"What are you doing!?" Vinsmoke Judge was shaken by the towering fury in the eyes of the clone soldiers, his voice trembling slightly.
"Damn it! How dare you look at me like that! You're all clones! Clones I created! I am your creator! How dare you glare at your own creator... No! How could you possibly possess emotions!? How could you possibly defy my orders!?"
In his extreme panic, Vinsmoke Judge suddenly calmed down.
Then he looked up at Michael hovering in mid-air.
"It's you! The rain just now contained... diluted high-potency drugs?" Judge took a deep breath before speaking.
"Spare me! If you spare me, I can give you all the technology for creating clones!"
"Indeed, in desperate situations, you actually calm down? Judging by intellect alone, you are indeed remarkable..." Michael shook his head. "But I don't need this kind of technology that would make people despise me, nor do I wish to spare a man who could harm his own wife and children... So instead of begging me, why not beg your wife, the Queen of the Germa Kingdom."
Hearing this, Judge shuddered all over and involuntarily turned his gaze to Sora, who sat upright on another cat chariot.
Sora's expression had not changed at all from the beginning, and the hatred overflowing in her eyes was undoubtedly directed at him!
"S-Sora, listen to me..."
"No, Vinsmoke Judge. Now is not the time for you to speak, but for me to speak." Sora shook her head.
"Tell me, in your eyes, what were the four sons you modified? Your own flesh and blood? Or the perfect war machines?"
"Of course they are our own children!" Judge pleaded with Sora. "They are the fruits of our bloodline!"
"Really? Then why was Sanji punished and locked in the dungeon when he failed to awaken his Lineage Factor... Did you truly regard him as your son?"
"Of cou—" Vinsmoke Judge opened his mouth but remained silent for a long time.
His face gradually turned ashen.
The answer to this question—Sora knew it, and Judge himself knew it too.
The answer was...
Negative.
"My, my, it seems you've already received Queen Sora's answer."
Michael's voice suddenly came from behind Judge.
Instinctively, he turned his head, only to find his gaze abruptly sinking towards the ground.
His final shred of consciousness drove him to scan his surroundings.
Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji—the three children of his—watched expressionlessly as his head was severed from his body.
Niji even yawned out of boredom.
Instead, Reiju and Sanji—whose Lineage Factor had been suppressed by the drugs—looked at him with pity, but not sorrow.
So this...
Was how it felt to have everyone eagerly awaiting your death.
The next moment, his consciousness plunged into darkness, returning to silence.
Sora watched as the man with angelic wings, now splattered with a few drops of blood, sheathed his sword at his waist.
He instantly noticed her gaze and nodded at her.
Sora also nodded in acknowledgment, then stood up from the cat chariot and proclaimed loudly to all the clone soldiers who had witnessed the death of Vinsmoke Judge:
"From this day forward, I, Angel D. Sora, will take over the position of Vinsmoke Judge and become the new queen of the Germa Kingdom!"
"I declare that from today onward, the former Germa 66 is hereby completely disbanded!"
"You are no longer clones mindlessly controlled by the Vinsmoke Family, but citizens of the Germa Kingdom with full and complete human rights!"
"I will lead you to transform the Germa Kingdom into a true nation in every sense!"
"Of course, all of this depends on your own free will."
Free will.
This unfamiliar phrase echoed in the minds of all the clone soldiers.
They had originally been lost in the chaos and confusion of their newfound existence.
But Sora's words pierced through the gloom like sunlight, dispelling all darkness and uncertainty.
For the first time, driven by their own emotions, the clone soldiers gathered around the cat chariot.
"Long live Queen Sora!"
"Long live Angel D. Sora!!"
Vinsmoke Sora—no, Angel D. Sora—shook her head and declared firmly.
"Long live the Germa Kingdom!"
"Long live all of you!"
Yet amidst this fervor, at the moment of the new Germa Kingdom's birth, Michael kept his gaze fixed intently on Sora.
After Judge's death, this woman had not continued using the Vinsmoke surname but had reclaimed her own.
Not only did it contain "D" but her surname was actually "Angel."
And Michael would never forget that in his less-than-happy childhood, he had had a pair of biological parents who had passed away too soon...
And their surname had also been...
"Angel."
*****
This coup, assisted by Marine Rear Admiral Michael and initiated by the new queen of the Germa Kingdom, ended with lightning speed—swifter than thunder, faster than a ringing bell.
Aside from Vinsmoke Judge's body being buried in the palace, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji—the three little ones whose emotions had yet to be restored—were also brought back to the palace.
While the diluted drugs were insufficient to restore their emotion, the undiluted, potent formula would certainly suffice.
However, the strong medication would damage the modified Lineage Factors within their bodies.
Only Michael's Holy Healing Art could counteract the side effects of the potent drugs while restoring their emotions.
At first, the three little ones struggled and resisted, only to be effortlessly knocked unconscious by Michael.
After administering the drugs and the Holy Healing Art, the three were handed over to Ebony for care.
"If their emotions can be restored, then what about Sanji's Lineage Factor... Can it be fixed as well?" Sora looked at Michael with hopeful eyes.
"I had wanted to preserve their emotions, but I never expected even his body would be affected, leaving him so frail."
"Of course it's possible... but why should I keep helping you?"
Michael's words made Sora fall abruptly silent.
This statement... was indeed fair.
Helping was a kindness; not helping was only natural.
"No need to make that face, Your Majesty." Michael sat on the sofa in the royal chambers, gazing at Angel D. Sora before him.
"It just so happens I have a question. If you can answer it, I'll help you."
"A question? What question?"
"Is 'Angel' your original surname?"
"That's right."
"Then... did you once live in the South Blue?"
"Yes, on Angel Island in the South Blue."
Upon hearing this answer, Michael abruptly stood up and approached Sora.
He lowered his head and chuckled softly.
"Nice to meet you."
"My long-lost sister."
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