One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 214 Do you want to live freely?
Reiju was stunned as she watched the thing fly out of her body.

Of course she recognized the tree root.

Or rather—she could never forget it.

Just as mentioned before.

In the distant past, Vinsmoke Reiju did something in order to get a 'father's hug'.

She knew that her father had been researching an extremely valuable material, hoping to use it to revive the Vinsmoke family.

So one day, she quietly entered her father's research lab—as a princess of Germa, she had that privilege.

Then she saw the tree root placed inside the glass case in the center of the research institute.

She didn't actually know what it was, let alone how to use it.

"I want to fulfill my father's wish and become someone who is useful to him."

As a young child, she simply wanted to touch it out of curiosity.

Then she saw the tree root disappear into her body.

She then fell into a coma.

When she woke up again, her father excitedly announced...

"If you succeed, you will be 'Number Zero'."

She didn't understand what this meant at the time.

But she soon understood.

She did not consume a Devil Fruit, yet she gained abilities similar to those of a Devil Fruit.

Even in her genes, there is a 'bloodline factor' flowing.

That was the beginning of her nightmare.

From then on, she underwent various studies almost every day—blood draws, bone removal, internal organ examinations, and even spinal cord extraction. The cold operating room became almost everything in her childhood.

Using her genes, Judge developed a method to modify others with lineage factors, and through genetic modification, erased memories and emotions, creating her brothers.

"you you."

At this moment, Reiju's tears were already flowing down her cheeks.

Countless times in the dead of night, she couldn't help but wonder—if she hadn't touched that tree root back then, would everything have been different?

Her mother might not have died, and her brothers might not have become those emotionless monsters.

But to her despair, the tree root seemed to have become one with her, and even Judge couldn't, or rather, was unwilling to, remove it.

until today.

"Buzz!"

Right in front of Reiju.

The tree root that had been a nightmare for her was now reduced to ashes in Yin Hu's hands.

[The origin of the 'bloodline factor' has been analyzed]

[Bloodline Factor Activation -35.21 → 50.11%]

"really."

At this moment, Yin Hu murmured to himself.

"This tree root is similar to Vegapunk's, and it has also increased the progress bar of bloodline factors by about 15%."

"Vegapunk's fruit was made by using a portion of the energy within the tree roots to create the 'Red Dragon Fruit'."

"If there are no accidents, it's because the energy inside this one was absorbed by Reiju."

He obviously didn't expect it.

The energy within the tree roots can actually be used in this way.

"How is Reiju able to do something like this?"

He was deep in thought.

The answer is self-evident.

"desire."

The essence of a Devil Fruit is 'wish'—something he already knew.

so.
"Perhaps Judge's research has loosened the energy within the fruit, and Reiju's wish triggered the movement of that energy?"

"But Judge should also have a strong desire for the research to succeed, so why isn't the tree root reacting to him?"

Roy was puzzled.

But there's no doubt—he's very interested in it.

So, he looked at Reiju.

"Miss Reiju, do you want to live?"

Upon hearing this, Reiju frowned.

She looked at Yin Hu with some doubt: "Are you willing to let me go?"

"why not?"

Yin Hu smiled and said, "My orders were to destroy Germa—now that the mission is complete, I'd like to discuss a collaboration with you."

"cooperate?"

Reiju's expression became even more subtle: "Do I need to remind you? You just killed my family and destroyed my country."

"I know."

Yin Hu replied matter-of-factly, "So what? Will you avenge your brothers? Or do you intend to carry on your father's legacy and rebuild Germa?"

he asked.

"."

Reiju fell silent.

She certainly wouldn't want to rebuild Germa—or rather, she'd rather die than do so.

She did not seek revenge for the deaths of her three younger brothers and her father.

Just as mentioned before.

She never considered her brothers, whose human emotions had been erased, to be 'human'.

In her view, they were merely 'tragic beings' born out of their father's ambition.

They are not brothers, but weapons.

For her, their deaths were not something to grieve over; she even felt it was a kind of relief.

As for her father
"His order just now was to let me live."

Reiju said this.

Survival, not revenge or anything else.

So she won't seek revenge or retaliate—she just wants to live alone in this world.

"After all, I am the last Vinsmoke."

But at this moment
"That's not necessarily true."

Yin Hu spoke again: "Don't you still have one relative?"

He held up one finger and said with a smile, "Vinsmoke Sanji. As far as I know, he seems to have recently set sail and become a pirate."

"Sanji!?"

Upon hearing the name, Reiju's expression froze.

"You are the child your mother fought so hard to protect, born with love, not some 'failure'!"

"Listen carefully, never come back here again, and you don't need to come see me—the sea is so vast, you will surely meet gentle people!"

A small figure came to mind.

"He's still alive?"

She murmured incredulously.

But then she realized the key words in Yin Hu's words.

"Pirates!?" She was somewhat surprised.

"Yes. He became a partner of a guy called 'Straw Hat Boy,' and they're sailing the seas now."

Yin Hu smiled and nodded: "Miss Reiju, don't you miss your brother... cough cough, I mean—aren't you tempted?"

"Live freely with your loved ones without having to worry about anything else!"

He said this.

Reiju's expression changed.

Living with family?
The images of Judge and the three Vinsmoke brothers subconsciously surfaced in her mind.

But it followed closely behind.
She thought of that small figure, as gentle as her mother.

"LeiLeiJiu, I made a cake—do you want to eat it with me?"

