Reiju froze as she watched the thing fly out of her body.
She recognized that root.
Or rather, there was no way she could ever forget it.
Long ago, Vinsmoke Reiju had done something desperate simply because she wanted to earn her father's embrace. She knew he had always been researching an extremely valuable material, hoping to use it to restore the Vinsmoke family's former standing.
So one day, she secretly entered her father's laboratory. As Germa's princess, she had access.
That was when she saw the root, sealed beneath a glass cover in the center of the facility. She had no idea what it was or how it was supposed to be used.
"I want to fulfill Father's wish. I want to become useful to him."
That was all young Reiju had been thinking when she curiously reached out to touch it.
Then, she watched in horror as the root sank into her body.
And she passed out.
When she woke up, her father announced excitedly, "Success! You're Number Zero."
She didn't understand what that meant at the time.
She soon found out.
Even though she hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, she had gained abilities similar to one. There was even Lineage Factor flowing through her genes.
That was the beginning of her nightmare.
From then on, she underwent all kinds of experiments almost every day, blood draws, bone marrow extractions, organ examinations, and even spinal taps. The cold operating room became her entire childhood.
Using her genes as a foundation, Judge developed a method to modify others with the Lineage Factor. Through genetic modification, he erased their memories and human emotions, creating her younger brothers.
"You..."
Tears were already streaming down Reiju's face.
Countless times, she had woken up in the middle of the night and wondered: What if she had never touched that root back then? Would everything have been different?
Maybe her mother wouldn't have died.
Maybe her younger brothers wouldn't have become emotionless monsters.
But what drove her to despair was that the root seemed to have fused with her body. Even Judge couldn't, or perhaps simply didn't want to, remove it.
Until today.
'Buzz!'
Right in front of Reiju, the root that had haunted her nightmares for so long was reduced to dust in Tiger's hands.
[The source of the Lineage Factor has been analyzed.]
[Lineage Factor Development: 35.21% → 50.11%]
"So that's it..." Tiger murmured to himself. "This root is similar to Vegapunk's. It also increased the Lineage Factor development by about fifteen percent."
"Vegapunk's root was used to extract energy and create the Scarlet Dragon Devil Fruit. Unless something unexpected happened, the energy in this one was absorbed by Reiju."
He clearly hadn't expected the energy within the roots to be usable in this way.
'Why was Reiju able to do this?' He thought about it for a moment.
The answer was obvious.
"Wish."
The essence of Devil Fruits was a "Wish." He had known that for a long time.
'So... perhaps Judge's research loosened the energy within the root, while Reiju's Wish triggered that energy and allowed it to flow? But Judge's desire for his research to succeed should have been just as strong. So why didn't the root react to him?'
Tiger couldn't figure it out, but there was no doubt about one thing, he was deeply intrigued.
He turned to Reiju. "Miss Reiju, do you want to live?"
Reiju frowned, looking at Tiger in confusion. "You're willing to let me go?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Tiger smiled. "My orders were to destroy Germa. That mission is complete, so now I want to discuss a deal with you."
"A deal?" Reiju's expression grew even more complicated. "Do I need to remind you? You just killed my family and destroyed my country."
"I know," Tiger answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"So? Are you going to avenge your brothers? Or do you plan to carry on your father's wishes and rebuild Germa?"
He asked her directly.
"..."
Reiju fell silent.
She had no intention of rebuilding Germa. In fact, she would rather die than do such a thing.
And as for the deaths of her three younger brothers and her father, she didn't want revenge, either.
She had never considered her younger brothers, whose human emotions had been erased, to be truly human. To her, they were merely tragic shells created by their father's ambition. They weren't her brothers. They were weapons.
Their deaths weren't something she could mourn. If anything, she felt that death had finally set them free.
As for her father...
"His last order to me was to survive," Reiju said quietly.
Survive, not seek revenge, not rebuild an empire.
So she wouldn't take revenge. She wouldn't seek retribution. All she wanted was to live on in this world, alone.
"After all, I'm... the last Vinsmoke."
"That's not entirely true," Tiger spoke up. "You still have one family member left, don't you?"
He raised a finger and smiled. "Vinsmoke Sanji. As far as I know, he recently went out to sea and became a pirate."
"Sanji!?" Reiju froze at the name.
'"You were the child Mother fought with everything she had to protect. You were born with human emotions. You were never a 'failure'!"'
'"Listen to me. Never come back here, and you don't need to see me again either. The sea is vast. You'll definitely meet kind people out there!"'
A small figure surfaced in her memories.
"He's... still alive?" she whispered in disbelief.
