"Lord Grimm?!"
Behind her, over a hundred Kuja warriors cried out in shock — Sandersonia and Marigold were the only ones who already knew.
Grimm stared at Hancock for a long moment, leaving her so nervous she could barely speak. Then, he slowly reached out a hand.
Hancock instinctively flinched and took a small step back — only to feel a gentle touch on top of her head.
He had simply placed his palm over her hair and was stroking it softly.
"Hancock… it has been a long time," Grimm said with a warm smile.
For a few seconds, she stood frozen in surprise — then her face lit up with a bright, child‑like smile.
The women behind her were instantly starry‑eyed and screaming with delight.
"So cute… Her Majesty is so beautiful like this!"
"Long live Empress Hancock!"
"I can't take it anymore… ohhh!"
As night fell, roughly two hundred meters away from the ship, Mannoroth popped his massive skeletal head out of the water from time to time, green lights flickering deep within his eye sockets.
Meanwhile, lined up along the ship's railing, dozens of young, fashionable women were busy observing this "male demon" — a creature larger than any Sea King — with binoculars and notebooks in hand.
"Males seem to come in two types," murmured one girl, scribbling furiously.
"Some are roughly our height… and then there are those of gigantic build… yet with no flesh or muscle on their bodies at all…"
She paused as she watched Mannoroth reach into the sea, grab a hundred‑meter‑long serpentine Sea King, tear it apart, and begin chewing on it.
She quickly added to her notes: "The giant type is extremely ferocious and preys upon Sea Kings for food."
She muttered as she wrote, completely unaware whether men elsewhere in the world would laugh or cry upon reading this description.
"He is Lord Grimm's servant… and quite unlike anything else," said Marigold, standing slightly behind the others.
"More like terrifying," Sandersonia replied with a frown. Even now, the memory of that colossal form blotting out the sky made her shudder.
Marigold turned to her. "To be able to command and tame such a monster… Lord Grimm's power is truly beyond measure."
"Of course! That is Lord Grimm we are talking about!"
Inside the captain's quarters, Grimm and Hancock sat facing each other as Hancock recounted all that had happened over the years.
Suddenly, the door opened, and an elderly woman — well into her eighties — stepped inside.
Grimm stood immediately. "Please, continue your conversation." He stepped out onto the deck and leaped lightly onto Mannoroth's back.
"Empress Hancock… to attempt entering the New World on your very first expedition is reckless and foolish!"
It was Gloriosa, revered by the people of Amazon Lily as "Old Granny". She lectured Hancock sternly, her face wrinkled with concern.
Hancock's eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flashed within them.
Old Granny quickly coughed and corrected herself. "Ahem… forgive me… Your Majesty, Empress Hancock!"
Although she was the former ruler of Amazon Lily, Hancock was now the reigning Empress, and she dared not overstep her bounds.
Truth be told, she had only joined this voyage because Hancock had taken the throne at such a young age.
Originally, she had believed it far too soon for someone so young to rule.
But Hancock had since displayed such immense strength and charisma that she had won the unwavering loyalty of the entire island, easing Gloriosa's worries somewhat.
However, barely after setting sail, Hancock had dropped the bombshell idea of heading straight into the New World — nearly giving the old woman a heart attack.
Hancock gazed dreamily at Grimm's silhouette from behind, as he sat perched high on Mannoroth's back.
Then, hearing Gloriosa's protest, she placed one hand firmly on her hip, raised the other gracefully above her head, and arched her body backward like a drawn bow — a pose of utter, haughty disdain.
"Silence!" she declared. "Whatever this one does… she will always be forgiven… for she is simply… too beautiful!"
She ran her fingers lovingly down her cheek and skin, smooth and white as jade, completely lost in self‑adoration.
"Forgiven! Forgiven!"
"Long live Her Majesty!"
The warriors behind her cheered fanatically.
"Such fools…" Old Granny muttered, rubbing her forehead. She too looked out toward Grimm, and a distant, dreamy expression came over her face.
She sighed softly to herself, "Ah… a woman in love…"
"Eww… Old Granny's face looks so creepy…"
"Is she feeling seasick or something?"
Seeing her lovestruck expression, the female pirates couldn't help but tease her.
"Hey! You girls!!" Gloriosa snapped, flushing with embarrassment.
This situation all began just two days earlier.
After Grimm and Hancock had met and spoken for a while, he had intended to continue on his way to the New World.
But the moment Hancock heard his plan, she immediately cancelled her original route — which was supposed to circle the first half of the Grand Line — and announced they were heading straight for the New World instead.
Grimm raised no objection and let her follow along.
Truth be told, Hancock was perhaps the only woman in this entire world who had ever made his heart stir with something other than mere desire or conquest. There was no harm in letting her tag along.
Old Granny had protested fiercely… until Hancock threw her overboard more than a dozen times to make her point.
As for the rest of the crew? One sharp glance from Hancock was enough to make them fall in line.
"Master… this stuff feels terrible…" Mannoroth complained miserably.
At the Sabaody Archipelago, the shipwrights had coated Mannoroth's entire body with a special bubble coating — the same substance used to submerge ships to travel underwater. To a colossal skeleton, it felt sticky and restrictive.
"Quiet!" Grimm replied coldly.
"You are serving as a ship right now. Do ships complain? If you keep running your mouth, I will send you straight back to Azeroth!"
Mannoroth instantly clamped his jaw shut in terror. "S‑sorry, Master… I will be silent…"
"Lord Grimm!"
Hancock came running over with a bright smile and took his hand, pointing back toward the Kuja ship. "We are fully prepared!"
"Then let us go." Grimm reached out and gently patted her head.
"Minister Right! This is the Border Guard… w‑we have something… something strange entering our territory!!"
"Hah? What are you babbling about?"
Inside the Ryugu Palace, Minister Right held up his Den Den Mushi, utterly confused by the frantic report coming from the entrance to Fish‑Man Island.
Normally, the only troublemakers were reckless pirates from Sabaody trying to enter the New World — though such incidents had dropped significantly since Whitebeard's flag was raised over the island as protection.
Still, there were always those arrogant enough to think they were invincible.
"There is… a giant… a massive creature approaching! And riding upon it… is the great pirate Grimm!!"
"Him?!"
Minister Right nearly dropped the snail phone in shock.
It wasn't that Grimm was infamous for cruelty — he had passed through Fish‑Man Island once before, on his way back to the North Blue.
On that occasion, he had terrified everyone simply by existing… yet he had done nothing at all.
He merely stayed for half a day before departing, leaving the royal family breathing a huge sigh of relief.
But no one knew what he intended this time. While Grimm was known to be rather friendly toward fish‑men and merfolk, his bitter enmity with Whitebeard was known to every living soul in the world.
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