Chapter 109

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"Hmm? Germa?"

Inside the room, Doflamingo, upon hearing the report from his subordinate, felt a sense of familiarity when he heard the name 'Germa'.

"Young master, the name probably sounds familiar because it's reminiscent of the fictional evil organization 'Germa 66' from the comic series," a subordinate suggested.

"At first, we were shocked too. But after some 'persuasion', we found out that it's most likely a scare tactic from the backers of those brats, inventing a name like this. After all, if the legendary Germa were to appear, we'd have to summon the Hero of the Sky to deal with it, hehe."

The reporting subordinate chuckled, thinking himself quite humorous.

The reality, of course, wasn't as easy as he portrayed.

Those brats were not only stubborn but also incredibly resilient. Despite suffering all kinds of punishments and being on the brink of death, they still defiantly shouted about Germa.

This made him question if there was a problem somewhere.

He then considered the possibility of a mere name coincidence. After all, the Grand Line was home to countless forces, many of which shared names.

Names like the 'Bear Pirates', 'Jack Pirates', and 'Wolf Pirates' were dime a dozen.

Every year, at least dozens of such groups would emerge.

With this new perspective, he continued to inquire. By then, Ichiji and the others were too exhausted to refute him, simply nodding along to whatever he said.

And so, today's report was created.

"Germa 66? After all this time, someone's flying that banner? Is it just a coincidence?"

Doflamingo instinctively felt something was off.

As a former World Noble, he knew that Germa was not a fictitious evil force, but a genuine former kingdom.

At least he had never heard of Germa being expelled from the World Government's affiliate nations.

That meant it was very possible that the Kingdom of Germa was still surviving somewhere, without the resources to stir trouble.

So, could someone be using Germa's name to cause trouble?

After all, Germa was once the undisputed overlord of the North Blue.

Now that the Donquixote family intended to succeed them, the sudden, inexplicable emergence of a mysterious 'Germa' felt like a ploy.

Of course, Doflamingo didn't take it too seriously.

Because ultimately, everything came down to power.

Fake things couldn't be real, and real things couldn't be fake.

Regardless, the final outcome would still see him victorious; this would not change.

Even if Germa truly did appear, it wouldn't hinder his path to ruling the North Blue!

However, for safety's sake, he planned to call back his executives who were away, force out the enemy's base location, and strike first.

...

And just like that, another three days quickly passed by.

Meanwhile...

When Reiju handed over the five lethal toxins to Abel, looking as pale as a ghost, she nearly burst into tears!

Despite her unique constitution, she couldn't conjure toxins out of thin air.

Thus, to extract and purify these toxins, she had to deplete almost all of her body's stored reserves until there was not a single drop left.

Thankfully, she had been provided with plentiful meals that replenished her nutrition, allowing her to narrowly avoid a fatal outcome.

She would definitely never want to recall the past few days, it was truly horrifying!

"You've worked hard, but you didn't add anything extra in there, did you? Like saliva or something?" Abel teased.

Reiju's recent grievances flared at this comment, "Give it back if you don't want it! Do you have any idea what I've been through these past few days?! Add what? I don't even know what you're planning to use these toxins for. If you don't trust me, you might as well kill me!"

Abel was taken aback. He was just making a light-hearted joke; he hadn't expected such a strong reaction.

So, she was going through a difficult time after all!

With a 'clang', he unsheathed his sword.

"What are you trying to do? Burn your bridges?" Reiju instinctively took a step back.

"You said to just kill you, and I think you're making sense. Don't worry, it won't hurt. I'll make it quick."

"You... you're not keeping your word," she whimpered.

Tears of frustration started rolling down her cheeks, and the defiant young girl finally broke into sobs.

After all, no matter how strong she pretended to be, she was still a nine-year-old girl, even younger than Baby-5.

Her crying caught Abel off guard.

He was only trying to scare her; he hadn't intended to actually kill her. Otherwise, he would have done it already, not waiting until now.

Speaking of which, in the original storyline, among the entire Vinsmoke family, only Reiju and Sanji, who retained their emotions, had relatively normal morals.

