"Five Elders? Let them come if they want."
Neptune snorted coldly.
"Do they really think they can just kill the king and queen of the Ryugu Kingdom right in front of all the nations and the Marines?"
"This… can't really be ruled out."
Garp, at a loss for words, stuck out his finger and made a few circles beside his head.
"Those Five Elders might all have a bit of dementia. Their heads aren't screwed on too tight."
"Will the Marines just stand by and watch? Will you, Garp, just stand by and watch? Will Michael just stand by and watch?"
"Of course not!"
Garp let out a loud laugh.
"Michael would probably even go out of his way to protect you, just to spite the Five Elders."
"Then that settles it."
Neptune shrugged.
"Let's get going. I've long looked forward to seeing the legendary Marine Headquarters."
Neptune and Queen Otohime, accompanied by Garp, headed toward the interior of Marineford.
Meanwhile, Jinbei waved his hand, and the group of merfolk and fish-man Marine soldiers behind him all followed proudly and with heads held high.
The surrounding Marine soldiers exclaimed in surprise.
Although ever since the three-way alliance with Fish-Man Island had begun, many merfolk and fish-men had joined the Marines,
They varied in strength.
But the soldiers behind Jinbei were once all elite soldiers of the Ryugu Kingdom.
Just from their towering, muscular physiques alone, ordinary Marine officers and soldiers couldn't compare.
...
Their amazement didn't last long before yet another enormous ship—nearly as big as a small island—sailed toward Marineford's harbor.
The Marine Lieutenant Commander in charge of maintaining order at the port wiped the sweat from his brow.
Good thing they had sent a lot of ships out on patrol today, or there wouldn't have been enough room for this massive ship to dock.
"Huh? This ship… are we just going to let them dock directly?"
"You're new here, so you wouldn't know."
The Marine Lieutenant Commander shook his head.
"This massive ship is actually made up of many smaller and medium-sized snail ships combined together. It's the exclusive vessel of the Germa Kingdom."
"The Germa Kingdom… Don't tell me that's the legendary Germa 66?"
"That's ancient history! The current Germa Kingdom is a major Marine ally… The technology behind these snail ships has already been shared with us. The Marine shipyards are now redesigning the blueprints, so it won't be long before we have battleships like this ourselves. And…"
"And what?"
"And the Germa Kingdom underwent a coup. The former Vinsmoke family has long since been wiped out. The current royal family bears the surname of the former queen, Maria D. Moreover…"
The Marine Lieutenant Commander glanced around as if sharing juicy gossip.
"This former queen—now the reigning queen of Germa—is none other than Vice Admiral Michael's older sister."
"What!? So that means Vice Admiral Michael is now a World Noble too?"
"Technically, yes. But Vice Admiral Michael himself is pretty helpless about it… He just got involved in one coup, and the next thing he knew, he was royalty."
...
While the Marines gossiped about Michael, the St. Germain—a ship only one-tenth the size of the massive one—had already docked.
And from it disembarked not only Queen Maria D. Sora of Germa and her children,
But also King Cobra of Alabasta and his queen, Titi.
"Ah, ah, what a bother this must have been for you, Queen Sora."
Cobra laughed as he spoke.
"I was actually considering taking the elevator on the Red Line…"
"As neighboring nations who watch out for one another, this was hardly any trouble for me."
Sora smiled before continuing.
"And as Michael's sister, giving his friends a ride is only natural… There's no need for us to address each other as kings. Just our names will do."
Cobra nodded with a smile.
Meanwhile, Queen Titi was holding the sleeping Vivi in her arms.
Reiju and the other Germa children stood nearby, curiously staring at the tiny baby.
"This little girl sure has… no energy at all."
Yonji craned his neck to take another look, then quickly lost interest.
"Yonji, is your brain waterlogged? What kind of energy do you expect from a baby?"
Sanji glared at Yonji in annoyance.
"Ahem, you brats have no right to talk. Back then, you all had way too much energy!"
Sora ruffled the children's multicolored hair, smiled at the identical curly eyebrows they all shared, and said:
"Let's not stand here blocking the way. We'll only be causing trouble for the Marine soldiers… Don't you all want to go see your uncle quickly?"
The children all nodded eagerly.
But nowadays, the Germa siblings actually preferred spending time with their friends over seeing their uncle.
...
They stepped onto the grounds of Marineford with practiced ease, like coming home…
To be precise, ever since they came to Marineford for education and training, they had spent far more time here than in the Germa Kingdom.
After all, the Germa Kingdom was tiny, and for a bunch of overly energetic kids, there wasn't much fun to be had there.
But Marineford was different.
The Marines were all talented and spoke kindly. The kids loved this place.
After asking for directions from some enthusiastic Marines, they quickly learned the location of the promotion ceremony.
Laughing and chatting all the way, they headed there.
Their mother and Alabasta's king and queen went off to talk with the Marine high command, leaving the kids completely free to do as they pleased.
Looking around, they instantly locked onto the location of their friends…
How did they do that?
"Jack! Even in Marineford, your height ranks near the top, hahaha!"
"Reiju! Ichiji! Niji! Sanji! Yonji!"
A childlike grin appeared on Jack's otherwise fierce-looking face.
"You all came to Marine Headquarters too!"
Jack started to stand up, then seemed to remember something and sat right back down.
"Huh? Normally when you see us, you're bouncing around with excitement. How come there's no reaction this time?"
"You even… look kind of scared?"
"Jack, the big oaf, actually making a face like that?"
Following Jack's nervous gaze, they too suddenly felt a chill run straight down their spines.
Turns out it wasn't just Jack—every single underage kid sat nervously and obediently in their seats.
The Boa sisters, little Nojiko and little Nami, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo…
And sitting right beside them was someone who completely dominated this entire pack of kids.
She lifted her head, revealing a young face framed by platinum-blonde hair, wearing a gentle, motherly smile.
"You little ones came too?"
"Don't run around in a place like this, okay?"
Immediately, even the wildest of them—Yonji—showed the expression of a well-behaved baby.
Conqueror's Haki specially designed for minors…
A mother's suppression!
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