Fire spread across the island.
Screams echoed through burning streets.
Steel clashed. Explosions roared. Smoke devoured the sky.
A kingdom—
Was being erased.
Not by pirates.
Not by the Marines.
But by soldiers who felt nothing.
At the center of the battlefield—
Two figures moved like calamities.
Vinsmoke Reiju.
And Reiji.
They didn't rush.
Didn't shout.
Didn't hesitate.
They simply advanced.
Every step—
Death followed.
Reiju raised her hand slightly.
A faint pink haze spread into the air.
Beautiful.
Deadly.
Soldiers dropped before they even reached her.
Bodies collapsed one after another, their weapons slipping from lifeless fingers.
Reiji moved through the battlefield differently.
Direct.
Efficient.
A blade struck his arm—
It shattered.
A bullet hit his chest—
It stopped.
A man tried to stab him from behind—
Reiji turned slightly, grabbing the soldier's wrist mid-motion and crushing it without effort.
No wasted movement.
No emotion on his face.
Only execution.
Far from the battlefield—
Floating above the chaos—
The Germa fleet watched.
Massive snail ships loomed over the ocean.
On the deck of the central vessel stood Vinsmoke Judge.
Arms crossed.
Eyes fixed.
Below him—
Four children watched as well.
Vinsmoke Ichiji smirked.
"They're slow."
His tone carried clear disdain.
Vinsmoke Niji laughed.
"Yeah… they're leaving too many alive."
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"I'd have finished this already."
Vinsmoke Yonji cracked his knuckles.
"Heh… looks fun."
None of them reacted to the screams below.
To the flames.
To the fear.
To the people begging for their lives.
To them—
This was entertainment.
"They're only targeting the military," Ichiji added, almost annoyed. "What's the point of leaving the rest?"
Niji grinned.
"Yeah… wipe everything out. That's how you win."
Judge didn't respond.
But he listened.
Observed.
Calculated.
Behind them—
A smaller figure stood silently.
Vinsmoke Sanji.
His hands trembled slightly.
His eyes… weren't on the battlefield.
Not fully.
Because he had seen this before.
Not the war.
But the cruelty.
The feeling—
Of being powerless.
"…why are you so weak?"
A voice echoed in his memory.
Laughter followed.
Cruel.
Familiar.
Ichiji.
Niji.
Yonji.
They stood over him—
Smiling.
Not like brothers.
Like predators.
Sanji remembered the pain.
The bruises.
The kicks.
The way they laughed when he cried.
Because to them—
He was broken.
A failure.
He clenched his fists.
"…stop…"
He had said it before.
Many times.
They never listened.
Then—
Warmth.
A different memory.
A gentle smile.
Vinsmoke Sora.
"Sanji… this is wonderful…"
Her voice soft.
Kind.
He stood in front of her, holding a small plate.
Food.
Simple.
But made with care.
"I… I made it for you…"
He remembered how nervous he felt.
How his hands shook.
But when she smiled—
Everything else disappeared.
"It's delicious."
That smile—
Saved him.
Every time.
Another memory.
Footsteps approaching.
Sanji flinched—
Expecting pain.
But it didn't come.
Reiji stood there.
Silent.
Watching.
Not interfering.
Not disobeying.
But staying.
Just enough.
Just close enough—
That the others stopped.
Annoyed.
Bored.
They left.
Sanji never forgot that.
He didn't understand it fully—
But he knew one thing.
Reiji didn't hate him.
And then—
Reiju.
Sitting beside him quietly.
"You're not wrong for being kind."
Simple words.
But they mattered.
More than anything.
Back in the present—
Sanji's eyes trembled slightly.
Below—
People screamed.
Died.
Burned.
And his brothers—
Watched.
Smiling.
"…this is wrong…"
The words barely escaped his lips.
No one heard.
Or maybe—
They just didn't care.
The battlefield again.
Reiji stood still for a brief moment.
The war continued around him.
But his mind—
Was elsewhere.
"I hate this…"
The thought was clear.
Sharp.
Heavy.
A soldier charged him.
Reiji moved.
A single strike—
The man fell.
Dead.
No hesitation.
No resistance.
Because there couldn't be.
Beside him, Reiju exhaled softly as another wave of poison spread.
"…me too."
Her voice was quiet.
Almost lost in the chaos.
But he heard it.
Of course he did.
Their eyes met for a brief second.
No need for more words.
They understood.
Completely.
"I want it to end…" she said.
"So do I."
Another explosion in the distance.
Fire rising.
More screams.
"…I want us to be with her," Reiju continued.
Reiji's chest tightened.
Sora.
Her condition.
Getting worse.
Every day.
And he—
Could do nothing.
His fists clenched.
"…it's because of him…"
Judge.
Always him.
And the medicine.
The sacrifice.
To protect one child—
She was losing her life.
Reiji's gaze darkened.
"I can't do anything…"
The words felt like chains.
Tighter than any command.
Stronger than any order.
Helplessness.
That was worse than pain.
Another soldier approached.
Reiji moved automatically.
Strike.
Silence.
Death.
His thoughts shifted.
To Sanji.
The only one among them—
Who smiled like a human.
Who cried.
Who cared.
Who made Sora smile—
In a way no one else could.
Reiji's expression softened slightly.
"…at least…"
A quiet thought.
"…he exists."
Then—
Something broke.
Just for a second.
A tear formed in his eye.
Warm.
Real.
Alive.
In the middle of war.
In the middle of death.
In the middle of everything he hated—
He felt it.
Pain.
Love.
Anger.
All at once.
The tear fell.
Quickly—
He wiped it away.
No one could see.
No one should.
His face returned to normal.
Cold.
Controlled.
Perfect.
Just like they wanted.
But inside—
Nothing was perfect.
Nothing was controlled.
And nothing—
Would stay the same forever.
To be continued. 🔥
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