-Real World: Germa Kingdom-
Aboard the massive snail-ships that comprised the mobile kingdom of Germa, Vinsmoke Reiju watched the Sky Screen with emotions too complex for easy categorization. Her beloved younger brother's transformation into an okama warrior had been difficult enough to process, but seeing him utilize advanced Vinsmoke technology in his crossdressing form created psychological conflicts she wasn't prepared to handle.
All these years of worrying about his safety, she thought with a mixture of relief and bewilderment, and he's not only survived but apparently thrived in the most unexpected ways possible.
As the eldest daughter and the only family member who had retained her emotional capacity, Reiju had spent years quietly hoping that Sanji would find someone special to care for him during his exile. The idea of him starting a family, perhaps having children who would grow up with the love and acceptance he had been denied, had been a persistent dream.
Robin certainly fit every criterion she could have hoped for in a potential sister-in-law. The archaeologist was intelligent, beautiful, mature, and clearly capable of holding her own in dangerous situations. Her protective instincts toward Sanji were obvious, and her demonic transformation suggested power levels that could match or exceed the Vinsmoke family's genetic enhancements.
But instead of pursuing her romantically, Reiju observed with growing frustration, he's apparently decided they're going to be "sisters" together. What a waste of potential.
The irony wasn't lost on her. She had spent years worrying that Sanji's emotional nature would make him vulnerable to manipulation by unscrupulous women, only to discover that his greatest romantic obstacle was his own transformation into someone who preferred dresses to dating.
Still, she reflected with grudging admiration, if this is who he's chosen to become, then at least he's found people who accept him completely. That's more than our family ever offered.
The question of how Sanji had acquired Vinsmoke combat technology was equally intriguing. The FAIZ belt system was among their most advanced developments, incorporating years of research into photon manipulation and biomechanical enhancement. Only family members should have had access to such equipment.
I'm the most likely source, Reiju realized with growing certainty. When the time comes, I'll probably choose to help him rather than support father's political schemes. It's what any decent sister would do.
The prospect of defying Vinsmoke Judge's authority was both terrifying and liberating. For years, she had been forced to watch her emotionally stunted brothers and tyrannical father treat Sanji like a failed experiment, never able to openly challenge their cruelty due to her own modified programming.
But if the Sky Screen was showing her a future where she finally found the courage to act on her genuine feelings rather than her genetic conditioning, then perhaps there was hope for the Vinsmoke family after all.
In the depths of the mobile kingdom's research facilities, Vinsmoke Judge studied the Sky Screen with the intense focus that had made him one of the world's foremost experts in genetic manipulation and military technology. His expression was carefully controlled, but the sharp intelligence behind his eyes was cataloguing every detail of his exiled son's transformation sequence.
The photon blood flow patterns are more sophisticated than our current generation, he noted with professional appreciation. The integration between biological and mechanical systems appears seamless, suggesting advances in our neural interface technology.
As a scientist, Judge couldn't help but admire the elegance of the combat suit's activation process. The smartphone-style controller was a significant improvement over their current belt-based systems, offering both enhanced user interface design and better aesthetic presentation.
Five years of additional development time, he calculated with growing excitement. If this represents our technological capabilities in 1525, then our current research trajectories are even more promising than I had hoped.
The political implications were equally significant. Sanji's marriage alliance with the Charlotte family would provide Germa with protection under Big Mom's flag while giving them access to Whole Cake Island's advanced confectionery technology and massive intelligence network.
A failed experiment becoming useful through political necessity, Judge reflected with cold satisfaction. Even Sanji's emotional defects serve a purpose if they can secure our kingdom's future.
His relationship with his third son had always been complicated by the boy's stubborn retention of human empathy and moral constraints. Where his other children had been successfully modified into perfect soldiers, Sanji had maintained inconvenient qualities like compassion and ethical standards.
But those same emotional traits that made him unsuitable as a Germa warrior might prove valuable in managing a diplomatic marriage. The Charlotte family would expect their son-in-law to show genuine affection rather than calculated political maneuvering.
Sanji's defects become assets in the right context, Judge concluded with the satisfaction of a scientist whose experimental failures had unexpectedly proven useful. Even failed experiments have their place in the grand design.
