Germa Kingdom

The Germa Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Science (科学の国), is the world's only seafaring kingdom, and a member nation of the World Government. About 300 years ago, it was the center of the Germa Empire (ジェルマ帝国), an enormous empire formed by the Vinsmoke Family's conquest of the North Blue. Today, the kingdom remains under Vinsmoke rule, and is serviced militarily by the Underworld army, Germa 66; as the territory of the Vinsmoke Family, it used to be Sanji's home nation.

Currently, the Germa Kingdom is assembled at Whole Cake Island in the New World.

Geography
The Germa Kingdom was first mentioned by Vinsmoke Reiju, who describes it as "a nation without land". Its "territory" is later shown to be comprised of platforms surrounded by railings, that are build on the shells of large snails resembling Den Den Mushi. Those snails are seemingly unaffected by the salty sea, and are strong enough to climb the Red Line. These ships usually move independently, depending on the kingdom's activities at the time, but can be interlocked as they come together to the form the kingdom's "proper shape". As a consequence, the size and the bounds of the kingdom's territory are constantly fluctuating, depending on how many of its ships are assembled at one time.

Privileges
The Germa Kingdom remains a member nation within the World Government, which allows them the privileges of an affiliated kingdom; this includes the right to attend the Reverie. The kingdom's royal family also has an unusual pull over the legal system, being able to affect the bounty system and to issue direct commands to the Marines.

From Judge's statements, however, Germa's controversial activities have long threatened its membership within the World Government, and he expects the imminent loss of their right to attend the Reverie as a result of their most recent activities.

Architecture
The architecture of the Germa Kingdom resembles that of castles; every structure is a tower, a turret, a keep, or a complete castle. Many of the structures are topped by curving conical spires, which complement the outwardly-rounded walls of (some of) the structures. With the exception of trees and other vegetation, the entire kingdom appears to be constructed out of bricks and brick tiles, including the "ground" of the platforms suspended on the kingdom's ships. When various ships are reassembled back into the larger kingdom, the ships' masts and sails are lowered to allow different segments of the structures to be joined back together as well.

Despite the predominantly brick-based appearance of the kingdom's architecture, however, various rooms and laboratories contained within different structures are distinctly futuristic in appearance; such rooms are usually constructed out of metal.

Vinsmoke Castle
The central, and largest, landmark in the kingdom is the Vinsmoke Family's royal castle, around which the other structures are assembled. It has five tall turrets, with the kingdom's flag flying from the top of the central turret. It normally rests on a group of 36 platforms, at least some of which can separate.

Throne Room
One of the largest rooms in the castle is the throne room, which is prominently adorned with militaristic decor, including a large spread-winged bird behind the royal throne itself. The Germa Kingdom's flag is visible behind the bird, and two large sea maps are hung up on either side of the throne. A chandelier, as well as dark vertical banners bearing the number "66", hang from its high ceiling; the banners line the entire length of the room.

Roughly in the room's center, at the base of the stairs leading up to the throne, is a table encircled by numbered chairs. Each Vinsmoke sibling has an allocated seat at the table, corresponding with their designated number.

Sanji's Room
One of the rooms inside the castle - the one used to accommodate Vinsmoke Sanji upon his return to the Kingdom - is a very large and spacious room containing a portrait of Vinsmoke Judge during the Conquest of Four Nations. It is located in the central turret of the castle, with a tall window and curtains that open onto a balcony overseeing the Kingdom. The room is adorned with various other fittings and pieces of furniture, including tables, large chairs, numerous cupboards and drawers, mirrors, drapes, candelabras and chandeliers, and potted plants.

Medical Ward
The medical ward is located on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Its only known patient was the kingdom's late queen, Sora, who was attended to by Époni and visited by Sanji and Reiju.

Soldier Depot
The depths of the royal castle are shown to contain at least one large cloning laboratory, within which Germa 66's scientists work. It contains a multitude of numbered, liquid-filled capsules, each containing a Germa 66 Clone Soldiers (複製 (クローン) 兵). It is most likely a relatively recent addition to the castle, since the scientific discovery used in the cloning process was a recent discovery of Judge and the World Government scientist Vegapunk.

The laboratory is highly secretive and off-limits to everyone except the kingdom's scientists and members of the Vinsmoke Family. Yonji mentioned that even the royal children were not permitted entry during their childhood, and an adult Sanji was shocked to discover what was contained inside the depot.

