a troublesome fellow has arrived."

Van Augur's gaze shifted to Sanji:

"Come to think of it, those guys have curled eyebrows just like you, Sanji."

"I have nothing whatsoever to do with that bunch of trash!"

Sanji's face suddenly turned cold; he flicked the cigarette butt from his mouth with one hand, then rushed toward the distant pirates as if venting his fury, flipping dozens of them over in an instant.

"Didn't you just say it all?!"

Van Augur's eyebrows drooped over his eyelids, unable to suppress a sigh.

Only now did he realize that Sanji had never spoken of his family; indeed, every time the North Blue was mentioned, Sanji would fall into a silent, reticent posture.

"So that's how it is..."

Letting out a sigh, Van Augur gripped his long rifle tighter, loading bullet after bullet into the chamber; throughout this process, his gaze grew increasingly icy.

Within Gao Wen's group.

Speaking purely of bloodlust, Xiang Keluo naturally ranked first, but close on his heels was Van Augur.

Moreover, Van Augur's bloodlust differed fundamentally from that of Xiang Keluo.

It was not bloodthirstiness, but indifference—an indifference toward life, the kind that allows one to kill any opponent before them without the slightest hesitation.

He cared not who his opponent was; as long as they posed a threat to himself or his companions, they were, in his view, an existence that must be eradicated.

Click-clack!

A bullet was chambered, the trigger pulled, the muzzle spitting fire as the projectile crossed nearly ten kilometers, striking with precision at that figure standing on the deck in the distance.

Hiss!

Vinsmoke Judge raised his hand and caught the incoming bullet with pinpoint accuracy.

With a slight exertion of force from his fingertips, he crushed the bullet out of shape and casually tossed it aside.

"Quite exceptional sniping ability; whether in range, precision, or mobility, it can be called first-rate. Since when did Water 7 produce such a figure?!"

Vinsmoke Judge narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing toward the distant port; even employing Observation Haki, he still could not locate the position of the one who had fired.

"Shall we make our move, Father, my lord? With this fellow present, we'll likely become targets the moment we show ourselves."

Vinsmoke Ichiji pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, a hint of surprise evident in his tone:

"Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, that blond marine should be..."

"No need."

Vinsmoke Judge's tone was indifferent, his eyes carrying an unspeakable contempt:

"Nothing more than a failed product, after all."

"It is of no consequence."

"What we seek is ultimate victory; intervening in the battlefield too early would, even with our power, merely make us living targets."

He had long since detected Sanji's presence, yet from beginning to end, he had not once deigned to look at Sanji directly.

The Vinsmoke Family established its footing on the Lineage Factor modification techniques mastered by Judge, even using them to once unify the North Blue, though that period lasted merely sixty-six days.

His several children had all undergone Lineage Factor modification, possessing physical capabilities far surpassing those of ordinary people from birth, as well as special abilities similar to Devil Fruits.

The sacrifice required to obtain all this was merely a portion of unnecessary emotions.

Indeed, in Judge's view, this did not even count as a flaw.

Mercy, humility, sympathy... for a perfect warrior, these emotions that cause hesitation hold no reason to exist.

Judge had always believed this, and acted accordingly, yet worldly affairs always have exceptions.

On this point, Judge's wife, Sora, held a view completely contrary to his;

Sora could not endure such practices, and even to resist them, she did not hesitate to ingest drugs that damaged her body, thus giving birth to Sanji, the failed product.

Sanji possessed no innate powerful physique, yet he harbored emotions far more delicate than those of his other brothers.

(End of Chapter)