-Real World: Whole Cake Island-
In the massive cake-shaped palace that served as Big Mom's primary residence, Charlotte Katakuri watched the Sky Screen with growing irritation that his enhanced Observation Haki couldn't quite suppress. As the strongest Sweet Commander and the most devoted of Big Mom's children, he took family honor seriously—and watching someone publicly disrespect their engagement to his sister filled him with protective fury.
This crossdressing cook has no idea what kind of opportunity he's rejecting, Katakuri thought with barely contained anger. A marriage alliance with the Big Mom Pirates represents security and prestige that most people would kill for.
The fact that Sanji was apparently planning to refuse the arrangement was insulting on multiple levels. It suggested that he considered himself too good for the Charlotte family, that their offer of protection and political alliance wasn't worth accepting.
He had nothing against okama culture in general—the seas were full of people who had chosen unconventional lifestyles, and strength was the only currency that truly mattered in pirate society. But using crossdressing as an excuse to avoid family obligations struck him as cowardly rather than liberated.
If he's strong enough to fight in that ridiculous outfit, Katakuri decided with grim determination, then he's strong enough to honor his commitments. Someone needs to teach him about consequences.
The prospect of a confrontation was appealing on multiple levels. Not only would it allow him to defend his family's honor, but it would provide an opportunity to test his abilities against someone who apparently possessed advanced military technology.
Let him enjoy his transformation belt, Katakuri thought with predatory anticipation. When the time comes, I'll show him that no amount of technology can substitute for real power.
Nearby, Charlotte Linlin herself studied the Sky Screen with calculating interest rather than personal offense. As one of the Four Emperors, she was accustomed to complex political maneuvering and understood that resistance was often part of successful negotiations.
The Vinsmoke family's technology is worth pursuing regardless of this boy's personal preferences, she concluded with typical pragmatism. If marriage doesn't work, there are other ways to acquire what we need.
Her interest in Germa Kingdom had always been primarily strategic rather than personal. Their cloning technology, military engineering, and mobile fortress capabilities would significantly enhance her own forces' effectiveness.
Let the boy play dress-up if it amuses him, Big Mom decided with characteristic directness. In the end, strength determines everything. If he's too weak to resist our requirements, his personal preferences become irrelevant.
-Real World: Various Locations-
Across the North Blue, countless individuals who had grown up with stories of Sora, Warrior of the Sea found themselves staring at the Sky Screen with childhood nostalgia mixed with adult appreciation for advanced military technology.
Trafalgar Law, despite his typically reserved demeanor, felt his tactical mind immediately cataloguing the combat applications of transformation-based enhancement systems, he observed with interest. The psychological impact alone would be significant in most combat situations.
Basil Hawkins consulted his tarot cards with unusual urgency, trying to determine whether such technology would factor into his own future developments. The cards suggest significant changes in combat paradigms, he noted with growing concern. Traditional power structures may be obsolete sooner than expected.
X Drake, with his military background and Zoan Devil Fruit abilities, found himself particularly interested in the integration between human physiology and mechanical enhancement. Cybernetic augmentation that doesn't interfere with Devil Fruit powers, he realized with growing excitement. This could revolutionize modern warfare.
All three North Blue natives shared the same childhood foundation—stories of heroes who fought for justice using advanced technology and unwavering moral conviction. Seeing those fictional elements manifested in reality triggered complex emotional responses that went far beyond simple tactical appreciation.
-Broadcast-
The transformation sequence had completely altered the underground battlefield's dynamics, replacing the okama chef with something that looked like it had stepped out of a science fiction adventure story. Sanji's new armor gleamed with technological sophistication that made even advanced Pacifista units look primitive by comparison.
"Sanji, I've never seen you use anything like this before," Robin observed from her demonic form, genuine admiration evident in her otherworldly voice. "It turns out men do look more handsome when they dress up properly."
The FAIZ belt system had enhanced every aspect of Sanji's physical capabilities, transforming him from a skilled martial artist into something approaching a living weapon. His movements carried new precision and power, while the armor's integrated systems provided enhanced sensory input and tactical analysis capabilities.