Dungeon
The castle has a dungeon where Sanji was held as a child for 6 months. It is reached after descending a long flight of winding stairs.

Yonji Castle
One of the kingdom's independent towers is named "Yonji Castle" (ヨンジ城); as the name suggests, it is the residence of the kingdom's fourth prince, Vinsmoke Yonji. His fortress is made of his own individual ship and is later assembled at the Germa Kingdom platform. He is seen recovering there after his fight with Sanji. The fortress has an infirmary containing a device called "the Press Machine".

Royal Family
The Germa Kingdom is ruled by the Vinsmoke Family, whose patriarch, Vinsmoke Judge, is the reigning king; his wife, the late queen Sora, is deceased. Unusually among royal families, the Vinsmokes are also the commanders of their nation's military, Germa 66, leading them directly in combat and other mercenary situations.

Germa 66
The majority of the citizens in the Germa Kingdom are predominantly-male soldiers who comprise Germa 66. Most of those soldiers are clones of former exceptional soldiers, created using the Vinsmokes' technological capabilities.

Others
All other known citizens of the kingdom are servants who work directly in the employ of the ruling family. This includes handmaidens, cooking staff headed by Cosette, and medical staff who work in the medical ward. There are also scientists who work on the Soldier Depot in the castle's secret laboratory. One particular scientist also served as Judge's personal aide in observing and supervising the training regimen of the Vinsmoke siblings in their childhood.

Fleet
Each of the snails that carry a part of the kingdom double as a ship. There are two masts at the top of each ship, which carry large black sails bearing the number "66". Their shell is modified, having docking knobs for when the ships reassemble the kingdom, that resembles two portholes on each side. The platform is surrounded by a railing. Each ship appears to be at least three times as wide as the Thousand Sunny.When gathered together, these snail ships will either remain in their shells or socialize with one another.

Royal Carriage
The Vinsmoke Family is shown riding in a "Cat Carriage" (猫車), which is carried by a Cat Car, on their way to a meeting with Charlotte Linlin and her daughter on the day before the later and the Vinsmoke's third son wedding day. The carriage is large enough to carry six thrones, and tall enough so that Judge could stand up straight in it. The carriage is decorated with the kingdom's symbol and has a garuda figure on its roof.

The carriage is missing its left door, after Luffy pursued and tried to persuade Sanji to leave with him, and Sanji instead kicked Luffy away (including the door he was hanging on to).

Cart
The Germa 66 Soldiers are seen travelling in a cart that is pulled by a large mouse, behind the royal carriage.

Past
About 300 years ago, the Germa Kingdom was at the center of the Germa Empire, which spanned the entire North Blue for 66 days. Since its loss, the Kingdom's ruling family have made extensive efforts to regain their empire, with the current king leading Germa 66 in an infamous event known as the Conquest of Four Nations. While the details of the event are unknown, he was photographed standing over four vanquished North Blue kings.

At some point in the past, Judge married Sora, thereby making her queen consort of the Germa Kingdom. She gave birth to the Kingdom's sole princess, Vinsmoke Reiju, before later giving birth to its four princes, including Sanji; at the time of the sons' birth twenty-one years ago, the Kingdom was located in North Blue. Due to drugs she took prior to the birth of her sons, Sola became gravely ill, spending the remainder of her life bedridden in the medical ward before passing away.

Sanji spent his childhood in the Germa Kingdom up until the age of 8, during which time Judge put his children through a stringent training regimen and monitored their progress. The last 6 months of Sanji's life in Germa were spent in the dungeon of the royal castle, where his father had ordered him to be imprisoned as his way of erasing Sanji's existence from his life. Judge also staged a state funeral for his third son, informing the rest of the Kingdom (including his other children) that Sanji had died in a shipwreck.



Thirteen years ago, Germa 66 accepted a contract to invade and defeat the island of Cozia in East Blue. As the Kingdom crossed over the Red Line from North Blue into East Blue, Reiju freed Sanji from his cell and helped her younger brother escape the Kingdom. While Judge caught Sanji trying to flee, Judge allowed Sanji to leave on the condition that Sanji never associate himself with the Vinsmoke name ever again. With Reiju's help, Sanji successfully made his escape on board a cruise ship docked on Cozia's coast.

