The Merman Knight, Conrad

Tiger's death was the beginning of a whole series of tragedies, ultimately leading Jinbe to join the Shichibukai.

Arlong sailed off to the East Blue and killed Nami's adoptive mother, Bell-mère, turning an innocent girl into a pirate thief.

As a result of this chain reaction, Queen Otohime of Fish-Man Island was assassinated, and Princess Shirahoshi was targeted, locked away in Hard-Shell Tower and kept from the outside world.

Conrad couldn't accept the misfortunes that befell Nami, Princess Shirahoshi, or even their mothers.

Because...

Nami was the future Navy navigator Conrad had picked out.

Shirahoshi was the future mount Conrad had picked out for himself.

As everyone knew, Fish-Men were the fastest swimmers beneath the sea.

In the future he had envisioned, his mount, Shirahoshi, was an indispensable part of Conrad the Merman Knight.

Conrad wasn't in the habit of waiting for trouble to happen before saving anyone. He wanted to nip it in the bud now.

After saying goodbye to Rear Admiral Kadal, he saw that it was already late, so he returned to Dorm 108 to sleep.

Since the timing was more or less clear, the Sun Pirates were naturally sailing at sea right now. Before they could take Koala home, they still needed to find one thing.

An Eternal Pose to her hometown, Foolshout Island.

Everything in the Grand Line—the currents, the weather, and all the rest—was chaotic. One second, a ship could be sailing in the right direction; the next, an undercurrent might spin it around 180 degrees.

So, to reach a particular destination along the route, a compass had to keep its target locked on at all times.

Conrad had to reach Foolshout Island ahead of time and stop the tragedy from happening.

And, ideally, kill Arlong while he was at it.

The next day was the final day of the year.

Snowflakes drifted down over Marineford, a place where it was almost spring all year round.

Aokiji sat atop the black-tiled roof of a pavilion, both palms sending out pillars of ice that connected to the clouds above.

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

On the ledge above a plaque bearing the words "Navy," an old man with white hair and a square face stood with his arms crossed, his sturdy frame filling out his uniform.

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

Aokiji smiled. A rare look of amusement crossed his usually dark, listless face. "Does he still want to be a pirate?"

Bang!

Garp crushed the doughnut in his palm, tossed it into his mouth, and chewed as he yelled up at the roof. "You little punk! Don't bring up things I don't want to hear!"

"Hahaha!" Aokiji laughed heartily. It was one of the few amusements in his boring life. He sighed theatrically. "Who would've thought? The grandson of Garp the Hero... wants to become a pirate!"

Crash!

The roof tiles burst apart as Garp leaped through them, baring his teeth and raising his iron fist over his head, his whiskers trembling.

"You're just like that little punk! Neither of you ever listen!"

His fist struck Aokiji on the head, and a huge, smoking bump sprang up instantly.

But Aokiji rubbed it and grinned. "I heard you turned down another promotion to Admiral. That's so cool."

"I've lost count of how many times. Those people keep bringing it up. Don't they ever get tired of it?" Garp pulled out another bag of doughnuts and stuffed them into his mouth one after another, as if he had low blood sugar.

"After all, Vice Admiral Garp is the Navy's greatest hero..."

Aokiji suddenly sprang into the air, kicking out a string of ice blocks as both palms unleashed a billowing cloud of icy mist. "Even if you can't raise a single kid right! A Navy heir wants to be a pirate, hahaha!"

A wall of ice formed, spreading like a dark cloud and covering half the city.

"I think you're the one—" Garp crouched and leaped, his fist coated in Armament Haki. "Who needs a lesson! Fist Bone Impact!"

Bang!

The dark-cloud wall of ice exploded, shattered into pieces, ground to powder, and turned into a vast flurry of snow that drifted all over Marineford.

It fell on Baby-5 as she walked by, a red scarf wrapped around her neck. She carried a lunchbox in her left hand and a gift bag in her right.

She reached the fence around the residential district and looked from side to side, but didn't see the person she'd hoped to find.

She hadn't been able to show up on time for many days to bring breakfast to Conrad after his morning run. It was only natural that he hadn't come today, especially since she was the one who'd been late first. And today, she was a little late again.

Though it wasn't as if she'd wanted to be.

"I'll wait a little longer." Baby-5 undid her old padded coat. Underneath, she wore a new floral-collared dress she'd bought in the West Blue. She took off the coat and draped it over the lunchbox.

An hour flew by. Kujaku came out holding a pink umbrella and called, "Time to go back to studying."

Baby-5 had been studying every day lately, at Vice Admiral Tsuru's insistence. After being abandoned as a child, she'd joined the Donquixote Family as an assassin, and her values had become a complete wreck.

Kujaku had also said that Conrad wasn't exactly normal either, and hanging around him would only make Baby-5 more and more abnormal, though Baby-5 didn't agree.

Baby-5 gazed down the street. The two of them had first met on a snowy night, the first snowfall in Marineford. She'd really wanted to watch the snow with him, even if Conrad might not consider it a big deal.

She called back to Kujaku, "Wait ten more minutes!"

"Who are you waiting for?" A face with hair that was half black and half red suddenly appeared above the wall behind the fence.

"You!" Baby-5 was overjoyed. She lifted her coat and opened the lunchbox, but despite keeping it covered, the soup had gone cold. Even the bread she offered him had turned a little hard.

Conrad took the bread and started eating. He'd just had a meal, but another wouldn't hurt. He was still growing.

"Why are you here at this hour?" Kujaku approached with her umbrella, her face cold.

Conrad looked up at the sky. "It's snowing. The first snow of the year. I wandered over, thinking I'd invite Baby-5 for a walk and some boiled fish or something. Want to come too?"

"She has to study! Do you think everyone's like you?" Kujaku huffed, her face flushed.

"Let's go together." Conrad took the noodles Baby-5 had been holding, still frozen in place, from through the fence. He finished them in a few bites, then turned toward the guard post. "I'll wait for you at the gate."

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

Kujaku turned away and paced on the spot for a moment. Then she turned around, hurried over to Baby-5 with her umbrella, and quickly fastened her coat. "Put your coat on! You invited me! It's not like I decided to tag along on my own!"

Baby-5 nodded, her red lips curving into a smile. "I'm inviting you."

The two of them shared a strawberry-colored umbrella as they made their way to the gate. Conrad, of course, had no umbrella, and didn't mind getting snowed on.

With his hands clasped behind his head, he gazed at the ground as the snow slowly piled up. "Where should we go?"

"You invited us! You don't know where to go?" Kujaku scolded him, cheeks puffed out.

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

"Hot pot! You're paying!" Kujaku grabbed Baby-5 and strode ahead, already deciding to fleece Conrad and spend all his money.

Once he ran out, he'd have to come crawling back to her!

"Let's go?" Conrad nodded. "Has Admiral Zephyr come back yet?"

Kujaku looked back with a smile in her eyes. "I told you I'd let you know when he came back. If I haven't told you, then he's not here."

"Bulu bulu~ bulu bulu~!"

The watch Den Den Mushi rang.

Kujaku answered. "Hello, who's this?"

But a mature, sensual woman's unfamiliar voice came from the other end.

"Is this Miss Kujaku? Could you put me in touch with Conrad? I need to speak with him."

Just from her voice, one could imagine the heavy weight pressing against her chest; each breath between her words seemed to require her to lift it.

"Here! It's another woman calling you!" Kujaku took off the watch Den Den Mushi and angrily shoved it into Conrad's hand.