Chapter 16

With inner confusion and bewilderment, Garp stepped forward, a white towel draped over his shoulders, and walked step by step to the hall.

Arriving beside the Den Den Mushi, he casually picked it up and held it to his ear.

The moment he spoke, Garp was blunt: "Late at night, Sengoku, you old fool, what business brings you to seek out this old man?"

Unexpectedly,

after a brief silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, a voice that greatly surprised Garp rang out.

"Garp, it's me."

It was Dadan!

Hearing Dadan's voice, Garp's pupils contracted, looking somewhat caught off guard.

For no reason at all...

why would Dadan seek him out?

Garp was convinced.

If it were not a matter of great importance, Dadan, the leader of that bandit group, would never dare to approach him lightly; in fact, she would avoid him at all costs.

"Could it be..."

"Has something happened to that boy Lu En? Or has something happened to Ace?"

In an instant, Garp's mind raced with many grim possibilities.

Because...

apart from those reasons, he simply could not think of anything else.

What other matter could prompt Dadan to contact him proactively?

None!

"What accident has befallen those two boys?"

Garp's tone grew urgent, the words spilling out before he could think.

One was his own grandson,

and the other was a grandson entrusted to his care by a deceased friend.

If either of them had met with misfortune, it would be the last thing Garp wanted to see.

"Garp, you are mistaken."

"Calm down first..."

"Neither of them has come to harm."

Dadan's voice sounded strange, as if she were suppressing a wave of terror.

"Neither of them has come to harm?"

Garp paused, his inner urgency cooling and settling, then asked again, "Then why seek out this old man late at night? What is the matter?"

"The situation is somewhat complex; it cannot be explained in a few words. I suggest that if you are free, you come to my location immediately. Once you arrive, you will understand the full story."

"So mysterious..."

Garp frowned deeply.

This was the first time in the three years since he had entrusted Ace to Dadan's care that he had heard Dadan proactively contact him via a Den Den Mushi, and even ask him to rush over in the middle of the night.

Something extremely important must have happened!

Otherwise,

Dadan would not have gone to such great lengths.

"Very well, I will prepare to go there right now."

Garp took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

Whatever had happened over there...

if he did not go in person, he would not be able to rest easy for the rest of the night.

"By the way."

"I will give you a warning here, so you will not be frightened when you arrive."

Just before the Den Den Mushi on both ends was about to disconnect, Dadan on the other end spoke in a chilling tone, "Your grandson is an extremely terrifying monster!"

Then,

before Garp could react,

Dadan on the other end hung up the Den Den Mushi proactively.

Garp, holding the Den Den Mushi, stood frozen.

After the Den Den Mushi disconnected,

the vast hall fell into complete silence.

Garp kept replaying Dadan's final words in his mind.

"My grandson is a monster?"

"What does that mean?"

Garp was utterly baffled, lost in clouds of confusion.

What on earth had happened?

Even through the Den Den Mushi, he could still feel it.

Dadan had changed from her usual self...

completely different from the Dadan of old!

Tonight's Dadan was extremely serious!

Even subtly,

Garp sensed a wave of intense terror in the other's voice.

He had a guess.

This matter must be related to his two grandsons.

Or perhaps...

This matter is closely tied to that kid Lu En!

"Never mind."

"Let's go there first."

Without thinking much,

Garp immediately dialed the Den Den Mushi again and gave it a string of orders: "Bokato, come with me to the Corobo Mountains right away."

Bokato, a Marine officer and Garp's trusted confidant, deeply trusted.

In no time,

Garp, accompanied by Bokato, raced nonstop from Windmill Village through the night toward the Corobo Mountains.