"Hmph, there is no more need for your pathetic nonsense."
Sakazuki had long been struggling to suppress the raw desire for destruction bubbling in his heart. His patience for bureaucracy and petty criminals had reached its absolute limit.
"Delusions of dominating the sea, scurrying around in the dark like rats, creating nothing but chaos for the innocent..."
Sakazuki took a sudden, heavy step forward. The sheer heat radiating from his body caused the warship's reinforced deck beneath his boots to instantly carbonize, turning a charred black as the wood fibers hissed and disintegrated. He soared into the air with explosive force. In mid-flight, his right arm rapidly expanded, his flesh transforming into rolling, viscous flows of dark red magma. The transformation was so intense that it cast a crimson, hellish glow across the originally gloomy, gray sky.
On the Germa flagship, Judge suddenly looked up. His pupils shrank violently behind the narrow slits of his mask as he witnessed a sight that made his very soul tremble with primal fear. A giant fist made of molten rock, as large as half a fleet, obscured his entire field of vision like a falling, apocalyptic meteorite.
"That's... a Logia user?!" Judge's voice went completely out of tune, cracking with disbelief.
In mid-air, Sakazuki looked down coldly at the soldiers below, seeing them as nothing more than insects. His voice boomed across the waves like thunder:
"A bunch of trash relying on external mechanical objects, yet you still dare to provoke the name of Justice?"
"Great Eruption!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The destructive mass of lava collided head-on with the sky full of incoming cannonballs. There was no suspense and no struggle; the iron projectiles vaporized the very instant they touched the magma, unable to block the attack's momentum for even a fraction of a second. Immediately after, the magma's downward force remained unchecked as it smashed heavily into the vanguard of the Germa fleet.
Sizzle—!
The sea surface began to boil violently, sending up clouds of blinding steam. The first giant snail ship didn't even get a chance to explode or sink; it was directly melted into slag by the impossible temperature. Next came the second ship, then the third... in a matter of heartbeats, a dozen sturdy steel fortresses were turned into a sea of rolling, molten iron.
"Aaaaaah!"
Countless Clone Soldiers were reduced to ash and dust before they could even finish a single scream.
[Ding! Detected teammate Sakazuki causing excessive destructive damage!]
[Judgment: Excessive use of force during law enforcement! Serious violation of the Marine humanitarian spirit!]
[The host, acting as the commander, bears joint responsibility for this brutality... Disciplinary Points +2,000!]
Kane stood at the bow of the warship, listening to the pleasant, melodic chime of the system prompt in his mind. He comfortably cracked another melon seed, savoring the flavor. He let the fierce heat wave from the explosion mess up his hair, looking at the apocalyptic scene in the distance. He gently shook his head, his tone full of mock regret for their failure to live up to his expectations.
"Oh my, oh my..."
"Mr. Judge, is this the confidence you use to dominate the North Blue? I must say, it's a bit disappointing."
Kane raised his hand, pointing a finger directly at the flagship where Judge stood, and turned on his taunt mode with a grin:
"If this is your true level, then I suggest you go home and play in the mud. The waters of the North Blue are far too deep for you; you clearly can't handle the pressure."
"You bastard! You damn Marines! I'll tear you to pieces with my own hands!"
Judge was completely driven mad by the sight. The foundation he had meticulously built up over decades of research and war was one-tenth destroyed in a single encounter! He slammed a button on his mask, and the high-tech jetpack on his back sprayed a powerful blue airflow, causing him to levitate into the air.
"All Germa units, take to the sky! Kill them using Sea Stone bullets! As long as we spread out our formation, that kind of clumsy, localized attack won't be able to hit—"
However, before he could even finish his sentence, a lazy and incredibly punchable voice rang out directly above his head.
"Yeah~ Clumsy? Are you talking about Sakazuki? That's quite a scary evaluation for a monster like him~ But being treated like a fool myself is also a real headache for me~"
Judge looked up sharply. It was blinding—more blinding than looking directly at the midday sun. Borsalino had his hands tucked casually in his pockets, his body completely defying the laws of physics as he hung suspended hundreds of meters in the air. His yellow striped suit was shining brilliantly in the artificial light he generated. He pursed his lips, his sunglasses reflecting the Clone Soldier army below as they tried to take flight like headless flies.
"Spreading out the formation is indeed troublesome. After all, if you do that, I'd have to aim at you one by one, so..."
Borsalino crossed his hands in front of his chest, locking his index fingers and thumbs together. Golden light danced at his fingertips like thousands of stars flashing simultaneously.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Just as the golden light was about to pour out, another slightly sluggish, deep voice spoke up eerily from the side:
"Since Borsalino-san is working so hard, I suppose I should add a little something to the mix as well... If we let them swim away or fly off, cleaning up the mess later will be a real hassle."
Unnoticed by anyone, Kuzan had already appeared in mid-air on the other side. With a simple shake of his arms, the air around his body instantly condensed into moisture. Hundreds of ice-thorn spears emitting a bone-chilling frost appeared out of thin air, hovering like a forest of death.
"Partisan!"
Swish swish swish swish swish—!!!
