Very soon, when the cannon fire in front of the base subsided, the soldiers stationed to guard the town on the island — along with many of the residents — all came running toward this side.
The men, women, young and old all carried bandages, ointments, water, and food that they had taken from their homes.
Among the crowd hurrying over, Rorschach also saw a dozen familiar faces.
"You are... the boy from Old John's family, aren't you?"
A middle-aged woman with graying hair stared blankly at Rorschach, hesitating as she spoke.
Rorschach forced a smile and nodded. "It's me, Aunt Pelo."
"It really is you." Aunt Pelo froze, carefully looking him over, as if she could hardly believe it.
"You've changed so much, I almost couldn't recognize you. I often hear the navy soldiers on the island talk about you. Whenever they mention your name, they can't stop talking. The marines here really admire you — they say you came from the North Sea Branch 177, and that you're the pride of this place."
A few of the women who had survived the disaster at Maple Leaf Village also stared blankly at Rorschach.
It was as if they couldn't believe that the calm, mountain-like young man standing before them — nearly three meters tall with silver hair — was once the frail, skeleton-like boy from Maple Leaf Village they remembered.
"If Old John and Elizabeth were still alive, they'd be so proud of you." Aunt Pelo patted Rorschach's arm, then turned to help bandage the wounded navy soldiers.
Rorschach took a deep breath, looked around once, and then turned to Hibari, saying in a deep voice:
"Hibari, contact headquarters and report that our branch has been openly attacked by the Germa Kingdom's army. I'll pay the Vinsmoke royal capital a visit myself."
"Yes! I'll contact them right away." Hibari took out a Den Den Mushi from her pocket and started dialing.
Rorschach strode straight toward the battleship, reached out to grab the unconscious Ichiji, and with lightning crackling around his body, he launched himself high into the sky.
Boom!
A thunderclap resounded through the heavens. Rorschach's body shot through the air like a supersonic jet, leaving behind visible sonic rings. He was like a white war lance that split open the sky — heading straight toward the Germa royal capital.
Royal Capital.
Inside the luxurious main hall of the former Prince Kingdom Palace, which was embedded in the mountain wall and covered in rare animal furs, Judge, clad in a golden combat suit, sat frowning on a sofa in front of the fireplace, staring at a row of Den Den Mushi lined up before him.
He held one in his hand — the Den Den Mushi faithfully dialing over and over.
Purupurupuru... purupurupuru...
The repeated, persistent dialing echoed throughout the vast hall for over ten minutes, but no one answered.
Judge's brows knitted even tighter.
This Den Den Mushi belonged to Alec, the second-in-command of Germa's Science Division.
Alec was a veteran scientist whose research experience was second only to Judge's himself, and he was deeply trusted.
He was also the one who often handled Germa Kingdom's communications and dealings with the World Government.
This time, Alec was leading the team responsible for transporting the Heavenly Gold from the Four Nations to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
A few days ago, after sending Ichiji and Reiju to escort Alec and the Heavenly Gold partway up the Red Line, and once they had reached a certain height, Judge recalled them to Germa to continue the subjugation missions in the Four Nations.
During that time, he and Alec maintained hourly communication.
Even though Alec had climbed the Red Line over a hundred times, the mission involved 25 billion Berries in Heavenly Gold — a massive sum. Even Judge dared not be careless.
He wasn't worried about anyone intercepting the treasure mid-route — the chance of that was almost zero.
At least, in all the dozens of times Germa had sent Heavenly Gold to the World Government through that route, there had never once been a robbery.
Nor did he worry that Alec might betray him.
Perhaps Alec might dare skim a few million Berries — something Judge would tolerate.
But if Alec ever tried to steal all of it, that would be impossible.
Because the highest control over all clone soldiers rested in Judge's hands, and if anything unexpected happened, he could immediately trigger the bomb implanted in Alec's body.
Yes — even Alec, despite his high rank and trust, had a miniature bomb embedded in his body.
For Judge, everyone who joined Germa had one. Only his children were exempt.
Aside from them, he trusted no one.
Originally, Judge thought this operation was foolproof.
It should have been foolproof.
Yet now, more than half a day had passed, and there was still no word from Alec.
No one was answering the Den Den Mushi either.
This sudden turn of events filled Judge with irritation.
"What the hell is Alec doing? Why isn't he answering?"
Hours without a response made Judge restless.
He wasn't only worried about the fortune Alec was carrying, but also about his military operations against the four neighboring kingdoms.
Without a timely reply from the World Government, his every move would be restricted.
Especially regarding the allied nation of the Rubnir Kingdom.
No one knew his children better than he did.
If Reiju was someone who could weigh pros and cons, then Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji were nothing but emotionless killing machines.
Given their temperaments, this "peace negotiation" would surely be carried out amidst heavy artillery fire.
If Alec failed his part, Judge's campaign would lose legitimacy, and the Holy Land might extort him even further afterward.
Thinking of this, Judge sighed in frustration.
He should have sent Reiju to the Rubnir Kingdom instead.
The other three non-member nations didn't matter much — he could let Ichiji and the others do whatever they pleased there.
"Too late now. No point regretting. I should at least contact Ichiji's side and see how the subjugations are going. As for Alec, I'll try reaching the World Government officials responsible for receiving the Heavenly Gold later. Hopefully, it's already arrived."
He began dialing Ichiji's Den Den Mushi.
Purupurupuru... purupurupuru...
It rang for several minutes — no answer.
Judge shook his head.
"As expected."
Ichiji was probably in the middle of a bloodbath in the Rubnir Kingdom.
His awakened genetic enhancements not only gave him immense power but also an uncontrollable thirst for killing.
Ichiji and his brothers were already emotionless and ruthless — now, they were utterly savage.
Setting Ichiji's ringing Den Den Mushi on the table, Judge picked up Niji's and tried again.
Purupurupuru...
No answer.
Then he tried Yonji's.
Still no response.
At that point, a bad feeling welled up inside Judge's chest.
His eyes flickered, his breathing grew heavy, and he quickly grabbed the last Den Den Mushi — Reiju's.
If Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji didn't answer, it might be because they were lost in the frenzy of battle.
But if even calm, collected Reiju didn't answer — something was truly wrong.
As the fourth Den Den Mushi rang, Judge's heart pounded in his chest.
The four Den Den Mushi lined up on the table all rang one after another, croaking like a pond full of frogs — unbearably noisy.
Purupurupuru... purupurupuru...
Still no answer.
"Can anyone tell me — what the hell is going on!?"
When even Reiju's line failed to connect, Judge's temper exploded.
None of the five Den Den Mushi were reachable.
Either all five task forces had encountered disaster — or his communications had been cut off.
Judge would rather believe the latter than accept that his four children, whom he trusted completely, had fallen so quickly and silently.
After all, each of them had led five thousand clone soldiers.
In the North Blue, he couldn't imagine anyone capable of defeating them all so swiftly that they couldn't even send a report.
"Wait! The North Blue... it's not entirely without such powerhouses."
Suddenly, a dark thought struck Judge, and his heart sank.
The Revolutionary Army!
Back when he negotiated with Lawrence, Abarro, and the Kingdom of Flevance, his sharp instincts had detected those rats hiding in the shadows, biding their time.
He hadn't moved against them then only because of how massive the Revolutionary Army's influence was.
But now, as he was subjugating non-member nations through sheer military might, there was no guarantee those hidden rats wouldn't make a move.
If Reiju and the others had walked right into their trap...
Judge's mind was thrown into chaos.
The inability to connect to his troops made his rage boil.
And just then —
From the skies outside came a roaring hum, rolling like thunder across the heavens.
A cold, furious voice, thunderous and overwhelming, resounded above the Germa Kingdom.
"Judge! Get out here!"
It's the end of the year, and my day job has gotten really busy. The company's working overtime, and I don't get off until 8 PM. Writing 8,000 words a day is too much for now, so I'll reduce it to 6,000 daily. When the holidays come in two months, I'll return to 10,000 a day.
Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement — I truly appreciate every one of you who subscribes and reads.
End of Chapter)
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