A cold glint flickered in Judge's eyes—hatred mixed with fear. Yet as the ruler of a nation, he didn't completely surrender to despair. Leaning on his spear, he struggled to his feet. Fixing his gaze on Yuno, he spat coldly:
"I, Germa, never retreat. Come and take my life if you dare!"
"Then I will."
Yuno prepared to strike—but at that moment, a purple, poisonous arrow shot through the air toward him.
"Hmph!" Yuno snorted, casually raising his sword. With a single flick, he sliced the arrow cleanly in half and turned his gaze coldly.
Reiju stood there, trembling and barely upright—she had launched the attack.
Yuno's expression remained indifferent. In the blink of an eye, a flash of white lightning exploded around him. He vanished—then reappeared beside Reiju, gripping her slender neck with a single hand, hoisting her into the air without a hint of hesitation, even though she was a woman.
Holding her aloft, Yuno locked eyes with her and said icily:
"Do you think I dare not kill you? Or that I spare women?"
Judge's pupils contracted violently at the sight. His voice trembled as he shouted:
"Let... let her go! If you let her go, I'll let you do whatever you want with me!"
In that instant between life and death, even a cold-blooded man like Judge—who had used his own children as test subjects—was forced to reveal the last remnants of human weakness in his heart.
Perhaps, when he let Sanji escape all those years ago... it had been a flicker of fatherly emotion after all?
Yuno heard his words. Behind the mask, a chilling smile crept across his lips—he looked more like a villain than ever.
With Reiju still in his grasp, Yuno flashed forward again, appearing before Judge. He stomped down, crushing Judge beneath his foot. A pained gasp burst from the Germa king as blood gushed from his mouth.
Looking down at the fallen man, Yuno sneered:
"What a touching father-daughter moment. But both of you belong to me now. What gives you the right to negotiate?"
"Your clone army? Those dozens of ships?"
Yuno's gaze shifted coldly to Reiju.
"Try poisoning me again, and I'll strangle you—then crush your father beneath my heel."
At those words, the venom that had begun to ooze along Reiju's pale wrist instantly receded. She glared at Yuno, eyes burning with hatred.
But Yuno ignored her.
He turned back to Judge and smiled faintly.
"You have two choices."
As he spoke, his foot pressed down harder, grinding Judge into the soil. The pressure was suffocating—crushing both spirit and flesh.
"First—surrender to me."
"Second—die here!"
Without waiting for a reply, Yuno continued:
"Don't waste time with any heroic nonsense. I'll give you three seconds. If you don't submit, you and your children die. Germa 66—your so-called kingdom with 300 years of history—will be annihilated."
Yuno knew Judge's ambition like a blade pressed against his heart—his obsession with restoring Germa to supremacy in the North Blue. There was no way he'd willingly let it all end here.
Every action Yuno had taken until now was designed to shatter Judge's resolve.
What he wanted... was not just revenge.
He wanted Germa—to fold its cold-blooded war machine into his future plans. An army that knew no fear could become a terrifying weapon.
If he succeeded, it would be a powerful trump card. If he failed—he would simply destroy them.
Yuno cast his eyes toward the sea.
On the distant horizon, naval ships were slowly approaching.
The island's garrison—silent.
Not because they were waiting.
Because they dared not act.
"Three."
The word dropped like thunder. Murderous intent swelled from Yuno's body, pressing down like an avalanche. Judge trembled beneath the weight, knowing that one wrong word would bring instant death.
He looked to his sons—defeated and unconscious. To Reiju—blood on her lip, struggling to breathe. Her eyes did not register the storm in his heart.
"Two."
Yuno's voice was calm. Cold. Inevitable.
Judge trembled.
And before Yuno could even utter "one", Judge's head dropped. His pride shattered.
"I... surrender..."
"A wise choice."
Yuno laughed, removing his foot from Judge's body and releasing Reiju, who dropped to the ground coughing violently.
He didn't spare them a second glance.
Judge knelt in the dirt, humiliated, tears streaking his blood-stained cheeks. Reiju lay beside him, breathing raggedly, eyes burning with silent fury.
Yuno's attention was already elsewhere—toward the distant sea and the warships still locked in battle.
The flames of war continued to burn—but Yuno had already made up his mind.
It was time to retreat.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the crystal card onto the ground.
It was no longer useful to him. Better to leave it to Judge.
Yuno wasn't concerned that Judge might flee with the item. As he released his grip on Reiju's neck, he calmly sliced off the nail of her left pinky finger—intending to craft a life card from it.
He swept a cold gaze across everyone present and spoke with quiet authority.
"Handle things here. Do what you need to. I'll contact you when the time comes."
With that, Yuno turned and walked away in the opposite direction. He stepped into the sea—and vanished in a flash of white light.
No threats. No need for intimidation. Even after Judge had voiced his submission, Yuno didn't gloat. He simply commanded.
That tone alone was enough to make Judge's chest tighten.
He knew that from the moment he surrendered, there was no turning back. He was now under this enigmatic man's control.
"Maybe… just maybe… this is an opportunity for Germa."
Judge stared at the crystalline card left on the ground, trying to console himself with that thought.
Having experienced the storms of the world, Judge quickly buried his humiliation and pain. He gathered his scattered troops with a cold expression.
He ordered his men to recover the unconscious Iji, Niji, and Yonji, and boarded another snail ship without a word.
"Avoid contact with the Navy. Set sail!"
At Judge's command, the remaining Germa ships turned around and disengaged from battle. Not a single shot was fired at the approaching Marines—they simply vanished into the horizon.
The naval reinforcements attempted pursuit, but they were quickly left behind. The snail ships far outpaced their warships.
Along the way, they encountered another Marine vessel. The Navy opened fire, but Germa didn't retaliate.
On the deck of that warship, Rear Admiral Bastiu furrowed his brow as he watched the departing fleet.
"Is the war over? Were we too late? What happened on Donzik Island…?"
He clenched the railing, unease simmering within him, as the warship pressed on toward the island.
…
Back on Donzik Island, the P-5 branch Marines exhaled in relief as the Germa troops retreated.
"We're alive… we're actually alive!"
"Victory! We beat them!"
"Germa's pulling out! We did it!"
Some soldiers couldn't help but cheer in triumph.
But others quickly snapped them back to reality.
"Don't get cocky! If it weren't for that masked man, we'd all be corpses right now!"
"Yeah… that guy saved us all."
"Who the hell was that? Is he one of us?"
"I heard rumors. They say there's a mastermind behind the Chaos Zone. Could he be the one?"
"He said this island was his territory. Maybe it's true…"
"Wait—if that's true, doesn't that mean he doesn't even see the Navy as a threat?"
The Marines buzzed with speculation about Yuno's identity.
But among them, only Yara stood quietly, his gaze fixed on the disappearing Germa fleet. A storm of thoughts brewed in his mind.
"What did Germa say to that masked man…? Why did they just stop fighting?"
"What kind of deal did they make…?"
"And more importantly… who is that masked man?"
"What is a Quincy? A title? A group?"
He had been too far to hear Yuno's conversation with Judge.
But if he had—he would've been shaken to his very core.