When Bardock originally declared that he was officially basing the White Dragon's navigation course entirely on the results of Hawkins' tarot reading, the crew had been highly skeptical.
After all, how could a simple deck of cards possibly track down Germa 66? The Vinsmoke Family commanded a mobile, seafaring nation that was constantly moving across the vast ocean. Tracking them through conventional intelligence was nearly impossible; trying to find them through magic tricks sounded completely absurd.
Yet, reality had just brutally slapped them all in the face.
They hadn't even had to actively search. Just a single day of casual sailing, and the massive, imposing silhouettes of the Germa Kingdom's gargantuan snail-ships had materialized directly in their path.
The Germa Kingdom was an absolute anomaly—the only nation in the world without a fixed, permanent landmass. Their entire sovereign territory was situated directly on the backs of hundreds of colossal, amphibious snails.
Operating entirely as a militaristic mercenary nation, Germa 66 made their living off war. They were frequently hired by various kingdoms and factions to fight their battles, meaning their massive fleet was constantly deploying across different seas, even utilizing the snails' amphibious capabilities to physically scale and cross the Red Line.
Locating such a secretive, highly mobile nation on the open sea should have been an absolute nightmare. Yet, strictly adhering to Hawkins' divination, Bardock had flawlessly intercepted the legendary Evil Army exactly as promised.
"Hawkins! That was absolutely brilliant!" Kid roared, slapping the stoic Magician on the back.
"Hawkins, I officially acknowledge you! You're the real deal!" Killer nodded respectfully, spinning his scythes.
"Hey, Hawkins! Quickly, do a reading for our immediate luck! Are we going to find more treasure on their ships?" Perona floated over, her eyes sparkling.
With a single, flawless divination, Hawkins instantly skyrocketed in popularity, earning the complete, profound respect of every single crew member and officially cementing his place within the White Dragon's ranks.
However, the crew's sudden, overwhelming enthusiasm left Hawkins feeling slightly overwhelmed and incredibly awkward. He was fundamentally a quiet, deeply stoic individual who preferred to operate in the shadows; he genuinely disliked being the center of such intense, loud attention.
"Alright, that's enough fawning! Calm down," Bardock chuckled, easily drawing the crew's attention back to the massive fleet looming ahead. "Check your gear and prepare yourselves. We are about to officially make contact with the Vinsmoke Family."
Meanwhile, aboard the central, towering castle-ship of the Germa Kingdom, King Vinsmoke Judge had just received the frantic radar report: an unidentified galleon was aggressively maintaining a direct intercept course with their fleet.
This was an incredibly highly unusual occurrence.
In the North Blue, the iconic skull-and-crossbones emblem of Germa 66 inspired absolute, paralyzing terror. Whenever anyone spotted the Germa flag, their immediate reaction was to turn around and flee as fast as physically possible. Even notorious, high-bounty pirate crews wouldn't dare approach them, and Marine patrols actively altered their routes to avoid conflict.
Yet, this solitary, strange-looking ship was confidently, openly sailing directly toward the heart of their massive armada.
"Sound the general alarm. Order the fleet to initiate full formation lock! Merge all snail-ships immediately!" Judge rapidly barked out orders from his command throne. "Mobilize all combat personnel. Prepare for immediate engagement!"
The moment the orders were broadcasted, the massive fleet executed a flawless, highly synchronized maneuver. The gargantuan snails drifted together, their massive shells physically locking into place like giant puzzle pieces, instantly transforming the scattered fleet into a single, massive, continuous landmass—a floating fortress island.
Simultaneously, tens of thousands of heavily armed Germa Clone Soldiers surged out of the barracks, rapidly manning the cannons and taking up defensive formations across the unified deck.
Every single one of these soldiers was a genetically engineered clone, mass-produced in vats using Judge's highly advanced application of the 'Lineage Factor' (bloodline elements).
They possessed artificially enhanced physiques, terrifying stamina, and absolute, unquestioning loyalty. Furthermore, Judge had explicitly programmed two foundational directives directly into their DNA: absolute fearlessness of death and the absolute inability to betray the Vinsmoke Family. They weren't soldiers; they were literal, mass-produced biological weapons of war.
Deep within the luxurious royal wing of the central castle, Judge's children also received the high-alert notification.
"Oh? Looks like we have some actual entertainment today," Ichiji, the eldest son with fiery red hair, smirked with cold amusement.
"I think Father is overreacting," Niji, the blue-haired second son, scoffed arrogantly, crossing his arms. "It's just one single, pathetic ship. Why is he raising the general alarm for such a minor annoyance?"
"If Father would just deploy me, I'd crush the intruders myself in five minutes!" Yonji, the green-haired youngest son, grinned viciously, cracking his knuckles.
Although Judge's three sons were still very young—basically children—they were absolutely terrifying monsters. Having been completely genetically modified and stripped of their human empathy through the Lineage Factor experiments, each child possessed superhuman strength, advanced exoskeletons, and unique elemental abilities. Even the elite adult Clone Soldiers were like fragile paper dolls compared to them.
Standing quietly in the corner, Reiju—the eldest daughter—listened to her brothers' arrogant, bloodthirsty banter with profound, silent sorrow. Her brothers were incredibly violent, completely cold-blooded, and viewed human life as utterly worthless garbage. They were exactly what Judge had designed them to be: emotionless, perfect killing machines.
Looking at them, Reiju couldn't help but deeply miss Sanji.
Her youngest brother was completely different. Because their mother had desperately taken poison to counter Judge's genetic modifications during her pregnancy, Sanji had retained his human empathy, compassion, and kindness—a failure in Judge's eyes, but a miracle in Reiju's.
She wondered if Sanji was doing well in the East Blue. After all, she was the one who had secretly broken him out of his dungeon cell and helped him escape Germa's clutches.
A moment later, a heavily armed guard arrived, delivering a strict order for all the royal children to report to the central command center immediately. Without a word, the siblings rapidly made their way to the throne room. Because of their genetic programming, absolutely none of them possessed the physical ability to disobey a direct command from Judge.
When they arrived, Judge was already fully clad in his advanced, highly customized Raid Suit, gripping his massive electrical spear. While the suit wasn't the finalized, perfect version he would develop years later, it still massively amplified his combat strength.
Despite his overwhelming military advantage, Judge felt a highly unsettling, profound sense of unease gnawing at his gut. His intuition screamed that today was going to end in absolute disaster.
Trusting his instincts, he had specifically ordered his modified, superhuman children to his side. If the situation genuinely escalated into a life-threatening crisis, they could serve as the ultimate, disposable meat shields to ensure his survival.