As Zephyr reached the top floor of the Fleet Admiral's office, he ran into Garp, who had also been summoned. For some reason, Zephyr felt that Garp was avoiding his gaze.
Outwardly, Garp acted as cheerful and loud as ever. "Yo, Zephyr — so they called you in too, huh?"
"Not sure what this is all about," Zephyr replied with a faint smile.
"Your health… how is it holding up?" Garp asked, glancing with concern at Zephyr's right hand, which was deliberately hidden beneath his suit sleeve.
"It's a power so strong it even frightens me," Zephyr said, clenching his fist.
"But the more I use it, the more it eats away at my mind. I've been doing my best to avoid using it at all."
"Is that so?"
Garp opened the door to the office, and they both stepped inside. Zephyr noticed that it wasn't just Garp — even Fleet Admiral Kong seemed to avoid looking him directly in the eye.
"Ahem!"
Kong cleared his throat and addressed the two greatest figures in the Navy standing before him.
"You have been recalled to Headquarters because of a direct order from the World Government."
"The Government?"
A look of distaste flashed across both men's faces, but as seasoned veterans of the Navy, they stood their ground and waited to hear more.
"Your orders are to lead your respective forces and conduct an investigation into the Holy Light Pirates, one of the Four Emperors."
"Investigation?"
Garp raised an eyebrow, stuck his pinky finger into his nostril, and spoke in a lazy tone.
"Isn't that the kind of work Cipher Pol does? I've served in the Navy for decades — never once have I been sent on a spying mission!"
Zephyr looked equally confused. "I agree. What exactly is going on? If we are to go there, what is it we are meant to investigate?"
This strange order left both veterans thoroughly perplexed. What game was being played here?
"Your instructions are to assess the combat strength of every member of the Holy Light Pirates," Kong said firmly.
"Sending two of the Navy's strongest officers is the most suitable way to do this."
"No, no, no," Garp said, flicking away what he had dug out of his nose.
"Sneaking around and prying into secrets is not our way — Cipher Pol is ten thousand times better suited for this than we are!"
Investigations were meant to be carried out in secret. How could one sail warships right up to an Emperor's territory and call that "investigating"?
That was exactly what Cipher Pol was trained to do — infiltrate and gather intelligence from within.
Though far more polite, Zephyr shared the same doubts. "Mr. Kong…"
"Ask no further," Kong said, lowering his head slightly, his expression tight. "This comes directly from the Government. I do not know the full details myself."
Whether Kong truly knew nothing or was simply keeping it to himself, there was clearly no more information to be gained. With no choice, Garp and Zephyr accepted their orders.
"You are not required to engage in a life‑or‑death battle," Kong added as they turned to leave.
"Simply patrol Lord Grimm's territory and compile a general assessment of their fighting power. That is all."
Garp almost laughed out loud. As if sailing two full naval fleets into an Emperor's domain could ever happen without fighting breaking out!
"What is the Government really up to?" Zephyr muttered to himself as they walked away.
"Relax," Garp said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Worst comes to worst, we'll just go through the motions. The orders are vague anyway — there's no mention of destroying them." He grinned.
"Though it's been decades since you and I last worked a mission together, hasn't it?"
"Indeed," Zephyr said with a dry chuckle. "Let's go prepare."
The New World — Artemis Island, one of Grimm's territories
It was still early morning, before the sun had even risen, when shouts of alarm echoed through the port city on the eastern coast.
"Lord Grimm! One of our ships has been sunk!"
"It's that brute Garp the Fist! Our men are holding them off, but we need you to act fast!"
The voice belonged to Matthias the Iron Mask, once a senior officer under the Golden Lion.
"Where are Jaina, Planck, and Yasuo? Can't they handle this?" Grimm yawned, pushing Violet gently aside as he called out from his room.
"All three have returned to Dressrosa — three of Big Mom's top commanders have stirred up trouble there. Right now, you are the only one strong enough to stand against Garp!" Matthias replied urgently.
With a groan, Grimm dragged himself out of bed and quickly dressed. Violet woke up beside him. "Lord Grimm — what is happening?"
"Nothing serious… just a bit of a nuisance. Wait here for me," he said, stepping out of the room.
He really didn't want to move, but in this world, his teleportation gates had a cooldown — it took at least ten days to travel between distant locations.
Summoning Jaina and the others back immediately was impossible.
"Typical — as soon as I'm here, they all run off to handle problems elsewhere," Grimm muttered to himself.
Violet also dressed quickly and tried to follow, but Grimm was already gone. By the time she reached the palace gates, there was no sign of him.
She smiled slyly, turned back to her room, and picked up a small Den Den Mushi.
Pressing it against one eye, she activated the power of the Glare‑Glare Fruit — a faint purple glow shimmered around her fingers.
Ever since joining the Kuja, she had mostly been assigned to intelligence and surveillance work, so she was well‑practiced.
Within moments, she spotted the situation: roughly three hundred nautical miles to the southeast, the remaining former crew of the Golden Lion were facing off against two naval warships.
One was firing cannon after cannon, forcing Grimm's ships to take evasive action.
Chewing on a large bone, the figure aboard the lead vessel was unmistakable — the Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp.
The second ship bore a large name painted across its hull: ZEPHYR.
So it was them.
Violet immediately made contact.
The alert traveled quickly, reaching even Amazon Lily, where it woke Hancock from a deep sleep.
"Your Majesty! Lady Violet is calling with an urgent report," a guard said, holding up the Den Den Mushi.
"That shameless woman?" Hancock scowled, already imagining Violet calling out "Lord Grimm" in that sweet voice.
She snatched the snail away, ready to make a sharp retort — only to fall silent as Violet spoke first, explaining that Garp and Zephyr had arrived at Artemis and opened fire.
"Zephyr and Garp?!"
Hancock's expression turned serious. Why would they come so suddenly, without any warning?
Though she had countless questions, she acted instantly, throwing on her cloak and barking orders. "Alert all commanders — prepare to set sail!"
From Amazon Lily to Artemis was a journey of at least three days by sea.
Even if the fighting started immediately, it would likely drag on for five or six days before either side gained the upper hand — but every minute counted.
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