Merman Knight Conrad

The death of Tiger was the beginning of a series of subsequent tragedies, leading Jinbe to join the Shichibukai.

Arlong fled to the East Blue and murdered Nami's adoptive mother, Bell-mère, turning a perfectly fine girl into a pirate thief.

Under the chain reaction, it also led to the assassination of Queen Otohime of Fish-Man Island, and the mermaid princess Shirahoshi being targeted, locked away in the Hard-Shell Tower for the rest of her days, hidden from the outside world.

Whether it was Nami, Princess Shirahoshi, or even the calamities that befell their mothers, Conrad could not accept any of it.

Because.

Nami was the navigator Conrad had reserved for the Navy.

Shirahoshi was the mount Conrad had reserved for the sea.

As everyone knew, fish-men were the fastest creatures at swimming in the deep sea.

In the future landscape he envisioned, his mount, Shirahoshi, was an indispensable part of him, the merman knight Conrad.

Conrad did not have the habit of waiting for things to happen before saving the day; he wanted to prevent them before they occurred.

After bidding farewell to Rear Admiral Kadal, as the sky had grown dark, he returned to Dorm 108 to sleep.

Since the timeline was roughly determined, the Sun Pirates were naturally sailing the seas at this moment, and they still needed to find one item before returning Koala home.

A Log Pose permanently set to her hometown, Foolshout Island.

In the Grand Line, currents and weather were all chaotic; one second a ship might be sailing correctly, and the next, it could be turned one hundred and eighty degrees by an undercurrent.

Therefore, to reach a specific location on the route, one had to have a pointer constantly locked onto the target to arrive.

During this time, Conrad had to reach Foolshout Island ahead of them to intervene and prevent the calamity.

It would be best if he could slaughter Arlong while he was at it.

The next day was the final day of the year.

Snowflakes drifted and swirled, falling upon Marineford, a place where it was almost spring all year round.

Aokiji sat on the black tiles of the city pavilion, his palms spraying pillars of ice that connected to the clouds in the sky.

"Teacher Garp, aren't you going to see your grandson?"

Above the plaque inscribed with "Navy," the white-haired old man with a square jaw crossed his arms, his sturdy frame filling out his military uniform.

"What's there to see? Just an annoying little brat."

Aokiji laughed, and on his dark, lazy face, a rare expression of watching a joke appeared. "Does he still want to be a pirate?"

Boom!

Garp crushed a donut in his palm with one squeeze, tossed it into his mouth to chew, and looked up to shout at the roof: "You brat! Don't bring up things that shouldn't be brought up!"

"Hahaha~!" Aokiji laughed heartily; this was a rare bit of fun in his boring life. He deliberately sighed, "Who would have thought... the grandson of the Navy hero Garp... actually wants to be a pirate!"

Thud!

The roof tiles were smashed through with a crash. Garp bared his teeth, his iron fist raised high above his head, his beard shaking as crumbs fell off.

"Just like you, you brat! Neither of you listens!"

The fist knocked onto the top of Aokiji's head, and a steaming, large bump instantly rose up.

But Aokiji touched it and instead grinned, saying, "I heard you refused the promotion to Admiral again, Teacher? That's so cool."

"I don't even know how many times that's been. Those guys keep bringing it up; aren't they tired of it?" Garp pulled out another bag of donuts, stuffing them into his mouth one after another as if suffering from hypoglycemia.

"After all, Vice Admiral Garp is the strongest hero in our Navy..."

Aokiji suddenly leaped into the air, stepping on a trail of ice blocks, his palms spraying a large cloud of ice mist. "Even if you can't even teach a child well! The descendant of the Navy wants to be a pirate, haha!"

An ice wall, covering nearly half the city like a dark cloud, took shape.

"I think you!" Garp leaped with all his might, his fist coated in Armament Haki, "need more education! Fist Bone Impact!"

Boom!

The dark cloud of the ice wall exploded, shattering completely into dust, powder, and vast snowflakes that filled Marineford.

