Even though he couldn't beat Shaina, King, or Zeraora, and even Setsuna in full-throttle mode was too much for him, let alone Kaidou and Arceus, he couldn't believe he couldn't beat Judge.
After all, all these years of beatings weren't for nothing. If he couldn't win, he had to find a way to fight back. To avoid being beaten too badly and to catch more breath in Kaidou's training, Queen put in unimaginable effort.
"Queen? You useless fool, why are you here? Was the lesson I gave you back then not enough?"
"Lesson? Stop exaggerating, Judge. Your war is destined to fail. As old acquaintances, if you surrender now, I'll only make you mine for fifty years. How about that?"
Their relationship was unfriendly. Even though they were once both members of MADS, they rarely respected each other. Judge applied the Bloodline Factor technology to equipment, while Queen applied it to himself. This was their biggest difference and a point of contention in their research.
In their respective fields, they were considered geniuses and naturally despised each other's technology. No one could persuade the other, and their petty conflicts accumulated over time, leading to frequent bickering.
"Just a pirate, where do you get the confidence to stop me? And since when did you become enthusiastic about peace?"
As Judge conversed with Queen, he gestured to the soldiers around him, signaling them to prepare some anti-aircraft weapons. As the Grand Commander of Germa 66, Judge was the strongest fighter of the entire Germa 66.
But he had no intention of taking action. Back then, among all MADS members, Vegapunk and Caesar Clown temporarily allied with the Science Corps of the World Government, and Queen joined the Hundred Beasts Pirates. They all had someone above them who could command them.
But Judge was different. After returning to the North Sea, he picked up the foundation of the Vinsmoke family, ruling Germa 66 as the King of Germa Kingdom. He was not only the commander but also the king, and kings don't easily take action.
"Enthusiastic about peace? If it weren't for you attacking here, do you think I would be here?! Do you know how much time I spent on the road?!"
Queen's sudden roar left Judge perplexed. He still didn't understand what attacking a Non-Adhering Country had to do with Queen.
This was the result of Queen's selective amnesia. If he hadn't taken the job without checking the address, he wouldn't have come here. But he would never admit this mistake in front of Judge, so he directly blamed him.
Afterward, Queen didn't continue speaking. A simple exchange of insults was enough to say hello to Judge. He knew Judge wouldn't retreat just because of a few words, so he fired a barrage of plant bullets at him.
Though the Bullet Seed wasn't the strongest in his skill set, it was the one Queen was most comfortable with, and he habitually used it to clear out small fry.
"Shield."
Facing Queen's attack, Judge didn't dodge; instead, he uttered a word. He wasn't a power user; the so-called shield was actually a human shield.
A few tall Germa soldiers immediately stood in a row in front of him. If you looked closely, you'd find these men looked identical. This was Judge's use of cloned soldiers.
Instead of diminishing himself by dodging, he chose to use the lives of these modified people to form a barrier.
The penetrating power of the Seed Machine Gun wasn't strong, and the human body is arguably the strongest barrier in the Pirate World. The bullets didn't pierce them but did claim a batch of modified soldiers' lives.
"What do you take the lives of your subordinates for?!"
For Queen, this didn't mean much. He knew they were clones, and even if they weren't, he wouldn't care. Though he had become more restrained now, he still wouldn't concern himself with the lives of ordinary people; he simply avoided indiscriminate attacks.
But Yamato was different. Although she had witnessed the cruelty of Freyvans and the humanity on the Shampodi Islands, it was her first time seeing someone so indifferent to their underlings' lives, using them as human shields.
"Queen, is that your creation? Having too much emotion is not a good thing. As expected, you're trash. You don't even care about it, and yet your creation does?"
Yamato was now standing on Queen's back. With his understanding of Queen, he wouldn't accept this sort of thing.
Though he didn't know what modification Queen had made to himself to gain the ability to fly, letting someone step on him didn't match his character, unless that was also his creation.
Though their technological development directions differed, they all stemmed from the same source, so it wasn't surprising if Queen created a modified warrior.
Moreover, Yamato was a mystery to the outside world. Before this incident, the outside world didn't know Kaidou had such a daughter; she was well hidden, which led Judge to this misunderstanding.
Judge's response made the perspiration on Queen's forehead increase a bit as he hurriedly retorted, "Don't talk nonsense; I'm not someone who disregards my subordinates' lives. Only scum like you would do such a thing!"
After all, standing on his back was the future successor of the Hundred Beasts. He knew very well what it would mean to displease the future boss.
Sasaki was an example. Though Arceus didn't mind him, and Kaidou, the person he idolized, wasn't annoyed by him, other officers he had offended quite a bit, or he wouldn't be having a hard time.
At least for now, Yamato's impression of him wasn't one of disgust. If Judge ruined that, it would be troublesome.
However, what happened next proved Queen's worries were unnecessary. Their goal from the beginning was to "knock Judge away," and Judge's actions made Yamato's opinion of him plummet, so now she just wanted to send Judge flying.
Before Queen landed, she already jumped down with her trusty weapon in hand.
"Thundering Hakken!"
From such a height posed no danger to her. Though she had no technological elements in her body, she was a unique "modified person," specially modified by Arceus's power as a "superhuman."
Coupled with the monstrous physique inherited from Kaidou, she was much stronger than the perfect creations in Judge's mind.
With the momentum of her fall, the Thundering Hakken aimed at Judge's head. As he watched the rapidly approaching figure, a severe sense of crisis bubbled in Judge's heart, and the boots on his feet quickly spurted out a powerful jet stream to retreat backward.
Though this strike didn't hit Judge, it left a large crater in the ground. However, Yamato soon found herself surrounded by a group of modified soldiers.
"Is this kind of person really worth your lives?!"
Yet none of the clone soldiers responded to her. The biggest difference between these clones and robots was that they died more easily and inherently didn't have emotions.