"Why are you here?"
"I should be the one asking you that. Why did you come here? Don't tell me you timed your arrival on purpose!"
Yonji didn't answer Sanji's question. Instead, he increased the force on his foot, and after another clash, Yonji's calf suddenly bent in a strange way, forcing him to end the fight.
Standing in place, Yonji used his hands to straighten his leg again, his expression turning completely gloomy.
"Looks like you've learned a lot over these years."
"That's none of your business. I'm not interested in fighting you. Goodbye, forever."
As Sanji spoke, he tried to leave with Brook and Caesar, but Yonji and Niji blocked their way.
"No can do. Father really wants to see you. Since you're here, you might as well come with us."
"Black Leg… You're actually Judge's son?!"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear that name!"
Caesar only realized now that Sanji was actually Judge's son.
Although MADS had long since disbanded, Caesar was still aware of Germa's activities and had heard a bit about Judge's research direction, but he hadn't expected there to be such a special individual as Sanji.
"Shurororo, looks like you and Judge have some interesting conflicts. How about you unlock my handcuffs? I can help you deal with these two."
"Too bad, I don't have the key."
Sanji wasn't worried about Caesar running away. After all, his heart was still in Law's hands, but even if he had the key, he wouldn't trust Caesar.
"How do you know that name?"
"Why? He was also a member of MADS back in the day. Surely you know that?"
"You mean that b*stard used to work with Vegapunk too?"
"Looks like you really didn't know, and your relationship with him isn't great, huh?"
Caesar felt like he had uncovered something incredible, and a smirk appeared on his face. At this moment, Judge, having received the message, also arrived with Ichiji and Reiju.
"Sanji, my child, long time no see. Daddy has missed you so much."
"Shut up! You're not qualified to say that! What do you want?"
"What do I want? I've just arranged a marriage for you, nothing to be surprised about."
At this point in the timeline, the Straw Hat Pirates weren't as famous as they were in the original timeline, but Sanji still carries a bounty of several tens of millions, and this time the photographer hadn't forgotten to remove the lens cap, so Sanji's face was soon captured clearly.
Germa still had the special status of an affiliated nation, and combined with the way Germa 66 operated, it wasn't long before Sanji's identity was discovered. This, like Queen, made him one of the few people who could only be captured alive.
With Doflamingo's temporary downfall, the Underworld was undergoing a major reshuffle. Charlotte Linlin also had her eye on Germa's weaponry and equipment, so she planned a special "marriage alliance."
Judge wanted to use Charlotte Linlin's power to achieve his goal of unifying the North Blue.
But to truly leverage her power, he needed a blood tie with her. Judge didn't want to send one of his favored children to marry into Charlotte Linlin's family, so he remembered the "useless" Sanji from his memories.
He'd never acknowledged this son; he simply wanted to make use of Sanji's last bit of value. Of course, he didn't say any of this openly.
"Oh? Caesar, you're here too? That saves me the trouble. If I handed you over to Charlotte Linlin, that would make a pretty good gift as well."
There was still some time before the day of the wedding. Judge had originally planned to wait; his trip to Egghead really was for archaeological research.
Although this place had already been destroyed, Judge believed there might be something valuable hidden beneath the ruins. That's why he used Germa's affiliated nation status to apply for permission from the World Government to search the area.
Before this, the World Government had already sent agents to inspect the place, but they hadn't found anything of value, so they allowed Judge to come and pick up any leftovers.
However, Judge thought those agents' technical skills were too poor, which caused them to miss the real technology.
These people all refuse to acknowledge Vegapunk in words, yet they've all seen his capabilities. So Judge knew very well that if he could find anything valuable here, it would be extremely beneficial for Germa's development.
Judge's original plan was to dig around first to see if he could find any of Vegapunk's relics, and then go look for this son and drag him to the marriage alliance. He hadn't expected Sanji to show up early, and even bring Caesar, th big prize, along.
Charlotte Linlin had always wanted to talk to Caesar about whether he'd really deceived her.