The rest of them weren't worth mourning, no one would shed a tear for them.

So naturally, Abel didn't dislike Reiju, or he wouldn't have treated her differently.

As for any other thoughts, there wouldn't be, there couldn't be.

Because if there were...

Reiju's crying seemed endless, probably due to her usual facade of strength accumulating too much pressure and grievance. However, she couldn't express it in front of her irresponsible father, Judge.

Now, finally finding a chance to vent, she decided to let it all out.

"Stop crying! I won't kill you."

"No, I must cry! Killed, killed, killed..." she insisted amidst her sobs.

Abel, devoid of any intention to console, darkened his expression and left to continue his training as a way to pass time.

Recently, he had been making swift progress in understanding the Power of Darkness, having developed both 'Type One' and 'Type Two.'

With a bit more refinement, he might be able to establish 'Type Three' as well.

Such concrete progress was incredibly exhilarating and addictive!

Furthermore, after obtaining the five lethal toxins from Reiju, he had all the toxins required to upgrade his talent 'Heart of the Wight'—with some to spare.

However, as he didn't know when the Germa would attack, he didn't take any rash actions.

Upgrading talents was not something to be done carelessly; one misstep could result in severe consequences.

If it weren't for the talent 'Soul of the Samurai' and two Senzu beans as lifesaving measures, he wouldn't dare to try it for several more years.

It was all about timing and luck.

While Abel was in the midst of his intense workout, a peculiar spectacle composed of a massive fleet of snail ships — the Germa Kingdom — approached!

Before they were even close, alarm bells and shouts of 'enemy attack' rang out on the island.

All members of the Donquixote Family stationed on the island immediately sprung into action!

"Quick, what's that on the sea?"

"A snail?! Such a huge snail!"

"Are you seeing things? Let me have a look... Holy crap! It really is!"

"Eh? Why does it look exactly like the spoils of war that Master Abel brought back last time?"

"There are even strange buildings on those snails."

"Wait a second, those snails are actually fusing together!"

"Good heavens, is that an island?!"

"Incredible!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the previously dispersed snail ships suddenly converged, as if drawn by some magnetic force.

They aligned neatly and systematically, without any chaos or deviation!

The strange buildings on the snails eventually formed a complete nation—a nation that could move freely on the ocean!

The embedded technology and construction techniques were too advanced, beyond comprehension.

Faces of utter shock spread among the crowd, followed by panic and fear.

Because an 'island' was heading straight for them!

At this moment, Donquixote Doflamingo and other executives finally made their appearance.

Seeing the captain and executives stepping out, everyone quickly regained their composure.

Donquixote Doflamingo's face darkened at just one glance.

Up until today, he hadn't even known such a large-scale force lay hidden in the North Blue, instinctively he felt threatened.

Especially when the opposing force was so imposing, their intentions far from benign!

"That flag... could it really be the Germa?" Doflamingo wasn't certain, but his eyes filled with ruthlessness in no time.

Regardless of who the opponent was, whether it was the real Germa or an imposter, it was no longer important; he wouldn't back down.

In the North Blue, there could only be one ruler, the Donquixote Family, which he single-handedly built!

If he couldn't dominate the North Blue, how could he even think of entering the Grand Line and taking control of the New World!

His ambition didn't allow him to halt his steps.

Thus, this battle was one he must win!

Meanwhile, Abel naturally stood behind Doflamingo, mingling among other executives. Two young girls, Baby-5 and Reiju, accompanied him.

Left with no choice as Reiju was vehemently against being imprisoned, seemingly having a strong aversion to such places.

Considering how he had pushed Reiju hard these past few days, he decided to keep her under his watch.

Doflamingo and the others didn't mind this and didn't consider Reiju a threat.

Honestly, Abel was indeed shocked when he saw the real Germa Kingdom.

Regardless of what came next, the momentum of taking the initiative had already risen.

But that was all.

He initially thought Judge wouldn't come to rescue with such fanfare, but he did—the entire kingdom marched over, completely beyond his expectations.