Yuno walked forward, indifferent to Judge's thoughts.
"A decent product... but it's a pity," Yuno murmured. "His emotions have been erased, and his strength capped. He'll never reach the true pinnacle."
His voice, muffled and distorted behind the mask, was calm—too calm for a battlefield teetering on chaos.
Reiju, standing silently nearby, couldn't help but glance at Yuno in surprise.
This was the first time she had heard anyone question her father's philosophy. For as long as she could remember, Judge had instilled one belief into her and her brothers: Only by purging emotions like fear, pity, and weakness could one become a perfect warrior.
But Yuno's words… they shook something in her heart.
"Hmph! Only by abandoning pathetic things like emotion can one become a supreme warrior!" Judge scoffed coldly, unmoved. His eyes narrowed as he studied Yuno's masked face. "Besides, cowards like you have no right to speak so arrogantly in front of me."
Yuno smiled faintly, shaking his head. "No wonder you're stuck ruling only the North Blue. So narrow-minded."
Despite Germa's ability to scale the Red Line and move freely through Paradise and the Four Blues, they had long avoided the New World.
Not out of inability, but hesitation.
Judge's ambition was to reclaim dominance in the North Blue—not challenge the emperors. Despite their overwhelming military and technological advantages, Germa lacked true top-tier individual strength.
Worse yet, their scientific prowess made them a tempting target. In the New World, it wouldn't be pirates they'd face—it'd be monsters. And science alone couldn't withstand monsters.
That's why Yuno spoke as he did.
Soldiers stripped of emotion were just tools. Tools had limits. They could never transcend.
Judge's science was impressive—but his vision? Tragically shortsighted.
"Arrogant brat!" Judge snapped, no longer restraining himself. "Let's see what gives you the guts to say that!"
A blast of shockwaves erupted beneath his boots—Judge shot forward like a missile, spear in hand, eyes cold and sharp.
"Electromagnetic Stab!"
Lightning burst from the tip of his weapon, crackling violently as it lunged toward Yuno like a deadly snake.
As a warrior who had slain the kings of four nations, Judge's might—bolstered by his battle suit—was no joke.
Yuno felt the pressure. But he didn't retreat.
White lightning began to crackle along the edge of his sword. Not just White Thunder… it's evolved.
He struck forward.
BOOM!
Spear met blade. Thunder crashed, shockwaves rolled out, and energy erupted between them.
"Ugh... such power… or maybe..." Yuno's eyes narrowed as the shock rattled up his arms. My body's still too weak...
He leapt back.
In this life, he'd once been an ordinary man—no genetic enhancements, no childhood training. Even after months of intense physical conditioning, the gap couldn't be closed so quickly.
Real power requires time...
He couldn't match brute force with brute force.
He had to play to his strengths.
Speed. Technique. Precision.
Yuno's eyes sharpened. He lowered his stance.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
He swung his blade with both hands. Lightning coiled around the edge, the thunder-tinged arc roaring as it cut through the air, heading straight for Judge.
Judge's eyes widened—he could feel it.
"Break it!!" he roared, thrusting his spear with all his might.
BOOM!
An even louder collision echoed across the battlefield. Air exploded outward in swirling waves, energy radiating fiercely. The ground beneath Judge's feet cracked like spiderwebs from the force.
Judge was pushed back several steps by the blow, his eyes narrowing as he grunted inwardly.
"What a powerful slash...!"
The clash of lightning and blade had produced a devastating force, momentarily overwhelming even him.
But as the slash was repelled, a cold gleam lit up in Judge's eyes. He halted his retreat with a stomp, pressure hissing from his boots as he shot forward like a thunderbolt. Electricity surged through his limbs—
—and he drove a vicious kick toward Yuno's waist.
Yuno's sword had missed its mark. Seeing the counterattack incoming, he quickly pulled back, raised his finger, and shouted:
"White Thunder!"
A blinding burst of white lightning exploded with a deafening bang, intercepting the kick mid-swing and halting Judge's advance.
Yuno flipped backward through the air, seizing the moment. His fingers pointed once more—
"White Thunder: Volley!"
Multiple arcs of white lightning surged forward, all aimed at Judge's vital points!
Judge's pupils shrank. Instinctively, he snatched the high-tech cloak from his shoulders and flung it in front of him as a makeshift shield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The blasts hammered into him. Though partially protected, Judge was still driven several steps backward by the impact.
He steadied himself, smoke rising faintly from his armor. His eyes narrowed, voice cold.
"Flames... lightning... What kind of Devil Fruit is this?"
With a flick, he draped the cloak back and glared forward, wariness now etched in his face.
"Who... are you?"
Yuno's masked appearance stirred a faint, long-buried memory—one of a woman who once terrified even him. But this presence was different.
"You trespass on my land and demand to know who I am?" Yuno's voice was calm, yet disdainful. His gaze pierced through the battlefield as he stepped forward.
"You've got some nerve."
Judge's expression darkened further.
"Your land...? You're not with the World Government?"
At first, he had assumed Yuno was CP0—a cipher agent in disguise. But now, that assumption began to crack.
Yuno twisted his neck, loosening his shoulders with a smirk.
"World Government? What a joke."
He raised his chin.
"This island is under the protection of my people—the Quincy."
He paused briefly, then added with a sneer:
"And remember that name... because it will haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Quincy...?"
The name echoed across the battlefield.
Everyone—Judge, his soldiers, even Reiju—repeated the word under their breath, frowning in confusion. They scoured their memories, but none could recall a faction or clan by that name.
Of course, they wouldn't know.
Because Yuno had made it up on the spot.
A name drawn from a different world—never meant to exist here.
But Yuno didn't care what they thought.
In a blur, he vanished.
The next instant, he was behind Judge—like a phantom in the wind. His sword cleaved down in a brutal vertical arc, gleaming with killing intent!
SLASH!!
The sheer sharpness of the strike cut through the air with a howl. Yuno had poured his full strength into this blow—everything except his final trump card—intending to split Judge in two.
Judge's face twisted in shock.
He hadn't even seen the movement!
But his combat instincts surged. With a roar of compressed air from his boots, he launched himself sideways—barely evading the fatal slash.
KRSSHHHH!!!
Yuno's sword carved a terrifying scar into the earth, a trench hundreds of meters long ripping through the battlefield like a canyon.
Everyone who witnessed it—soldiers, officers, even the Vinsmoke siblings—felt their hearts freeze.
This was no ordinary warrior.
This was something else entirely.