Chapter 41: Conquering Germa 66

Most of the Germa Kingdom lay in ruins, but some sections remained intact, scattered across the sea like broken fragments of a once-mighty fortress.

Apart from those who weren't Devil Fruit users, many clone soldiers had crawled out of the churning waters and climbed onto the floating debris.

However, Yami regarded their presence as inconsequential, focusing his attention instead on Vinsmoke Judge, who knelt on the ground in a dazed stupor.

Nearby, Reiju watched the scene with a complex expression, desperately trying to salvage whatever remained functional.

She didn't know what fate awaited their kingdom.

Based on what had just transpired, they possessed almost no power to resist this Shichibukai.

All the trump cards they had been so proud of had failed utterly before him.

"Have you made your choice?" Yami asked without a trace of mercy.

"Are you willing to follow me?"

Of course, Yami wouldn’t feel bad.

As this man was no saint.

Judge had captured countless lives from various races for his human experiments.

The crimes he had committed warranted death a hundred times over.

Unless he possessed some special function, if Yami encountered him during a casual journey, he would probably eliminate the man without hesitation.

"That kind of power, is it truly brought just by a bloodline?" Vinsmoke Judge's eyes were bloodshot, clearly devastated by what had just occurred.

However, he hadn't been completely broken by these events.

Instead, he turned to face Yami directly.

"Yes," Yami nodded with certainty. "There are even stronger levels, as I said before."

Kaguya represented the pinnacle of bloodline power, with her Bloodline making her like the true creator of the world.

The gap between the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya was quite substantial.

Judge fell into silence, staring at the ruins of the castle while contemplating his choice.

His three sons, lying on the ground, remained motionless.

Since Yami had given them the final order to stop, they behaved like deactivated robots.

Seeing his sons in this state, Judge took a deep breath and felt utterly powerless.

His hope of spreading his power across the entire sea had been shattered.

"I am willing to work for you." Judge finally bowed his head in submission.

****

Three days later.

"How much of the machinery has been repaired?" Yami inquired.

Due to the destruction, Germa 66 had suffered heavy losses.

Many machines were damaged and required repair, including Judge's research laboratory, which had also sustained considerable damage.

"Analysis can begin, but extensive data will be needed for the research," Judge replied.

A few days earlier, Yami had placed a seal on each member of the Vinsmoke family.

Yami wouldn’t force them to anything they didn’t want, but it was just to prevent them from betraying him.

He didn't know how to win hearts through charisma, and he wasn’t about to trust someone like Judge.

"Use their blood as samples," Yami instructed. Pointing at the two by his side.

"Izumi belongs to the third stage, while Itachi is in the fourth stage. Their bloodline strength is completely different."

Each tomoe that appeared in the Sharingan provided a certain degree of improvement, but after reaching the Mangekyō, the enhancement at each stage far exceeded the previous levels.

"What beautiful eyes…" Judge exclaimed after drawing the blood samples.

There wasn't much resistance from him anymore.

After all, he was pursuing his favorite work.

Although he harbored ambitions of his own, he focused more intensely on lineage factors and wanted to develop the most perfect bloodline.

Judge drew samples of blood from both Itachi and Izumi, then began analyzing them to identify the differences.

"Reiju, I will leave the place under your management. Can you handle this responsibility?" Yami then approached Reiju.

The best place to study the Uchiha bloodline was within the Uchiha clan itself.

However, bringing the entire Germa 66 there would be somewhat wasteful.

After all, Germa 66 was the dominant force in North Blue.

They could acquire substantial resources here, all of which could benefit them. Although the money earned by them might not match Doflamingo's income, it was definitely a significant amount.

After all, creating so many clone soldiers required a hefty amount; vast quantities of materials had to be consumed.

"Yamikage-sama, I'm afraid I cannot manage alone. My father has always been in charge. I may not be capable of handling it by myself," Reiju excused herself.

She had heard that he wanted to take her father away, which made her reluctant, so she claimed incompetence in hopes that Yami would change his mind.

"Not long ago, I met a man who looks very similar to your siblings and has the same curly eyebrows. His name is Sanji. Is he your brother?" Yami looked at Reiju, who had lowered her head, and spoke directly.

Hearing this, Reiju's eyes widened, and she immediately raised her head in surprise.

What she saw was Yami's blood-red Sharingan.

Those eyes filled her with fear.

At that moment, she didn't dare speak, terrified that this person would see through any lies she spouted.

"Relax… after investing so much energy, I definitely won’t be petty and hurt you, that is, of course, unless you betray me." Yami declared.

"From now on, simply continue as before. Maintain your position as the overlord of the North Blue. You're not required to increase profits, just try to keep them roughly the same as before. Do you understand?"

Yami didn't continue the discussion about Sanji, but directly issued his orders.

A bit of intimidation was sufficient. If he truly acted on his threats, he wouldn’t really win their hearts.

"I understand, Yamikage-sama." Reiju didn't dare refuse.

She nodded her head.

"When you don't know what to do, simply hunt pirates in exchange for bounties." Yami continued his arrangements.

"At the same time, increase production facilities. There will be weapons manufacturing plans later. Specific arrangements will be made when the time comes."

Kunai, shuriken, and similar weapons were simple productions for Germa 66's arsenal.

However, Yami planned to have Judge travel to the Uchiha clan's current territory to develop new ninja tools specifically designed for the Uchiha, then send the blueprints to Germa 66 for mass production.

"Yes." Reiju didn't voice any objections.

Germa 66 had indeed become a vassal force of the person before her.

Her own father was already willingly following him.

"Then, there's the matter of the Raid suits…" Yami addressed this issue with considerable seriousness.

It definitely wasn't because he wanted to wear one himself, but because the suits could indeed provide tremendous assistance to his clan members.

Yes, that was exactly the reason.