"I… I actually survived!"
Vinsmoke Judge collapsed onto the beach, drenched in cold sweat. His pale face carried the look of a man who had narrowly escaped death itself. His chest rose and fell violently, each breath reminding him that he was still alive.
When the B-2 bomber came crashing down just moments ago, he truly thought his end had come. For a brief instant, he swore he had even seen the face of his late grandfather, waiting to welcome him into the afterlife.
"Excuse me."
Douglas Bullet disengaged from the B-2's metallic shell, stepping onto the sand without a single scratch. His tone was flat, though tinged with casual annoyance.
"This was only my second time using this weapon," he admitted, rolling his shoulders as if to loosen up. "I'm still getting used to it. But really—" his sharp eyes fell on Judge
"—you almost dying just proves how weak you are. If you had even a trace of Armament Haki, you wouldn't have been at death's door after such a simple landing."
Judge twitched, his mouth contorting. A thousand curses ran through his mind, enough to disgrace every ancestor of this so-called Demon's Heir.
Yet in the end, he swallowed them all down.
The man had already apologized—half-hearted though it was. And when someone like Douglas Bullet apologized, you clung to that shred of mercy with both hands.
The Demon's Heir has already apologized. Forget it, Judge. Forgive him! He repeated it in his heart, forcing his rage down.
"It's time to move," Bullet said, his patience already spent.
"The Admiral is waiting for you."
Before Judge could protest, the monstrous man seized him with one hand, lifting him as effortlessly as a farmer plucking up a chicken. Judge dangled helplessly, sand and dust still clinging to his battle suit, as Bullet marched across the base.
…
Snap.
The heavy office door swung open. Bullet strode inside and dropped Judge unceremoniously onto the floor. His golden eyes then flicked toward the timer glowing on the desk.
00:33:58.
A grin split Bullet's face. "Vice Admiral. Vinsmoke Judge delivered. Task completed within six hours."
He let out a laugh, deep and rumbling, remembering Rosen's promise. Six hours. Capture him alive. Do it, and I'll fight you myself.
The thought of crossing fists with Rosen made his blood boil with anticipation.
Rosen sat calmly behind his desk, hands folded, his sharp gaze studying both men.
"Good work, Bullet," he said evenly. Then his voice hardened. "But next time, if you can't manage a safe landing, I'll ban you from using the B-2 inside this base."
Bullet's grin faltered. But after a beat, he nodded obediently. "Understood. I'll practice my landings on an uninhabited island from now on."
Satisfied, Rosen shifted his focus to Judge, who was still brushing sand from his shoulders and trying desperately to compose himself.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," Rosen said with a faint smile. "King of Germa, Vinsmoke Judge. Welcome to Branch One."
…
Judge raised his chin, fighting to salvage the last scraps of dignity he had left.
"Admiral Rosen," he said, voice firm despite his unease.
"You sent the Demon's Heir to capture me alive. Tell me—do you intend to execute me publicly, or throw me into Impel Down?"
"Neither."
The answer came smoothly, like water over polished stone—but it carried a weight that crushed down on Judge's shoulders.
"I need your strength, Judge," Rosen continued. His gaze bore into him, sharp as blades. "Your abilities will serve me."
The tone was calm, but the authority behind it was undeniable. Judge shuddered. Even compared to Bullet's oppressive aura, Rosen's presence was overwhelming.
…
"My strength?" Judge tried to keep his voice steady.
"Strange… I wasn't aware I possessed power worthy of a Vice Admiral's interest."
In truth, his chest swelled with a flicker of pride. Ever since his clone army had been annihilated by Bullet's artificial monsters, he had doubted himself, doubted Germa's science.
But Rosen's words rekindled that pride, lifting him momentarily from the pit of humiliation.
Only for it to be shattered a heartbeat later.
"Tch." Bullet leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed.
"Admiral, I personally inspected Germa's toys back in the North Sea. Those clone soldiers, those guns? Worthless. At best, children's playthings. Nothing more."
Judge's face turned red, then ashen.
But before he could protest, Rosen raised a hand. "No, Bullet. What you saw was only the surface of Germa's technology. The true core lies not in his soldiers or weapons… but in his bloodline factor research."
Judge froze, a tremor running down his spine. It was as though Rosen had stripped him bare, exposing every secret he thought hidden.
"I sensed it myself when I visited the Germa Kingdom," Rosen went on. "Not just the clones. There were other signatures—unique, powerful ones. Judge's children."
Bullet's brows lifted. "Children?"
"Modified humans," Rosen explained. "Enhanced through the bloodline factor. Turned from ordinary offspring into superhuman soldiers. Faster, stronger, resilient… with abilities that mimic devil fruits. An exoskeleton that grants natural armor. Healing beyond normal limits."
He turned his gaze to Judge. "That's correct, isn't it?"
Judge could only let out a bitter laugh. "I didn't expect a Vice Admiral of the Navy to know Germa's secrets so clearly."
…
Bullet leaned forward, interest sparking in his eyes for the first time. "So… you've been making monsters out of children? Hmph. That's actually impressive."
Rosen's gaze didn't waver.
"Impressive, yes—but more importantly, useful. With proper training and the right environment, your creations could become far more than you ever dreamed."
He paused, his mind briefly comparing Judge's work to the potential he had glimpsed in Sanji, Reiju, and the others.
"Even without Haki," Rosen said slowly, "your cyborg children could, in time, defeat pirates worth 300 to 500 million berries. But if raised under Navy discipline—under Zephyr's tutelage, trained in Haki and martial arts—they could surpass pirates with billion-berry bounties."
Judge's eyes widened.
"And if one of them were to eat a strong devil fruit on top of that," Rosen added, his voice like iron, "their ceiling would soar even higher."
Bullet gave a low whistle. Doll, who had been silently watching until now, finally broke her composure.
"Vice Admiral… are you saying that Vinsmoke Judge has the technology to mass-produce pirates worth billions of berries each?" she asked, her voice tinged with awe and disbelief.
Rosen's answer was silence, but his expression was all the confirmation they needed.
Judge felt a mix of terror and pride swirling in his chest. He had come here fearing death or imprisonment. Instead, he now understood: Admiral Rosen saw value in him. Enough to keep him alive. Enough to demand his loyalty.
And in Rosen's shadow, even the King of Germa knew he had no choice but to obey.