"Hurry up and unlock these handcuffs! Trust me, I know this bastard's weaknesses. If we join forces, we can definitely take him down!"
Judge's words made Caesar panic. He definitely didn't want to be handed over to Charlotte Linlin—he'd be dead for sure. That's why he desperately hoped Sanji would unlock his Seastone handcuffs.
"I told you, I don't have the key. Besides, I can handle this even without your help."
"You can go look for whoever you want, I have no interest in your so-called marriage alliance, and I don't care about your stupid business!"
"That won't do. The agreement's already set. If the day comes and no one's there, we can't bear BIG MOM's wrath. You'd better come quietly with me."
"In your dreams!"
Seeing Sanji refuse to cooperate, Judge stopped wasting words and directly thrust his spear at him, intending to force Sanji into submission.
As long as his face wasn't disfigured, even breaking his arms or legs wouldn't affect the wedding ceremony. The Vinsmokes still had plenty of equipment.
Jets of air shot from Judge's boots as he glided over the snowy ground, charging straight at Sanji. The tip of his spear crackled with electricity as he swept it at Sanji's leg.
But faced with Sanji's leaping kick aimed at his head, Judge had no choice but to switch to defense.
"You'd actually kick your own father?!"
"You're not worthy of being called a father! Stop using that word! Premium Ground Beef!"
"You have my blood running through your veins—that's something you can't change. Life is full of surprises. Who would have thought that Sanji from back then would actually learn Haki!"
With a flick of his spear, Judge blocked several attacks and then raised his cloak in preparation for a counterattack. But Sanji, as if he'd predicted this, simply jumped past the area the cloak could block.
"You know about the combat suit's abilities? Who told you? You shouldn't have seen the full combat suit's functions before you left."
"Heh, no comment."
Robin had indirectly helped Sanji by giving him an early understanding of some of the combat suit's abilities, allowing him to respond better when facing Judge.
On Sanji's side, he was basically overwhelming Judge, while Reiju and the others didn't take action. Only Yonji, refusing to admit defeat, kept fighting with Brook. Seeing the tide of battle turn against him, Judge decisively changed tactics.
"Sanji, you'd better behave yourself. Otherwise, you'd better watch out for that old man in East Blue."
Judge's words forcibly halted Sanji's movements, but he himself didn't stop and kicked Sanji hard in the stomach.
"You bastard, what are you talking about?"
"That old man at the restaurant in East Blue, his name was Zeff, right? BIG MOM's intelligence network is terrifying. You're just an obscure little pirate, but once I handed over your identity to her, it didn't take long before all your past was thoroughly investigated.
Even the living habits of that monster dragon under the sea have been determined. If I wanted, my people could simply bring back that old man's head when the dragon isn't around."
Anyone with some sense these days avoids provoking the Gyarados in the sea—nobody wants to be targeted by them.
But a single Gyarados isn't enough to stop Judge from going after Zeff.
Hearing Judge's blatant threat, Sanji's face twisted in rage.
"Despicable!"
"As long as I achieve my goal, it doesn't matter. Technology advances because of war. Germa's development needs more power, and you're a part of that! As long as you behave and let this wedding go smoothly, I won't interfere in anything else. That old man can live peacefully in East Blue, and your crewmates can continue their journey."
Seeing that Sanji was starting to give in, Judge gestured to his children, and Reiju, who had just been watching, joined the fight, using her poison to knock Brook unconscious.
"Don't give up! If you let someone get leverage over you, they'll keep threatening you! You can't let this happen!!"
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Caesar realized the gravity of the problem and tried to get Sanji to resist, but he failed. All he could do was watch Judge slowly approach him.
"Isn't this Judge? Long time no see, my friend, how have you been?"
When it came to two-faced behavior, Caesar could rival Queen. Seeing danger coming, he quickly tried to flatter Judge, but old grudges aren't so easily forgotten.
Looking at Caesar's face, Judge didn't say a word—he simply stomped on him.
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