Do You Have Any Last Words?

Splash!

Bubbles surged, blurring the vision.

The seawater was bone-chillingly cold, clinging like a curse and stripping Baby-5 of all her strength. Her hair floated loose, and the blood from her scalp bled into the water.

Her limp arm lifted, grasping aimlessly at nothing, but she did not fall; a hand gripped her wrist, pulling her downward, moving toward a direction obscured by the depths.

Conrad felt the sea surface behind him explode with fire, sending shockwaves through the water. The surveillance ship had been as fragile as paper under the giant rock fist, and shattered wood and iron shards rained into the sea.

Fortunately, his survival over the past week had forced him—an inland dweller with no talent for swimming—to learn the basics.

There was no technique to speak of; he simply filled his lungs with air, held his breath, relaxed his body, and let the buoyancy carry him along with the current.

But his lungs were likely hemorrhaging, and his oxygen was depleting too quickly; his mind began to swim before long.

Conrad's thoughts were always simple and direct; he never liked to overcomplicate things. Since the Donquixote Family were almost all Devil Fruit users, they wouldn't be able to chase him deep into the sea.

He only needed to hold on—just a little longer—and he could wait for Vice Admiral Tsuru of the Navy to arrive and force them to retreat.

Baby-5 had never swum before and was drowning, unable to keep her eyes open. She struggled to lift her eyelids, catching a one-second glimpse of the person pulling her down before closing them again, yet the expression on her face held no pain—instead, she was secretly smiling.

To their left, a large iron cage sank heavily into the depths. Inside, Drake was rolling his eyes, his mouth agape and bubbling, his hands clawing upward like a dinosaur calling out to the sun.

Baby-5 kicked off the iron cage for leverage, helping Conrad save his strength, and they surged forward another distance.

Beneath the sea cliff, beside the burning wreckage of the surveillance ship, Doflamingo walked out of the Birdcage with his executives, his left hand gripping Vergo by the throat.

He glanced behind him: of the nine people, seven were Devil Fruit users, leaving only one man and one woman.

The woman, Queen, was as round as a ball; she would likely sink like a stone if she ever entered the water.

Doflamingo scratched his scalp. "Lao-G, it's up to you. Bring those two brats back."

"No problem! G!" The burly old man with a stubbly face and rabbit-eared hat ripped off his fur coat, revealing a blue-and-white striped tight-fitting combat suit.

He dove into the sea, kicking up a massive spray as he charged forward with a powerful breaststroke, moving like a cannonball.

"No one can escape my palm." Doflamingo wiggled his fingers, lifting Rosinante before his eyes.

"The fruit isn't on you, and you're so tight-lipped—it's with Law, isn't it? Is he waiting for you somewhere on this island? Heh heh..."

Buffalo flew in from the sea, hovering at the edge of the island.

"It's bad, Young Master! Tsuru's warship is here!"

"Damn it! How did they get here so fast!" Doflamingo scratched his head frantically; he had been pursued by them for a long time.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, a comrade-in-arms to the Navy Hero Garp and the Admirals, was now the Navy's Chief of Staff.

She was a user of the Wash-Wash Fruit, capable of washing people like laundry, scrubbing away the evil in their hearts to leave only cleanliness and purity.

Woo—!

With a loud blast of a siren, two warships appeared at the edge of the horizon. On the left, a large sail was emblazoned with the character "Tsuru."

Standing at the bow was an old woman with silver hair tied into a tight ponytail, her gaze sharp and piercing.

She wore the two-star rank of a Vice Admiral on her shoulders and a pure white coat of Justice draped over her back. With her arms crossed, she looked across the sea at the Donquixote Family.

Four tall female officers stood guard behind her, while on the deck, a disciplined force of female marines stood tall, saluting with their hands, their high-heeled boots clicking against the deck.

Doflamingo had no desire to clash with Tsuru. He gauged the distance across the sea and roared with Haki: "Lao-G! Hurry up! Grab them and pull back!"

Splash—!

In the middle of the ocean, amidst the rising waves, Conrad surfaced with Baby-5 in his arms, gasping for air.

