Germa's Technology

"What a complete freak!!"

Watching that figure streak toward the Saint Germain like a white arrow, Gion, her hands gripping the warship's railing for dear life, wore an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

Boom!

At that moment, the high-pitched stern of the warship plunged back into the sea under the force of gravity, sending a massive wave crashing down and drenching the navy personnel on deck.

Gion's partner, however, paid no heed to the water, staring at Darren's figure with his eyes wide and jaw dropped, his pupils nearly popping out of their sockets.

Such exaggerated explosive power... that bastard actually intended to rely on his own strength to bridge a distance of nearly a hundred meters and storm the Germa Kingdom!

"Hey!! Is that bastard always this reckless and insane!?"

Gion's partner asked, his mouth twitching as he looked toward Momonga not far away.

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on Momonga's face.

"This is Darren's way of fighting... In the past year alone, he has wrecked over five warships through various antics."

...If not for the North Blue Navy being "wealthy," the North Blue Fleet would have gone bankrupt long ago just relying on the meager military budget allocated by Headquarters.

Momonga couldn't help but grumble to himself.

No sooner said than done.

As the warship stabilized on the sea, Darren had already crashed into the land of the Germa Kingdom with the unstoppable momentum of a horizontally fired cannonball.

BOOM!!

A deafening roar erupted, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air, and the entire ground seemed to tremble slightly.

The next second, Darren, a cigar clamped between his teeth, slowly stood up from a five-meter-wide crater, a wild, arrogant grin hanging on his lips.

"Smooth landing."

He chuckled, his cape dancing violently amidst the swirling dust and gale-force winds.

"Kill him!!"

"Take him down for me!!"

Seeing such a ferocious Navy Admiral, Vinsmoke Judge's pupils constricted, and he issued the order with a savage expression.

As the words fell, Countless Clone Soldiers swarmed out from the surrounding gun emplacements and the ruins of the fortress.

Dressed in uniform attire and wearing sunglasses, the Clone Soldiers moved in perfect unison, exuding a cold aura as if they possessed no human emotions.

Swish!!

They raised their rifles in unison, hundreds of muzzles aimed at the Navy Captain.

They pulled the triggers!

Bang bang bang bang!!

Massive flashes of fire spat from the muzzles, and countless bullets whistled through the air, leaving streaks in the void.

"Still haven't learned your lesson?"

Darren grinned, a flash of madness crossing his eyes.

Without using the power of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, he simply strolled forward, facing the dense curtain of gunfire.

Vinsmoke Judge's eyes widened abruptly, as if he were witnessing something inconceivable.

Clang, clang, clang...

The dense rain of bullets struck Darren's body one after another, shredding and blowing apart his suit and military uniform, yet they produced crisp, metallic sounds as if striking solid steel.

Sparks flew, and the bullets ricocheted off the Navy Captain's body like raindrops hitting the ground, leaving fine pockmarks on the surrounding earth, fortresses, and building walls.

From a distance, the Navy Captain looked like a traveler walking straight into a torrential storm.

Utterly savage!

"How is this possible!!? How could a human possess such a physique!!"

Vinsmoke Judge roared, his eyes splitting with rage.

Seeing that the gunfire was ineffective, a Clone Soldier retrieved a small rocket launcher from a military bunker, shouldered it, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

Biu!

The palm-sized rocket emitted a sharp, piercing whistle, trailing a long, crimson exhaust as it shrieked toward Darren.

Only for the latter to suddenly reach out and catch it!

"Brand new technology... this is quite a bit more refined than the Navy's cannonballs..."

Darren looked at the trembling rocket in his hand with keen interest, muttered a casual remark, and then hurled it back with force.

Biu...

The rocket shell flew back along its original path, detonating right in front of the Clone Soldiers manning the launcher, the raging inferno instantly swallowing everything within a five-meter radius.

"The power is comparable to a small-caliber heavy artillery piece, yet it offers far greater portability..."

Darren narrowed his eyes as he observed the destructive force of the rocket, offering a direct and clinical assessment.

He already had a rough idea forming in his mind.

He had gone to such great lengths to harvest wealth from the mafia, funding the North Blue Fleet with a budget several times that of Marine Headquarters, and his goal was crystal clear.

He intended to turn the North Blue Fleet into his own private fiefdom.

The entire North Blue Fleet would become his personal armed force!

As a transmigrator, he was well aware of the greatest constraint placed upon the Marines.

That was the fact that no matter how one tried to sugarcoat it, the "power" of the World Government would always loom over the "justice" of the Marines like an insurmountable mountain!

This was a practical reality that could not be ignored.

The Marines, the largest law enforcement agency in the world, were an institution under the World Government and served as the government's public face.

The most critical point in all of this was the military budget!

The World Government collected the "Heavenly Tribute" from member nations across the world and then controlled the financial lifeline of the Marines directly or indirectly through the allocation of military funds.

Without independent financial authority and lacking alternative channels to secure funding, the Marines were forced to be restricted at every turn, eventually having to bow their heads to reality.

Darren's accumulation of wealth was ultimately aimed at controlling an independent military force that he could use at his own discretion, free from government constraints.

At the very least, after years of cultivation and planning, the North Blue Fleet's budget was now fully self-sufficient, with standards far exceeding those of equivalent units at Marine Headquarters.

But it wasn't enough!

Darren was deeply aware of the weakness of the Four Seas Marines; their combat strength was far inferior to the elites of Headquarters, and compared to the "Haki-wielding" standards of the New World, they were still an immense distance away.

Although he had managed to significantly boost the overall strength of the North Blue Fleet through intensified training and the implementation of scientific training methods, it was still far from enough.

Returning to reality, however, improving the combat effectiveness of an army could not be achieved overnight; it was not something that could be accomplished in a single day.

But the Germa 66 before him had opened up a brand-new line of thinking!

Germa 66... they possessed some of the most advanced and cutting-edge military technology in the world. Whether it was their various new types of weaponry, cyborg technology, or even their Raid Suits, all of it could rapidly enhance the combat power of the North Blue Fleet.

If he could obtain the technology of Germa 66 and use it to equip the North Blue Fleet under his command...

Darren believed that he would possess an incredibly powerful North Blue Fleet in a very short amount of time!!

Since that was the case...

A grin spread across Darren's lips, and his figure suddenly accelerated.

Target... the commander of Germa 66, Vinsmoke Judge!!

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