Speculations on Bloodline Modification

Yake tucked Reiju's bangs covering her right eye behind her ear.

Reiju's left eyebrow curled to the left, while her right eyebrow curled to the right, making them look rather symmetrical.

"Reiju, are your and Sanji's eyebrows both like this?" Yake asked curiously. Judge did not have curled eyebrows; it seemed only his children did. Could they have inherited them from Sanji's mother?

"Why are you suddenly asking about that?" Reiju stroked Yake's hand.

"Tell me."

"Sanji's eyebrows are different from those of us who were modified. Both of his curl to the right." Reiju tried hard to recall. She had not seen Sanji in a long time, either.

"Strange. What about the three brothers I killed?" Yake said with a frown, as though he had spotted a blind spot.

"All three of theirs curled to the left. Yake, did you discover something?" Reiju asked nervously. Yake would not ask meaningless questions for no reason.

Indeed, Yake had uncovered some hidden truths.

Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji were Judge's most perfect creations. They possessed exoskeleton skin and lacked fragile emotions. They were merely powerful weapons that obeyed Judge alone. They did not deserve to be called human at all, so Yake felt no guilt whatsoever over killing them. Reiju had always despised those scumbags as well.

"Did your mother have curled eyebrows, Reiju?" Yake wanted to verify his guess.

"Mother... Mother's eyebrows were normal." Reiju's only fond memory of Germa was her mother, Sora. She had been a beautiful, gentle, kind woman, and Reiju had inherited nearly all of her appearance from her. It was also this great mother who took drugs that suppressed bloodline modification so Sanji would not become an emotionless person, allowing him to become someone of flesh and blood.

Sanji was the most failed creation, while the three brothers were the most perfect creations, and their eyebrow directions were exactly opposite. Sanji had emotions, and his body had not been modified into an exoskeleton, so both his eyebrows curled to the right. Reiju had only had her body modified, without her emotions being erased, so only her left eyebrow curled left, while her right eyebrow curled right like Sanji's.

Could Yake therefore understand Judge's Lineage Factor modification as being displayed through the direction of the eyebrows?

Body modification: the left eyebrow curled left.

Erased emotions: the right eyebrow curled left.

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Was this the foreshadowing that bastard Oda had planted?

Yake tried hard to recall all of Sanji's various displays and had no choice but to conclude that Sanji's modification had actually succeeded long ago; its effects were merely surfacing slowly. Especially after Judge gave Sanji Battle Suit No. 3, the changes had become increasingly obvious.

Sanji was the Vinsmoke Family's third son. Including Reiju, Sanji was the fourth to undergo modification. With two successful modifications already under his belt, Judge had placed great hopes on Sanji as his third perfect creation—one without fragile emotions and with an exoskeleton like a shield. It had merely been suppressed by the medicine Sora took.

"Yake, what exactly did you discover..." Reiju grew nervous as she watched Yake's expression constantly change.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just interested in your family's eyebrows. Hahaha, Reiju, go get busy!" Yake kissed Reiju's cheek and sent her out first. Once he met Sanji, he could have Judge confirm it. Telling Reiju now would be far too hasty.

Reiju always felt that Yake was hiding something from her, but she could not argue with him. Within a few breaths, she disappeared from his sight.

"Looks like Reiju is the most perfect one," Yake sighed. She possessed both the most precious emotions and a powerful constitution.

Once Sanji's modification fully awakened, there was a very real possibility that he would lose the most precious thing of all... human emotions.

Grand Line, Moby Dick.

"Let me go! That guy was my subordinate. If I ignore this, how can the murdered Thatch rest in peace?!" Ace shouted agitatedly, trying to break free from the crew members holding him back.

Whitebeard, lying with an IV drip in his arm, sighed. "Ace, forget it. Just this once, I have a bad feeling about this."

Whitebeard had been a pirate for most of his life. What schemes and tricks had he not seen? Yet this time, he truly felt uneasy. Someone like Teach, who could endure in silence for over twenty years, was certainly no simple man.

"That bastard killed a companion and ran away!!! He received your care for decades, yet made you lose face... More importantly, he damaged your reputation, Pops. How can I just stand by? I'll settle the score with him!" Ignoring Whitebeard's advice, Ace turned and left. Taking his luggage, he departed the Moby Dick, determined to bring Teach back for Pops to deal with.

For the first twenty years of his life, Ace had lived beneath Roger's name, lost and constantly chasing after it. But meeting Whitebeard allowed him to experience familial affection. He respected Whitebeard and believed Whitebeard was the greatest pirate. He had carved Whitebeard's emblem onto his back and carried it with pride. He was even willing to set aside his ambitions so Whitebeard could become King.

His respect for Whitebeard ran so deep that he could not tolerate the slightest harm coming to the flag and name Whitebeard had protected all his life! Insulting him was fine, but insulting Whitebeard was not. That was Ace's reverse scale!

Even if the crew tried to stop him, even if Whitebeard said he had a bad premonition and tried to stop him, Ace remained determined to protect Whitebeard's honor.

Whitebeard remained silent and let Ace leave. This was a foolish son's sincere devotion to his father; how could he blame him for it?!

"Marshall D. Teach, you are absolutely not the person Roger was waiting for."

East Blue, waters near Loguetown.

The Going Merry sailed across the sea. A green-haired swordsman slept against the railing with his hands behind his head, while seagulls soared freely overhead.

Zoro suddenly woke up and looked into the distance with bleary eyes. "Hey, there seems to be an island ahead!"

"Really? What island is that?" Luffy held down his Straw Hat as he sat on the railing and looked toward the distant island.

Nami sighed impatiently. "Didn't I tell you last time?"

Sanji and Usopp walked to the bow as well, looking at the distant town. Usopp crossed his hands over his head. "That's the island where Loguetown is!"

Sanji put a cigarette in his mouth. "It's a pretty big town, right?"

"So I've heard."

"There should be a market selling fresh ingredients there, right?"

"I'm going to the weapon shop! As a three-sword-style swordsman, always having only one sword... It really doesn't suit me!"

"Hey, hey, I'm going to the equipment shop!"

Luffy wore a rare serious expression, his voice low. "Gol D. Roger was born on that island, and he was executed there too~"

"The town where the Pirate King died. Also known as the town of beginnings and endings."

The Straw Hat Pirates, have arrived!