"P‑please… what shall we do?" the border guard asked cautiously.
"…You couldn't stop him even if you tried. Let them pass!"
Minister Right hung up quickly and hurried straight to the main palace hall. There, Fisher Tiger was in the middle of an audience with King Neptune and the Queen.
"Here you are, sailing freely in the New World… yet you traveled all the way to the first half of the Grand Line just for one little girl? Was that child once a slave?"
"She was," Tiger replied. "She suffered terribly at the hands of the Celestial Dragons and hasn't fully recovered yet. I decided to bring her back to her homeland, hoping to find something or someone along the way that might help her heal. I couldn't just abandon the kid…"
Just then, Minister Right rushed in, forgetting even to bow, and breathlessly reported the arrival of Grimm.
Upon hearing the news, King Neptune's eyes widened in shock. "Tiger only just returned… and now he arrives. What an incredible coincidence…"
Cold sweat broke out on Tiger's forehead. "Of all times to come now…"
He had sailed the New World for years and never once crossed paths with the Holy Light Pirates. Surely, they hadn't come here specifically looking for trouble… right?
Tiger remembered clearly what had happened years ago in Mary Geoise. Afterward, the Holy Light Pirates had come to Fish‑Man Island and demanded that Neptune replace Whitebeard's flag with Grimm's. On Tiger's advice, Neptune had refused. Could this be about revenge?
"We can only wait and see what his intentions are," Neptune said grimly.
On the busy streets of Fish‑Man Island, countless mermen and fish‑men stood frozen, staring in awe and terror at a colossal figure that nearly blocked the entire road.
It was Mannoroth, still covered head‑to‑toe in his protective bubble coating. At the sight of his terrifying skeletal form, the locals scattered in panic.
"How marvelous…"
Hancock placed one hand lightly on her forehead and looked upward, basking in the light. "To think sunlight reaches all the way down here… ten thousand meters beneath the sea…"
Old Granny Gloriosa raised her snake‑headed staff and warned the crew: "We are deep underwater. Do not start trouble — fighting here will be far too difficult and risky."
"We will be moving on to the New World shortly," Grimm announced with a wave of his hand.
To Hancock and her people, this was all new and wondrous — but Grimm had made this crossing so many times that nothing here surprised him anymore. He had no desire to linger.
"Aww… can't we stay just two more days?" some of the younger crew members grumbled.
Suddenly, a small figure bumped hard against Grimm's leg and fell flat on the ground.
Grimm, Hancock, and the others turned to look. It was a child of about eight or nine years old, wearing a faded red shirt and dirty overalls, with hair matted into a tangled mess.
The child reeked of filth, eyes wide open, with a painfully exaggerated smile plastered across the face.
Upon hitting Grimm, the child immediately dropped to knees and began bowing frantically.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't look where I was going! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry… please don't kill me…"
"What on earth…?" Grimm was confused. It was just a bump. Is this really necessary?
Hancock stepped closer to observe. There was something about this behavior that felt familiar…
Grimm spoke first, his tone flat. "Ah… I see. A former slave of the Celestial Dragons?"
Hancock's expression shifted. Thanks to Grimm, she, Sandersonia, and Marigold had lived safely in Mary Geoise — but the trauma of what they had seen and endured had left an indelible mark.
This child before them, however… was a true victim. Broken in body and soul, reduced to nothing more than a living shell.
For the first time, the proud and haughty Empress felt a genuine pang of pity.
"What's going on?"
"Eww… this child is so dirty!"
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"No idea… but look, there's no chest…"
"Idiot! Were you developed at that age?"
The Kuja pirates whispered among themselves, unconsciously forming a circle around the child. Still, the child remained kneeling before Grimm, bowing repeatedly.
"I'm sorry… please don't kill me… I'm sorry…"
"Stop it at once!" Hancock commanded firmly.
"Ah… there you are, Koala! Why did you run off alone?!"
At that moment, an octopus fish‑man with six arms approached, accompanied by several other fish‑men of different species. But upon seeing who the child was bowing to, he froze in his tracks.
The three sisters also stared — mostly because fish‑men faces were always so amusing to look at, especially an octopus man's, which was impossible to mistake for anyone else's.
It was Hatchan.
He instantly recognized Grimm, though he didn't recognize the three sisters.
After all, the Boa sisters had changed greatly over the years… and more importantly, back then, everyone's attention had been fixed entirely on Grimm, barely noticing the girls beside him.
"Ah… isn't this the fish‑man we met in Mary Geoise?" Grimm smiled coldly. "What a coincidence."
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate. "Years ago, I offered Fish‑Man Island the protection of the Holy Light Pirates. But it was you — and your Sun Pirates — who convinced King Neptune to refuse my offer, wasn't it?"
His tone turned sharp. "Tell me… did you come here to die?"
Immediately, Sandersonia grabbed the little girl from the ground and pulled her back. The three sisters retreated quickly, and Sandersonia shouted to their crew:
"Everyone… fall back! Get back now!"
Though confused, the Kuja pirates obeyed and retreated rapidly.
Marigold whispered, still shaken, "If we get caught up in a fight involving Lord Grimm… we are all dead."
"That symbol…" Hancock said, looking at the mark on Hatchan's forehead and the others. "That is the mark of the Sun Pirates."
"HAHAHAHA!"
Behind them, Mannoroth let out a rumbling laugh. He looked at Hatchan and the others with the greedy excitement of a child eyeing new toys.
"What strange creatures… Fish‑men? Naga? Or something else entirely? And their souls… they look delicious. I would so love to take a bite!"
Grimm glanced back at him. "Quiet, you fool! I told you already — do not speak! You are a ship now — behave like one!"
Mannoroth reluctantly withdrew his hungry gaze.
But after a moment, Grimm spoke again, his voice low and dangerous.
"Actually… never mind. Just this once… you have permission. Anyone bearing that Sun symbol — do whatever you want with them. Just make sure you don't hurt innocent civilians. Understood?"
He was thoroughly fed up with these people. Back in Mary Geoise, he had taken full responsibility and protected them… yet in return, they had urged their King to remain a "subject" of Whitebeard.
You showed me no loyalty… so do not expect mercy from me.
__________________
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