The two blondes were one tall and one short. The taller one had yellow hair that extended down his neck like a mane, along with earrings and heavy purple lipstick.
He was Queen, the future Artist Disaster of the Beasts Pirates, a man of singing, dancing, and rap.
The shorter one's hair had clearly been styled with gel, but whether because of the sea's dampness or his gloomy expression, it instead gave him the look of a succulent plant.
He was Vinsmoke Judge, the future commander of Germa 66.
They now shared one thing in common—youth.
Both were seventeen or eighteen, having joined MADS as prodigies.
Their drive came from ambition or the lure of money. Perhaps they lacked a researcher's ethics, but they possessed genuine technical skill. As long as they were not compared to Vegapunk, they were outstanding in certain fields.
And that led to another trait—arrogance.
They were all young and hot-blooded, unwilling to stand beneath anyone else. That was one reason they refused to accept Vegapunk as their leader.
But they could only voice their dissatisfaction, because Doflamingo trusted Vegapunk and was also MADS's financial backer.
Doflamingo was not the strongest in the underworld, but he was certainly the richest at present. Offending this patron would make it difficult to find another sponsor.
"Impossible. How could a place like this have a fully automated robot? It must be just for show. Judge, it seems your eyesight is nothing special either."
These people refused to acknowledge Vegapunk verbally, but they did possess some real ability and could recognize a gap in technology.
Queen could not accept that he had encountered someone more technologically advanced than himself in such a backwater, so he subjectively dismissed the whole thing.
"That's obviously just an empty shell. You actually can't even see that?"
Just as Queen finished speaking, Blitz launched his grappling claw again and caught a new haul.
"Hahaha! Looks like your eyesight is even worse. You've fallen so low that you can't even tell real from fake anymore."
Their flimsy united front against Vegapunk instantly collapsed, and they were on the verge of fighting when MADS's ship docked, stopping their dispute.
Spending a long time sailing at sea was hardly enjoyable, even with a ship supported by abundant technology and funding. Everyone aboard cherished their time ashore.
While the ship replenished supplies, the crew would also indulge themselves. Most people welcomed these sailors, as they were practically the main consumers on the sea.
However, Queen and Judge did not settle down completely. Their curiosity about Blitz had not faded, and after docking, they headed together toward where Blitz was, intending to take a closer look at what exactly he was.
"That thing on its head is a member of the Mink Tribe, right? I never expected to encounter one in the South Blue. Could she have made this robot?"
"Doesn't look like it. How could a brat like her possess that kind of ability? I think there might be someone hiding inside that metal shell."
Blitz and Kate were fishing not far from the harbor. Queen and Judge found them soon enough, but the closer they got, the more unsettled they became.
Not only could Blitz catch fish with his grappling claw, he could even communicate with Kate. Neither Queen nor Judge had the ability to create something like that.
"Who would hide inside a metal shell just to catch fish? Is it to amuse children?"
Judge did not agree with Queen's logic, opposing him simply for the sake of opposition. But Queen did not argue with him and instead swaggered toward Blitz.
"Hey! You little cat! Did you make this metal shell?"
Kate narrowed her eyes as she looked Queen over. She did not like being called a little cat. Those Celestial Dragons used to call her that all the time, but things had changed now, and she would not lose control of her emotions over a single word.
Blitz did not care about being called a metal thing, but he kept a close watch on Queen and Judge.
One held a sword, the other carried a gun. Combined with their blond hair and thug-like outfits, neither of them looked like good people.
"Who are you two? What do you want?"
"Don't misunderstand. Although this guy doesn't look like anything good, we're scientists dedicated to peaceful research. We saw this robot from the ship and got curious, so we came over for a look."
Judge explained their actions and casually put Queen down in the process, though it did not mean much.
"Meow thinks you don't look like a good person either."
"Muhahaha! Judge, did you hear that? Even a little cat can see what kind of person you are. My handsome appearance just inspires that much trust."
"No, meow didn't trust you."
A gloomy man and a narcissist—Kate had already labeled them in her mind.
"Blitz isn't a metal shell. Blitz is a robot, Master's creation."
Blitz's thought processes were still evolving. Seeing the people before him suspect that he was an empty shell, Blitz directly opened the power compartment in his chest. The steam engine and core inside demonstrated Blitz's true nature.
"So it really is a machine. But this power supply method feels somewhat primitive. How could steam run for a long time?
"If it were up to me, I'd improve it like this. These areas should be improved too. After removing the unnecessary voice module..."
Queen instinctively began criticizing Blitz and proposed a few improvements.
In short, although he could not build a machine like this, Queen still believed himself superior.
Judge occasionally echoed Queen as well. Judge had always believed himself stronger than Queen, and praising Queen in front of outsiders would only make himself look better by comparison. But neither of them noticed that something had changed with Blitz's body.
Especially after they mentioned wanting to take Blitz apart for a look, Blitz had already raised his mechanical fists.
"Master's design is perfect. Blitz is not your toy. Blitz is very angry."
"Muhahaha! Judge, did you hear that? A machine actually said it was angry. What kind of person would add such a useless word to a robot? Is it meant to scare people?"
"Queen, why do I feel like this metal thing is serious?"
Judge took several steps back. He had a bad feeling, while Queen's description of Oran seemed to have completely enraged the newly born Blitz.
Blitz raised both hands over his head and placed Kate on the ground. Then a large amount of steam burst from his back, electricity crackled over his shell, and Blitz, who had been standing still moments ago, charged forward like a tank.
Under overloaded operation, Blitz's speed suddenly soared. His fully charged fist shot straight at Queen.
"Blitz demands an apology!"
(End of Chapter)
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