For a moment, the sky was split by two completely different colors of light. On one side was a rain of golden light bullets falling at high speed with destructive, piercing heat; on the other was a flow of pale ice spears, sharp enough to pierce thick steel and emitting extreme cold. There were no blind spots and no room for evasion. This time, it was Germa's turn to experience what true "fire coverage" meant.
Golden explosions and icy freezing erupted simultaneously within the center of the Germa fleet. Before the soldiers pierced by the light bullets could even scream from the heat, the ice spears that followed froze them and the surrounding air into solid, blood-red blocks of ice. Those Clone Soldiers trying to disperse via their jetpacks had nowhere to hide in the gaps between the light and the ice. They fell into the scalding, boiling seawater like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
[Ding! Detected teammates Borsalino and Kuzan causing large-scale casualties!]
[Judgment: Showing a clear tendency to massacre prisoners of war!]
[Disciplinary Points +1,500!]
"It's over... everything is over... Why would monsters like this appear in the North Blue?!"
Judge's hand holding his spear began to tremble violently. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner garments beneath his raid suit.
"Is Marineford crazy? To deal with a single Germa kingdom, they actually sent three top-tier Logia users?!"
His legs went weak, and he slumped to the deck. His spear fell with a heavy clang. In just three short minutes, the invincible fleet he was so proud of was half turned into molten iron and half riddled with frozen holes.
"Run... I must run..."
The fire of ambition in Judge's eyes was completely extinguished, leaving only the raw, animal instinct to survive. He began to crawl on all fours toward the emergency escape pod console located at the rear of the bridge. As long as he could escape back to the core laboratory, and as long as his cloning technology remained hidden, he could eventually...
"Arara... Since you're already here, don't be in such a hurry to leave. If I let you run away, Kane will nag me for the rest of the week about not doing my fair share of the work."
A lazy voice, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold, enveloped the entire sea area. Kuzan was now crouching on the gunwale of the warship, one hand reaching down into the seawater.
"Ice Age!"
Crack crack crack—!
The tooth-aching sound of rapid freezing rang out across the ocean. Centering on the Marine warship, a pale, thick ice layer spread outward at a terrifying speed, instantly swallowing the boiling sea surface. The massive waves were frozen mid-curl, and those giant snail ships trying to turn around were instantly locked onto the thick ice plain. Not even a fly could fly out of the zone now. The entire world had been turned into a massive, silent ice sculpture graveyard.
[Ding! Detected teammate Kuzan freezing an important international shipping lane and obstructing commercial traffic!]
[Judgment: Severe environmental destruction! Negatively affecting global navigation!]
[Disciplinary Points +1,000!]
"Comfortable."
Kane suppressed the urge to let his lips curl upward as he looked at the skyrocketing numbers on the system panel. This haul was enough for him to start a high-level lucky draw wheel. He brushed off the remaining melon seed shells from his hands and straightened his tie.
"Moonwalk."
Thump.
Stepping on the air as if it were solid ground, he landed elegantly on the already frozen deck of the Germa flagship. His leather soles collided with the ice, making crisp "tap, tap" sounds. This sound was particularly piercing on the deathly silent ice plain, each step treading directly on Judge's collapsing nerves.
At this moment, half of Judge's body was already frozen solid to the control console. He was unable to move, only able to look in horror as the young Marine Warrant Officer approached him step by step. Behind the boy, the three "monsters" emitting terrifying auras stood in a perfect triangular formation, surrounding the ashen-faced Judge.
Kane walked right up to Judge, knelt down beside him, and showed that kind, warm smile that was like a gentle spring breeze.
"Nice to meet you at last, Mr. Vinsmoke Judge."
Kane considerately reached out and brushed a small piece of ice off Judge's shoulder. His tone was incredibly gentle.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself: Marineford Warrant Officer, Kane."
"What was it that I said just a few minutes ago?"
Kane took out a small notebook labeled "Fines" from his pocket. He tapped his chin with the pen cap, looking thoughtful as he checked his notes.
"Oh right. Illegal assembly, environmental pollution, violent resistance to the law, and the attempted murder of a Marine officer... these charges are not light at all, Mr. Judge."
Judge's teeth chattered as he looked into the eyes of the demon before him. He managed to squeeze words out from between his teeth:
"I'll... I'll give it to you... the 500 million... just let me go..."
As long as he could live, what did the money matter! With Germa's secret technology still intact in his head, he could eventually make a comeback!
Hearing this, Kane did not show a satisfied expression. On the contrary, he frowned and looked at Judge with a look of genuine surprise, as if he had just heard something completely unbelievable.
"500 million?"
Kane gave an exaggerated sigh, slowly stood up, and looked down at this former hegemon of the North Blue. That look was like a person looking at a confused native who didn't know the basic rules of society.
"Mr. Judge, did you perhaps misunderstand something?"
"The 500 million I mentioned earlier was the special friendship price offered before we started this whole mess. Now, however..."
Kane's eyes were deep and dark as he glanced at the three monster figures standing behind him, and then he spoke softly:
"Now, you're going to have to pay a whole lot more."
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion