"It's even trickier than Amber Lead Syndrome," Law said gravely.
"Dr. Kureha's diagnosis and treatment plan… they're brilliant, truly innovative. Even I can't find any flaws in them."
"I can perform the surgery," he added after a pause, "but there's an issue with the compatible organ transplant."
Jin leaned back lazily, pointing behind him with a faint smile. "Which is exactly why I came looking for them."
Law turned his gaze to the flag of Germa 66 fluttering above the fortress. For a long moment, he said nothing.
Who could have imagined that one of the World Government's affiliated kingdoms—a nation that had stood unshaken in the North Blue for four centuries—would be destroyed simply because someone needed a cure for a disease?
The thought almost made Law laugh.
Compared to the Vinsmoke family's downfall, his own misfortune didn't seem so unbearable.
It was true. Happiness always came at the expense of someone else's pain.
Once he realized that, Law's thoughts began to loosen.
This man's power was terrifying, and his influence was growing. Could he perhaps use Jin's strength to finally destroy the man he hated most—Donquixote Doflamingo?
Germa 66's disappearance would not stir up too much suspicion in the short term.
After all, the kingdom had always been too strong, too mysterious, and it never had a fixed home. It drifted endlessly across the seas.
Gone? People might just assume it had slipped away to cause more trouble elsewhere.
Nations would breathe easier keeping their distance.
Only the figures of the underworld—those who had dealings with Germa—began to sense something amiss.
The Shipping King, Giberson. The Loanshark King, Lu Feld. The News King, Morgans.
These men felt the ripples first.
"Oi, oi! Germa's gone silent!" Lu Feld growled over a den-den mushi. "They still owe me a ten-billion Berries loan! They can't just vanish like that!"
He called Morgans. "Your news birds catch any whispers?"
"Nothing." Morgans frowned, his tone heavy. "Weren't they still working as mercenaries? Wandering from place to place?"
"They'd better pay me back on time, or else…" Lu Feld snapped. Then his voice shifted. "By the way, any noteworthy figures emerging lately?"
"Of course. Same price as always."
"Ma ha ha ha! You're greedier than we loan sharks. A single report, and you're charging tens of millions."
"Exclusive intelligence can make you richer than any interest payments," Morgans replied slyly.
"Fine, let's hear it."
"Then you'll see just how extraordinary this person is."
It was whispered that Lu Feld's wealth could buy an entire nation. Through his loans, he controlled countless forces, pulling strings across the world.
Worse still, he had bought his way into both the Marines and the Revolutionary Army. His money had even funded Vegapunk's SSG project.
Science required funding. Not just small sums, but astronomical numbers.
Germa 66, desperate for cash, had taken assassination and mercenary contracts. That they accepted Lu Feld's backing was no surprise.
Reiju's warning rang again in Jin's ears.
Germa 66 was no ordinary pirate force. It was a kingdom acknowledged by the World Government.
Its disappearance would create waves.
"He's like a ravenous hound that can never be satisfied," Judge muttered bitterly. "His eyes fixed greedily on every valuable asset across every nation."
Jin considered it carefully before instructing Judge to return calls to their contacts.
But he had no intention of releasing Germa 66. A man like Judge, for all his flaws, was too valuable to discard. His knowledge and talents would be put to use.
As for Reiju and her brothers? They could still play the role of Germa's outward face, maintaining the kingdom's vast web of connections.
That network could serve Jin well.
The southern port was the beating crossroads of the North Blue. Its enormous trade network radiated into every surrounding kingdom.
Goods of every kind exchanged hands there, and this provided Robin and Maya a rare chance. After a day of intensive buying, the Carrier finally departed, its hold packed full of supplies.
It set sail for the next kingdom along their route.
Afternoon.
On the deck of a shabby pirate vessel, Basil Hawkins sat cross-legged atop a wooden crate, his deck of tarot cards fanned out before him.
The crew gathered nervously around.