Baby-5, now out of the water, looked at him with red eyes, her face pale and waterlogged. She finally spoke, "They'll kill you if we surface. Just dive back down—I can die with you!"

Conrad was losing consciousness, his legs kicking purely on instinct to keep them afloat.

Splash!

Lao-G, clad in his combat suit, leaped high out of the water like a dolphin, lunging toward the pair.

Just as Lao-G coiled his muscles to leap and pounce on them—

A thick plume of white smoke erupted from the warship. An object pierced through the smoke, slamming into his chest and knocking him back into the sea.

It was a jitte, fired from a cannon on the warship accompanying Tsuru's.

Vroom!

An engine roared.

A large three-wheeled beach motorcycle surged from the deck, spewing massive amounts of white smoke as it launched into a long, high-arching trajectory.

The rider was a tough-looking young man with white hair, a cigar clamped firmly between his teeth.

"Smoker! You've violated orders again!"

A vigorous, booming shout came from a burly man with a square jaw and short purple hair, wearing the three-star rank of an Admiral on his shoulders.

With a burst of Haki, the man stomped his feet against the warship's ram, leaping into the air to follow in pursuit.

He stomped onto the headlight of his motorcycle, his greatcoat billowing horizontally as he stared straight toward Minion Island.

"Sorry, Instructor Zephyr!" Smoker's entire body erupted into a cloud of smoke, cushioning the impact of the motorcycle as it slammed onto the surface of the sea and began to race.

He twisted the throttle to the limit, pushing the speed to the max as seawater sprayed to both sides of the churning, wide tires.

Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, the instructor for the elite officer training ship, was the Marine officer in charge of the trade with the Barrels Pirates for this Op-Op Fruit.

Upon receiving the distress report, he had departed immediately, arriving alongside Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Smoker, holding the rank of Captain, was currently training on the ship and was about to graduate as a Commander.

The three-wheeled motorcycle was a piece of special equipment powered by Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

Now, speeding far faster than a warship, he raced until he reached Conrad and Baby-5, scooping them up in a thick cloud of white smoke and tossing them into Zephyr's hands.

Zephyr kept a stern face and said, "Smoker, you know what the punishment is for acting without orders, don't you?"

"Huh? How would I know something like that?" Smoker furrowed his brows, the row of cigars clamped in his teeth shaking as he spoke. "Human lives are the most important thing—I remember you teaching us that, right?"

Zephyr grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "It seems I haven't taught you well enough. Prepare for your graduation to be delayed."

"What a pain." Smoker scratched his head and pointed toward the Donquixote Family on the island. "Let's catch the pirates first!"

"Hahaha, then hurry up and drive faster!" Zephyr slapped Smoker on the back of the head.

BOOM!

The motorcycle surged onto the shore, amphibious.

The Donquixote Family was already struggling just to deal with Vice Admiral Tsuru; with the addition of Zephyr and a host of elite officers, they were already fleeing at the sight of them.

Zephyr set Baby-5 and Conrad down on the shore. "We're going to catch the pirates now. You two stay here and wait for the Marines to rescue you."

"Look at him... he's losing his breath!" Baby-5 pointed at Conrad anxiously; she only just realized she didn't even know his name.

Zephyr checked Conrad's breathing and frowned as he felt his chest, his large fingers pressing against the ribcage only to find it soft and yielding rather than firm.

His breathing was labored, and his insides were filled with fluid—either blood or water.

Zephyr covered his right hand in pitch-black Haki and pressed down, causing Conrad's eyes to snap open as he vomited a mouthful of murky liquid.

"Cough, cough... Doffy's... brother! Un... undercover!"

Zephyr nodded. "I know. Sengoku told me over the Den Den Mushi. I will save him."

Conrad pointed toward the east with ragged breaths. "Ship! Flamingo! East coast!"

"Rest easy." Zephyr's face showed pity; his own wife and child had also died at the hands of pirates. "If you have any last words, say them quickly..."

Conrad inhaled and exhaled, inhaled and exhaled, then let out a loud shout: "I'm hungry!!!"

With that, his head lolled to the side, his mouth hanging open as he passed out.