The sounds I heard at some point in my childhood still seem to linger in my ears.

then
"What kind of cooperation are you talking about?"

"Reiju said softly."

“Some small experiments—of course, don’t be alarmed, we’re not inhuman guys like your father, we’re very disciplined. You should understand, I have no reason to lie to you about this.”

"After the experiment is completed, you can leave and choose where you want to go."

Yin Hu waved his hand, casually comforting Reiju, whose expression had changed slightly and who clearly had some PTSD from the word 'experiment'.

"However, before we discuss the specifics of the collaboration, I have another matter to attend to."

But as he finished speaking, his voice suddenly turned cold.

"You should know—where Baggins Stussy is, right?"

at the same time
Below Germa, soaring high in the sky.

In the battle just now, many clones' corpses unsurprisingly fell into the sea.

And at this moment, inside one of the corpses.

"Hohoho~ Even 'Vinsmoke Weevil's' body was completely destroyed, that was a terrifying blow—heave-ho."

Barkingom, who had sewn himself inside a corpse, was tearing off the stitches.

A sharp pain shot through her, causing her to clench her teeth.

"Ouch. Ouch, what a pity—I originally planned to have Reiju control Weevil to kill her own father and brother."

She said it with some regret.

Her malice was not hidden in her words.

That malice had no reason—or if one had to find a reason, it was 'jealousy'.

"How come she has such a pretty face and figure when she's just an experimental subject?"

"Since you're an experimental subject, you'd better obediently become ugly!"

She said it through gritted teeth.

"But it's okay."

Soon, after the stitches were removed, she turned around and looked at the several large boxes of documents behind her.

"Although I didn't get the 'tree root', the tree root I have, along with the technological essence of Germa, is enough."

Although the plan was not entirely successful this time, Bagingom did not care.

She has successfully obtained Germa's bloodline factor technology, along with her own life-suturing technique.

"I still have a few copies of Newgate and Kaido's bloodline factors. If I keep them hidden for a few more years, I can create even stronger and more numerous 'works'."

"Then I can go and cooperate with the Four Emperors. No, I might as well go and cooperate with the World Government. With this kind of technology, I can obtain enough power and strength anywhere."

One 'Vincemuk Weevil' is no match for Tiger.

What if there were ten, or even a hundred, stronger Weevils?
As she dreamed of the future, she struggled to pull the box out from among the corpses.

It was at this moment that she saw her reflection in the seawater—ugly, old, short, and vile.

She also saw her body, which had been hidden beneath heavy clothing.

The dense stitches on her body also made her look like a monster.

Yes.

She was once personally invited by Rocks to become the Rocks Pirates' ship doctor. At some point in the past, she may have been a truly ambitious, ruthless, and beautiful 'great pirate'.

But that's all in the past.

Over the long years, she has paid a huge price for her research on 'life stitching'.

Her body was riddled with wounds, and so was her heart.

"."

A ferocious expression appeared on Bagingom's aged face.

She had actually forgotten why she initially studied 'life stitching'.

Perhaps it's to slow down aging and keep their beauty for longer?
Perhaps it was to improve his medical skills? And then use it to make money?

She can't remember.

But that doesn't matter.

Beauty? Medical skills? Wealth?

She doesn't care about any of that anymore.

All she wants now is power and authority.

"boom!"

Bagingom casually kicked a rock, intending to smash his reflection in the seawater.

But
"."

But she saw that the stone was floating in the air.

"Got you."

The next instant, accompanied by a sound coming from beside my ears.

She saw the figure wearing a tiger-head mask emerge in the reflection of the seawater.

"and many more!"

Almost immediately, Bagingom turned around and said, "I surrender! I'm willing to join you! I can give you my life-sustaining techniques—I..."

As always, she was a despicable person.

But
"no need."

The next moment, Yin Hu's hand was already on her body.

【Paw-Paw Fruit - Memory Captured】

【Paw-Paw Fruit - Life Slapped Out】

"I will naturally find your life-restoring technique and that tree root from your memories."

　I've finally finished working on this part of Germa, so I can finally say what's on my mind.

　　In fact, it goes without saying that readers can tell that this section is of extremely low quality.

　　There are many reasons. First, as everyone knows, I had health issues some time ago, and my mind was foggy, so what I wrote was really unreadable.

　　Of course, the main reason is the problem with the original plot I had planned.

　　Because this section is inherently excessive, I didn't think too much about it when I was designing it.

　　I only briefly designed the story and plot related to Bagingom, and then arranged several of Germa's trump cards to showcase Intora's abilities.

　　But when I actually started writing, I found that Inatora's abilities were very difficult to write. I originally wanted to reference Nagato and Gojo Satoru's abilities, which I thought was pretty cool, but when I started writing, I found that no matter how I wrote it, it was very strange. Germa was too weak as an opponent, and the behavior logic of the character Baginam was also very strange. Also, it was difficult to write the Frankenstein's monster, who was supposed to be the big boss of this chapter, in a way that created a sense of oppression.

　　So in the end, I directly deleted the original battle between Germa and Inatora [I had already written a version, about 7 words], and tried to end this part as quickly as possible while explaining the necessary plot. I also deleted the battle scene of Bakingom.

　　It's fair to say that this part of the book is one of the worst reading experiences so far, but thankfully it was eventually finished.

　　The next part of the story involves the appearance of the monkey. This clone is involved in a lot of plot, so I need to sort it out carefully and hope to present it better.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)