You Wouldn't Understand the Ways of a Real Man

Sengoku gazed at the child he had raised with his own hands. He remembered how the boy had cried when he first found him, how he had gradually grown up and followed his lead to become a Marine, and eventually went undercover.

For a moment, his eyes burned, and tears threatened to spill from them. But after a few blinks, he managed not to cry.

"Doflamingo reported the Celestial Dragons' message. You took the Devil Fruit, and I can't protect you. I was going to... help you keep it hidden."

Rosinante lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. Just as Sengoku had raised him back then, he couldn't bring himself to abandon poor Luo.

"It's all right. I'll accept my punishment."

Sengoku clenched his teeth and pointed at the large plaque behind him, bearing the character for "justice." He roared, "You could have reported the truth! Doing your duty impartially isn't that hard!"

"I really don't know." Rosinante grinned weirdly through his snot and tears. "He's free now! He ran off in a direction I don't even know!"

Sengoku slammed his fist down on the redwood desk with a bang. He clenched his hand and sat in silence for a long while. "Life in Impel Down won't be easy. If you choose to make amends by catching him..."

"Don't say that, Dad." Rosinante walked over to the desk and wrapped his arms around the burly Sengoku with his tall, slender frame. "Send me away. Take care of yourself. I'll see you when I get out."

Then he let go, turned around, and lifted the Silent Sound Barrier. Mimicking Sengoku's voice, he called out with a strange laugh, "Guards! The interrogation's over! Take him to Impel Down!"

The door opened. The guards and officers saluted again, then handcuffed Rosinante.

Sengoku's face twisted. Fortunately, the room was dark, and the lamplight reflected off his glasses, making him look angry.

"Admiral Sengoku, we'll be taking our leave."

"Mm." Sengoku grunted, without moving.

Rosinante hoped people would remember him with happy smiles when they said goodbye.

So as he was escorted away, he comically swung his long arms and legs, his clownish mouth cackling. But after playing mute for so many years, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

Bang!

The door shut.

The laughter faded into the distance, leaving the room silent and dim.

Sengoku stood there for a long while before slowly lifting his head. He took off his black, round-framed glasses and set them on the desk, then leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with both hands.

Of course he didn't want his adopted son sent to Impel Down, especially not for being locked up because he'd saved someone out of kindness.

That was why he'd approached Conrad with a glimmer of hope, hoping to find some clue. Unfortunately, Conrad knew nothing either.

At that thought, brilliant golden light suddenly filled the room.

Sengoku straightened in his chair. From his hair to his uniform, his body was instantly covered in a golden sheen, transforming him into a Buddha.

Every detail of Conrad's expression and movements came back to him.

Sengoku raised his left palm to the sky and pointed his right hand at the ground.

"Buddha's Palm... First Form?"

Marineford was a fine city, a rare gem. The crescent-shaped island had a curved bay filled with ships coming and going.

Four naturally formed pillars of rock stood at the island's corners. The lookout towers on their peaks offered a view of the entire island.

Beyond that lay the sea, the Gate of Justice, and the ever-churning whirlpool behind it.

When Conrad had trained himself to exhaustion, he would take a bucket to the bay and fish. Sometimes he'd even catch enough for an extra meal and save himself some money.

Conrad had never entered the imposing central city. Only officers of the rank of Commodore or higher could go there.

The streets here were full of officers, while he was just a newly registered third-class seaman. But he'd climb all the way to the top, one big step at a time. It was only a matter of time.

"Hey, Conrad, where are the fish in your bucket? Don't tell me you ate them raw on the way here."

Kujaku stood with her left hand on her hip, Combat Whip raised. She suddenly leaped out from an alley in the barracks district and whipped the paving stone in Conrad's path.

The stone immediately sprang upright and spun like a top.

"There weren't any fish in the sea today." Conrad set down his rod and bucket, then took the dry clothes off the line.

Kujaku crossed her arms and flicked her whip. "You just didn't catch any!"

"Just like cattle and sheep migrate, fish swim around too. They don't stay in one place." Conrad shook his head. "You wouldn't understand the ways of a real man when it comes to fishing."

Kujaku didn't understand what he meant. After all, she was only fourteen, and there were still plenty of things she hadn't seen or understood. She didn't dwell on it.

She held her whip sideways and pointed it at Conrad's head. "Have you gotten taller?"

"I think I've grown a little." Conrad folded his clothes. "It's been a month. I was bound to grow."

"More than a little!" Kujaku pointed at herself. "You used to be shorter than me, and I grew two centimeters this month. Now you're as tall as I am!"

Conrad glanced around. "Where's Baby-5?"

"She didn't come. It's just me."

"Then what are you here for?" Conrad frowned and called 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 training camp exam notice for tomorrow came to me!"

"Oh, right. I forgot." Conrad remembered the number Kujaku had given him the day he registered. "Sorry for the trouble. Thanks."

"Training Ground Two, ten tomorrow. Don't forget." Kujaku's eyes curved into a sly grin. "The time has finally come for me to teach you a lesson!"

Her grandmother, Vice Admiral Tsuru, wouldn't let her use her ability on people outside of combat, so she'd never had the chance to give Conrad a proper thrashing.

"It's not like we're taking the same test." Conrad wasn't a Devil Fruit User, so he'd be taking the exam with most of the others.

"We won't be together for the Doriki Value test in the first round, but we might run into each other in the second-round elimination matches. Heh heh~ Just wait! I'll show you what I can do!"

Kujaku suddenly pursed her pale pink lips. "Don't worry. If you beg me then, I'll go easy on you."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Conrad hated cheating and cutting corners more than anything. He believed that every contest should start on equal footing. He could afford to lose, but he could never take an unfair advantage.

Otherwise, even if he won, he wouldn't feel satisfied. It would feel as if he hadn't won through sheer strength.

"I'm off! See you then!" Kujaku bounced around, turned, and climbed onto her strawberry-pink bicycle. Her wheat-colored legs pedaled beneath her frilly skirt as she hummed a tuneless melody and rode off in a flash.

The sun set, and dusk darkened half the street as it followed Conrad's back, with a fishing rod over his shoulder and a bucket of laundry in his hand, all the way to Dorm 108. The evening shadows spread over all of Marineford.

"I'm so nervous, so nervous! The test is tomorrow!" Bling Bling paced back and forth along the aisle between the beds. "Dad! Mom! Little bro! Boss, Colonel! I'll definitely pass!"

Drake lay quietly on his bed, reading. He was strong—probably the strongest of this year's recruits by far.

Conrad took off his dirty clothes and changed into the black-and-white striped pajamas Baby-5 had bought him. "Don't worry. You've got the makings of a great commander. You'll be fine."

"Conrad! Every time I hear you say that, I'm so moved. It makes me feel like I'm full of energy!" Bling Bling started doing squats on the spot.

"I'm telling 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 a shame he'd run into the Arlong Pirates in East Blue, where they were oppressing civilians. Unable to ignore his sense of justice, Bling Bling had declared war and opened fire. In the end, the entire ship was sunk, and everyone aboard was killed.

But this time, with Conrad around, there was a ninety percent chance Arlong would never make it to East Blue.