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A normal human could recall their earliest memories being at 3-4 years old.
Being a genetically advanced and modified human, Ichiji remembered things further than that. He believes he must’ve been a half year old or something, but he could remember being held by his mother. It felt gentle and warm.
Then Judge took him away from his mother, turning his entire world into something cold and lonely.
He remembered that he could do things like no one else could. His hands lighting up with red sparkles, he remembered how excited he felt when he saw that…and he remembered showing little Sanji, not old enough to understand but he clapped everytime he or the other morons showed off their powers. He used to love seeing their powers.
But the bane of their existence, the devil he used to call father, tore them apart with his militaristic and harsh training.
At four years old, Ichiji understood more than a normal toddler would’ve.
Having feelings was wrong, it was a weakness and if you weren’t perfect…then you’ll be cast aside.
He was four when he decided to be the strong one, to become the perfect soldier and the perfect son.
Then he could protect Sanji and make him stop crying.
The training to become full fledged Germa soldiers officially began when they were seven. Judge decided it was enough waiting and it was time to make men of them.
Ichiji had grown to hate him under the mask he wore.
He saw things for what they were and he knew that his father was a monster, the devil himself without a single respect for human life. He trampled on them, he stole the lands of those smaller nation Germa Kingdom conquered and left nothing behind. Ichiji, who was the first son and the heir of the throne, has to stand beside him and watch.
He got the front seat to see what it meant to conquer and fight wars; there was only death, pain and suffering. Small towns being set on fire…the ground being colored red by innocent blood that was shed…sobs and crying from women and children who didn’t know how to fight. The men who fought their armies weren’t soldiers, but ordinary farmers and merchants, trying to defend their homes and families. Most of them died and those who survived were hurt, forced to give up.
“One day, all of this will become yours.”
Ichiji hated those words.
He didn’t want this.
He didn’t want to take islands that weren't his. He didn’t want to kill innocent people, burn their homes or steal what didn’t belong to him in the first place. He didn’t want this life, but what else could he say?
“Fine.” He had said, succeeding in sounding bored and indifferent.
That only made Judge seem prouder, though.
It was disgusting.
He has to hit Sanji. Otherwise, Judge will catch on that he was human too and turn on him instead. Then Ichiji won’t get the throne and he’ll fail to protect his brothers. So he raised his fists and beat down Sanji, trying to let the lesson land.
Leave. Run away and don’t come back.
Of course, Sanji is too stubborn to give up getting Judge’s approval and too stupid to realize that Ichiji was trying to save him by making him run away from Germa.
He gets more frustrated.
Why won’t he leave?!
Ichiji was literally giving him an out. There was no reason for him to stay here. He was free to go, he could run away. Escape.
“Why won’t he run away?!”
Mother held him in her arms, it was midnight and the only time he could successfully sneak out to see his mother in her sickbed. Ichiji was so angry and frustrated that he couldn’t make Sanji run away. The stupid idiot won’t understand unless he said it with his words and that was the only thing he couldn’t do.
Otherwise, the other two idiots would snitch to Judge to get his sickening approval and indirectly ruin his plans.
Mother stroked his hair with a frail, pale and gentle hand.
“Sanji won’t do it, sweetheart. He still believes he can make your father proud if he works hard enough.”
“He’s so stupid, there is nothing for him here! He can go, he’s free to do it! He can just leave!” Ichiji couldn’t stop the angry tears flowing down his face. “The other two idiots can leave too, but they won’t as long as they believe Judge loves them. He doesn’t love anything, he’s using them and they’re too dumb to see it!”
Seeing his mother was the only time he could show his true feelings.
“Why…” He tried to wipe away his tears, but they kept leaking out of his eyes. “Why are they so dumb…why am I the only one seeing what’s really happening?”
“Don't you have Reiju, sweetie?”
“Reiju can’t help us! He took away her free will! She can’t help us anymore…” Ichiji said and hugged his mother tightly, pressing his face against her shoulder. “If I can’t protect my brothers…then I’m a failure. Sanji has to go…he has to.”
“...don’t forget that you’re a human too, Ichiji. Don’t you deserve to be free too?”
“No, I don’t.”
He was aware it broke his mother’s heart to hear that.
He never knew that her sadness probably made her heart stop as well.
Because the next time he went to see her, she died.
Ichiji slipped up.
He made a mistake and blew his cover.
Mother was dead.
Then Judge threw Sanji into the dungeons, putting that metal helmet on his face and faked his death.
Ichiji’s temper exploded and he tried to kill Judge when he found out where Sanji was.
He failed to kill him.
He gave Judge a deep scar across his face, nearly taking out an eye. He could’ve blinded him if he wasn’t so emotionally distraught and couldn’t focus. That was why he wore his stupid, ugly war helmet all the time now, never seen without it. He resorted to punishing Ichiji by nearly burning off one of his eyes.
An eye for an eye.
How ironic.
Ichiji was lucky that his sidebangs normally covered one of his eyes. Otherwise, Niji and Yonji would’ve noticed what happened.
That wasn’t enough punishment, apparently. He had tried to commit regicide, which was grounds for treason against the Germa Kingdom. Instead, Judge had him tortured by electric shocks in the labs.
