Somewhere in the Grand Line
A fleet of colossal snail ships sailed in formation across the sea, their banners fluttering in the wind, emblazoned with the words "Germa 66."
On the lead snail ship, Vinsmoke Judge held a newspaper in his hands, reading it over and over again.
Beside him stood his three sons and daughter: Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji.
This latest newspaper was the one about the Beast God Pirates.
For the past two days, Judge had been unable to sleep, repeatedly poring over the information within.
For instance, Big Mom who was originally supposed to form an alliance with him through marriage, had willingly submitted to a newly emerged figure, allowing him to become the captain.
This was completely beyond Judge's comprehension.
But what caught his attention the most was the photo of Sanji, who had suddenly aged drastically.
Reiju clad in a pink leather outfit that show her curvaceous figure, stood out vividly, her pair of purple butterfly wings adding to her unparalleled beauty.
Her face was etched with worry as she pursed her lips and whispered.
"Father, what happened to Sanji?"
Beside her, Ichiji and the others also wore questioning expressions.
After surviving the ordeal in Whole Cake Island, these artificial human warriors had unexpectedly awakened a trace of humanity.
They no longer mocked Sanji's existence but had completely changed their attitudes, now treating him as their true brother.
Judge sighed bitterly. "If I'm not mistaken, Sanji must have burn a lot of his life force. He was likely pushed to the absolute limit and had no choice but to fight desperately."
"But... but Sanji..." Reiju's eyes reddened, tears glistening in her beautiful eyes, making her look utterly heartbroken.
"Alas, we can only leave it to fate. This kind of thing can potentially be healed with our scientific capabilities, but we'd need to return to the North Blue first. Tell the others to speed up. We must return to our research base in the North Blue as soon as possible. I need to develop this something to heal sanji quickly."
Judge's expression was grave.
His concern for Sanji stemmed from two reasons.
First, Sanji had saved his life in Whole Cake Island.
Second, Judge had begun to suspect that his only son who hadn't undergone successful modifications might actually be the most outstanding experimental subject of him!
"Hmm? What's that?" Yonji suddenly frowned, looking towards the horizon where a dazzling golden light shot towards them from the far distance, its target unmistakably their location.
"Enemy attack! All hands to battle stations!" Ichiji roared, his voice amplified by the communication devices he carried, instantly spreading across the entire fleet.
In an instant, all the modified human soldiers stood at attention, weapons at the ready, their faces devoid of any fear or panic—like programmed robots.
"If you don't want to die, surrender quietly. This old man has no patience left to spare."
An icy voice rang out from within the golden light.
In the next moment, the blinding radiance landed before Judge and the others, materializing into a three-meter-tall middle-aged man clad in a yellow suit.
He was covered in bandages, appearing to have suffered severe injuries.
Judge's expression instantly changed.
He was all too familiar with Kizaru.
As the head of the Marines' Science Unit, Kizaru frequently interacted with Vegapunk's laboratory.
Back in the day, Judge, Caesar, Queen and Vegapunk had all worked together in the same research facility—until the Marines raided it.
Vegapunk was later recruited by the World Government.
The one who led that operation was none other than Kizaru, the Marine Admiral was now standing before him.
"Kizaru! What... what are you doing here? Don't act recklessly. Our Germa 66 Kingdom is still an affiliate of the World Government. We have no conflict with the Marines."
Judge raised a hand to stop his three eager sons from acting, staring at Kizaru with visible tension, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He had every reason to be nervous.
This was one of the Marines' strongest combatants.
Judge didn't believe his group stood a chance of driving Kizaru away.
Seeing Kizaru injuries, Judge recalled the news from the papers.
It seemed the rumors were true—this Admiral had indeed been defeated by Big Mom son, Katakuri, whom Judge had met before.
Judge found it hard to believe that Big Mom offspring could be so exceptional.
If possible, he'd love to arrange another marriage alliance with the Big Mom Pirates—no, now known as the Beast God Pirates.
He'd already decided on the perfect match: the recently infamous "God of War" Katakuri and his eldest daughter, Reiju.
Height differences? Judge didn't care.
To him, it was a trivial issue.
His research on Lineage Factors and Caesar Clown work on human gigantification shared similar principles.
A simple injection could make Reiju grow several meters taller—no trouble at all.
An alliance with this rising power would be infinitely better than the previous arrangement with Big Mom.
Every time Judge picked up that newspaper and saw those terrifying figures, his entire being trembled—body and soul.
If Beast God Caesar would just lend him support—even a single word—the entire North Blue would be his.
His Germa Kingdom might reclaim its dominance over the North Blue.
As Judge lost himself in these thoughts, Kizaru spoke coldly.
"All of you, return to the New World with me. Immediately."
"What? Return to the New World? Why?" Judge was stunned, completely baffled.
A trace of anger and killing intent slowly surfaced on Kizaru face.
The golden light around him grew blinding, his sharp aura spreading until everyone present felt their throats go dry and their bodies tremble.
"My patience has reached its limit."
This Kizaru bore no resemblance to his usual lazy self.
His face was now filled with killing intent.
A bizarre sight unfolded on Kizaru body.
His form, originally radiant with golden light, began to darken on the left side as his killing intent erupted.
Strands of golden light seemed to be corroded by some unseen force, transforming into dark radiance.
From the crown of his head downward, Kizaru's left half was now pitch black while his right half remained brilliantly golden.
His aura pulsed with both holy radiance and sinister darkness—chaotic and contradictory forces warring within his form.
"Gamma rays..."
Thud.
Judge's entire body trembled violently as his knees gave way, collapsing to kneel before Kizaru.
His body shook like a leaf in the storm, lips quivering as he pleaded.
"Don't attack! The entire Germa army will follow you!"
"Father! What are you afraid of? He's just one man against all of us—" Yonji stepped forward recklessly, reaching out to grab Kizaru.
"NO!" Judge screamed in terror.
But it was too late.
"AAAH!"
The moment Yonji hand made contact with Kizaru light-dark form, his thickly gloved palm silently disintegrated into particles, vanishing without trace into the air.
Yonji stumbled backward in horror, staring at the stump where half of his arm had disappeared.
Kizaru's towering figure flickered between light and darkness, his impassive demeanor stripped of all humanity.
He looked less like a man now.
More like... a god?
------------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator