Do What You Want and Don't Break the Rules - Judge (4/5)

Longinus is clear that one person playing two identities is not a long-term solution, and the best measure to solve this problem is to use the devil fruit's power.

Of course, he wouldn't eat the Devil Fruit himself, and once his abilities were revealed, it was easier to draw suspicion. Still, the Devil Fruit item was different, and as long as it was kept vigilantly, who could tell how many devices he was hiding?

Only, the source of this Devil Fruit item can't be Vegapunk.

Granted, by the time Vegapunk had developed the technology for the Devil Fruit item, he could have mostly volunteered to request a custom piece of equipment in his position at that time, but that would undoubtedly be revealing his ambitions in full.

Excluding Vegapunk, the only people in the world who might still be able to develop the Devil Fruit Item Technology are Vinsmoke Judge and Caesar Clown. They are also involved in Lineage Factor research.

Caesar was now still a member of the scientific force attached to the Marine Headquarters and was naturally excluded, so it was not surprising that Longinus would target Judge.

"I'm only regretful that developing the Demon Fruit Item Technology didn't happen overnight, and until Judge finishes his research, I'll have to keep Apophis from springing to the forefront as little as possible!" Standing on the returning warship, facing the sea breeze, Longinus thought to himself.

On the giant ship of the Kingdom of Germa, Judge, who had watched Longinus leave, wept a tearful farewell and felt a sense of relief.

The devil is finally gone!

The humiliation he'd suffered today could almost be second only to the time in his life when he'd escaped from Grand Line, but there wasn't much hatred for revenge in Judge's mind.

He could escape back to the North Blue and live a small, nourishing life because he knew the importance of following his heart when the team that conducted the illegal research, like Vegapunk and Caesar Clown, were captured by the scientific forces.

Even the first thing he did when he escaped and came back was to make a statement to the Government my father's determination to contribute to the Government even if there was no land to prohibit me from becoming a joiner!

Therefore, when Longinus had made an indelible and terrible impression on his mind, his first reaction was not revenge but flattery.

"Bancroft."

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"Do you think Ichi and the others can grow to Captain Longinus' level?"

"This ..." said a wary clerk with glasses, "Several of the princes have extraordinary talents, and with the superhuman-like strength granted by the lineage factor, it may be possible for them to grow into the kind of terrible Strong man it is!"

"You give me the truth, what might that really be?"

"One in a thousand? Two thousandths?" As Bancroft inspected Judge's face, he cautiously tried, "Maybe it'll be five thousandths?"

Judge surprisingly didn't have much anger and just sighed, "Captain Longinus looks very young. A mere human can even achieve that kind of success, is it possible that the strength given by the lineage factor is counterproductive to the human's own potential?"

"Your Majesty, are you trying to educate His Highness Sanji?"

"Huh? It's not like you don't know how low the probability of geniuses emerging within ordinary people is. With his performance, it's not even close to a genius, my idea, at most, is to extend his assessment time a little bit and see if I can get some surprises!"

"I have noticed that Captain Longinus's eyes seem to linger a little longer on His Highness Sanji and His Highness Raiju, perhaps the Captain is very optimistic about the potential of these two Highnesses."

"Even if Sanji is annoyingly clumsy, it's my baby daughter who might have amazing potential."

"Never mind, we'll talk about such things later, but for now, hurry up and buy me two devil fruits from the black market."

"Your Majesty, are you about to start your research?" The man with the glasses looked confused, having suffered so much humiliation, and turned his head and licked it already?

"This is something that Captain Longinus has specifically instructed you to do, and without paying some attention, are you trying to go over the cowardice you experienced today?"

...

Three months later.

The White Kingdom, Flevance.

The country's grounds and trees are as white as a fairy tale's snowy kingdom, as beautiful as a paradise on earth, and every family in the kingdom has a great deal to offer.

This kingdom can almost be said to be a tourist destination that everyone in all of the North Blue has longed for, and millions of people come here every year.

"Wow. It's so beautiful here." Walking down the silver streets, Gion whispered a sigh, then looked away and asked, "Is this the Donquixote family's home base?"

Longinus nodded lightly, "Of course the senior cadres have all followed Doflamingo to the Grand Line, but with the power he left behind, it's also as true as no one would dare underestimate them."

"Rather, this country, in two or three years, will probably be destroyed!"

"Destruction?" Gion stared, "Is it the Donquixote family that is preparing to usurp this country by force?"

"A close inspection can create that most of the people walking the streets and alleys are travelers like us from out of town, and there are so few people who actually belong to this kingdom, and most of them are young people who are wrapped up tightly all over."

"Oddly enough, it seems true when you put it that way." Gion's finger rested against her chin, her expression seemingly skeptical.

"Due to the fact that all of their white skin is white underneath their tight clothes, it's like white patches that are eating away at their entire body."

Longinus continued, "Don't tell anyone else, but the people of this country themselves are shying away from their own stature."

"And what accompanies the erosion process is a severe pain that cannot be restrained until death."

"What has this kingdom produced?" Gion's voice was low, and the relaxed mood she had previously taken as a date was all but gone.

"It is Amber Lead, the same Amber Lead that brought this kingdom its riches." Longinus said quietly, "I have been following this country for some time now."

"After a great deal of investigation, it came to the horrible conclusion that in the continuous mining of Amber Lead, the lead remains within the figure of the person who mined it and continues down from generation to generation."

"By the time Amber Lead Syndrome broke out in full, the extensive lifespan of this kingdom was only one or twenty years, which is why you're such a disgrace to the older people."

Hearing what Longinus said, Gion only shuddered at the coldness and asked out of the blue, "Hasn't the royal family and the government created something wrong all this time?"

"No, they knew about it a hundred years ago, but they hid it all from us for the benefits of mining Amber Lead!"

"The government and the royal family even ..." Gion took a deep breath, hardly daring to trust her ears.

"What attitude should our marine take when the government and the royal family fail to represent justice?" Longinus asked, looking directly into Gion's eyes.