A cold, sterile silence enveloped the laboratory, broken only by the nearly deranged murmuring of Vinsmoke Judge.
"Only a monster… can fight another monster…"
His bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the test tube in his hand—a glass vessel brimming with a glowing pink liquid. But in his mind, he saw something else: the image of that Marine… standing tall, unscathed under a hail of bullets, relying on nothing but raw physical endurance.
"Enhanced skin? No… skin and flesh alone could never achieve that level of resilience."
"Immunity to blades and bullets… regenerative ability beyond human limits… brute strength like that of a wild beast…"
"Yes… yes, of course. Only an exoskeleton can do that."
His voice was a fevered whisper, his eyes glinting with mad brilliance as he reached for the Den Den Mushi.
"Lord Judge! Are you here yet? Lady Sora is calling your name—she's about to give birth!"
The butler's anxious voice rang through.
Judge gritted his teeth, torn between instinct and obsession. Finally, he roared into the receiver:
"Tell the doctor to wait. I need more time!"
Without another word, he slammed the receiver down.
He gently placed the test tube onto the lab bench with care… then violently swept all the instruments and clutter off the control station with a single arm, sending them crashing to the ground.
In the static-laden silence that followed, Judge seized a pen and paper and began scribbling furiously.
"Gene factor ratios… the exoskeleton alone isn't enough. I'll need to integrate… poison tolerance."
Beads of sweat dripped from his temples, down his jaw. He didn't notice. He didn't care.
In less than a minute, the paper was covered in dense formulas and chemical ratios, a madman's roadmap to perfection.
"Let's begin."
With a hoarse whisper, he pressed a button on the console.
The lab's equipment roared to life. Precisely measured compounds and reagents were injected into the pink solution in sequence.
Within seconds, the liquid began to boil, releasing clouds of bubbles.
And then…
Green light.
The console's status indicator blinked green.
Judge clenched his fists, eyes alight with triumph. He seized the test tube and bolted out of the lab, racing down the halls toward the palace.
Through marble corridors and floral courtyards, the echo of agonized screams reached his ears just as he crossed into the royal wing.
It was her voice.
"Sora…"
He whispered her name, his pace quickening as he pushed through the ornate bedroom door adorned with painted murals.
The white bed sheets were stained crimson. Doctors and nurses in white coats swarmed around the bedside in organized chaos.
She lay there—his queen, Sora—her beauty undiminished, even as pain wracked her body. She trembled with every contraction, drenched in sweat.
"Milord! You've arrived!"
The bespectacled doctor looked up, pausing only briefly to bow.
Judge waved him off and rushed to the bed, grabbing Sora's hand tightly.
"Sora, I'm here."
With great effort, she opened her eyes. Despite the agony, a gentle smile touched her lips.
"Judge… Judge…"
The sight of her pale, sweat-soaked face twisted something deep in his chest.
He took a deep breath, voice trembling with conviction.
"Sora, I've found it. The key to Jerma's revival—to ruling the North Blue once again!"
He held up the test tube, its pink liquid gleaming ominously.
"The Lineage Factor! With this technology, our children will be born with bodies beyond human—monster-level potential!"
"They will become the greatest warriors Jerma 66 has ever known!"
"The name Vinsmoke will shake the seas again—etched into legend!"
He was breathless with anticipation, desperate for her approval.
But what met him was not joy.
It was horror.
Her wide, tear-filled eyes stared at him in disbelief.
"You… you want to turn our children into weapons?!"
Queen Sora's voice trembled, her face pale as a ghost.
As Jerma's queen, she knew all too well what Judge's so-called "technology" truly entailed.
Just like the cloned soldiers of Jerma's army—those who were engineered using Lineage Factor manipulation—any child subjected to this procedure would lose all emotion… and become utterly obedient to their creator.
Judge froze.
"No, Sora…"
The fear in her eyes made her feel like a stranger to him. For the first time, he faltered.
"I… I'll preserve their emotions."
"But they'll still be weapons in your hands, won't they?!"
He opened his mouth, but no words came.
Silence.
And in the silence, a single face returned to his thoughts—burned into his mind.
That arrogant Navy officer of the North Blue…
He clenched his jaw.
"This… is for Jerma's glory."
His tone shifted. Cold. Distant. Foreign.
He stood slowly, turning his back to his wife as tears streamed down her cheeks.
His voice was hoarse but firm.
"Only then… can Jerma rise again."
"I'm sorry, Sora."
It was a whisper.
And then—
As her sobs filled the room, Vinsmoke Judge handed the test tube to the doctor. His bloodshot eyes flickered with sorrow, his voice barely holding together.
"Inject her with this formula… and proceed with the delivery."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room.
He never looked back.
---
Half an hour later.
Pacing anxiously outside the palace gates, Judge finally heard it—
A baby's first cry.
"Congratulations, milord. The lady has delivered a healthy baby girl."
The doctor emerged, bloodstained and exhausted, holding a newborn in his arms.
Judge blinked.
He stared at the tiny bundle and instinctively reached out to hold her.
Long pink hair draped over her right eye. Her left brow curled in a counterclockwise spiral. Her violet eyes sparkled with life and mischief.
"However… milord, the child's skin is so dense, our needles can't pierce it. We… we couldn't administer her vaccinations."
The doctor hesitated.
For a moment, Judge was speechless.
Then—pure, unrestrained ecstasy overtook him.
"Hahahahahaha!!"
His laughter filled the palace halls, mad and victorious.
The experiment had succeeded.
A child born with superhuman physiology.
He clutched the infant close.
"No need for vaccines."
"My daughter… is a monster by birth!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
And so it was—
On this day, within the Kingdom of Jerma in the North Blue, a child of royal blood was born to the Vinsmoke family.
Jerma's king and Supreme Commander of the Army of Evil, Vinsmoke Judge, bestowed upon her a name:
Vinsmoke Reiju.
---
To be continued...