The captain's divinations had guided them time and again, helping them avoid calamities. They had grown superstitious, almost fanatical.
Whenever a decision loomed—divination!
Hawkins turned the next card.
His face hardened.
Calamity.
Great misfortune.
Again.
Unbelievable. For the past two days, every reading he performed ended in the same way: disaster. It was as if some great shadow had fallen over the entire North Blue.
"Fate's warning is clear. We must go ashore. Something ominous hangs over these seas."
"Ashore? But Captain, we're pirates. How do we just go ashore?"
"Find an uninhabited island. We'll lay low for a while."
"Yes, Captain!"
No one dared question him. Their eyes held nothing but reverence for fate's decree.
Soon after Hawkins' ship vanished from the horizon, a different vessel appeared.
The Carrier, its waterline sunk low under the weight of goods, glided steadily across the sea.
Its black dragon flag fluttered high.
From afar, it looked like a merchant ship laden with wealth. A juicy target.
"Strange…"
On a lonely reef island, Jin stood with a telescope, scanning the seas. He looked almost disappointed.
No pirates in sight.
He had been waiting for them.
The next evolution of the carrier required two thousand soul crystals. He was still far short.
The carrier consumed crystals endlessly.
Its engines ran on them.
They were used to heal wounds, to strengthen training, even to fuel Devil Fruit abilities.
When the ship had been weaker, the demand wasn't so noticeable. But now that it had grown, the drain was enormous.
Jin had once thought to use Germa's clone soldiers as substitutes.
But ten clones barely produced a single soul crystal. Their "souls" were artificial, little more than embedded programs.
And the resources required to manufacture ten clones? Over a hundred million Berries.
The cost was ridiculous.
Wild pirates scattered across the seas, however, were plentiful. Their lives were far cheaper than machines.
As the Carrier sailed from one North Blue nation to another, Jin continued his "fishing," hoping for prey.
Robin proved invaluable, smoothing his introductions with different kings and arranging diplomatic courtesies.
But such movements did not go unnoticed.
The Revolutionary Army had sharp eyes in the North Blue, and word of Jin's activities soon reached their supreme commander—Dragon.
In the East Blue, within the forests of the Goa Kingdom, Dragon stood silently on a great tree branch. His piercing gaze watched two young boys racing through the woods.
"Ace, wait up!"
"Oi, Luffy, keep running!"
A smile touched Dragon's lips, rare and fleeting.
Whenever he returned to the East Blue, he would stop by here, just to watch.
He was not a good father.
He could only watch his son from the shadows.
"Leader, urgent message from the North Blue," came a voice behind him.
"Something serious?" Dragon asked.
"Yes. It concerns the situation there…"
A strong gust of wind whipped through the trees. Dragon and his aide, Bartholomew Kuma, vanished, heading back to the base.
The forest clearing opened onto the sea.
Ace burst out first, leaping from the treeline and landing gracefully on the cliff's edge.
Luffy crashed through the underbrush seconds later, tumbling forward. The sudden wind caught his straw hat, sending it flying.
"Ahhh—!"
Luffy yelped. His arms stretched instantly, grabbing the hat in midair and pulling it back onto his head.
"Phew! That was close!"
He landed beside Ace, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked out over the endless waves.
"The ocean, Ace… isn't it beautiful?"
"Yeah." Ace smiled too, though the fire in his eyes burned deeper, restless, impatient.
It was as though he were a candle flickering in darkness, eager to blaze.
He adjusted the brim of his hat and looked down to the shore below, where a small boat lay ready.
"Only five months left," he said quietly.
Ace's birthday was January 1st.
When this year ended—
"I'll be seventeen," he said firmly. "Remember our promise?"
Luffy nodded at once. "Of course!"
Ace's eyes fixed on the vast sea before them.
"One day, we'll set sail. Live however we want. Freer than anyone else. When I'm seventeen—I'll leave to become a pirate."
Luffy's grin split wide, his teeth shining.
"I'll become the Pirate King, Ace!"
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