When the black ship sailed into the harbor of Thriller Ghost Island, the local residents—led by the pirates stationed there—lined the docks to welcome the triumphant return of the "Deep Sea King ."
Jinbe and Hachi had arrived on Thriller Ghost Island ahead of time, informing everyone there of the great events that had taken place, before continuing on toward Fish-Man Island.
David Jones watched as the people prostrated themselves before him. They chanted praises and waved pirate flags adorned with writhing tentacles.
Whether their loyalty was sincere or not didn't matter.
Their attitude was correct—and their fear of David Jones was unmistakable.
He ordered them to stand.
Nearby, Alvida remained on the Den Den Mushi with Law, gathering updates from the front lines.
When they returned to the Haunted Mansion, Alvida finally hung up.
"Captain, Law says Kaido of the Beasts got to Whole Cake Island before we did. He slaughtered every defender and seized a massive portion of their territory."
Davy Jones was unsurprised. Most pirate alliances were fragile things.
If Kaido had struck this swiftly, he had clearly been planning it beforehand. Gathering such a force required time; Kaido must have had people watching the battle between Davy Jones and Charlotte Linlin.
Whoever lost, Kaido intended to swoop in and carve off a piece of flesh.
From the very beginning, Charlotte Linlin had been foolish to expect Kaido to honor any promise. In this world, breaking an oath brought no divine curse.
However, Alvida continued: Crocodile's forces were also advancing with great success.
Their attack had been so sudden that every island along their route was caught entirely unprepared. His army was sweeping across territory like a tidal wave.
At present, Kaido had devoured the largest and richest share, rising instantly to become the strongest among the "Three Emperors."
Next were Davy Jones and Shanks, though Shanks himself had yet to make any move.
Davy Jones instructed Alvida to send encouragement to their forces on the front lines.
She took note—when suddenly a blonde, blue-eyed mermaid secretary floated toward them atop a transparent bubble.
"Your Majesty," she said, bowing her head so she did not have to look directly at him, nor dare address him by name. "This morning, a group claiming to be the 'Vinsmoke Family' requested an audience with you."
A flicker of doubt and curiosity passed through Davy Jones' gray-blue eyes.
Alvida leaned close to explain:
"Captain, the Vinsmokes are 'Germa 66.' Charlotte Linlin hired them to assassinate our officers, but they've done nothing but bluff—no action at all."
Davy Jones remembered the assassin family and immediately understood their intentions. He waved his hand.
"Let them in."
"Yes, my lord."
Only after Davy Jones and Alvida left did the mermaid secretary slowly rise to go notify the Vinsmokes.
Less than half an hour later, she returned with word that the Vinsmokes were waiting in the main hall.
Davy Jones brought Alvida with him to meet them.
Only two members of the Vinsmoke family had come: "Commander" Judge and "Poison Pink" Reiju.
To prove they had no hostile intent, Judge had stationed his three sons and the Germa Kingdom's army outside Davy Jones' territory, not daring to take a single step beyond the boundary.
After a round of polite greetings, Judge—wearing his golden face mask and curled mustache—began loudly praising the great victory won by Davy Jones' forces.
Both sides tacitly avoided mentioning the fact that the Vinsmokes had originally come under Linlin's assassination contract.
After Judge rambled on for some time, Reiju—her pink bangs covering her right eye—noticed her father drifting off-topic and coughed softly.
Judge paused, startled, then finally came back to himself.
"Captain Davy Jones, my apologies. I've spoken too much." He leaned forward with a smile and went straight to the point.
"In my view, your territory lacks almost nothing—capable generals, profitable routes, abundant resources…"
Davy Jones calmly smoked, knowing the key point would come after Judge's "but."
Judge hesitated for a moment under the calm gaze of Davy Jones, but pressed on:
"But, your territory lacks the most important thing—technology! I believe the future of the world belongs to science. With technology, your power can advance by leaps and bounds."
"Oh?"
"I am certain of it."
Davy Jones exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
"Then tell me—where am I supposed to obtain the power of technology?"
"From me!" Judge blurted out eagerly.
Reiju frowned slightly; her father was coming on too strong, too quickly. His phrasing had put him at a disadvantage.
But she did not interrupt.
Alvida, seated nearby, simply smiled faintly and ran her fingers through her wavy black hair.
Davy Jones cast Judge a sidelong glance.
"And how exactly would you grant me the power of technology?"
"To be frank, in my youth I worked alongside Vegapunk."
Judge straightened proudly.
"In scientific research, I do not believe I am inferior to him. In some areas, I surpass him."
"For example?"
"My understanding of Lineage Factors is no less than Vegapunk's. My Battle Suit Exoskeletons enhance individual combat capability, and my cloning technology can produce a fully loyal army of soldiers who know nothing but combat within five years."
Davy Jones tapped his knee, slightly intrigued.
"Lineage Factors—what are they?"
"They are the 'blueprint of life' that Vegapunk and I discovered together," Judge boasted. "In theory, if you understand someone's Lineage Factors, you can clone a near-perfect replica."
"A 'near-perfect clone'?"
"Yes," Judge said with a smile. "Although still theoretical, Lineage Factors record a person's personality, preferences, fighting style—even their Devil Fruit abilities."
"So you're saying you could recreate a clone with the same combat power as the original?"
Judge hesitated, embarrassed.
"At the moment… it exists only on paper.
But I am certain that with enough funding and a suitable research environment, I can achieve a breakthrough."
"You want me to provide funding and infrastructure so you can continue your research? And how am I to trust your theories?"
"We succeeded once!" Judge blurted out impatiently.
"We succeeded once… We cloned a woman—Number 1. But Vegapunk took her away."
His teeth clenched in anger.
Their joint research had earned Vegapunk the title of "genius scientist," celebrated throughout the world…
While Judge gained nothing, left worrying for Germa's future.
Davy Jones pondered for a moment, forming a preliminary idea.
He never underestimated any kind of power—not even one he understood poorly.
To him, technology was a force on equal footing with magic or Devil Fruit abilities—simply governed by different rules.
"Judge," Davy Jones said, "let's discuss something practical. Can you reverse-engineer the technology behind the Pacifistas?"
Judge froze—then gritted his teeth.
"Yes! Of course I can!"
"I am willing to make a pact—a contract, a deal. Call it whatever you like," Davy Jones said.
"If you can deconstruct Pacifista technology, I will invest further in you. Funds, resources—whatever you need to pursue the research you desire."
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