Chapter 840

Chapter 840 is titled "Iron Mask".

Cover Page
Fan Request: "Chopper eats from pots of honey with Bepo, Kumashi, the Hiking Bear and Bartholomew Kuma just like Pooh the Bear would".

The cover make a reference to Pooh Bear from A. A. Milne's famous franchise.

Short Summary
In the laboratory of the Germa castle, Yonji reveals to Sanji that Germa 66's soldiers are all clones of past exceptional soldiers, developed using the joint research of Judge and Vegapunk. Ichiji and Niji then enter the laboratory, and Sanji attacks Niji for beating Cosette. Using Zeff as a threat, Niji retaliates and overpowers Sanji. Ichiji reminds Sanji of his position as their family's failure, leading Sanji to reminisce further about his childhood.

In Sanji's recollection of their early childhood, the Vinsmoke children were informed by their father that they had been physically and intellectually enhanced using genetic manipulation, and that, through training, they would develop the strength to lead Germa 66 to new glories. However, Sanji was continually outpaced by his siblings, leading them to bully him. Eventually, intent on erasing Sanji's existence from his plans, Judge held a state wake to "mourn" Sanji's accidential death; simultaneously, he had soldiers place an iron mask on Sanji and lock him in a dungeon, causing Sanji to break down and apologize piteously for being born weak.

Long Summary
Yonji reveals to Sanji that the people kept in bottle-like tanks are the soldiers of Germa 66, and a shocked Sanji notes that they are all identical and wonders if they are even alive. Yonji tells Sanji that the Germa Kingdom is a kingdom of science, revealing that their father Judge was hailed as a brilliant scientist before they were born. Judge was once part of a lawless research team and worked alongside Vegapunk, and the two discovered the lineage factors of living organisms, giving them the blueprints to life itself. When they found out about this, the World Government decided it was too great a power for men to have; they arrested Vegapunk and drove the other researchers apart. Judge continued this research, which led to the creation of the "Clone Pawns" that served Germa 66 as its foot soldiers, though the clones did not know their origins. Yonji states that other nations do not just fear them, but envy them due to their extremely loyal military force which could be replenished easily, as a 20 year old clone could be grown in five years.

Sanji tells Yonji to stop, as this is making him nauseous, and he sits down and lights a cigarette. Ichiji and Niji then enter the room, stating that when they heard Sanji was running around as a pirate, they hoped that he might be able to grow a little bit, but so far he is just as disappointing as ever. Upon seeing Niji, Sanji grows enraged at what he did to Cosette and kicks him in the face. Sanji prepares to teach Niji a lesson, but is stopped when Ichiji reminds him that they can easily kill Zeff. Niji then moves behind Sanji extremely quickly and grabs him around the neck, taunting him over his powerlessness before kneeing him in the back. Niji's knee is electrified, and the attack causes Sanji to cough up blood as Niji punches him into the ground with an electrified fist. Niji tells Sanji that if he knew he cared about Cosette that much, he would have beaten her even more, and Cosette could have served Sanji as a cripple. Ichiji welcomes Sanji back into their family and reminds him what the hierarchy is, that he is the dud and the failure.

Several years ago, Judge spoke in front of the very young Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji, telling them that they are his greatest creations of all time. Due to scientific breakthroughs, their bodies are engineered to surpass normal human limitations, and they would soon grow into commanders of Germa 66 with limitless potential once they have trained. The training began, and Sanji quickly began lagging behind his siblings in their exercises, which irritated them. Sanji got a pet turtle, but Yonji kicked it, and when Sanji tried to retaliate Yonji easily beat him up. Sanji faced off against Niji in swordsmanship training, but his wooden sword broke when coming into contact with Niji, and Niji easily beat him up with his sword, to the point where Germa 66 soldiers had to pull Niji away to prevent further damage. Later, a Germa 66 aide reported to Judge that Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji were all successfully developing, but Sanji's genetics had not changed since he was born, leaving him as a normal human being. This enraged Judge, and he went into Sanji's room as Sanji was feeding a rat.

Judge berated Sanji for serving others, saying his mother had long passed and there was nothing to be gained from following the legacy of the dead. Judge said that since Sanji did not have his siblings' aptitude, he would have to train much harder to contribute to the Germa Kingdom, as failure was not an option. Judge then shattered a window, sending the rat and Sanji's dish falling toward the ground, and he told Sanji to never cook again, causing Sanji to cry. Sanji was later beaten up by his brothers while Reiju laughed, and Reiju later treated his wounds as she revealed that she only laughed at their brothers' actions so she would not be bullied herself. Judge and his aides continued observing no progress from Sanji, and later Judge held a ceremony to mourn Sanji's death in an accident. However, Sanji was actually inside the palace, surrounded by Germa 66 soldiers and wearing an iron mask. Sanji's brothers were annoyed that he died, but were also happy that he was gone since he was useless. Meanwhile, Sanji was imprisoned in a dungeon, and he yelled for someone to speak with his father. However, one of the soldiers revealed that they were doing this under Judge's orders, as he wished to start over in a world where Sanji was effectively never born. Sanji began to cry as he shouted for his father to let him out and apologized for being born a weaking.

Chapter Notes

 * It is revealed that Judge and Vegapunk were formerly science research partners, until Vegapunk was arrested for discovering the blueprint of life.
 * The soldiers in Germa 66 are cloned humans unaware of their status.
 * Niji is confirmed to be the one who attacked Cosette in Chapter 839.
 * Sanji and Niji have a brief confrontation which ends with Sanji being overpowered.
 * More of the Vinsmoke Family's past is revealed:
 * Sanji and his siblings were genetically modified as children.
 * Sanji was considered a failed specimen, being a regular human.
 * The Vinsmoke matriarch (and the children's mother) passed away some time during the children's childhoods.
 * It is revealed that Reiju only laughed at the bullying Sanji experienced as she wanted to avoid the same fate.
 * Due to Sanji's failures, Judge masked him and locked him in a dungeon before claiming to the kingdom that Sanji had died in an accident.