Perfect dream!

As Judge evacuated, he also issued a second command: "All Germa soldiers, hold that guy down!"

Germa 66 soldiers suddenly rushed from all directions at incredible speed.

Upon their arrival, the soldiers surrounded Nicholas, forming a massive human wall around him, effectively trapping him.

Meteorites from the sky were descending rapidly, yet the Germa clones seemed oblivious, continuing to converge towards the scene.

It seemed they intended to detain Nicholas and meet their end together.

As the meteorites drew closer, Nicholas moved forward, grabbing Reiju around the waist and instantly teleporting away.

Boom!

With a deafening roar, the meteorite struck the sea surface a kilometer away from the Germa fortress, causing a tsunami tens of meters high.

Indeed, such long-range strikes required powerful Observation Haki to assist.

Unable to resist commenting, Nicholas muttered to himself, "Quite amusing. Pulling meteorites from the sky might seem impressive, but the time it takes to capture and direct them to their intended target is considerable. Unless the opponent remains stationary, such attacks can only rely on locking onto their trajectory with powerful Observation Haki, predicting their position when the meteorite arrives."

Observing the approaching tsunami, Reiju, held by Nicholas, couldn't help but look up at the masked man.

"Oh, Judge isn't around, and you drop the act!?" Nicholas looked at the petite girl in his arms, his expression playful yet meaningful.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Reiju responded instinctively, keeping her secret hidden.

"Heh, I have a better relationship with Vegapunk than Judge does with him. He told me before I came here. If Judge had followed his research results directly, the creations would retain their emotions and inherit the immense power of the lineage factor. Of course, in Judge's eyes, such emotional beings are failures. If I'm not mistaken, Judge has probably realized your secret. But being his first creation and his biological daughter, he probably won't resort to inhumane methods against you. The difference between Judge and Vegapunk is vast for good reason."

Before coming to the North Sea, Nicholas and Vegapunk had discussed Judge's lineage factor experiments. According to Vegapunk, only those who inherit human emotions and the lineage factor have unlimited potential. The lineage factor is just a key; the height one can reach depends on the user. As for those emotionless beings, they may initially display powerful strength, but their limits are predetermined.

"So, emotions aren't my flaw?" The pink-haired girl looked at Nicholas expectantly, recalling similar words from her mother.

"Well, strictly speaking, you should be a perfect creation. But Judge's technical skills are just too poor. Your potential is almost predetermined. If Vegapunk had been in charge, you might have become one of the monsters of the Grand Line."

"So, I'm not a failure? But Father said a strong physique, a ruthless mind, and immense power are the true path to the future."

Nicholas looked at the pink-haired girl and rubbed his chin under the mask. "Do you think those lacking emotions have a future? Power can be obtained through technology, but what about emotions? Take you or your upcoming siblings, for example. Perhaps now you represent the pinnacle of lineage factor technology, but what about ten, twenty, or thirty years from now? Technology can progress continuously, but lost hearts cannot be regained. So, while Judge may be called a fool, there's a reason behind it."

Nicholas's words plunged the pink-haired girl into deep thought, her eyes gradually lighting up.

While Nicholas was "brainwashing" or rather, chatting with the pink-haired girl, Judge had arrived at the Germa refuge ship previously used by Vinsmoke Sora.

"Judge, where's Reiju?" Vinsmoke Sora, seeing only Judge, almost stumbled, yet still looked at Judge with the last glimmer of hope.

"Reiju stayed behind to hold them off," Judge replied, then fell silent. Clearly, even he felt a bit embarrassed about sending his young daughter to the rear guard.

However, the sight of the meteorite falling from the sky left an indelible impression on Judge. He self-deprecatingly said, "It's ridiculous. I aimed to rule the entire North Sea, revive Germa's glory, and become the King of the North Sea, yet I felt fear!"

But soon, Judge convinced himself, "I am Vinsmoke's king, the ruler of Germa 66, the hope for the revival of the Vinsmoke family, and the unique king of the North Sea. I, Vinsmoke Judge, am destined by the heavens!"

Originally, he intended to use the North Sea Four Nations War to continuously provoke them, escalating their conflicts until they were desperate. He knew the impact of war on ordinary people, how dire their situation would become. It could be said that once the beast of war was unleashed, almost no one could stop it, but Vinsmoke Judge could. Because he had a soldier who would unquestionably obey him.

He planned to let the Four Nations War continue until it became unbearable for the people, then join the fray, utterly defeating the Four Nations' armies. By then, with the surging public opinion, even if he killed the kings of the Four Nations, it would have little impact. Perhaps, he might even gain the support of the common people from the Four Nations, as he would have ended the war.

With that, Germa 66 would have a territory capable of providing vast resources and funds. What about military resources? Sorry, Judge, with his mastery of clone technology, didn't care. He only wanted resources and funds.

This was the foundation of his reassertion of dominance in the North Sea!

But unexpectedly, all his plans had fallen apart today. Under such a scale of meteorite impact, Germa 66's foundation was destroyed.

"Reporting to the King naval warships are spotted ahead!"

As Judge kept reassuring himself, a Germa soldier suddenly came to report.

"Naval warships? Sink them!"

Judge, feeling frustrated and distracted, gave the order directly. Clearly, he needed to vent his anger now. Although as long as he was around, even if Germa's fortress of war was destroyed, he could rebuild it and raise a new clone army.

But it would still require funds, resources, and time. It could be said that his years of effort had gone to waste, and the grand project of Germa's revival would be postponed for several years.

"A ship suspected to be Germa 66's vessel spotted ahead, report to Admiral Fujitora immediately!"

As the naval vessel spotted Germa 66's ship, chaos ensued aboard the ship.