Whole Cake Island Arc
At some point after Sanji left the Germa Kingdom to begin a new life in the East Blue, the Vinsmoke and Charlotte families entered into a political alliance. As part of this agreement, a wedding was arranged between the Vinsmoke Family's third son and the Charlotte Family's 35th daughter to tie the two families' bloodlines which is only held thirteen years later as the Vinsmoke Family was unsuccessful in finding their third son Sanji who had been living in the Baratie keeping himself under a low profile. Only through the connections of the Big Mom pirates, especially after Capone Bege cornered Sanji with the consequences of his mentor's gruesome death for refusal to attend the wedding, did Sanji returned to his homeland. In anticipation of the wedding, the Germa Kingdom began gradually converging in Lake Aprico on Whole Cake Island.

A few days prior to the wedding, Sanji returned to his home nation, where he reunited with his younger brother, sister, and father after 13 years of estrangement. After rebuking both Yonji and Reiju's attempts to pressure him into accepting the arranged marrige, Judge challenged Sanji to settle their issues with a physical fight. At the conclusion of the duel, which took place in a courtyard outside the Vinsmoke castle, Judge explained to Sanji the purpose of the alliance with Big Mom and had Reiju strap (fake) exploding wristlets onto Sanji's arms, to force him to cooperate with the wedding.

On the day before the wedding, Vinsmoke Ichiji and Vinsmoke Niji returned to the Germa Kingdom after executing their mission on Broc Coli Island. The reunited Vinsmokes proceeded to discuss their political affairs while dining within their throne room, but the discussion quickly disintegrated into a confrontation between Sanji and the other members of the family. After the meal, Sanji found Cosette (the head of the royal household's kitchen staff, whose food had indirectly caused the confrontation) badly beaten in the castle. Swearing revenge against Niji, Sanji encountered Yonji, who led Sanji to the laboratory containing Germa 66's clone army. There, they were joined by Ichiji and Niji, who (along with Yonji) proceeded to attack Sanji.

Following the assault, Reiju found a battered Sanji in the laboratory. She ordered Germa's scientists to leave Sanji in her care, before taking him back to his room. After Reiju treated Sanji's injuries, the entire royal family were seen off by their cheering citizens as they proceeded to Whole Cake Chateau for the pre-wedding gift exchange ceremony.

It is later revealed that the wedding was all part of Big Mom's plan to assassinate the Vinsmoke Family, in order to gain access to the kingdom's cloning technology. However, after the assassination plan was thwarted during the wedding ceremony, the Vinsmokes (with the exception of Sanji) were able to successfully escape back to their kingdom and defeat the Big Mom Pirates squad sent after them. After Niji tricked Mont-d'Or into revealing the status of the Straw Hats, Ichiji gave the order for Germa's ships to set sail.

Trivia

 * Like many nations in the One Piece world, the Germa Kingdom contains inspirations from a number of real-world countries and cultures:
 * The architecture of the kingdom, with its castles, towers, and keeps, resemble those of Medieval Europe. It is similar to the architecture of the Lvneel Kingdom, which is also located in the North Blue.
 * Germa's flag bears the Nordic Cross, which is featured in the flags of the various Nordic nations.
 * The Kingdom's name Germa and their militarism ideology may also be based in Germany, particularly Nazi Germany which featured golden eagles and distinctive dark uniforms as insignia and was a militaristic and aggressive nation. The Nazis promoted a concept of Greater Germany that matches the Vinsmoke Family's singular focus on warfare and their ambition to reconquer the North Blue to rebuild the Germa Empire.
 * The large bird in the kingdom's throne room could be a reference to:
 * The Garuda Pancasila, the national emblem of Indonesia. As the name suggests, the emblem depicts the Garuda, which is also the epithet of Vinsmoke Judge.
 * The Reichsadler, from the Nazi-Regime under Adolf Hitler. The uniform is also similar to the Reichsuniform.
 * In addition, Germa's insignia, as displayed in their throne room, is likely a reference to the insignia of the Nazi-inspired terrorist organization Shocker, from the television and manga franchise Kamen Rider.
 * Coincidentally, germa is also a regional name for yeast in some parts of former Yugoslavia, which goes with Sanji's cooking theme.

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