Vinsmoke Family

The Vinsmoke Family (ヴィンスモーク家, Vinsumōku-ke), is a group that appears in the One Piece series. They are a powerful and infamous family of Underworld mercenaries, and the family from which Sanji hails. They are also the reigning royal family of the Germa Kingdom, as well as the former dynastic conquerors and rulers of North Blue. As an adjunct to their rule over the Germa Kingdom, they are the commanders of the Kingdom's Underworld army, Germa 66.

Due to their actions, the Vinsmoke Family were the secondary antagonist group of the Whole Cake Island Arc, and were one of the central antagonist groups of the Four Emperor Saga. However, following Big Mam's deception, they have since allied with the Straw Hats and the Firetank Pirates.

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 * —About the Vinsmoke Family.

Overview
About 300 years ago, the Vinsmoke Family established and ruled the Germa Empire (ジェルマ帝国, Jeruma Teikoku), after conquering the entire North Blue with their military might. 66 days later, they were dethroned, yet they continue to rule over the ocean-going Germa Kingdom, and still possess the authority and privileges of royalty, including the right to attend Reverie. Furthermore, their patriarch is powerful enough to directly influence the bounty system, by both increasing bounties and changing their conditions of capture.

Activities and Abilities
The Family currently conducts its primary operations within the Underworld, including leading Germa 66 in mercenary activities against other military forces. Among known royal families, the Vinsmokes are unusual in that they command their kingdom's military forces directly in combat (a responsibility that only the Gorgon Sisters share); they are also unique in engaging in constant warfare with other nations, in order to reestablish their former dominion over North Blue.

The Vinsmokes also appear to have impressive connections in the Underworld, with the Underworld emperor "Big News" Morgans claiming to have deep ties between the family and his newspaper company, the World Economic Journal. These activities and attributes have led them to develop a prominent and infamous reputation throughout the Underworld; however, their notoriety seems to extend beyond these boundaries, with Brook and Robin both recognizing the Vinsmoke name.

Scientific Prowess
The Vinsmokes possess advanced combat technology which they use adeptly in battle, and which is so advanced that even the Emperor Big Mam seeks access to it. In battle, each member of the family wears a set of clothing and technological accessories called a Raid Suit (レイドスーツ, Reido Sūtsu), which allows them to hover in midair, jump large distances, and boost their kicking power. When not being worn, raid suits can be wholly contained inside small canisters, each marked with the Vinsmoke's allocated number (for Judge, the letter "J" marks his canister). Once clicked, the canisters rotate and release the material of the suit; this material remembers the shape of its wearer, and is completely resistant to fire.

The Vinsmokes have also developed cloning technology, which they have used to create a virtually inexhaustible army, as well as other genetic modification technologies which have endowed the children of the family with superhuman abilities. Despite the illegality of cloning, Judge nevertheless managed to remain in the trust of the World Government, showing either high favor or powerful secrecy.

The Vinsmokes' many subjects behave with absolute loyalty and obedience. Their soldiers, being programmed clones, are willing to sacrifice their lives for their sovereigns without aforethought. When called upon to do so through the command, "Wall" (壁, Kabe), they will shield the royal in "danger" from any attack by positioning themselves in front of the Vinsmoke.

Sola, Warrior of the Sea
In their capacity as the commanders of Germa 66, the Vinsmoke Family are also the villains of the World Economic Journal comic strip, Sola, Warrior of the Sea. As Navy propaganda, the comic's premise centers on fictionalized accounts of their conflict with the equally fictional Naval hero, Sola.

It is later explained that Germa 66 were chosen as the model for the comic's villain group because the Vinsmoke name was once considered synonymous with evil. Furthermore, in Vito's brief thoughts on the comic, there are several featured Germa 66 agents that resemble members of the family. Specifically, the two figures wearing cloaks that bear the numbers "1" and "2" are likely references to Ichiji and Niji, while the helmeted figure towering above them is a likely reference to Judge.

Members
The family currently consists of a father (the family patriarch), one daughter, and four sons; furthermore, the sons of the family were all born on the same day. The patriarch is infamous throughout the Underworld. The family matriarch is deceased, after succumbing to the aftereffects of a powerful but lethal drug.

The children of the Vinsmoke Family were genetically modified by Judge, specifically for the purpose of creating elite military commanders who would lead Germa 66 to achieve Judge's ambitions. However, Sanji was labelled a 'failure' early in his childhood, after exhibiting behaviors undesirable to Judge and consistently being outperformed by his siblings in physical tests.

The family's most distinct physical feature is the curly eyebrows common to all the children.

Current members

 * Vinsmoke Judge
 * Vinsmoke Reiju
 * Vinsmoke Ichiji
 * Vinsmoke Niji
 * Vinsmoke Yonji

Former Warlords

 * Vinsmoke Sora -
 * Vinsmoke Sanji -

Past
About 300 years ago, the Vinsmoke Family formed and ruled the Germa Empire, after their conquest of the entire North Blue. However, 66 days later their empire collapsed and their sovereignty was confined to the Germa Kingdom. Vinsmoke Judge, the current patriarch, dreamed about re-establishing the empire, and dedicated his life to realizing this dream. At some point during his reign, he orchestrated the Conquest of Four Nations, during which he vanquished four North Blue kings.

Judge also worked with Vegapunk in an illegal research group dedicated to unlocking the human Lineage Factor and gaining the ability of cloning. The World Government eventually cracked down on their research, although Judge managed to escape and resume his work on cloning alone.

