Grimm knew for certain that Hancock had not taken Shirahoshi with her.
He understood her well — she was sharp and calculating in battle, and would never bring a child along to face opponents like Garp and Zephyr.
She would have left Shirahoshi safely behind on Amazon Lily.
Yet under these circumstances, Shirahoshi was clearly moving farther away from the island. There could only be one explanation.
"Hey you — how dare you let your mind wander while fighting me!"
Garp suddenly appeared directly in front of him, his fist less than half a meter from Grimm's head.
Damn it — so he did want to aim for the face… fine, I'll just smash your fox‑head right in!
Grimm immediately raised his shield to block, but the force of the blow still sent him crashing into the sea, raising a towering plume of spray.
Within seconds, however, he shot back up into the air completely unharmed.
Garp shook his hand, wincing. "What kind of ridiculous shield is that? It hurts like hell!"
"Two old fools — can't you see you're just being used by the World Government?"
Grimm's body began to transform, half turning into pure light — similar to Kizaru's Glint‑Glint Fruit — until he floated there as a glowing, winged golden fox.
Garp's expression grew serious. He and Zephyr had already felt uneasy about this mission from the start; even Fleet Admiral Kong had given them no clear objective or expected outcome, which had struck them as highly suspicious.
Now Grimm's words pushed his doubts to the breaking point.
"Hey! You rascal — explain yourself properly!" Garp shouted, pointing a finger at him. To drop such a statement and then leave it hanging was driving him crazy.
"Ask your masters yourself — those five old men sitting up in Mary Geoise!" Grimm sneered.
"You Marines are nothing more than obedient lapdogs, wagging your tails on command!"
With that, he called out: "All hands — retreat!"
His body dissolved into a beam of light and shot straight toward Amazon Lily.
At the same time, he sent an order to Kel'Thuzad to activate the teleportation gates and return to Artemis to defend the island.
Even for a seasoned veteran like Garp, he hesitated for a moment — unsure whether to give chase or not.
Originally, he had planned to be the one to withdraw eventually. His side was clearly outmatched in strength, and Zephyr was like a ticking time bomb.
For the sake of his men, a retreat would have been inevitable sooner or later.
But he never expected this "fox‑boy" to pull back first. It left Garp thoroughly confused — and Grimm's last words were infuriating.
Lapdogs? I don't wag my tail — I'm the kind that chews on bones, thank you very much!
Hearing the order, Strugos, Uldar, and the other commanders who had been exchanging cannon fire with the Navy immediately shouted: "Captain's orders — fall back! Retreat!"
Mannoroth, whose skeletal face was already cracked and damaged from the fight, broke off his battle with Zephyr and dove deep into the sea to escape. Zephyr made no move to follow.
Garp leaped back to Zephyr's side, who once again took out his sedative and sprayed it into his mouth.
"What do you make of all this?" Zephyr asked, glancing first in the direction Grimm had flown, then toward the retreating pirate ships.
"The path he took leads straight to New Amazon Lily, the home of the Kuja," Garp speculated.
"Could it be that while the Government sent us to investigate Grimm, their real goal was to attack Amazon Lily itself?"
"If that were true, why keep it so secret?" Zephyr shook his head.
"There's something off about this. If their intentions were legitimate, why hide everything? There's definitely more to this than meets the eye."
"So what do we do now?" Garp scratched his head, looking utterly lost.
"We are outmatched in strength. Since we two are unhurt, we should not risk the lives of our men by chasing them," Zephyr decided firmly.
"Turn the ships around. We sail for Amazon Lily. I intend to find out exactly what the Government is really planning."
Garp waved a hand casually, already pulling a doughnut out of nowhere. "You're better at this kind of thinking than I am — I'll go along with your judgment…"
Before he could finish speaking, a bubble of snot‑filled breath formed in his nose, and he was already fast asleep.
"WHAT?! My beloved adopted daughter Shirahoshi has been taken?!"
Halfway to Artemis, Hancock received a call from Gentian, one of the commanders left behind on Amazon Lily.
The report was grim: all the guards stationed outside Shirahoshi's chambers had been killed, and the princess was gone.
An investigation revealed that one of the island's warships had vanished, along with Lalia — newly promoted to officer rank — and her entire original crew.
The truth was now painfully clear: there was a traitor within their own ranks!
"Which direction did they flee?" Hancock asked through gritted teeth, squeezing the Den Den Mushi so hard it nearly cracked in her hand.
The sailors around her trembled at the sight of her fury.
"Well… if only Lady Violet were here to use her All‑Seeing Eyes, we could pinpoint them immediately…" Gentian replied hesitantly.
The words made Hancock's blood boil. She thought of that woman who never stopped calling out "Lord Grimm" — and how she was currently far away from the island.
And once beyond the four‑thousand‑kilometer range of the Glare‑Glare Fruit, there was no way to track them.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Suddenly, a blinding streak of light shot past high above their heads, accompanied by a deafening sonic boom. A beam of pure light was speeding straight toward Amazon Lily.
It was Grimm, using the Supersonic Flight ability he had purchased with all his remaining Holy Light Points — a one‑time use skill.
"Lord Grimm!" Hancock gasped in shock.
From Artemis to New Amazon Lily was more than four thousand kilometers — even Violet's vision could not reach that far, which was why Hancock had been unable to order her to search.
Grimm passed high over Hancock's fleet without slowing or stopping, heading straight for the path Lalia and her group had taken.
"Ah… how could I have failed my husband's trust?" Hancock cried out, pressing a hand to her forehead in despair.
"I have let him down… I should take my own life to atone for this mistake!"
"Your Majesty — please, calm yourself!" Her attendants rushed forward to restrain her.
Back aboard the stolen Kuja warship, Lalia asked her subordinates: "How much longer until we meet our support vessels from the Government?"
They had been sailing at full speed for several hours now.
Even if the remaining guards on Amazon Lily had discovered the kidnapping and guessed their route, it would be impossible for them to catch up.
Yet even here, deep in territory belonging to one of the Four Emperors, Lalia felt as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows — a cold, prickling sensation that made her deeply uneasy.
"They are still some distance away," Komisia replied, twirling her red hair.
"We estimate it will take roughly three more hours to rendezvous."
"Three more hours of this suffocating pressure?" Lalia muttered.
She glanced back at Shirahoshi, huddled quietly inside the cage reinforced with Sea Prism Stone.
Never having seen the events on Fish‑Man Island with her own eyes, she still found it hard to believe that this gentle mermaid who called Hancock "Mother" was actually the fearsome Sea King Poseidon.
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