Reiju stood there behind the observation window and was forced to watch, not showing a single emotion. She was better at controlling her expressions and her temperament. Ichiji lacked the latter. His temperament was like fire, always burning and constantly under the threat of becoming a wildfire.
Ichiji decided to make a deal with Judge, so he’ll release Sanji into the wild.
“What will you give in exchange then?”
“Everything. My life belongs to you. Use it as you please. I even take on his planned modifications. Turn me into Sparking Red and Stealth Black, if you have to! Let him go, he’s no use for Germa…”
Ichiji cast the dice that determined his fate and made his choice.
He’ll become Judge’s slave.
As long as he releases Sanji.
‘
He didn’t honor his word.
If it wasn’t for Reiju informing him in secret after one of the procedures, Ichiji would’ve never caught on that Judge was tricking him and using Sanji as leverage for him. Fueled by his own righteous anger, he decided that enough was enough.
If Judge didn’t intend on releasing Sanji…then he’ll do it himself.
If you want something to be done, do it yourself!
Reiju told him that he couldn’t leave as they were currently invading Cozia, a small kingdom in the East Blue. He was strapped down, chained, to the medical table and couldn’t physically leave.
“I know where the key to his helmet is.”
He told Reiju what she should do and what to tell Sanji. She was going to use her super strength to bend the bars of the prison, tell him where the key was hidden and how to open the safe. Then he should run away from Germa onto Cozian ground and find the first, best ship to stow away on.
He knew it would cost him because he was the only one, aside from Judge, who knew where the key was and how to open the safe. He would pay for this dearly.
And he did.
This time, Judge let Niji and Yonji also see what would happen if they ever disobeyed him. He could never forget, in the midst of the agonized pain, their shocked expressions behind the observation window.
The message from Vinsmoke Judge was pretty clear.
If you ever try to escape or disobey my orders, you will be punished.
He even went so far to verbally remind Ichiji of this, warning him from betraying him again. One more time and Ichiji will be executed.
And Ichiji, who no longer feared his death and decided to welcome it instead, answered…
“Do it, you piece of shit!”
The electric volts became ten times worse.
Ichiji was thirteen when he discovered there was a name for the things he did for his brothers.
Sacrifice.
The act of giving up something of value for the sake of others.
In this case, Ichiji was sacrificing the control of his life, his physical and mental health, his hopes, his dreams, his humanity and even his dignity for his brothers’ sake.
Because that was what the eldest brother should do.
Sanji was gone, which meant that his sacrifice was a success, even if he was punished with torture. Judge had been furious that he lost leverage to use against Ichiji.
Mother would cry if she was alive and knew what happened to him.
Niji was angry all the time and it grew worse with time, especially after Judge took away his natural sight and granted him goggles that replaced his organic sense of sight. That meant that Niji could never survive on his own if he tried to escape Germa.
The message was pretty clear.
Try to run away if you want, but you will become permanently blind and you’ll never survive without Germa’s technology.
With Sanji gone, Yonji became the easiest to break.
Yonji who had eaten up every affirming word and action Judge did, given so much of himself in order to make his father proud. Yonji, who truly believed their father loved them as long as they were perfect. Yonji…who couldn’t manifest a power of his own, despite his constant tries. He grew more desperate with time, always attempting to force out any power. He had mastered the basic requirements of a soldier, but no individual power of his own.
So Judge did what he did best, in his usual despicable way.
He “fixed” it.
By taking away Yonji’s organic arms and hands, replacing them with cybernetics.
Yonji fell into shock after the surgery, as if he had a hard time wrapping his head around what has just happened to him. Everything he had believed about their father shattered like glass and he finally realized that his home wasn’t a home, but a hell.
Once he got over the shock, he clung to Reiju in her bedroom and cried for the first time in so long.
“I thought he loved us…I thought he loved me …”
That was the exact reason why Niji got blinded and needed the googles. He didn’t physically attacked Judge, but he threw out all kinds of insults, profanities and death threats as he was being restrained and held back by the clone soldiers.
“What have you done to him?! Answer me, you bastard! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!?”
As for Reiju…
There was nothing more painful than to see her little brothers gradually opening their eyes and becoming aware of what was happening. Only after it was too late to escape and they were all trapped within the cold, grey walls of Germa 66.
Ichiji had always known, probably from the start and had tried his best to shield his brothers from it. She knew that he had tried to push Sanji into escaping by using his fists and it hadn’t worked, so his only resort was to sacrifice himself. He was now Judge’s slave, never to escape.
Niji was permanently blind without those high-tech goggles that allowed him to see, fueled with an uncontrollable rage.
Yonji had lost his arms and hands, becoming a cyborg by force and was the most shocked of them all.
She had been augmented so she could never disobey an order. She couldn’t even escape to save her own life. No, she was nothing but a glorified slave.
Sanji was really blessed to have successfully escaped this hell, she genuinely hoped that he’ll take the secret of his origins to the grave and remained free, happy and cooking to his heart’s content.
Ichiji was now fifteen and a shell of his former self.
And sadly, Sanji would never know the sacrifice Ichiji had made for him.
Sanji was living in freedom, no longer a prince and far away from Germa 66.
And Ichiji had paid the price for it.