Chapter Fifty-Three: Pink Venom – Reiju

“Gee hee hee hee! So, Vinsmoke Judge, how does my zombie legion compare to your clone army?” Moriah laughed with a hint of arrogance.

When it comes to comparing the zombie legion and the clone army, the strengths and weaknesses are quite obvious. The zombies’ advantage lies in their fearlessness of death and injury—on this point alone, perhaps no army in the world can match them.

But the clone soldiers, mass-produced and enhanced with lineage factor modifications and advanced weaponry, have a level of discipline and strength that this disparate zombie horde cannot hope to rival.

It’s like the difference between a ragtag militia and a regular army! However, with Buffon here, everything is different now.

At least in terms of pure strength, these zombies have reached a formidable new standard; as for their shadows, that’s up to fate.

“Moriah, are you trying to provoke me?” Judge said coldly.

“Gee hee hee hee! In front of you, I wouldn’t dare call it provocation. Still, if you’re really interested in a contest, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Clearly, seeing only two people board the ship, Moriah wanted to make a show of force. But since he didn’t have a clear grasp of Germa 66’s combat capability, he didn’t dare boast too much.

But Buffon, wise in such matters, knew that if Judge himself faced Baggio, Baggio would likely lose—Judge’s own strength is considerable, especially with that electromagnetic gun capable of generating electric currents.

As for Reiju, she posed no real threat; her poison attacks wouldn’t have much effect on a zombie like Baggio.

“Hmph, trying to give me a warning, are you?” Judge snorted, then continued, “Reiju, when we reach land, you’ll spar with this zombie.”

“Yes, Father!” Though Reiju, modified by the lineage factor, still retained her emotions, she had always obeyed Judge without question.

No sooner had she spoken than Absalom stepped forward to interject, but a single look from Buffon silenced him.

Having heard of Buffon’s achievements from Perona, Absalom’s attitude toward him had shifted to one of awe.

Once they reached the island, the zombie legion lined up behind Perona, all of them glaring menacingly at Judge and his daughter, but neither Judge nor Reiju showed the slightest fear.

At this moment, Reiju was a year younger than Perona, but in terms of attire and figure, she was far more attractive than the petite Perona.

Especially in her manners and speech—she was simply on another level.

“Hello, little sister. I’m Vinsmoke Reiju. The dolls behind you are truly adorable!” Reiju began by praising the Jemaci behind Perona.

But Perona heard something else in her words. “Hoh hoh! Hoh hoh! Hoh hoh! Buffon, I really don’t like this flashy woman!”

Buffon immediately sensed the provocation in Perona’s tone.

She’d even stopped calling him “big bro” and had switched to “brother”—what was she up to?

Reiju simply smiled and said, “Little sister, didn’t Moriah ever teach you any manners?”

Perona didn’t reply. Instead, she unleashed her ghostly double, passing straight through Reiju’s body. Bringing her ghostly face right up to Reiju’s nose, she asked with a hint of mischief, “I wonder if you’re harboring any negative feelings right now?”

In an instant, three small white ghosts split from Perona’s double and shot through Reiju.

Suddenly, a wave of despair swept over Reiju’s heart. She staggered, clutching her chest and murmured, “I’m sorry, Sanji. I shouldn’t have mocked you like Yonji and the others when we were children. I’m a failure as a sister!”

Hearing this, while Buffon marveled at Perona’s might as the possessor of the strongest Paramecia fruit, he also recalled Reiju’s past.

In the original story, Reiju, blessed with scientifically altered genes, possessed abnormal strength but retained her emotions.

As a child, Sanji was deemed a “failure” and bullied by his brothers and abandoned by his father. Whenever Sanji was bullied, Reiju would laugh along, afraid that if she didn’t, she’d become a target herself.

After Sanji was imprisoned and abused by his brothers, Reiju would secretly tend his wounds. When Germa reached East Blue, Reiju broke open the prison bars and helped Sanji escape.

Later, she even saved Luffy and fought Big Mom, aiding the Straw Hats’ escape from Whole Cake Island.

But in a flash, the butterfly cape of Reiju’s combat suit flared with purple energy, and she instantly recovered.

Her red lips parted, and she spat a stream of venom straight at Perona’s true body.

Buffon didn’t move. Instead, Baggio darted forward, grabbed Perona, and brought her safely to Buffon’s side.

Having failed for the first time, Perona was flustered. Her ghostly doubles vanished back into her body, and her black, pupil-less eyes fixed on Reiju.

“So this is the power of lineage factor modification?” Buffon mused to himself.

He surmised that Perona’s negative ghosts had triggered a wave of despair in Reiju, which in turn activated her body’s self-preservation instinct. This instinct had then unleashed her poison to jolt her consciousness back to normal.

Clearly, the lineage factor didn’t just strengthen the body—it did far more.

Baggio, already set to duel Reiju, didn’t wait for Buffon’s order. He used the Six Powers’ Shave to appear right in front of her, Armament Haki coating his entire body, and launched a right fist at Reiju’s head.

Witnessing this, Absalom was indignant. “How can you go all out against such a beautiful lady?”

He’d fought Baggio before, and knew that in both strength and skill, he’d been completely outclassed. This punch would be no joke.

Moriah slapped Absalom on the back of the head and said seriously, “You should really work harder to improve yourself!”

Absalom was stunned—was this the Moriah he knew?

Reiju bent slightly to evade, then swung her long right leg. With the jet boots of her combat suit flaring, she delivered a fierce spinning kick to Baggio’s shoulder!

Even with Armament Haki covering his body, Baggio staggered forward under the blow.

“The strength of a Germa 66 officer truly is impressive. With the boost from that exoskeleton suit, even Baggio can be moved.” Buffon silently assessed.

But Baggio reacted quickly—he seized Reiju’s boot with his left hand and flung her away.

As she was about to hit the ground, the jets on her boots fired again, but rather than aiming at Baggio, she targeted the ever-leering Absalom.

Soaring over Absalom’s head, Reiju sent him a “flying kiss.”

Absalom, the hopeless pervert, had no thought of dodging—he only wished he could throw himself at her.

Moriah, seeing this, made no move to help. With Buffon around, Absalom’s life wasn’t in danger—a lesson wouldn’t hurt him.

Reiju spat a cloud of pink-violet venom, which landed on Absalom’s “elephant skin.” Smoke hissed forth instantly.

With the poison entering his body, Absalom lost consciousness on the spot.

Seeing this, Judge allowed himself a subtle, almost imperceptible smile.

But then Buffon moved. In a flash, he appeared behind Absalom, catching him before he hit the ground. With a surge of Excitement Hormones, he woke Absalom, then deftly used his scalpel to excise every trace of poison.

His hands moved swiftly, needles flying, and in an instant, Absalom’s wounds were as good as new.

Buffon could have used a gentler method, but he wanted to teach a lesson—so he went straight for “scraping the bone to remove poison”!

As Absalom howled in agony, Reiju and Judge were struck dumb.

Judge knew well the strength of his daughter’s poison. Normally, only she could neutralize it—unless one encountered one of the top doctors of the sea or a specialist with a counteracting ability.

And that uncanny surgical technique stunned him even more.

As for Reiju, she alone understood the potency of her own poison. Once inhaled, it induced unconsciousness; without her personal antidote, or at best with the family’s anti-toxin serum, it would take at least a full day and night for someone to recover.

Yet Buffon had not only woken Absalom in an instant and eliminated the poison, but had healed his wounds in the blink of an eye—a divine feat!

At that moment, an unprecedented, powerful emotion welled up in Reiju’s heart...