Technology blessing biological enhancement, Robin noted with scholarly appreciation. The integration is seamless—no obvious weak points or system limitations that could be exploited.
Sanji's ability to maintain aerial positioning through what appeared to be some form of energy manipulation was particularly impressive. The combination of enhanced strength, improved agility, and flight capability created a combat profile that would challenge even experienced Devil Fruit users.
A single punch from this enhanced form could probably kill an ordinary Zoan user, Robin calculated with clinical precision. The power multiplication is exponential rather than linear.
Trebol, meanwhile, was attempting to exploit psychological pressure rather than engage in direct combat with an obviously superior opponent. His Beta Beta no Mi (Stick-Stick Fruit) abilities would be less effective against armor designed to resist environmental contamination.
"You're planning to cancel an engagement with one of the Four Emperors' daughters," Trebol declared with false confidence. "Unless you can personally defeat Charlotte Linlin herself, most people won't survive her displeasure. Your father may be a talented scientist, but if you try to escape this marriage, you'll bring destruction down on the entire Vinsmoke family. The Germa Kingdom will cease to exist, and that will be your fault."
The threat was calculated to exploit Sanji's protective instincts toward his sister, the one family member who had shown him genuine affection during his traumatic childhood. Trebol's intelligence network had provided detailed psychological profiles on all the Straw Hat Pirates, identifying their individual pressure points for potential exploitation.
Family loyalty as a weapon, Sanji recognized with growing anger. These people really don't understand anything about the relationships they're trying to manipulate.
His feelings toward the arranged marriage were complex, rooted in childhood trauma that went far beyond simple personal preference. The sight of his mother's deterioration and death, sacrificing her health to give birth to children who would be raised as emotionless weapons, had left permanent scars on his psyche.
Marriage as a business transaction, he thought with disgust. Women treated as breeding stock or political assets rather than human beings deserving love and respect. That's exactly the kind of system I swore to never participate in.
The development of his okama identity had been partially influenced by the Kamabakka Kingdom's philosophy of gender fluidity, but it was equally rooted in rejection of traditional masculine roles that treated women as possessions to be acquired rather than partners to be cherished.
I spent the first half of my life loving women, Sanji reflected as he tested his armor's responsiveness. The second half will be about loving freedom from the expectations that destroyed my family.
"The Vinsmoke family possesses more than one transformation belt," Sanji announced with deliberate provocation. "I carry the FAIZ system as the third-generation user, but I've heard that Vinsmoke Judge has developed fourth-generation technology that's even more advanced. They'll be able to protect themselves in Four Emperor territory regardless of political complications. You should worry about your own situation instead."
As if responding to his words, the Sky Screen obligingly provided flashback footage that revealed the scope of Germa Kingdom's military development.
The first image showed a pink-haired woman—clearly Reiju—wearing a similar belt system with yellow photon conduits instead of Sanji's red configuration. Her transformation sequence activated with the code "913," creating another Kamen Rider whose capabilities appeared to match or exceed Sanji's own.
The next images were more disturbing, showing two figures who shared Sanji's distinctive eyebrow patterns but radiated hostility rather than familial affection. Their Armor designs incorporated celestial motifs.
The footage showed the three brothers working in coordination against a FAIZ user, their techniques suggesting years of training specifically to counter Sanji's fighting style and technological capabilities.
The final image was the most disturbing: Vinsmoke Judge himself, no longer recognizably human, his body transformed into something that resembled a mechanical insect more than a man. Advanced cybernetic modifications had replaced most of his organic systems, creating a being that prioritized function over form.
The flashback sequence concluded, leaving everyone who had witnessed it with a clear understanding of the forces that would eventually converge around Sanji's arranged marriage. The Sky Screen had revealed not just individual capabilities, but an entire family dynamic built around conflict and coercion.
This is probably the follow-up to the Dressrosa incident, observers throughout the world concluded with growing anticipation. The crossdressing chef's fight for personal freedom against his own family's political ambitions.
The scene is Sanji's future, and all the viewers know this, and they can't help but sigh for the fate of this Okama. It is not so easy to escape from marriage.