I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

While they were chatting, they had already arrived at the street in the inner city.

The cotton candy stall that Ah Ling remembers is still there, but the stall owner has aged considerably and is now an old man.

The Angel race, or Sky Island people, are ordinary demi-human races, and their lifespan is not significantly longer.

After buying the colorful cotton candy, Ah Ling turned around and was about to walk towards the circus performance venue she remembered when she suddenly froze.

In view, there was a dilapidated and old iron gate. The sign with the words "Blue Sky Circus" on the gate was faded and about to fall. Weeds grew wildly behind the gate, indicating that it had been abandoned for many years.

On the metal fence, you can even see a lot of deformation and melting marks on the steel, as if it had been scorched by a fire.

"The circus is gone?" Ah Ling held the cotton candy, slightly dazed.

Ultimately, she has been away from the divine kingdom for quite some time now.

This place is also one of Ah Ling's childhood memories after her rebirth, and at this moment she suddenly feels a sense of things being different.

"Did it go bankrupt? After all, quite a few years have passed. For the Sky Island people with their limited lifespans, this is quite normal," Ah Ling muttered to herself.

"Closed down? There aren't any circuses left in the entire divine kingdom." A voice came from behind. The little old man selling cotton candy shook his head.

"You're from Lan Hai, right? Circuses have been banned in this country for a long time. If you're looking for some fun, there's a grand theater next door..."

"Ban? A mere circus gets banned?" Sig was shocked.

"Is your Sky Island circus some kind of shady business?"

"What do you mean by 'proper' or 'improper'?" The old man didn't understand what Sig meant, and he looked leisurely towards the inner city as he spoke.

"The gods above don't like circus performances, probably because they think they're low-class and vulgar."

The old man shook his head:

“In the past, the people of the Sky Island preferred down-to-earth performances like circuses, while theaters and symphony orchestras were not very popular.”

"I heard that some gods actually quite like these circus performances. But the higher gods were angered and banished all the circuses in order to bring the artistic taste and style of the gods back on track."

"That's it? Such a strange reason?" Sig clicked his tongue in disbelief.

"That's not all..." the old man muttered to himself.

"Ten years ago, when the circus was banned, all circuses were expelled and disbanded."

"But in private, there are still some scattered street performers, such as magicians, clowns, and acrobats, who still make a living by performing on the streets."

"Later... even stricter bans were issued, and this time a bounty was even set: five million for each circus performer, and double that for a clown, a ten million bounty."

"What? Circus clowns are being targeted? They're being paid more than other performers? Why?!"

Sig is furious and feels cold. When will we comedians be able to stand up and not be oppressed or targeted?

The stall owner looked at Sig with some confusion. Why did this Blue Ocean man in front of him seem to have a strange empathy with the clown actor from Skypiea?

"So, this circus has just been abandoned like this?" Ah Ling gently touched the iron gate of the circus. In addition to the rust, the traces of burning were particularly obvious.

"Actually, something else happened," the old man explained.

"Then one night, I heard that some scattered circus performers gathered here to perform and were caught red-handed by the soldiers of the Divine Kingdom."

"Then, I don't know how, it caught fire. It seemed like a pretty big incident that day." The old man sighed.

"Those circus performers, I heard, all died in the fire that day, none of them survived."

“From that time on, there were no more street performers in the Kingdom of God.”

The old man sighed:

"Performing in the circus or on the street, not only are you treated like a wanted criminal, but people even die from it. Who would dare to continue performing like this...?"

"But recently, things have been a little different."

"A clown from the Blue Ocean has arrived in the divine realm. He's supposedly a survivor from back then, and he even started a rebellion. You tell me, what a mess this is..."

The Clown of the Blue Ocean?

Sig immediately thought of Bucky the Joker.

While in Elbaf, Sieg heard a strange tale from a giant: Bucky the Clown had appeared in the divine realm above the World Tree, and even the Golden Lion had come.

Another piece of news is that the divine prince of the divine kingdom has joined forces with the golden lion to cause trouble and rebel, leaving the divine kingdom in a state of utter chaos...

Could it be that Bucky the Clown is God-King's long-lost son, and has come to Skypiea specifically to revive the clown's glory?

Sieg became somewhat interested in these things.

Over the next day or two, he wandered around the floating island while also actively inquiring about related matters.

On the third day, however, he was greeted by an unexpected visitor at the inn arranged by the God King.

The visitor was none other than the current God-King.

He arrived in a hurry, and the gloom in his eyes was much heavier than when we first met, indicating that he was not in good spirits and was obviously anxious.

