The Baldimore Kingdom.
It lay on Karakuri Island, in the Seiadi Sea in the first half of the Grand Line.
It was the "land where geniuses were born," known as the Future Kingdom.
Dark clouds and snow covered the island year-round, and the cold weather encased its surrounding waters in thick ice, forming a natural barrier.
Aside from the monthly transport ship and the occasional warship,
the only way to reach it was aboard a specialized icebreaker.
These harsh conditions also offered a convenient haven for an organization made up of geniuses and madmen...
On the outskirts of the Baldimore Kingdom lay the sealed-off Mechanical Animal Forest.
People called it a dangerous forbidden zone.
The entire forest was packed with animals mechanically modified by the "genius" Vegapunk.
They were deeply hostile toward outsiders.
Deep within the surrounding forest stood a massive complex of steel buildings.
That was where the "genius" Vegapunk lived and conducted his research.
What no one knew was...
that this man, whom the people regarded as the kingdom's shining hope,
was also the leader of an organization researching forbidden subjects-
"MADS."
The name "MADS" stood for madness, and Vegapunk had founded it.
He had discreetly recruited the world's brilliant scientists to jointly research projects the World Government had declared taboo.
Its members included "Vinsmoke Judge," who would later become king of the Germa Kingdom.
"Queen" the Plague, one of the Beasts Pirates' All-Stars.
And the mad, cruel scientist "Caesar Clown," among others.
This team of geniuses and madmen studied weapons, biology, bloodlines, Devil Fruits, and everything else in the world.
They sought to reach the realm of the gods through science.
They had even developed the first faint outline of something belonging to that realm.
The lineage factor, known as the "life design blueprint."
If nothing