Judge's eyes were bloodshot as he jerked his head up, screaming like a beast driven to the edge of a cliff.
"You have no idea what I've endured! How dare you deny me?!"
His voice was raw, the sound of a man who had clawed his way toward a dream he believed he deserved.
"I fought for so long… I abandoned everything! My dignity, my humanity, even my own children! Why… why is it still not enough?!"
His fingernails dug into the deck until his knuckles turned white, as if he were trying to rip apart every refusal he had ever suffered in his life.
Ritter watched him quietly. Mist of blood curled around him, and his mouth curved into a patient, almost knowing smile.
"Because your world is too small."
Judge froze. The roar in his throat died mid breath.
Ritter stepped closer. The crimson mist rolled outward like a living tide, wrapping around Judge, seeping into his skin, his nerves, his mind.
"Join me and I will show you the real world," Ritter murmured, his voice low and tempting. "You will learn that your so called pursuit… is as simple as eating or drinking."
Judge's pupils tightened as the blood mist distorted his vision. His consciousness swayed between illusion and reality.
Then the world swallowed him.
The mist devoured everything in sight, and Judge lost himself in a hallucination so vivid it felt more real than life itself. The moment he submitted to Ritter, the illusion took full control. Ritter's influence spread like a tide, unchallenged.
Judge saw himself standing in a vast throne hall. He was still only a vassal state under the Lord of Mist, yet kings from every kingdom in the North Blue knelt before him, their foreheads pressed to the floor. Their voices trembled with fear as they presented their decrees.
"Your Majesty Vinsmoke, please accept our surrender…"
He saw an envoy from the World Government bow deeply, offering a gilded document with both hands.
"Lord Judge, the Five Elders hope you will assume the position of Supreme Advisor of the Science Division. As for Vegapunk… he has been dismissed."
Judge sneered in the illusion.
"Tell them to crawl away. Lord Ritter is not someone they can afford to offend."
He saw his laboratory, ten times larger than his old one. Rows of scientists in white coats stood respectfully to the sides. On the central platform lay a perfect sample of the complete Lineage Factor, gleaming with flawless potential.
Ritter: Immerse yourself, Judge.
"Father."
Judge turned. Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Yonji, and even Sanji knelt on one knee. Their gazes held no cold obedience, only genuine awe. Their combat suits radiated unstable power that even surpassed what Enel and Moria had shown.
Ritter: Well of course, my aura has always been better than theirs.
"Your dream has come true," his wife whispered as she hooked her arm through his. "We have finally become what you wanted us to be. Our dream is real."
His fingers trembled. He looked down at his hands. The age and failure were gone. What replaced them was overwhelming strength. Electricity surged through his palm when he closed his fist, stronger and purer than anything he had ever known.
"This is enough, but it is not enough for me. Not nearly enough."
Ritter's voice came from behind him. Judge spun around and saw Ritter seated on an even higher throne, resting his chin on his hand, watching him with an amused smile.
"This is only the beginning."
The scene shifted again.
Now he stood atop the Red Line, the entire Germa Fleet behind him like a storm over the horizon. Clone soldiers roared his name, their voices thunderous enough to shake the earth.
He stepped into the Reverie in Mary Geoise. Kings who once mocked him now silently moved aside, lowering their heads as he walked past. Judge only smirked, basking in his victory.
On a screen in his laboratory, Vegapunk appeared, his eyes wide with shock.
"You… how did you break the limits of the Lineage Factor? You must have Ritter's support. You could never surpass me otherwise!"
Judge laughed loudly, triumphantly.
"This is the world I want!"
A map of the North Blue unfolded before him. His fingertips glided across it. Every point he touched bore the emblem of Germa, marking newly claimed territories.
"This one, and this one, and this one. All of them belong to Germa." His voice boomed with authority. "From today onward, the North Blue has only one ruler."
His subordinates shouted in fevered worship. Judge felt as if he had lived an entire year inside this dream.
In that year, he tasted something he had never truly tasted before.
He stood atop the highest tower of the restored Germa Kingdom. People filled the streets below. The moment they saw him, thunderous cheers erupted.
"Long live His Majesty Vinsmoke!"
Noble families who once mocked him now knelt humbly at his feet.
"Your Majesty, this year's tribute from the nations of the North Blue."
The treasurer handed him a gilded scroll. Judge unrolled it casually, then his pupils contracted. The wealth listed could rebuild ten Germa Kingdoms. What he had chased all his life had come so easily.
During the banquet, Judge watched his family seated around the table. Reiju chatted softly with her mother, laughter warm and gentle. Niji and Yonji argued over combat techniques. Even Sanji, the child he once deemed a failure, wore a fine suit and politely poured wine for everyone.
"Dear, try this." His wife lifted a delicate pastry to his lips. He opened his mouth instinctively, and a burst of sweetness bloomed on his tongue. How long had it been since he tasted something so ordinary and so warm?
"It is not enough…" Judge whispered, though this time his voice was not frantic but filled with hungry exhilaration. His fingers traced the night sky, as if measuring the boundaries of the world itself. "The North Blue… the Grand Line… the Red Line… the entire world will be…"
"Vinsmoke's."
"Shattered."
The illusion collapsed.
One moment he possessed absolute power. The next he was a prisoner kneeling on a ruined deck, his kingdom in ruins.
The whiplash of it nearly drove him insane.
Yet…
When he looked up at Ritter standing behind him, wrapped in swirling blood mist, smiling faintly…
His gaze shifted.
Fear, rage, arrogance… all dissolved.
What replaced them was something far more dangerous.
Desire.
A consuming, absolute desire.
He raised his head slowly. His voice was hoarse but steady.
"…What must I do?"
Ritter knew he had just secured another valuable piece on his board.