Affiliation!

At this moment, a warship was slowly sailing on the sea.

"It's amazing, isn't it? It's actually a 'land' formed by dozens of giant ships combined together!"

Fujitora exclaimed in amazement as he glanced at the fortress of Germa 66.

"Germa 66 doesn't have fixed territory. It's a sea kingdom completely composed of ships. It can be considered a unique spectacle in the world, right, Judge?" Nicholas nodded and then turned to Judge, who was beside him.

Facing Nicholas's inquiry, although Judge felt somewhat annoyed, he still showed a proud expression. After all, the mobile maritime kingdom of Germa was indeed a magnificent sight on the sea.

Mainly, the fact that the base, which was thought to have been destroyed, was intact was good news for him.

As the warship approached, a gangway was lowered between the warship and the castle of Germa.

Nicholas stepped onto the gangway and walked onto Germa's territory. Judge, with his golden mane resembling that of a lion, accompanied Sora and the pink-haired girl.

"Your Majesty."

As Judge appeared, someone stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Judge surveyed the surroundings and then said to Nicholas and Fujitora, "It's windy outside. Why don't we discuss matters indoors?"

Then he led the way towards the castle.

Along the way, elite soldiers of the Germa kingdom stood on both sides of the road, emanating a ferocious aura that overshadowed even the naval forces behind Fujitora.

It's not that Fujitora's navy was inferior to these elite Germa soldiers, but rather that these emotionless soldiers of Germa hardly made any unnecessary movements.

As they walked deeper into the castle, they could see machine gun towers and artillery fortifications everywhere, making it resemble a war machine. Once activated, it could even annihilate entire nations.

Seeing the surprise and nervousness on the faces of many sailors, Judge wore a proud expression. Indeed, Germa 66, which could amaze even the strongest violent organization on the sea, was truly formidable.

"Vice Admiral Fujitora, how do you find the military strength of our Germa kingdom?"

"It's impressive, enough to be considered powerful! But such disregard for life ultimately falls under the category of unorthodox methods."

Fujitora said calmly. If it weren't for Judge pulling out a trump card and becoming a member of the World Government, Fujitora would probably have kept Judge locked in the ship's cabin reading newspapers by now.

Soon they arrived at a magnificent hall adorned with portraits and paintings of various battles, depicting the rulers of the Vinsmoke family throughout history and some classic battles caused by the Vinsmoke family.

"After seeing so much, it's time to discuss the real matters."

After putting down his teacup, Fujitora said, "Your Excellency Judge, you should know the purpose of my visit this time. It's to arrest you and bring you to justice. But now you claim to have reached a cooperation agreement with the World Government and become a member country. So, I request you to provide evidence."

Although Judge's expression changed upon hearing Fujitora's words, it seemed he also understood that if he couldn't provide evidence, he might as well go soak in the castle's pool. So he instructed someone nearby to fetch a document.

Soon, an attendant approached with a document. Taking it from the attendant, Judge squinted his eyes slightly, apparently surprised by its contents.

Indeed, becoming a member of the World Government was not Judge's preference. After all, joining the World Government would not be beneficial for the development of the Vinsmoke family given their current situation.

However, considering the influence of the World Government and the current predicament of the Vinsmoke family, Judge ultimately chose to join. Unexpectedly, this decision inadvertently saved himself today.

After checking the document, Fujitora's aide whispered a few words to him discreetly, and then stood beside him with a strange expression.

"It seems, Your Excellency Judge, that you are indeed the king of a member country of the World Government," Fujitora said with a touch of emotion. Then he turned to Judge and said, "May I request King Judge to have Germa 66 refrain from interfering in the wars of other nations?"

"Fujitora, are you joking?" Judge's eyes narrowed slightly. "Our Germa 66's mercenary business has been sanctioned by the World Government. It doesn't seem like it's something a mere Vice Admiral like you can decide, right?"

"In that case, let's drop it!" Nicholas interjected with a gentle smile. "After all, it's not a good livelihood anyway."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense, filled with a palpable sense of hostility, as if a great battle was about to break out at any moment.

"Hahaha!" To ease the tension, Judge suddenly burst into laughter. "You two are truly witty and humorous!"

Of course, the main reason was that Judge couldn't beat these two guys. Although becoming a king of a member country of the World Government could restrain the navy, there was no such constraint on this mysterious individual.

Moreover, it seemed that the other party knew this Vice Admiral, and if they teamed up to deal with him, Judge would be in big trouble. After that, they could easily come up with an excuse to fool him. Who would he go to reason with then?

Judge had seen too many such maneuvers, so he had to be cautious.

"Your Excellencies, Germa 66 was able to join the World Government because the World Government valued our war capabilities. After all, they need a powerful war organization independent of the World Government and the navy to deal with those kingdoms unwilling to join the World Government!"

Upon hearing Judge's words, Fujitora couldn't help but fall into silence. Apparently, Judge's words were similar to what his aide had told him earlier.

The fact that Germa 66, a war family without fixed territory, could join the World Government as one of its member countries indicated that the World Government had agreed to some conditions. And those conditions were probably as Judge had said.

Joining the World Government wouldn't bring wealth and resources to the World Government like it did for other member countries. What Germa 66 could bring to the World Government was its fierce and fearless disposable combat soldiers with formidable combat capabilities.

In other words, the reason why Germa 66 could join the World Government and become one of its member countries was because the World Government needed a weapon that could help them do some dirty work.

Although the CP organization also helped the World Government with some unspeakable tasks, their focus was different.

"In that case, I'll take my leave."

Realizing that he couldn't change anything now, Fujitora chose to leave directly. After all, considering the time, that guy should be returning from the Pole soon. Sometimes, people need to vent their emotions. Suppressing them all the time is not good.

 [AN- I would like to know what you guys think about Zoro and whether or not you think it was a decent idea to introduce him in the first place, given that the introduction of "Lost D. Way" was a complete failure (many people couldn't even take a joke seriously). Do you wish to see him again in the future and how could I have done it better? Finally, are you guys interested in seeing more anime characters arrive in future?]