Chapter Fifty-Two: The Visit of the Vinsmoke Family

What entered Buffon's sight was a small fortress at sea, formed by more than a dozen ships. At this moment, calling them ships might not be accurate—they were more like a fortress borne upon the backs of a host of giant snails. The enormous "66" emblazoned on the sails instantly revealed the newcomers' identity.

These were the ships of Sanji's family, the Vinsmoke clan—rulers of the Germa Kingdom. The Germa Kingdom was a unique maritime nation with no fixed territory, its fleet usually dispersed but able to merge into a single sovereign entity at will. The kingdom's army, Germa 66, was a force that struck fear across the world, its pinnacle of power and authority resting with the Vinsmoke family.

For generations, the Germa Kingdom had been a nation of science, with advanced technology as its unshakable foundation. The current king, Vinsmoke Judge, was himself an outstanding scientist. In his youth, he had even been part of the same clandestine overseas research group as Vegapunk, the world's foremost scientist, who served under the Navy's scientific division.

It was Vegapunk who discovered the monumental breakthrough of the Lineage Factor. Later, Vegapunk was captured by the World Government and then joined the Navy's scientific force, while Judge escaped, returning to the Germa Kingdom to continue his research and application of the Lineage Factor. He even constructed massive underground facilities for replicating super soldiers.

Standing at the fortress gate was a tall man with a metal helmet, a small mustache, and long golden hair. He wore an orange cape and a black battle suit adorned with Germa's emblem, a belt at his waist, and combat boots. Buffon mused to himself, "He likely isn't here to start a fight."

If they truly intended combat, it would not be Judge himself leading the charge. Given Moria’s current strength and reputation, sending his three sons with a clone army would be more than enough to give Moria a run for his money. Of course, that was not accounting for Buffon’s own power.

"Moria, don't panic. Germa 66 showing up out of nowhere doesn’t necessarily mean they’re here to fight," Buffon said calmly.

Moria nodded; he had already begun, subconsciously, to see Buffon as the backbone of their pirate crew.

"Gecko Moria! I have come here specifically to borrow one of your zombies for research," Judge’s voice was cold and commanding, leaving little room for refusal.

At that, Buffon already guessed his purpose—this was surely about Shanks’ severed arm.

Moria was no fool. Shanks’ left arm, now in his possession, had become an open secret thanks to covert naval dissemination. Moria could think of no other zombie worthy of Judge’s personal attention.

"Gihihihihi! For the king of Germa to come in person, it seems I, Moria, am quite the big deal!" Moria laughed. He knew well the combat prowess of Germa 66, but as a Shichibukai, and with Buffon’s strength at his side—especially on home ground—even if the other side forced a confrontation, he believed they could hold their own.

At that moment, a striking figure stepped out from behind Judge. She had pink mid-length hair covering her right eye, a left eyebrow spiraling counterclockwise, and violet eyes accentuated by pale pink lipstick. Her pink battle suit bore the number 6, with black earmuffs, a blue scarf, and a super-short skirt that exposed both her chest and navel. Her cloak fanned out like butterfly wings, and she wore white and pink thigh-high boots. Each of her slender thighs was marked with the number "6".

Who else could this be but Sanji's sister, Vinsmoke Reiju?

"Hello, Moria. I’ve heard there’s a remarkable doctor aboard your ship. Would you introduce us?" Reiju’s tone was poised and courteous, without a hint of condescension.

"Gihihihihi! In that case, let’s talk aboard my ship!" Moria invited them "enthusiastically." After all, it’s hard to be hostile to someone who greets you with a smile, and once they were on the Thriller Bark, even if it came to blows, he’d have no fear.

Judge nodded. At once, he and Reiju activated their combat boots, jets blasting beneath them as they soared over to the Juventus. In moments, both landed steadily on its deck.

Sparks of electricity flickered around Judge’s body, and as he touched down, the entire ship quivered slightly. This left Moria inwardly alarmed.

As Reiju touched down and rose to her feet, Absalom, ever the lecher, immediately had hearts in his eyes and leered, "Beautiful miss, may I ask your name?"

Reiju offered a slight smile—which to Absalom was enough to topple nations. "Thank you for your compliment. My name is Vinsmoke Reiju!" Her tone, though, was noticeably colder than before.

Moria shot Absalom a chilly glare, then turned to Buffon and introduced them, "Gihihihihi! Miss Reiju, this is the genius doctor you mentioned, Casty Buffon!"

Buffon maintained his usual cold demeanor. What intrigued him most about the Vinsmoke family was the very subject he had been pondering for days—Lineage Factor modification.

Germa 66, as a scientific combat force, primarily relied on the Lineage Factor theory, said to border on the realm of gods. Judge and his team had used this to clone and modify soldiers from the Lineage Factors of elite warriors, creating soldiers who were both outstanding and utterly obedient, and who could be mass-produced in a very short time.

Vegapunk had used Lineage Factors to invent the Pacifistas and to apply Devil Fruit powers to objects, while Caesar had used them to develop SAD, the raw material for artificial Devil Fruits known as SMILE. Germa 66 soldiers’ uniforms and gear were standardized, and their vehicles included giant snails and cat-cars capable of traversing the seas and even scaling the Red Line. The Vinsmoke royalty wielded unique weapons—Judge’s electromagnetic spear, for example—and were equipped with technological boots, belts, gloves, and facial suppressors.

Above all, their soldiers’ total obedience was much like Moria’s zombie army—though with a crucial difference...

"Mr. Buffon, is this perfect zombie your handiwork?" Reiju’s voice drew Buffon from his thoughts. She was gazing intently at Baggio, who stood by Buffon’s side, her admiration sincere.

Buffon nodded silently.

Judge, too, stared fixedly at this zombie. After a moment, he spoke: "Is this the Rosinante who was struck from the Celestial Dragons’ records?"

Having once been Vegapunk’s colleague, Buffon was not at all surprised that Judge recognized Rosinante’s identity.

"Yes," Buffon replied, offering no denial.

Judge nodded and approached the corpse, which Buffon had restored to near perfection. His face betrayed no emotion, but within, storms raged. As a scientist well-versed in human modification, he recognized that Buffon’s skill was in a league entirely its own. To Judge, Buffon was not merely stitching up remains—he was blazing a trail in human modification that no one else had ever reached.