"Vinsmoke Judge." Bellamy descended slowly from the sky, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I'm surprised you didn't run at the first opportunity."
A character like Judge was quite famous in the North Blue. The man was notorious for his hypocrisy and selfishness.
"You! Bellamy!" The moment he saw Bellamy, Judge's expression turned ferocious.
"How could it be you?!"
Bellamy and the Vinsmoke Family were already mortal enemies. Given the chance, either side would kill the other without hesitation. The moment he saw Bellamy, Judge knew that things would not end well today.
Damn it, why did it have to be this guy?!
The Golden Lion plus Bellamy... all the fighting power of the Vinsmoke Family combined wasn't enough to take them on. One was a legendary pirate from the previous era, the other a super rookie who had appeared out of nowhere. If either of them had shown up alone, the Vinsmoke Family would have been terrified. Now that both had come together, Judge instantly lost all will to resist.
If he had known Bellamy was here, he would have fled in a submarine long ago.
In reality, Judge never had a chance to escape from the very beginning. The Golden Lion's Devil Fruit ability could manipulate seawater, making it float. From the moment the floating island spotted the ship island, the fate of the Vinsmoke Family was sealed. Even if Judge had dived ten thousand meters into the sea in a submarine, the Golden Lion would have simply parted the ocean and plucked him out. Such was the insidious power of the Float-Float Fruit.
"Let's go. Take us to the laboratory." Bellamy glanced at Judge, a cold sneer in his heart. This useless fool was probably thinking about how to escape right now. Unfortunately for him, in front of him and the Golden Lion, he had no chance of escape.
Judge stood frozen, secretly glancing at the Golden Lion. He opened his mouth as if to say something.
"I don't want to say it a second time. Take me to the laboratory."
The Golden Lion looked at Judge with an indifferent expression. He had no interest in the leader of this family of assassins. A man like Judge, who appeared ruthless, was actually incredibly weak on the inside. The moment they met, the Golden Lion had already seen through Judge's true nature from his cowardly expression. If it weren't for the cloning technology Bellamy had mentioned, he wouldn't even have bothered to give this piece of trash a second look.
"Yes, yes."
"This way, please, Lord Golden Lion."
In such a predicament, Judge had no temper at all. Whatever the Golden Lion said, he could only nod and bow, displaying his inherent cowardice to the fullest.
Bellamy watched from the side, shaking his head. And this was the kind of trash who dreamed of conquering the North Blue. It was a fool's dream. Even the emotionless modified humans in the Vinsmoke Family were stronger than Judge.
But say what you will about the man, in terms of scientific research, he was truly top-tier in this world. Back when he was in the same laboratory as Vegapunk, they had discovered the "Lineage Factor," the blueprint of life, within living organisms. After Vegapunk was taken away by the World Government, Judge, on his own, gradually perfected the Lineage Factor technology through scientific research. He then applied this technology to humans, creating clones and Lineage Factor-modified humans.
If nothing else, with these two technologies alone, Judge's skills far surpassed those of Indigo from the Flying Pirates. In addition, the Vinsmoke Family's battle suit technology was also quite impressive.
Under Judge's lead, Bellamy and the Golden Lion proceeded unimpeded to the Vinsmoke Family's core laboratory—the Lineage Factor laboratory.
Upon entering, a large row of nutrient pods immediately caught their attention. Several hundred identical clones and modified humans were enclosed within, undergoing unknown experiments. Below the pods, a group of scientists in white coats were operating various instruments.
"Lord Golden Lion, this is my Lineage Factor laboratory."
At the mention of the Lineage Factor, Judge couldn't help but puff out his chest. This technology was the proudest discovery of his life. Although Vegapunk was involved in the discovery, whenever Judge spoke of it to others, he would always subtly portray his own contribution as the greatest.
"What's a Lineage Factor?"
Unfortunately, the Golden Lion had no idea what a Lineage Factor was. Judge's pride was wasted on a blind man.
Fortunately, Bellamy was knowledgeable and was very interested in this technology.
"The Lineage Factor, huh? I'd really like to meet Vegapunk someday."
Vegapunk's development and application of the Lineage Factor were far more advanced than Judge's. Through it, Vegapunk could grant inanimate objects Devil Fruit abilities. Objects themselves cannot eat a fruit, but Vegapunk utilized the conditions for Devil Fruit ability transfer, bypassing the eating step entirely and directly transferring the abilities to objects via the Lineage Factor. This technology was countless times more brilliant than Judge's clones and modified humans.
"Vegapunk!"
Judge was surprised that Bellamy even knew of Vegapunk and seemed to be very knowledgeable about the Lineage Factor.
"I'm curious. When the Lineage Factor was discovered back then, how much did you actually contribute?"
When Judge spoke of the Lineage Factor to outsiders, he would always say that he and Vegapunk discovered it together. But for some reason, Bellamy just didn't believe it.
Faced with his question, Judge's face immediately flushed red. "The Lineage Factor was discovered by me and Vegapunk together!"
The man didn't answer his question directly. From his slightly guilty eyes, Bellamy already had his answer.
"Alright, I get it."
The Golden Lion interrupted their conversation impatiently. "I'm not interested in any Lineage Factor."
"You can clone human bodies, right? Clone a pair of legs for me right now."
Judge and Bellamy exchanged a glance, and a trace of disdain appeared in both their eyes simultaneously. This cloning technology was an extension of the Lineage Factor technology. This guy, the Golden Lion, clearly knew nothing about the high-tech of this world.
Judge also finally understood why the Golden Lion had suddenly come here. A person who knew nothing about the Lineage Factor, how could he know the significance behind this technology? Today's disaster for the Vinsmoke Family was definitely instigated by this guy, Bellamy.
"Is this revenge?" Judge glanced at Bellamy, a vicious thought forming in his mind. "If I had known, I should have left you in the North Blue back then!"