Germa 66

"So you're admitting the entire plan was your idea?" Hina asked in surprise.

Cross glanced at her, then nodded calmly. "That's right. I've known about the toxicity of amber lead for a while now. But the plan itself was something I came up with on the spot that day."

In truth, Cross's strategy was straightforward: if the royal family of Aryel served the Navy using amber lead products, Zephyr and Cross could seize the opportunity to escalate matters under the pretext of "an attempt to poison high-ranking Navy officials."

With that justification, they could launch a swift takedown of the Aryel royal family before reporting back; a classic "act first, report later" maneuver.

Amber lead, after all, was a specialty of the Flevance Kingdom. Whenever foreign dignitaries were hosted, even if the Aryel royal family didn't offer amber lead products themselves, uninformed visitors might request such high-quality local wares, unintentionally playing into the plan.

But Cross's plan had a fatal flaw, if the Aryel royals didn't use amber lead when hosting Zephyr and himself, the opportunity would vanish, and the entire operation would collapse. Cross wouldn't be able to exploit the situation, and the royal family would remain untouched.

After all, Cross and Zephyr were Marines, not lawless pirates. Everything they did had to remain within the bounds of regulations.

Assassinating the king of a World Government member nation, especially during the Reverie, without authorization would lead to Cross being labeled a criminal by both the World Government and the Navy itself.

Cross may have a conscience, but he wasn't about to throw away his future in the Marines over the Aryel royal family.

"Whew…"

A hint of hesitation flashed across Hina's elegant face. She pulled a slim cigarette from her coat pocket, lit it, inhaled deeply, then exhaled a stream of faintly fragrant smoke. Her voice lowered.

"I saw a man suffering from amber lead syndrome at a tavern the other day. It wasn't pretty… Cross, tell me the truth, is there really no cure for amber lead disease?"

"At least for now," Cross replied, shaking his head with a hint of frustration. "There's no treatment, no medicine. Maybe a Devil Fruit could heal it, but the sea is vast… tracking down a medically capable Fruit is no small feat."

Hina's expression dimmed, and she sighed.

"Even if someone had a healing-type Devil Fruit… just how strong would they have to be to cure tens of thousands of people from Flevance?"

Cross fell silent. He had no answer.

As far as he knew, curing amber lead disease would require the Op-Op Fruit or the Heal-Heal Fruit, both Paramecia-type Devil Fruits.

But the Op-Op Fruit wouldn't appear for several more years. And even then, it demanded immense stamina.

For its user to cure the tens of thousands afflicted in Flevance, they'd need to be a monster on the level of Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin herself.

As for the Heal-Heal Fruit, it would eventually fall into the hands of Princess Mansherry of the Tontatta Kingdom in the New World.

That power also drained stamina, and overuse would even shorten the user's lifespan.

There was no way Cross could ask someone from the far end of the Grand Line to journey all the way to the North Blue and sacrifice their life to save tens of thousands of strangers.

Even in the best-case scenario, someone happened to eat a Fruit like the Op-Op or Heal-Heal, then made it to Flevance to help,it would still take time to treat such a large population.

But time was something Flevance no longer had. The nation stood on the brink of an outbreak.

Unless someone like Big Mom, wielding a healing-type Fruit, miraculously arrived in Flevance and tirelessly treated the masses… which was even less likely than some brilliant doctor developing a real cure.

Cross shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic thoughts from his mind.

He wasn't a god, nor a saint.

He was just an ordinary man with a conscience and a sense of justice, he had already done everything within his power.

There were regrets, of course, and frustration.

But his conscience remained clear.

"Object spotted directly ahead… a castle floating on the sea—wait, no… it's a huge snail carrying a castle on its back!"

Suddenly, the lookout's astonished voice echoed through the ship's broadcast system.

"There's a sail too… with the number 66 on it… we've found Germa 66!"

Everyone on deck, except for Cross, froze in confusion.

A castle? A giant snail? A sail marked with the number 66?

One by one, the crew shifted aside, giving space to the squeezed and frustrated Smoker, and rushed to the bow to see for themselves.

After all, sailing could be dull, and any sign of excitement was a welcome distraction.

Sure enough, directly ahead of their battleship was a massive sea snail, gigantic as a Sea King, floating on the surface. Upon its back sat a massive stone fortress, complete with dark sails emblazoned with a white "66."

There was no mistaking it.

This was the uniquely engineered, mobile fortress-ship of Germa 66, the formidable military branch of the Germa Kingdom, a seafaring nation without fixed territory and renowned as the "Nation of Science" for generations.

Germa 66, also known as the Warmongers or the Evil Army, was a scientific military force that operated as a mercenary unit across the world. With powerful and efficient combat capabilities, they could even traverse the Red Line.

Normally, Germa 66's fleet was composed of dozens of separate ships, which, when combined, formed the full kingdom.

In the North Blue, Germa 66 was a household name. Even across the world, their fame was widespread—partly due to their appearance in serialized comic strips published in the World Economic Journal, where Germa was portrayed as an evil organization often clashing with the heroic Sora, Warrior of the Sea, a Marine icon.

Cross himself had read those comics as a child.

In fact, the fictionalized portrayal once caused widespread confusion, with many believing Germa 66 was just a myth.

Creak—

Suddenly, the door to the captain's cabin opened with a groan, and Zephyr stepped out, his expression emotionless.

"Sensei," Cross greeted him solemnly. "We've located Germa 66's warship. But it's unclear whether the escort target is onboard."

Zephyr's eyes focused forward, locking onto the Germa warship. He spoke slowly:

"A few days ago, the Germa Kingdom encountered a massive storm. Several of their ships were damaged, so Judge is traveling on a single vessel. Otherwise, with enemies watching, he wouldn't have relied on us Marines for an escort."

Fssshhh—

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud, pressurized hissing sound swept in from afar.

Someone launched into the air from the deck of Germa 66's ship, propelled by a powerful blast beneath their feet.

"Someone's flying toward us!" the young lookout cried from the tower.

A blur streaked across nearly a thousand meters of open sea in an instant, soaring high above Zephyr's ship.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the figure began to descend.

"Judge," Zephyr growled coldly, stepping forward with long, heavy strides. "I never gave you permission to board my ship."

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