Fang Huo's roar made Markus Mazesaint, whose mind had been in turmoil, break into a cold sweat.
The terror of Lord Imu instantly crushed the unease inside him and his shock at Saint Saturn's disobedience.
In panic, he instinctively turned to kneel before Imu.
But his trembling pupils saw nothing but air.
Splash!
The sound of someone hitting the water snapped Mazesaint back to his senses!
Damn it!
He'd been tricked!
All of it had been Fang Huo's instigation!
He watched Kozuki Fang Huo dive head-first into the sea and vanish into the swift current.
"No!!! You sly little brat!!"
The Itzuta-no-Ori Monster Bird blasted one terrifying flame shockwave after another into the rushing torrent.
"Aaaargh!!"
Markus Mazesaint roared in fury—he had let a mere kid bewitch him.
To think he'd actually believed Fang Huo's nonsense!
Failure!
The mission had actually failed!
After venting for a while, Mazesaint scoured the waters like a madman.
He refused to believe Fang Huo didn't need to breathe.
Besides, why would a multi-fruit user jump into the sea of his own accord?
Yet he quickly recalled the intel that Kozuki Fang Huo wasn't restrained by Sea Stone cuffs.
This multi-fruit user truly feared neither Sea Stone nor seawater!
A foe who could fly and was immune to the sea—how could he be caught?
So Fang Huo had stayed behind as rearguard without the slightest fear of capture.
He was only buying time for those two Charlotte pirates to escape.
Markus Mazesaint felt like a clown dancing on Fang Huo's palm.
The enraged Mazesaint searched the waters an entire day before storming back to Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Meanwhile Fang Huo, an oxygen mask on his face, was swept who-knows-where by the swift current.
—Power Room, Mary Geoise—
Markus Mazesaint appeared through the smoke of the teleportation array, his face black as thunder.
Seeing him return empty-handed, shock flickered in the eyes of the other Gorosei.
The mission had failed?
One Gorosei plus two Gods Knights couldn't handle three Rocks officers?
"It failed!"
"I'll go beg Imu-sama for punishment!"
Mazesaint spoke in a gloomy voice, shooting Saint Saturn an icy glare.
Once his penalty was over, he would privately question Saint Saturn about leaving the ancient robot behind.
If the man had truly defied Lord Imu's order and kept the machine in secret,
then the method Fang Huo spoke of to break free of Imu's control might actually exist.
Bang!
Mazesaint left the Power Room alone and headed for the Void Century Palace to report his failure.
"Utterly baffling!"
The slamming door and parting glare darkened Saint Saturn's face.
How was this failure any of his business?
Why was Mazesaint venting on him?
Neither Figarland Garling nor Makas Petygrew had anything to do with him or the Jaygarcia Family!
"The humiliation of failure must have left him furious,"
said Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Legal Affairs, faint puzzlement in his eyes.
Had something unusual happened during the attempt to capture Kozuki Fang Huo?
"This defeat truly should not have happened,"
said Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the Warrior God of Finance, resting shodai kitetsu on his shoulder, a dangerous gleam flashing across his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Let's ask Garling."
Shepherd Ten Pyrito Saint reached through the Void to contact the two Gods Knights, Figarland Garling and Makas Petygrew.
They had never imagined the mission to catch Kozuki Fang Huo could fail—after all, Gorosei Mazesaint himself had gone.
The four of them were more concerned with the plan on Red Line Island.
That infiltration was far more likely to be discovered by the Rocks Pirates.
They wondered whether the CP Agents' acting could fool Rocks and get them aboard.
—Inside the Void Century Palace—
Markus Mazesaint knelt beneath the empty throne, cold sweat pouring as he reported the mission's failure.
"Worthless!"
"Throw more force at capturing Kozuki Fang Huo!"
"Get out of my sight!"
Imu was merely annoyed; the failure hadn't cost Mazesaint his life.
While Fang Huo was still separated from the Rocks Pirates, they had plenty of chances to catch him.
"Yes!"
Mazesaint scrambled out of the palace and set off to resume the hunt.
"Three Devil Fruits, immune to Sea Stone and seawater…"
"Mu is getting more and more interested in you…"
Imu's voice echoed softly through the empty hall.
Spared from punishment, Markus Mazesaint dispatched three CP-0 squads to hunt Fang Huo.
He even ordered the Fleet Admiral to send an Admiral after him.
Only after all this did Mazesaint return to the Power Room.
He offered the others no lengthy explanation, mentioning only that Fang Huo was unharmed by seawater.
He was ready to confront Saint Saturn in private.
If he confirmed that Saint Saturn had indeed defied orders and kept the ancient robot,
he could blackmail him; he himself would set out again to chase Kozuki Fang Huo.
The secret of escaping Imu must belong to him alone!
—Above Ohara—
When Saint Pyrito told Saint Garling that Mazesaint's mission had failed, Garling's heart turned ice-cold.
He cursed the useless Gorosei in his mind!
To fail to catch a rookie pirate who'd only been at sea two years—utter disgrace!
Learning that Fang Huo had split from Charlotte Linlin and vanished alone in the Roshan Sea,
Garling left Ohara at once to continue the pursuit.
He did not team up with Makas Petygrew; he would capture Kozuki Fang Huo alone.
If the Gorosei couldn't catch him, then Figarland Garling would!
He would prove to Lord Imu that he was the best candidate to lead the Holy Knights Group!
Makas Petygrew could scarcely believe her Gorosei ancestor had failed.
After a moment's thought she too set out to hunt the isolated Kozuki Fang Huo.
Even if she couldn't capture him alone, she could still summon the Holy Knights or her ancestor.
The two Gods Knights had at least spared Ohara, the Scholars' Island—a rare piece of luck.
The Mink scholar Three Sheep, friendly with Fang Huo, never knew how close he'd come to death.
Had the hunt for Fang Huo been any less urgent, anyone connected to him would likely have been slaughtered by Garling.
Such is the cruelty and ruthlessness of these Gods Knights!
Meanwhile, on Thunder Cloud Zeus, Charlotte Linlin, eyes red, raced toward Red Line Island with Stussy.
They would find Rocks and save Fang Huo!
—