Bullet let out a sinister laugh and looked toward Judge.
He clenched both fists and rotated his wrists, prompting Judge to plead in terror:
"No!"
"You can't kill me!"
"The government won't let you off if you do!"
"I'm the king of a member nation!!!"
Crying bitterly, trembling uncontrollably, he didn't want to die... couldn't afford to die!
His dream of reviving Germa hadn't been fulfilled yet. Swallowing his pride, he wept and begged shamelessly, just for a sliver of survival.
Bullet scoffed.
"Pathetic."
"Shut up already."
Judge instantly fell silent, trembling.
Bullet no longer looked at Vinsmoke Judge.
What he enjoyed most were the defiant types—breaking their bones little by little, watching how long their pride would last.
But those who compromised endlessly just to survive? They didn't interest him.
Enel didn't continue making exaggerated comments either. He was fully immersed in Judge's experiment records.
Flipping through the log in shock, the contents were horrifying...
This guy... as expected from someone from an illegal organization—just like those bacteria maniacs in Punk Hazard's third research institute.
Completely devoid of humanity.
After a long while...
When the device finally displayed "Copy Complete," Enel came back to his senses and stopped reading.
He stood up, unplugged the equipment, and lifted it:
"It's done, Bullet."
He frowned slightly as he looked at Judge. If they killed him... things might get complicated.
Bullet nodded and walked over to Judge, kicking him with his foot:
"All the data's in that device, right?"
"Nothing hidden?"
Judge shivered.
"No, absolutely not."
"It's all in there!!!"
Bullet said:
"You sure?"
Judge quickly replied:
"Yes, yes, I'm sure!"
Bullet grinned maliciously.
"Good."
"Enel, leave the copy with him."
"Take the original."
Enel was startled.
"Huh?"
"Oh! Oh!"
"Got it!"
Judge's pupils contracted violently. Damn it...
He was just about to speak, but then caught sight of Bullet's grinning lips—and immediately shut up.
Swallowed his words.
Seeing Judge seething with anger but holding back, Bullet pulled out a wanted poster and threw it on him.
"Congratulations, you're free to go."
"But we're taking these suspicious records back for investigation."
"All done, Enel?"
Enel held the original data storage device.
"All done."
"Let's go."
Bullet gave a soft grunt and stomped his foot, crashing through the ceiling and vanishing.
Enel, holding the device, turned his lower half into lightning and shot up into the sky.
As the two disappeared, Judge's taut nerves finally relaxed. His physical pain, combined with mental release, caused him to faint on the spot.
It was unclear how much time passed before someone finally woke up and discovered Judge with all four limbs broken.
He was rushed off for emergency treatment...
...
North Blue, on an island in front of Reverse Mountain, a naval rest stop for the fleet.
Sakazuki looked at the excited Enel.
"I'll give you a few days off. Take it to Dr. Vegapunk."
Enel nodded.
"Mm!"
Then he asked:
"Is it really okay?"
"That guy wasn't exactly a good person..."
"But he is a king of a member nation."
Sakazuki chuckled.
"Maybe if it were another member nation."
"But not Germa Kingdom."
"A kingdom led by a naive scientist, full of ambition yet lacking political skills."
"They won't go shouting about something like this."
"Because it would be a disgrace to a family that once 'unified North Blue.'"
"And in a world ruled by the World Government, dreaming of unifying the North Blue?"
"You think the World Government would allow that?"
Enel shook his head. That's true...
Sakazuki continued:
"You saw their soldiers, right?"
"How do they compare to ordinary Marines?"
Bullet replied:
"Emotionless killing machines. Each one is like an elite soldier from the Four Seas' branch units."
Sakazuki nodded.
"Exactly."
"Yet even with soldiers like that, with that level of technology, Germa still couldn't unify North Blue."
"Most countries in the Four Seas are still in an agrarian era."
"A nation focused solely on developing technology and weapons can easily crush agrarian countries—it's a dimensional advantage."
"And yet they only had a brief moment of glory during the 'Conquest of Four Nations' era, then sank back into obscurity."
"The main reason was indeed the alliance of North Blue kingdoms against them... but also the secret interference of the World Government."
"Let's see when he finally realizes that."
Sakazuki wasn't just speculating—canonically, Judge didn't realize the truth until twenty years later.
For twenty years, he worked as a mercenary for the world, fighting everywhere. It was basically free labor for the World Government—they didn't even have to pay.
That's why he later chose to give up his status as a member nation and arranged a marriage alliance with the Big Mom family.
Because he realized—even with that technology and that army—without absolute strength, he couldn't break the game.
He was always being manipulated by the government.
Twenty years of struggle earned him wealth, sure, but not an inch of land. His dream of unifying North Blue remained distant.
For that dream, he gambled it all on a marriage alliance with the Big Mom family.
Such obsessive persistence... could even be called naive...
Because he completely lacked the political acumen or emotional intelligence to match.
He overestimated his value... and underestimated Charlotte Linlin's ambition.
She tricked him into coming, then swept away his country and technology in one go.
As a government member nation, he was just used as free labor. Then after the marriage with Big Mom... he almost lost his life, and nearly gave away his entire legacy.
If not for the villain talking too much—if Perospero had said a few words less—his whole family of five, except Sanji, would've died.
All of these baffling decisions...
Left Germa in a highly awkward post-war situation... hated by both sides.
At that moment, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Brrrrr~ Brrrrr~
Sakazuki chuckled.
"Here comes the accountability."
He picked up the Den Den Mushi and said calmly:
"This is Sakazuki."
The voice of the Elder with the sword came from the other end...
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