Judge never imagined that what was originally just a show of force for profit would turn into this!
First, the Aden Kingdom, backed by the Four Seas Alliance, refused to obey the Germa Kingdom.
Then, when the Germa Kingdom planned to coerce the Aden Kingdom with force, their progress was stalled due to the sudden intervention of that mysterious "messenger."
And now everyone knows that the so-called "messenger" was actually a "technique" created by Ryan Rowan, using his Conqueror's Haki and the Sand-Sand Fruit ability.
Unlike devastating slashes or explosions, this technique's manifestation was extremely unique.
It could actually give a "technique" self-awareness!
To be honest, such divine skill indeed made Judge reconsider the relationship between the Germa Kingdom and the Four Seas Alliance.
After all, their relationship hadn't reached a point where a showdown was necessary; it was merely a dispute over interests...
Of course, this statement was naturally based on the assumption that the other party was the Four Seas Alliance.
Without corresponding "military might" to back it up, the Germa Kingdom's ambition would never have stopped there, and Judge would never have backed down even a bit.
Let's not forget who it was that personally beheaded four North Sea kings!
...
Judge initially thought that things had developed beyond his expectations.
But Rowan's actions seemed to go beyond that.
He used the "messenger" technique, replacing the messenger's consciousness with his own will, and personally came to the Germa Kingdom.
Then, Rowan explained a piece of information to Judge.
— A piece of information that would absolutely be protected to the death as "top secret" in any country, any power, or any group!
On Sky Island—that is, the legendary Golden City Shandora—there exists a passage made of Seastone.
And at the end of the passage, there is a room also made of Seastone.
Inside the room, there are countless ancient characters, recording some unknown secret.
This secret comes from eight hundred years ago!
In other words, this secret might be related to that hundred years of blank history!
As a scientist, Judge was naturally extremely curious about the specific content of this information, but as the commander of Germa 66, he was even more curious why Rowan was willing to share this information with him.
Their relationship didn't seem that good!
Furthermore, even if Rowan intended for the Four Seas Alliance and Germa 66 to conduct some kind of transaction, the specific details of the transaction had not yet been explained, yet he had revealed this crucial piece of information now?
Judge naturally couldn't understand such actions.
If he turned around and sold this information to the World Government, the World Government would probably be happy to pay a certain price for it.
"No, it won't happen."
Rowan suddenly spoke.
Judge blinked, surprised, and asked, "What did you say?"
"I said, the World Government won't care about this information, because they already know it."
Rowan explained with a smile, "Perhaps we could say that the only value this information holds for the World Government is learning about another 'Poneglyph' that should be destroyed."
"And more importantly, the World Government will also 'know' that you—that is, Germa 66—know about this matter."
"So, what will be the outcome?"
Upon hearing this, Judge couldn't help but shiver.
This shiver was not for the World Government, as Judge had experienced their methods too many times.
What truly sent a chill down Judge's spine was Rowan's words.
He had only thought about it, hadn't even made an extra move, did this guy have mind-reading abilities!
But Rowan continued to speak.
"Anyone normal would think that way."
Rowan slowly explained, "I'm just answering what you were about to say in advance. After all, this kind of endless bickering wastes time..."
Rowan raised his eyes and looked at Judge.
"In short, no one would really choose to cooperate with the World Government, right?"
"Hehehe, of course not..."
Judge let out a few gloomy laughs, continuing Rowan's train of thought.
But Rowan suddenly changed the subject, saying with a smile, "But this time, cooperating with the World Government might be a good choice."
"Hmm..."
Judge was about to take a sip of tea to calm his mood, but he was so choked by Rowan's words that he almost spat out the tea.
What kind of person was this emperor from eight hundred years ago? Why did he always jump around when he spoke?
As a ruler, such a way of thinking was too lively.
...Wait.
No, that's not right!
Why was his own thought process following the other party? This was a major taboo in negotiations!
Once Judge realized this, he was instantly jolted awake.
He had almost completely fallen into Rowan's rhythm!
First, he threw out a breathtaking topic, then continuously solved the puzzles, making people fall into his rhythm step by step.
— This was a common trick used in negotiations.
But the difference was, the so-called "breathtaking topic" Rowan threw out was truly astonishing.
That was absolutely top-secret information that could shock the entire sea!
Thinking of this, Judge first organized his thoughts and then asked:
"Putting aside everything else, if you don't mind, could you tell me the specific information you have?"
To Judge's surprise—or rather, he had expected this scene.
Rowan nodded decisively.
He pointed to the "tree" on the sand table in front of him and continued:
"Most of the characters in that room have been damaged by scribbled, messy writing, leaving only fragments."
"But from those fragments, Nico Robin has summarized some relatively useful information."
"One of them is that the tree has a great connection with Devil Fruits."
"Meanwhile, people from eight hundred years ago—that is, the residents or scholars of Shandora—were spending their entire lives researching a way to destroy that tree."
"Hmm?" This sentence sparked Judge's interest, and he patiently waited for Rowan to continue.
Ancient Shandora residents were going to destroy a "tree" related to Devil Fruits?
This was simply an unbelievable thing!
"The reason is that the scholars of Shandora—or rather, the writers of the ancient texts they studied—discovered something."
Rowan pointed to the tree on the sand table and slowly said:
"They discovered that the roots of this tree are planted in our world, and we are a part of this world."
"Do you know what that means?"
Rowan's eyes swept over Judge, making the latter's spine tingle slightly.
And after a moment of thought, this chill became even more pronounced.
Rowan's voice continued.
"It means that for this tree, we are merely 'nutrients'..."
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