“I am a pacifist. If you want me to fight the World Government, then there’s no need to say anything.” Sig refused immediately before the God-King could speak.

The God-King was slightly taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

"Today, I want to talk about something else."

"Regarding... what you want to know, the matter of my son joining forces with Shiki the Golden Lion to cause trouble."

This divine kingdom was originally under the control of the God King, and the God King could not be without suspicion of someone like Sig, so the God King was naturally aware of what Sig was investigating.

"The one who rebelled was, after all, my son," the God-King said solemnly.

“Sig, I hope you can help us defeat the rebels and bring my son back to me alive... He doesn’t want to see me, and the others in the Kingdom are also struggling to resolve this matter.”

"Those who joined forces with him in causing trouble included the great Blue Sea pirates, Buggy the Thousand-Ryo, and Shiki the Golden Lion, and it even seems they are connected to the Black Flame Dragon..."

"As for the reward... how about some crucial intelligence on how to defend against the Heavenly King?"

"Resist the Heavenly King?" Sig raised an eyebrow.

The God-King considered for a moment and said:

"You should know the power of Uranus better than I do."

"And the fact that this sky island has been able to serve as the last refuge for the gods for eight hundred years, instead of being wiped out, is naturally due to our own strengths."

"The Celestial Dragons did not venture deep into the New World to completely destroy the Gods, and we also maintained restraint, basically not going to the Blue Ocean... This is the strategic balance between us and the Celestial Dragons."

"The gods were able to survive not because of the Celestial Dragons' mercy."

After hearing this, Sieg was genuinely tempted.

He works so hard to stack armor, isn't it just so he can feel a little safer?

“It’s not impossible for me to agree, but I’m a little interested in the story of the God Prince,” Sieg said.

"If you can explain his situation clearly and in detail, I can consider it."

The rebellion that caused God-King a major headache was mainly due to the meddling of Shiki the Golden Lion and the great pirate Buggy.

These two are old buddies, and Sieg has some ideas on how to deal with them.

If all else fails, you can use Barrett.

The God-King hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and began to tell the story of the God-Prince.

.............................

"He is my youngest son, and the only one still alive." The God-King's tone was tinged with sadness.

“He has always been an obedient child, never causing me any trouble, and always adhering to the etiquette of the gods. I am raising him as the next God-King.”

The God King walked to the windowsill, gazing at the blue sky outside, his back view somewhat desolate.

"Even the long lifespan of the gods has its limits."

“One day my life will come to an end, and he will inherit my power and authority and be crowned king.”

"That was my original plan..."

"But as he grew up, he gradually changed and deviated from the right path."

The God-King turned his head, a hint of anger appearing on his face:

"He suddenly developed a liking for going to the outer city where the Sky Islanders congregated to watch the circus performances."

"Of course. It's really just a small thing. Everyone has their own little hobbies, whether they're elegant or vulgar, it doesn't matter."

"In the culture of the gods, symphonies and operas are considered high art forms. Circus performances are low-class folk entertainment, but since he is my son, the other gods naturally won't say anything," the God-King whispered.

"I can tolerate this hobby. Among the gods, I consider myself to be relatively open-minded."

"But one day... I discovered something." The God-King took a deep breath and said slowly:

“In his room, I found a clown costume, and even a pair of fake wings.”

"Under persistent questioning, he finally revealed the truth."

"It turns out he not only enjoys watching the circus, but he even participates in it himself!"

"The clown costume in the room is his own, while the fake wings were specially made for him to blend into the civilian population of the outer city and not reveal his divine identity."

The God-King turned his head and said, word by word:

"By day, he is a revered and elegant prince; by night, he sneaks out to the outer city and becomes a clown for the common people to laugh at!"

The God-King's eyes widened, a flash of golden lightning passing through his pupils. His face was contorted with rage, and his aura was imposing.

"I can accept simply liking circus performances, and liking clown performances is harmless too..."

"But as a prince of the gods, he secretly dressed up as a clown, using the alias 'Happy,' and even wore fake wings to conceal his divine identity!"

“This… does seem a bit strange,” Sig said after a moment’s thought.

"At first, I even thought he harbored resentment towards me and was deliberately acting crazy to humiliate me..." The God-King sighed.

"From then on, he became a laughingstock in the eyes of the gods!" The God-King's expression turned cold.

"Later, I issued a decree and expelled all the circuses in the entire kingdom of God."

“I called in the best psychologist in God’s Kingdom to counsel him, but it didn’t seem to help much.”

"As time went by, his performance improved a lot... and I therefore let my guard down."

"Until that night ten years ago," the God-King said softly.