The Principles of a True Man, You Wouldn't Understand

Sengoku looked at the child he had raised with his own hands, his mind drifting back to the tearful boy he had found all those years ago, the one who grew up to follow in his footsteps as a Marine, right up until he went undercover.

For a moment, his eyes burned and old tears threatened to spill, but he blinked them back, refusing to let them fall.

"Doflamingo reported the news to the Celestial Dragons. You stole the fruit; even I cannot protect you now. I had originally... intended to help you cover it up."

Rosinante kept his head bowed, tears streaming down his face. Just as Sengoku had raised him, he found he could not help but save the pitiful Law.

"It is fine. I accept the punishment."

Sengoku gritted his teeth and pointed at the plaque behind him, which bore the character for "Justice," roaring in a heavy voice: "You could have reported the truth! To act with impartiality—is that so difficult?"

"I truly do not know." Rosinante bared his teeth in a grotesque grin, his nose running with snot and tears. "He is free now! He ran off in a direction I know nothing about!"

Sengoku slammed his fist onto the mahogany desk with a thunderous boom, then fell into a long, silent, clenched-fisted brooding. "Life in Impel Down is not easy. If you choose to atone for your crimes by bringing him back..."

"Do not say such things, Dad." Rosinante walked to the desk and wrapped his thin, tall frame around the burly Sengoku. "Send me away. Take care of yourself. We shall meet again the day I am released."

He let go, turned his head, deactivated the Silent Sound Barrier, and mimicking Sengoku's voice, shouted toward the door with a cackle: "Prison guards! The interrogation is over! Take him to Impel Down!"

The door opened, and the guards and officers saluted once more before placing handcuffs on Rosinante.

Sengoku's face twisted, but fortunately, the room was dim enough that the reflection of his glasses hid his expression, making him look merely furious.

"Admiral Sengoku, we take our leave."

"Hmph." Sengoku grunted, remaining motionless.

Rosinante hoped that whenever people remembered him, they would recall a happy, smiling face.

So, as he was led away, he swung his long, lanky limbs in a comical fashion, his clown-painted mouth cackling, though years of feigning muteness had left his voice raspy and harsh.

Bang!

The door closed.

The laughter faded into the distance, leaving the room in dark, heavy silence.

Sengoku stood still for a long time before slowly looking up. He removed his black-rimmed glasses, placed them on the desk, and leaned back in his chair, pressing his palms against his eyes.

He certainly did not want his foster son locked away in Impel Down, especially not for the crime of being kind enough to save a life.

That was why he had held onto a sliver of hope when he sought out Conrad, hoping to find some trace of a lead, though unfortunately, the boy knew nothing either.

At this thought, the room was suddenly flooded with golden light.

Sengoku sat up straight. From his hair to his uniform, he was instantly covered in a pure, golden luster, transforming into a living Buddha.

Conrad's expressions and movements flashed clearly through his mind.

Sengoku held his left palm toward the sky and his right finger toward the earth.

"Buddha's Palm... the first form?"

--

--

Marineford was a fine city, a rare and exceptional place. It was a crescent-shaped island where warships constantly sailed in and out of the bay.

Four naturally formed mountain pillars stood at the four corners of the island. From the observation pavilions at their summits, one could take in the view of the entire island.

Beyond that lay the sea, the Gate of Justice, and the endless, swirling whirlpools behind the gates.

Whenever Conrad finished his grueling training, he would take a bucket to the bay to fish; sometimes it provided an extra meal and saved him a bit of money.

Conrad had never entered the towering main city in the center; that was a place reserved for officers of the rank of Captain and above.

Here, the streets were filled with lieutenants and captains, and he was merely a newly registered Third-Class Private, but he would take it one step at a time until he reached the top. It was only a matter of time.

"Yo, Conrad, where's the fish in your bucket? Don't tell me you ate it raw on the way back?"

Kujaku jumped out from an alley in the dormitory area, her left hand on her hip as she brandished her Combat Whip. She flicked her whip at the paving stones in Conrad's path.