Then she caught the key word in Tiger's statement. "A pirate!?"
"That's right. He joined a crew led by a guy called 'Straw Hat.' He's sailing the seas right now." Tiger smiled and nodded.
"Miss Reiju, wouldn't you like to see your younger brother? 'Cough, cough'... I mean, doesn't the idea tempt you? Forget about everything else. You could live freely with your family!"
Reiju's expression shifted.
Living together with her family?
Judge and her three younger brothers instinctively flashed in her mind. But then... she thought of the small figure who had been as gentle as their mother.
'"Reiju, I made some cake. Do you want to eat it with me?"'
A voice from her childhood echoed in her ears.
After a quiet moment, she asked, "...What exactly is this cooperation you mentioned?"
"Just a few minor experiments. Don't be nervous, we're not heartless bastards like your father. We have rules. You should understand I have no reason to deceive you about something like this."
Tiger waved his hand casually, reassuring Reiju, whose face had paled at the word "experiments." Clearly, the term alone triggered deep trauma.
"Once the experiments are finished, you're free to leave and go wherever you want." He paused, his voice suddenly turning cold. "But before we discuss the details of our agreement, I have something else to take care of first. You know where Buckingham Stussy is, right?"
---
Meanwhile, far below the floating Germa Kingdom...
During the battle, dozens of clone corpses had plunged into the sea. Inside one of those corpses...
"Hehehe~ Even Vinsmoke Weevil's body was completely destroyed. Now that was one frightening attack... heave-ho!"
Buckingham, who had sewn herself inside the corpse, began tearing away the stitches holding it shut. The sharp pain made her grit her teeth.
"Ouch... Tsk. What a waste. I originally planned to have little Reiju control Weevil herself and make him slaughter her father and brothers."
She sounded genuinely disappointed. Pure malice dripped from her voice. There was no deep reason for it, or rather, if she had to name one, it was sheer jealousy.
"She was just an experimental subject! So what's with that pretty face and body? If you're a test subject, you ought to have the decency to look ugly!"
She gnashed her teeth. "But... whatever."
After removing the last of the stitches, she turned to look at the several large crates of research materials floating behind her.
"Even though I didn't get that root, I still have the sample inside my own body. Combined with all this Germa technology, it's more than enough."
Although her plan hadn't gone entirely to script, Buckingham wasn't overly concerned. She had acquired Germa's Lineage Factor technology just as she'd wanted. Combined with her own Life Stitch technique...
"I still have samples of Newgate and Kaido's Lineage Factors. If I lie low for a few years, I'll be able to create even more powerful 'masterpieces.' Then I can approach the Yonko and negotiate... No, forget them. I'll go straight to the World Government. With technology like this, I can command power and influence anywhere I go!"
A single Vinsmoke Weevil was no match for Tiger. But what if there were ten? Or a hundred Weevils, each one stronger than the last?
As she gloated over her future, Buckingham struggled to drag the crates out of the corpse.
Just then, she caught her reflection in the seawater.
Ugly, old, squat, and wretched. She could see the body she kept hidden beneath her heavy clothes, countless stitches crisscrossed her skin, turning her into a monster in her own right.
Yes. Long ago, she had been personally invited by Rocks to serve as the doctor of the Rocks Pirates. Back then, she had been an ambitious, stunning pirate with the presence of a true titan.
But that was in the past. Over the decades, she had paid a terrible price to develop Life Stitch. Her body was ruined, covered in grotesquely stitched scars, and her mind was no different.
"..."
A bitter, vicious sneer twisted Buckingham's aged face. She had long since forgotten why she even began researching Life Stitch in the first place.
Perhaps it was to stave off aging and preserve her beauty. Perhaps she had wanted to hone her medical skills to make a fortune.
She couldn't remember anymore.
But none of it mattered. Beauty? Medical skill? Wealth?
All she cared about now was raw power and control.
'Thump!'
Buckingham kicked a stone, intending to shatter her reflection in the water.
But...
"..."
The stone abruptly froze in midair.
"Found you." A voice whispered right beside her ear.
In the next instant, the reflection of a figure wearing a tiger-head mask appeared beside her in the water.
"Wait!" Buckingham whipped around. "I surrender! I'll join you! I'll give you my Life Stitch technique...I..."
True to form, she was a shameless coward to the core.
But...
"No need."
Before she could finish, Tiger's hand was already pressed against her chest.
[Paw-Paw Fruit: Memory Repulsion]
[Paw-Paw Fruit: Life Repulsion]
"I'll extract your Life Stitch technique and the root directly from your memories."
---
(End of Chapter)
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