Chapter 48: Germa
"So they're on the move again?" Karasu asked, his deep voice echoing throughout the meeting room.
Dragon nodded grimly and spoke, "From what my intel says, they are."
At Dragon's words, the room was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere and not one person spoke. The situation was serious.
Dragon turned to look at the members present in the meeting. The most notable people being the commanders including August, Liam, and Sabo.
"As you know Germa 66 launched a campaign to take over North Blue a few years ago. Thankfully with the help of Karasu, the threat was neutralised and Germa 66 retreated." Dragon explained, giving Karasu a grateful look.
Dragon face turned serious, "Now they are attacking there again. A few years ago this situation could have stopped this with a few of our members, but Germa 66 is much more dangerous now, these people are the reason why."
[Timeline: 5 years ago: Attacked East Blue(when sanji escaped, canon), 1 Year ago: Attacked North blue(non-canon), Now: Attacking North Blue(sorta canon)]
Dragon passed around a set of documents to everyone.
"Take a look at these documents. Etch the faces of these people into your minds, as these individuals are the most dangerous."
August flickered through the documents along with his fellow comrades. As a mixture of bright colours assaulted his eyes, he recognised who they were.
They were the Vinsmoke family.
"Ichiji, Niji, Yonji, Reiju and of course Judge. The first four are children of the latter and from birth have been genetically modified to be perfect killing machines. They have zero emotions and are monsters in battle, following their fathers command without question."
"The last time Germa 66 properly led a proper campaign was when they were only 8 years old. The incident a few years ago quelled by Karasu was merely to test the waters. Now Judges children are old enough, they can, and will be utilised in this campaign."
"So they plan to conquer the North Blue fully?" Ivankov asked, his usual charismatic expression turned serious.
"Yes. Millions of lives are at stake, and we need to be the ones to stop it. To remain good in the eyes of the public, the World Government will eventually be forced to act, but not before allowing Judge to take a few kingdoms for himself."
"What's in it for the World Government though, what do they get out of this? Germa 66 is allied with the World Government, but wouldn't they disapprove of this?" Joe asked, clearly confused.
"It's easier to control a single dog compared to many of them, even if that dog is more aggressive. They will hold that leash as long as Germa 66 doesn't grow too powerful and they can keep them in line."
Dragon turned his attention back to the documents, "These are the main threats we must worry about. If ordered too, they could wipe out an entire Island. In addition to this, Judge has also amassed a larger army of genetically modified soldiers to do their evil bidding."
He finished there, leaving the room to delve into another tense silence. Dragon wanted nothing more than to travel to Germa 66 himself and turn the place into ashes, but Judge was an ally of the World Government so doing so was an act of war. He glanced at August momentarily and clenched his fists.
'Soon…the day will come…'
He was sick of being able to truly do nothing, but they wouldn't be like that for long.
"You will also find a list of Islands and Kingdoms that he supposedly wishes to conquer. The names are as follows…Woodpecker Kingdom, Yasaka Kingdom, Tartica Island, Swallow Island, Novos Kingdom…"
"I'll volunteer." August raised his hand and continued, "I'd like to be stationed at Swallow Island."
He pointed towards the North blue map with squinted eyes, "It's perpendicular to Yasaka Kingdom, so if Judge plans on taking over both of them, then we know his route. He will most likely stop by Swallow Island first before moving onto Yasaka Kingdom."
Dragon took a look at the map and gave a nod at his deductions, "You are correct, but that doesn't seem like the only reason you wish to go."
"Hehe…You're right. I've heard rumours of a mysterious surgeon who can supposedly heal miracles. I know first hand the importance of healers…" He looked at Chiyo with a grateful expression while tracing the scar on his arms, "So I'd like to try my luck at getting him to join, or at least become an ally with us."
Dragon had also heard about this mysterious surgeon August was talking about. If what the information said was correct, then he would be an invaluable asset.
He knew the importance of having a good team of medical professionals, and with Chiyo and the help of this mysterious surgeon, they could have one of the best medical teams in the world. With their powers combined, coming back from death sounded like a possibility.
Dragon took a moment before nodding, "Very well."
And with that, the stones were set, and the tides of history would change even more.
[A/N: If you look at the wiki, you will see that it's been said that Judge conquered 4 Kingdoms of the North Blue. The details are unknown, so I'm gonna place it here in the timeline.
So if it's here, then maybe you're asking why didn't Dragon do anything in the original timeline?
It's only because of August's presence that Dragon is deciding to interfere with this(as he obviously didn't in the original timeline as Judge conquered the 4 kings). Only because of August's, Liams and Sabo's success is the reason Dragon is becoming more daring and interfering with this event.]
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It had not even been a week since he returned back to Baltigo, but he was already on missions again.
August sighed. He already predicted things would be picking up, and in the future they would only pick up even more.
Dragon's campaign was like a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain. The more time that passes, the more speed and mass that snowball would pick up.
As Dragon did more things to piss off the World Government the faster the snowball went down the mountain, and it would eventually get to a size and speed that not even the World Government could ignore.
'War is close.' August could tell, most members of the army could as well. There was a tension in the air there never had been before.
So he needed to get to work. There was no rest for the wicked, especially when the world needed to be saved.
He shot up from his seat. The first thing he needed to do was perfect Shatter Stream Rock Smashing Fist(SSRSF), then he could focus on his Haki.
'The question is how can I make my Shatter energy flow like water?' He looked at the translucent sea below like it would give him an answer, but seeing it got him no where he decided to go to the expert himself.
"Hack! I have a question!"
"Hm?" Hack stood on the edge of the ship, helping it move faster with the help of the animals in the sea.
"I have a question, what does water feel like to you?" August asked bluntly, not at all being that surprising when Hack gave him a weird look.
Out of context it was a weird question.
"That is an unusual question…but one I have an answer to." Hack said. He held out his hand, secreting a small amount of water from his pores and throwing it like a bullet into the distance.
"For me water is like an extension of my own body. It's like an extra limb, one that's always been there and one I have good control over. Naturally, the more I train it the more comfortable I feel with using it. That's how it feels to me…does that answer your question?"
August smiled at Hack and said, "I think it does."
While August walked off, he replayed Hack's words in his head. Maybe if he used a similar way of thinking he could achieve what his goal was.
Right now he was treating his devil fruits like it wasn't a part of his body. He treated his powers similar to one does a weapon or armour, using both his body and powers together, but they will still separate.
He let out a humourless chuckle, he had been using his powers wrong! Like his body did certain things on instinct, he needed to use his powers like that.
If someone attacked him, his body should instinctively activate his Shatter powers, that's how it should be. But how could he achieve that?
He needed to treat his powers like they were a part of his own body.
August pondered the question for some time before he arrived at an answer.
'If you treat something like it's a part of your own body, then you should use it as much as possible if it doesn't work.'
Similar to Rehabilitation facilities, if you injured your leg, then you would walk as much as possible to restore it to optimal condition.
Maybe if he treated his powers like that, he could improve his control.
Feeling a blanket cover his body, Shatter energy wrapped around him. Now he needed to be careful about breaking things, but if he kept his blanket of Shatter energy up and used it for things like grabbing stuff and different tasks, then it would be very beneficial.
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