They landed on Baby-5, who was walking by wearing a red scarf, carrying a lunch box in her left hand and a gift bag in her right.

She walked to the fence of the residential area and looked left and right, but did not see the figure she wanted to see.

She hadn't been able to come on time to deliver breakfast to Conrad during his morning run for many days. It was normal for Conrad not to be there; after all, she was the one who had missed the time first, and she was late again today.

Though it wasn't exactly by her own choice.

"I'll wait a little longer." Baby-5 unbuttoned her old cotton coat, revealing the new floral-collared dress she had bought in the West Blue underneath. She took off the coat and draped it over the lunch box.

An hour passed in a flash. Kujaku walked out holding a pink umbrella and called out, "Time to go back and study."

Baby-5 had been studying every day recently, at the request of Vice Admiral Tsuru. After all, ever since she was abandoned as a child and joined the Donquixote Family as an assassin, her values had been a complete ruin.

Kujaku added that Conrad wasn't exactly a normal person either, and hanging around him would only make her more abnormal, though Baby-5 didn't think so.

Baby-5 gazed out at the street. They had first met on a snowy night, the very first snowfall in Marineford. She had wanted so badly to watch it together, though she knew that in Conrad's eyes, it probably didn't amount to much.

She shouted back toward Kujaku, "Wait ten more minutes!"

"Wait for who?" A face with hair half-black and half-red suddenly popped out from the wall behind the fence.

"For you!" Baby-5 was ecstatic. She lifted her coat to reveal a lunchbox, but despite her efforts to shield it, the noodle soup had gone cold, and the bread she held out was stiff and chilly.

Conrad took the bread and began to gnaw on it. Even though he had just eaten, another meal wouldn't hurt; he was still in his growing phase.

"Why did you come at this hour?" Kujaku walked over under her umbrella, her face cold and aloof.

Conrad looked up at the sky. "It's snowing. The first snow, so I just wandered over. I wanted to ask Baby-5 for a walk and maybe get some boiled fish or something. Do you want to come along?"

"She still has to study! You think everyone is as idle as you?" Kujaku huffed, her face flushed red.

"Come with us." Conrad took the noodles that Baby-5 had been holding, untouched and forgotten, finished them in a few bites, and turned toward the guard post. "I'll wait for you two at the gate."

Baby-5 turned back slowly, her eyes shining as she said, "Let's go."

Kujaku turned away and paced in place for a moment before running over to Baby-5 under her umbrella, quickly buttoning up the other girl's coat. "Button your clothes properly! It's you two who invited me! It's not like I'm following you on my own!"

Baby-5 nodded, her red lips curving into a smile. "We invited you."

The two of them shared a strawberry-colored umbrella as they reached the gate, where Conrad stood naturally without one, not caring at all about getting dusted with snow.

He clasped his hands behind his head, watching the snow slowly piling up on the ground, and asked, "Where to?"

"You're the one who invited us! And you don't even know where to go?" Kujaku chided, looking puffed up with indignation.

"I don't." Conrad answered honestly. "You're the local, not me. I only know two or three spots."

"Hot pot! And you're paying!" Kujaku grabbed Baby-5 and strode forward, deciding in her heart to fleece him for everything he was worth and drain his pockets dry.

Once he was broke, he'd naturally have to come begging to her again!

"Shall we?" Conrad nodded. "Has Admiral Zephyr not returned yet?"

Kujaku turned back with a squinting smile. "I already told you, if he came back, I'd let you know. If he hasn't, he isn't here."

"Brrr-brrr~ Brrr-brrr~!"

The Den Den Mushi watch rang.

Kujaku answered the call. "Hello, who is this?"

From the other end of the line came the voice of a mature, sultry, and unfamiliar woman.

"May I ask if this is Miss Kujaku? Could you help me get in touch with Conrad? I have something to discuss with him."

Just by the sound of her voice, one could feel the weight of a heavy chest; every word seemed to require her to puff out her bosom.

"Here! Another woman calling you!" Kujaku ripped the Den Den Mushi watch off and shoved it into Conrad's hand, looking thoroughly annoyed.