Judge married Sora, and the two had a daughter named Reiju, who received genetic manipulation from Judge. Three years later, they conceived quadruplet sons, and Judge had them modified inside the womb to become incredibly strong military commanders, which would remove their capacity for emotions in the process. Sora objected to this, but was eventually forced to undergo the surgery. However, she consumed a pill to try to counteract the surgery, which severely weakened her. She gave birth to four sons, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji, but the drug only worked on Sanji.

Judge started training his children to unlock their genetic modifications from a very young age, and Sanji, due to not having any, quickly fell behind his siblings. This led to frequent bullying from his brothers, and Reiju took part in it in order to maintain her standing among them, but tended to Sanji's wounds when they were alone. Sanji frequently displayed acts of compassion, such as feeding his bedridden mother as well as rats, and Judge heavily disapproved of this. Sora was immensely pleased with Sanji's emotional growth, finding happiness in visits from him and Reiju. However, Sora later died from the effects of the drug, and Judge finally decided to remove Sanji from his life after receiving confirmation that he appeared to be a normal human. Sanji was then locked in a dungeon with an iron mask on, and was given a fabricated death and a funeral.

Despite Judge's abandonment, he still had Sanji fed regularly, and Sanji still had access to books, with which he learned how to cook. However, his brothers eventually found him, and the bullying resumed. Eventually, Reiju told Sanji that the Germa Kingdom was crossing from the North Blue to the East Blue, which was where Sanji saw the chance to escape after telling his sister that he wanted to be a chef. When they reached the island of Cozia, Reiju freed Sanji, but Sanji was soon confronted by Judge. However, Judge allowed Sanji to leave, so long as Sanji never identified himself as a member of their family. Sanji parted ways with his sister as he left the Germa Kingdom, and ran to a nearby cruise ship called the Orbit in tears. However, Judge began looking for Sanji very soon after his son had left due to having a use for him.

During his stay on the Orbit, Sanji was involved in a shipwreck, where he met Zeff of the Cook Pirates. The two formed a father-son bond, and Sanji became Zeff's sous chef when the Baratie restaurant was opened.

Synopsis
After nine years of physical and culinary training, Sanji quit his job as sous chef and joined the Straw Hat Pirates, eventually receiving a bounty after the Enies Lobby incident. Judge sent bounty hunters after him, but due to Sanji's poster having a crudely drawn picture of his face, the hunters ended up going after Duval, who looked identical to the drawing. Two years later, however, Sanji received an updated bounty with a photograph of him, and Judge had his bounty condition changed to "Only Alive".

Zou Arc
Some time between the Curly Hat Pirates' encounter with the Big Mam Pirates off the coast of Dressrosa, and the Big Mam Pirates' arrival on Zou, the Vinsmoke and Charlotte Families entered into a political alliance that was to be sealed with an arranged wedding between the third Vinsmoke son, Sanji, and the 35th Charlotte daughter, Pudding. Sanji, shocked that his past had been brought up again, deduced that his father was also responsible for the changes to his bounty. Intent on tying up all loose ends from his past, Sanji reluctantly left Zou to confront his family at Whole Cake Island.

Trivia

 * The children of the Vinsmoke family all share similarities in their names, epithets, and appearances. Sanji, however, has variants in the two last categories:
 * The names of the children of the Vinsmoke Family follow the pattern "(number) + ji" for males, and "(number) + ju" for females: Rei(0)ju, Ichi(1)ji, Ni(2)ji, San(3)ji, and Yon(4)ji.
 * All the children of the Family share the characteristic curled eyebrows:
 * The visible eyebrows of most of the siblings curl in an anti-clockwise direction (i.e. to the left side of his face), resembling the number "6". This is possibly referenced in the name of their organization, Germa 66.
 * Niji is the only sibling whose right eyebrow has never been seen.
 * In both Chapter 832 and Chapter 841, the edge of Reiju's right eye is shown. It appears that her right eyebrow doesn't curl towards the left, which would make her overall facial features symmetrical.
 * In Chapter 833, Ichiji's right eye is shown in a flashback, and his right eyebrow does not seem to curl to the left either.
 * Sanji's eyebrows are the only ones known to both curl in a clockwise direction (i.e. to the right side).
 * Yonji styles his hair so that both his eyebrows are visible, and they both curl in an anti-clockwise direction.
 * All four of the children also have a color-themed epithet and fighting style: fore example Reiju's is "Poison Pink" (ポイズンピンク, Poizun Pinku), Ichiji's is "Sparking Red" (スパーキングレッド, Supākingu Reddo), Niji's is "Dengeki Blue" (デンゲキブルー, Dengeki Burū), Yonji's is "Winch Green" (ウインチグリーン, Uinchi Gurīn), and Sanji's is "Black Leg" (黒脚, Kuro Ashi).
 * Sanji's epithet differs fundamentally from the others because it is written in kanji, not katakana. Additionally, the color in his epithet is the first, rather than second, word.
 * Sanji is also the only sibling whose hair color (blonde) does not match the color in his epithet (although he has a black goatee). In the anime, however, his childhood attire was yellow, just as his siblings' attire also matched their hair color, as well as the number on the back of his chair in the Germa Kingdom throne room.
 * *Sanji is the only sibling to have facial hair, which along with his blonde hair, was something he alone inherited from their father.
 * During Sanji's flashbacks to his youth in the manga, Niji, Yonji, and he wore light colored shirts and boots, and dark colored pants. However, in the anime they wore colored shirts, white pants, and brown boots. Ichiji, whom in the manga had inverted color scheme, wore a matching outfit to his brothers