"Grimm?! What is he planning to do now?"
"I don't know… but I heard he saved Princess Scarlet earlier today. Maybe… maybe he's not such a bad person after all?"
As the crowd murmured, Grimm summoned the Silver Hand from his dimensional storage.
Nearly a thousand onlookers immediately grew tense and fearful.
"He's drawing a weapon! What's he going to do?!"
"Run! Alert the Royal Guard at once!"
Grimm ignored the panic around him. Bathed in a brilliant beam of holy light descending from the sky, he slowly lifted into the air.
"The Holy Light shows mercy to all the world. The good and innocent were never meant to die before their time. Rise again… my people!"
---
Dressrosa — The Flower Fields
"It feels wonderful to train in such a beautiful place!"
Hancock wiped the sweat from her flushed face after completing her training for skills granted by the Inquisitor class.
Though she had met Grimm only four months ago, when she was still quite young and undeveloped, she had grown more graceful and beautiful with each passing day.
It wouldn't be long before she possessed the breathtaking beauty that would one day captivate the world.
She turned to look at her two younger sisters, whose bodies had partially transformed into that of serpents — a power granted by their Devil Fruits.
Hancock herself had also eaten a Devil Fruit, yet her abilities felt different from theirs.
She found it strange — why was she unaffected by seawater, while her sisters grew weak the moment they touched it?
And why were her speed and strength growing so rapidly, far surpassing even theirs?
"Um… are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"
Scarlet approached from the other side of the field, carrying a basket of food and offering a friendly smile to the three sisters.
Young Hancock looked at this woman — three years older than herself, yet already with a slender, fully developed figure — and spoke bluntly.
"Are you here to repay a debt of gratitude?"
Scarlet kept smiling, but Hancock pressed on.
"You're not trying to catch Lord Grimm's eye, are you? Let me tell you — he would never fall for a weak, red‑haired woman like you. He prefers someone like me!"
Hancock had not yet developed the venomous tongue she would be famous for in the future, but the signs were already there. She had already firmly claimed Grimm as hers.
Normally, according to the way things usually went in stories: if a woman was captured by pirates and then rescued by a man — provided he wasn't absolutely hideous — she would almost certainly fall in love with him.
But there were exceptions. Scarlet smiled gently.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to steal your 'Lord Grimm.' Besides… my heart already belongs to someone else."
A blush rose to her cheeks as she spoke.
"Ooh!" Hancock's curiosity spiked instantly — the natural gossip in her coming out. "Is it that man who came running to save you earlier?"
Scarlet's face turned even redder. "His name is Cyrus. He is… the true hero I admire. I used to dislike him very much, until one day…"
Just then, a thunderous roar erupted from the town, shaking the very ground beneath them.
"Long live the Holy Light! Long live Lord Grimm!"
"Lord Grimm is a living god…!"
The voices were filled with absolute frenzy.
---
One day later — Marine Headquarters — Fleet Admiral's Office
Sengoku stood with arms crossed, expression stern and serious. Beside him, Kuzan leaned back, legs crossed and swinging lazily, looking completely uninterested.
"Show some dignity, Kuzan! You are now a candidate for Admiral — stop acting like a third‑rate musician!"
Kong slammed his hand on the desk. Kuzan straightened up slightly for a moment, but within thirty seconds he had slumped back into his relaxed posture.
"Now… did everyone understand what I just said?" Kong sighed internally, thinking how much Garp's laid‑back attitude had influenced the young generation. He decided to focus on business.
"Aye… crystal clear." Sengoku nodded gravely. "We haven't even fully dealt with the arson at Mary Geoise a few days ago… and now this Grimm fellow has gone and caused even more trouble."
"He has gathered the other three most powerful pirate captains in the New World to Dressrosa. Whatever they are planning… it will be an event that shakes the entire world."
Kong's expression turned heavy. "I will discuss the reasons and strategy with Tsuru later. I have already contacted Zephyr and Garp via Den Den Mushi, ordering them to set up an ambush near Dressrosa. But even with them there, I am not fully reassured. You two are to go as well."
"Ara‑ara… aren't you afraid history will repeat itself at Mary Geoise?" Kuzan mumbled. Even though all blame for the fire had been officially pinned on Grimm, everyone knew the Revolutionary Army had played a major part.
And it was only because Kuzan and Sengoku had taken most of the available forces away that the disaster had happened in the first place.
"We have already analyzed the situation thoroughly," Kong replied confidently.
"Grimm vanished for three months — it is highly likely he was hiding in Mary Geoise the entire time, disguised by his unique abilities. Now that his location is clearly known, there is no chance of something similar happening again."
"Your primary mission is to infiltrate Dressrosa and discover exactly what these four men — now known across the seas as the Four Emperors — intend to discuss at this meeting."
Kong paused, then added: "Sending you two — who already possess strength equal to Admirals — is mainly to ensure things do not spiral completely out of control."
"Fine, fine… but I'm still not an Admiral yet. When exactly are you planning to retire, Fleet Admiral?"
"SILENCE!" Kong snapped at him instantly.
Sengoku thought for a moment, then spoke. "Fleet Admiral… I do not believe Whitebeard will attend this meeting."
Kong narrowed his eyes. "And why is that?"
"In recent years, we Marines have rarely engaged the Whitebeard Pirates directly. Our main conflicts have been with Kaido, the Charlotte Family, and the newer generation of Supernovas. Whitebeard… he has caused very little trouble. It feels like I haven't seen him in years."
Sengoku knew his enemies well — and he had clashed with Whitebeard more than anyone else.
"I know Edward Newgate better than anyone. Ever since Roger died, as he entered his later years, he has completely lost his ambition for conquest. All he wants now is to sail the seas with his 'sons.' He will not get dragged into Grimm's schemes or fights."
It was true. Before the start of the Great Pirate Era, Whitebeard had still been aggressively seizing territory.
But since Roger's execution, the only notable thing he had done was plant his flag over Fish‑Man Island. Nothing else.
And he had only done that because so many of his crew were fish‑men themselves.
He was still the man who never forgot a grudge — but he no longer sought trouble. That was why the Marines largely left him alone.
"If Whitebeard stays away… that is certainly to our advantage." Kong tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk — thump, thump, thump.
"But… are you absolutely certain?"
"One hundred percent," Sengoku smiled confidently.
"Unless Grimm has taken his favorite sons — Marco or Ace — hostage. And we all know… there is absolutely no way that could ever happen."
__________________
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