The stone slab instantly stood on end, spinning like a top.

"There were no fish in the sea today." Conrad set down his rod and bucket and began collecting the clothes he had hung out to dry.

Kujaku crossed her arms and huffed, "You just didn't catch any!"

"Just as cattle and sheep migrate, fish swim too; they don't stay in the same place." Conrad shook his head. "The principles of a man's fishing—you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Kujaku didn't know what he meant. After all, she was only fourteen; there were many things she hadn't seen yet, but she didn't dwell on it.

She held her whip horizontally and gestured toward the top of Conrad's head. "Did you grow taller?"

"I suppose I grew a bit." Conrad folded his clothes. "It's been a month; it was about time."

"More than a bit!" Kujaku pointed at herself. "You were shorter than me before, but I grew two centimeters this month, and you're already as tall as I am!"

Conrad glanced left and right. "Where is Baby-5?"

Kujaku lifted her chin. "She didn't come. It's just me."

"Then what are you here for?" Conrad frowned and shouted toward the back street, "Drake!"

"Can't I come by myself?" Kujaku puffed out her chubby cheeks and raised the Den Den Mushi watch on her wrist. "You don't even have a phone! The notice for tomorrow's training camp assessment came to me!"

"Oh, I forgot." Conrad finally remembered the number he had written down for Kujaku on the day he registered. "Sorry for the trouble, thank you."

"At the number two training ground, tomorrow at ten, don't forget." Kujaku's eyes curved downward into a wicked smile, "The time has finally come to teach you a lesson!"

Her grandmother, Vice Admiral Tsuru, forbade her from using her abilities on others outside of combat, which was why she hadn't been able to give Conrad a proper thrashing.

"It's not like we're taking the exam together." Conrad was a non-Devil Fruit user, which placed him in the testing group for the majority of the candidates.

"We might not be together for the first round of Doriki testing, but we could run into each other in the second round elimination tournament, heh heh~ I'll make sure you know how formidable I am then!"

Kujaku suddenly pursed her pale pink lips and said, "Don't worry, if you beg me then, I'll show you some mercy."

"Nonsense!" Conrad despised underhanded tricks more than anything in his life; he insisted that all things should be contested from the same starting line. He could afford to lose, but he would never take an unfair advantage.

Otherwise, even if he won, he wouldn't feel satisfied, as if it hadn't been achieved through his own raw strength.

"I'm off! See you then!" Kujaku hopped, turned around, and mounted her strawberry-themed bicycle. Her wheat-colored legs, visible beneath her lace skirt, pedaled the wheels as she hummed a tuneless melody and zipped away in a flash.

The sun set, casting a twilight glow over half the street, trailing behind Conrad's back as he carried his fishing rod and bucket of clothes all the way back to Dorm 108, enveloping the entirety of Marineford.

"I'm so nervous, so nervous! The test is tomorrow!" Bling Bling paced back and forth in the aisle between the bunks, "Dad! Mom! Little brother! Boss Colonel! I will definitely pass!"

Drake, meanwhile, lay quietly on his bed reading a book; his strength was immense, likely head and shoulders above everyone else in this assessment cohort.

Conrad took off his dirty clothes and changed into the black-and-white striped pajamas Baby-5 had bought for him, "Rest easy, you have the makings of a general, there won't be any problems."

"Conrad! Every time I hear you say that, I get so moved, it's like my whole body is filled with power!" Bling Bling started doing squats on the spot.

"I'm speaking the truth." Conrad remembered that in the original story, Bling Bling eventually rose to the rank of Commodore and became the commander of the 77th Branch.

It was just a pity that when he encountered the Arlong Pirates from the East Blue oppressing civilians, he couldn't suppress the justice in his heart, declared war, and opened fire, only for his entire ship to be sunk and his crew slaughtered.

But this time, with him, Conrad, around, there was a ninety percent chance Arlong wouldn't even make it to the East Blue.