Ozz's voice remained calm and even. After all, he was standing before a great and gentle mother.
While Judge had undoubtedly offended him, Ozz still offered Sora a measure of patience.
Truth be told, Ozz projected his memories of reading the manga in his past life onto many of the characters he now met. Having been reincarnated into this world, he carried with him a natural fondness Sanji included, especially since Sanji had always been his favorite to play in the games.
That was why he hadn't wiped out Germa completely. The organization itself wasn't worth much to him. Had Sanji not been born there, Ozz wouldn't have even bothered showing up.
"Well? Think it over."
It was a cruel question. If Judge were present, he'd have been beaten into submission and then likely thrown his son to the wolves in a heartbeat if it meant saving Germa.
But Sora was different.
No matter which of her children were in danger, her mother's heart couldn't bear it.
Facing the tall, imposing figure in front of her, Sora gently stroked her son's golden hair. Sanji looked up at her, mouth slightly agape.
"Mama…"
Her lips curled softly into a smile. She looked Ozz directly in the eyes those cold, commanding eyes that belonged to a man used to looking down on the world and smiled with unwavering calm.
"If it's vengeance you want, and if someone from the Germa family must pay the price, then please… take my life instead.
But please, don't harm Sanji."
"Mama!!!"
Young Sanji burst into tears, his pupils trembling as he screamed in panic.
"Help us! Someone! Father! Soldiers! Please!! AHHHH!!"
The sight made Ozz twitch a little at the corner of his mouth.
Especially Sanji, bawling nonstop like a broken faucet.
"Quiet."
The command landed like a brick.
Sanji's mouth snapped shut. He couldn't make a sound, even as his tears flowed freely and he stood shielding his weakened mother with his tiny frame.
"If I came here to kill, do you think I'd be wasting my breath like this?"
Ozz shook his head and pulled a sheet of old yellowed paper from his coat.
"Now then, I've got a few words for Sanji alone. May I, Lady Sora?"
"This…"
Sora hesitated, worry in her eyes.
But Sanji stepped forward, standing boldly in front of her. Though he couldn't speak, his gaze burned with defiance.
Protecting Mama that was more sacred than any vow to defend a lady.
"Relax. It'll only take a minute."
Ozz led the way, Sanji close behind. Before stepping out, he shot his mother a look, as if to say Don't worry.
Tap. Tap.
Their footsteps echoed in the hall.
Sanji suddenly had a thought. Maybe he could sneak up on the man and attack from behind…
But Ozz turned around without warning, and Sanji stumbled awkwardly in place.
"Come. Let me show you what Germa looks like today."
He grabbed Sanji by the back of his shirt, and in the blink of an eye, the two vanished.
When they reappeared, they were high in the sky.
"WAAAHHHH!!!"
Sanji flailed wildly, panic in his limbs as the altitude rocketed up. Ozz, noticing his reaction, simply let go.
To Sanji's shock, he didn't fall. His feet found solid ground like he was standing on an invisible floor in the air.
Looking down, he saw the battlefield.
Germa and Doflamingo's forces were clashing below.
The soldiers had split into two factions, locked in furious combat. Judge was fighting a pink blur in the air, while another version of that same figure crouched lazily by a windowsill, smirking down at the chaos.
"What… is this?"
"This is Germa. And those little rainbow-colored punks rolling around down there? Your brothers."
The red, blue, and green siblings were lying in the dirt, groaning.
Even with steel-hard bodies and monstrous genetic enhancements, they were nothing before a real fighter like Doflamingo. One blow, and they folded like cheap suits.
"They may look like monsters to regular people," Ozz said. "But when real monsters show up, even steel gets shredded like paper."
To Sanji, this view shattered everything he thought he knew.
His once-invincible father. His brothers who always beat him to a pulp. All of them so utterly defeated.
"Right now, everyone in Germa... your mother included... their lives are in my hands.
So then. Do you want to save them?"
Sanji clenched his fists and looked up at him.
"You want me, right? Fine! Just let them go!"
Ozz smiled.
"In that case... sign this."
He handed Sanji the old sheet of paper and a pen.
Sanji looked at the document. It was a contract, plain and simple. A deed of servitude.
Next to the signature line was another name he didn't recognize.
Nico Robin?
The name meant nothing to him, but there wasn't really a choice.
Sanji signed it.
"This isn't coercion," Ozz said, tucking the contract away. "It's just the debt Germa incurred... now being repaid by you."
Another one for the collection.
Satisfied, Ozz snapped his fingers.
A flash and they were back in the infirmary.
Sora jolted with alarm, rushing to her son's side and wrapping her arms around him.
"Sanji! What happened?"
But Sanji avoided her gaze and said nothing.
He had sold himself.
Ozz smiled faintly at her worried expression and gave a casual shrug.
Then his eyes narrowed, scanning Sora carefully.
"Oh, right. Lady Sora... your condition. I'm afraid you probably don't have much"
"Mr. Ozz!!"
She cut him off, her voice loud and urgent. Her eyes were full of fear pleading, even.
Clearly, she didn't want Sanji to hear it.
But Sanji, though still a child, understood far more than she realized.
He'd seen her bedridden for so long.
And Ozz's words...
"What do you mean, Mr. Ozz!? What about my mom's condition!?"
Maybe it was the debt he now owed. Or maybe the aerial battlefield had burned an image into his mind.
Whatever it was, Sanji now stood tall, fearlessly facing Ozz.
"Sanji..."
"Yes. Your mother's time is running out. But... I do have a way to save her."
"Really?! Mr. Ozz, please! I'm begging you, save Mama!!"
Ozz looked down at the tear-streaked kid clinging to his leg. He ruffled the boy's blond hair with a chuckle.
"This is a medicine one that can extend life itself. Just wearing it keeps the clock ticking."
"I can grant your mother a few decades' worth of time. I like you, Sanji. I see potential in you. I'd even be willing to call you my son.
But you...
You won't even call me Father."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
p@treon.com/_theon
Change @ to "a"