Grimm paid Sabo no mind and walked straight away.
"Hey — wait! Come back!" Sabo shouted, but Grimm never glanced over his shoulder again.
Up on the balcony, the pirates turned to Outlook III with cruel grins.
"We're treating your son like this — no complaints, your highness?"
"Not at all!" Outlook forced a nervous smile.
"The boy simply lacks discipline. I should be thanking you gentlemen!"
"Hah! What a pathetic excuse for a father!" the crew roared with laughter, while the king could only keep smiling weakly.
Over the next two days, Outlook deliberately spread word across Goa Kingdom and Trash Mountain: the King's own son hung bound above the palace gates.
Naturally, the news reached Ace and Luffy.
On the second night, the two boys saw Sabo slumped and exhausted over the entrance.
Without a second thought, they charged forward to save him — and walked straight into the trap Grimm's men had laid.
All three brothers were captured.
"Cowards! You set a trap — you don't deserve to be called pirates!"
"Liars! Real pirates would never do this!"
Ace and Luffy shouted the exact same things Sabo had.
The Holy Light Pirates stared at one another, then burst out laughing until their sides ached.
Suddenly one pirate kicked Ace hard in the stomach, doubling him over in agony. He pressed his boot down on the boy's head and sneered:
"Listen well, kid. There are no pirates, no Marines, no fancy nobles in this world. Only power. If you're strong enough, you do whatever you want — understand? And pirates aren't heroes. We're the worst kind of villains there is."
---
Meanwhile, after two days of nonstop fighting — and with Mihawk's help — Zephyr had been driven back even after unleashing his berserk form twice.
The Red‑Hair crew broke through the coastal defenses and landed on Artemis's eastern shore, though Beckman warned against pushing inland.
After their last disaster at Artemis, they would stay near the beaches and fight no further.
Zephyr and Mihawk dueled for a full day. Even drawing on his full berserker strength, Zephyr could not overcome the rising swordsman.
CRASH!
Their clash sent shockwaves tearing through the ground, carving a bottomless trench along the shoreline.
Mihawk held his blade in one hand, dark hair spilling from his hat, and smirked.
"Impressive. I haven't met a rival like this in years. Even your transformation — though it does seem to cloud your judgment."
"I'm not here to duel. I'm here to kill you." Zephyr summoned his blood‑blade and struck again.
Mihawk did not flinch. "Then come and try."
Two hundred meters away, Shanks sent a handful of Holy Light pirates flying with a single kick.
"I never guessed Grimm had so many monsters at his back."
"The worst ones haven't shown themselves yet," Beckman said — meaning Giana and Kel'Thuzad.
It was strange; the battle had reached the shore, yet neither had appeared. Were they gone too?
"Whatever comes, we'll face it," Shanks said.
"By the way — I heard from prisoners that Grimm already knows we're here."
"Good!" Shanks beamed.
"Don't get your hopes up," Beckman warned.
"We can't breathe easy until Makino confirms Luffy is safe. And we can only hold out for about a week — we're still exhausted from fighting Kaido."
"Sorry," Shanks said with a grin. "Drinks are on me later."
"Right — and I'll pay the bill, I suppose."
BOOM! BOOM!
As fighting flared anew, dark clouds swallowed the sky, jagged white lightning flashing through the gloom.
"The weather turned fast — it was bright sunshine a minute ago!" Yasopp muttered, marveling at the New World's wild shifts.
Half a minute later, something vast coiled down from the storm: a serpentine form, dragon whiskers curling from its snout, horns crowning its head — an Azure Dragon.
Kaido. The Four Emperor, Grimm's greatest rival in raw strength. The very foe they had fought not long before.
"He's here…" Lucky Roux's heart hammered in his chest. Only those who had stood against Kaido truly knew how terrifying he was.
"Shanks! Where's that little punk Shanks?!"
Kaido roared as he reverted to human form on the shore.
He had come to settle the score for the island he had lost — though in truth, he had already reclaimed it without resistance, leaving it empty.
"Kaido — did Grimm tell you I was here? He's —" Shanks started.
"Mind your own business!" Kaido swung his club, shattering the ground. Shanks leaped clear.
Two days of battle had not worn him down; if anything, he seemed sharper, stronger — like the longer he fought, the more his power grew.
"Kaido of the Hundred Beasts…" Mihawk watched the standoff, his thoughts unreadable.
In an instant his eyes narrowed; he raised his blade — too late.
Zephyr's full‑powered Mountain Splitter slammed into his sword, sending him flying a dozen meters.
Zephyr flexed his fist. "First rule of fighting: never take your eyes off your opponent."
A trickle of blood ran down Mihawk's forehead. His expression hardened. "You're right. That was my mistake — my fault entirely."
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Explosions echoed endlessly along Artemis's eastern coast.
Deep in the laboratory, Giana and Indigo watched the battle unfold through a visual Den Den Mushi.
"Fascinating," Giana murmured.
One scientist turned to Indigo. "Sir — now that Kaido has joined the fight, the tide is turning in our favor. Should we —"
POOT! POOT! POOT!
Indigo's shoes squeaked as always. He glanced at Giana, who gave a careless shrug. "No," he said.
"Kaido is not our ally. Just in case things go wrong — I think it's time you saw what we've been working on."
__________________
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