Between True Men

"So cute!" Kujaku covered her mouth with both hands and let out a little gasp, like a child who'd spotted a new toy. "Grandpa Zephyr, is he really not a criminal?"

"Hm?" Conrad looked utterly confused.

"Cute, cute!" Kujaku clapped again and again.

"He's not." Zephyr shook his head. "Kujaku, take us to see your grandmother."

"Okay!" Kujaku gave a playful hop and turned around. She shot Drake a sideways glance. "Mop it clean! I'll come back and inspect your work later!"

"Uh..." Drake splashed some soapy water onto the floor and started scrubbing the iron staircase.

Kujaku reminded him with a grin, "You're supposed to say, 'Yes, ma'am.'"

"Got it!" Drake saluted while scrubbing away with all his might.

Conrad was horrified. The Whip-Whip Fruit had clearly turned Drake into a slave. Conrad was still growing, and against someone with a Devil Fruit power like this, he'd need to use his wits.

It was lunchtime. The female marines aboard Vice Admiral Tsuru's ship filed into the dining hall in groups, led by their officers. They took their seats in perfect unison.

As the only ship in the entire Navy crewed exclusively by women, it showed an impressively high level of discipline. Even Conrad was surprised; it didn't match his impression of the Navy as a complete mess.

But then he thought about it, and it made sense. Anyone who lacked discipline wouldn't make it onto Tsuru's ship.

Before long, Kujaku led Zephyr and Conrad into Vice Admiral Tsuru's private quarters.

The room was simply furnished, all in pale colors, giving it a cool, austere feel. The only splash of color was a strawberry-patterned tablecloth, the same color as Kujaku's clothes.

Tsuru sat at the table, carefully eating her meal one spoonful at a time.

"Grandma!" Kujaku rushed to the table and tipped her face up with her mouth open. Tsuru smiled, speared a tangerine wedge with her fork, and fed it to her.

Kujaku chewed and swallowed. "I want strawberries! I don't like tangerines!"

Tsuru speared another wedge and said sternly, though with a smile, "Finish your tangerines before you have strawberries."

"Okay~" Kujaku didn't argue and kept eating.

Zephyr didn't interrupt. He sat down on the sofa, and Conrad quietly waited too.

After feeding Kujaku, Tsuru finished her soup and stood up. "Have you eaten?"

Only then did Conrad realize how tall Vice Admiral Tsuru was—at least two meters, like an ancient pine covered in snow.

"No, I've lost my appetite." Zephyr pulled another bottle of Jerez from his greatcoat pocket.

"You'd have an appetite if you drank less." Tsuru shook her head. "But there's no point telling you that. You won't listen."

"Haha!" Zephyr pried the bottle open with his thumb and took a long gulp. "If only Aokiji were here. He could chill this for me."

"Granny Tsuru, it's nice to meet you." Conrad was easygoing and had no old memories to dwell on, so he got up and greeted her.

Tsuru turned her gaze to Conrad. "An injured person should be resting properly. My ship's doctor went to a lot of trouble to save you."

"Thank you." Conrad had taken a punch from Vergo head-on, caught Baby-5 as she fell from a great height, fired a shot after powering up, and then swum underwater.

If he hadn't trained his body from a young age, any ordinary person would have died from that.

"You don't need to thank me. You passed information to Drake and exposed a Navy spy, buying us time to get Rosinante back."

Tsuru clasped her hands behind her back and spoke slowly. "It was only right for us to treat you. In fact, the Navy should be giving you a medal."

"I just want Baby-5 back." Conrad stated his request plainly.

"She's a criminal," Tsuru emphasized. "A criminal from the Donquixote Family."

"I know." Conrad didn't argue. He'd seen Baby-5 firing a gun alongside the family, killing people.

"But she won't be one anymore."

"Can you guarantee that?" Tsuru's gaze seemed to probe the depths of Conrad's eyes. "According to our interrogation, you've only met her once. In fact, the whole thing couldn't have lasted more than two hours."

Kujaku looked surprised. "Huh? I thought Baby-5 had known him for a long time. She cares so much about him and never stops talking about him."

"I can guarantee it!" Conrad said without hesitation.

"But I'm sorry. I can't trust you." Tsuru's voice remained calm, without a hint of emotion. "First, you're a child with no records or identity. In my eyes, you have no credibility, let alone the ability to take responsibility for the risks."

"Second, she's a member of the Donquixote Family. If we release her and Doflamingo takes her back, it'll be like letting a tiger return to the mountains."

"Third, she's a criminal—a serious one. She's still young and may have been acting under orders, but she still has to be punished and rehabilitated! Otherwise, there's a good chance she'll become a tool for crime again!"

After listing those three points, Vice Admiral Tsuru suddenly raised her voice, her gaze sharp. "For example—you!"

An invisible pressure burst forth. It was unlike the formidable Haki Vergo had wielded. It was more like a biting wind from the heavens, scouring a person down to the marrow.

Zephyr suddenly burst out laughing and held the bottle up between them, cutting off the pressure. "Tsuru, just tell us what's going to happen to that girl."

Conrad closed his eyes and chose to trust Zephyr. Between true men, when one entrusted something to another, the other would do everything in his power to see it done.

Tsuru considered it briefly, then answered from experience. "She'll be tried in court first. She'll probably get ten years. Until she's sixteen, she'll be held in a Marine Headquarters prison. For the remaining years, she'll be sent to Impel Down, where Devil Fruit users are imprisoned."

"Though I hate pirates too," Zephyr said, draining most of the bottle and wiping his wrinkled, mustached mouth, "I've been a father myself."

He put an arm around Conrad's shoulders. "This kid's got potential. I think he can make something of himself. I want to give him a hand."

Tsuru fell silent. She was Zephyr's classmate, and her granddaughter was already this old, while his wife and son had both been killed by pirates when he was forty-two.

Zephyr continued, "That girl's still young too. She was forced into it, wasn't she? She's not rotten to the core, is she?"

"No!" Kujaku raised her whip and answered. "Her family abandoned her when she was little because they thought raising her wasted food. Then she ended up in a den of criminals and was trained as an assassin. She had it really rough."

Conrad opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Kujaku. She stared right back at him, still grinning mischievously. Conrad suddenly thought that maybe she only looked bad because of her face.

Tsuru took off Kujaku's hat. Unlike her neatly combed bangs and side locks, the blond hair beneath it was a tangled mess. She took a wooden comb from her pocket and began to brush it.

"Isn't there some middle ground?" Zephyr bared two rows of teeth. "You're the Navy's strategist. You were the cleverest one at school, so coming up with a solution should be easy, right?"

"Watch her." Tsuru carefully tended to Kujaku's hair. "What that girl needs most right now is someone reliable to supervise her, someone who can teach her, guide her, and help her turn over a new leaf."

"Who would be suitable?" Zephyr leaned back on the sofa and scratched his head. "She'd be a burden to anyone we gave her to. Looks like we'll have to owe someone a favor."

"I'll check the personnel list when I get back, then decide," Tsuru said after thinking it over.

"Me!" Conrad suddenly volunteered.

Tsuru frowned. "I just told you that you're not yet—"

"Give me one year! Within a year, I'll earn your trust and take Baby-5 in. Until then..." Conrad clenched his fist and bowed ninety degrees. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, I'm counting on you!"

Tsuru stopped combing and studied Conrad. After a moment of silence, she sighed and nodded. "All right. Then I'll keep her with me for a year, for now. She can keep Kujaku company."

"Yay!" Kujaku bounced, but her tangled hair caught in the comb. She gave a sharp hiss of pain and screwed her eyes shut, nearly to the point of tears.