I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Just like countless times before, the eldest brother always silently shoulders the heavy burden and moves forward with difficulty."

"And all we can do is watch from the sidelines and cheer... But this time, I'm afraid we won't even be able to cheer, and we'll become a burden."

The bald man's gaze went unfocused, and he stared blankly, recalling something that happened in the East China Sea a long time ago.

"Do you all remember the first showdown between Boss Sig and Vice Admiral Garp in the East Blue?"

Most of the bandits were members that Sig had brought from the mountains of the Goa Kingdom. Hearing the bald man say this stirred up their memories.

Back then, the bandits realized they were powerless to intervene in Sig's battle, not even qualified to cheer him on. They had to retreat down the mountain to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

At that time, they shouted that they wanted to become stronger.

Now, so much time has passed, and their power is still difficult to exert.

This silenced them, reminding them of the helplessness they had felt back then.

"One day, we will catch up with that person's shadow... As for now, let's quietly gather our strength."

After saying this, the bald man issued an order.

"It's time to set sail and get this terrifying three-masted ship moving."

The bald man began to give instructions.

"Set sail? That goes against the boss's orders, doesn't it? Didn't he want us to lie low in the Devil's Triangle?"

The bandits were all surprised.

“I never said we were going to sail this island ship out of this sea... Our goal is deeper into the fog.”

The bald man spoke in a low voice, directing his bandits to set sail on the island ship in the Devil's Triangle.

He took out a small notebook from his pocket and recalled what had happened when he first arrived at the Thriller Bark.

When Sigurd defeated Moria, he saw something extremely large in the mist...

The notebook recorded Sieg's account of what he said at the time: the creature was suspected of having the ability to manipulate the fog, which might even be the reason why this area of ​​the Devil's Triangle is covered by fog all year round.

The island boat continued its journey, and after several hours, the fog grew thicker and thicker, until it was almost dripping with water, and the air was filled with an uncomfortable dampness.

The bald man stood on a small hill on the island ship, looking into the distance through binoculars.

"It's happened again..."

The bald man felt a slight jolt. Through his binoculars, he saw the colossal object in the mist again, a chilling gaze fixed hundreds of meters in the air...

Even though its body, which is larger than that of a sea king, is mostly covered by thick fog and only a few scales are visible, it is still extremely magnificent and leaves a deep impression at first glance.

The bald man sighed inwardly and secretly made up his mind.

He used the power of the Whisper Fruit to transmit his inner voice towards the vaguely giant object in the mist.

The Whisper Fruit's ability is to transmit thoughts, but only if the other party lowers their guard can the user hear their thoughts, allowing both parties to communicate through their minds.

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

Chara Island Cemetery.

As night deepened, the cemetery became quiet and deserted.

But a huge, somewhat bloated, demon-like figure walked along the cemetery path, searching around.

"If I get my hands on Higuma's body... then I'm sure I can use his power to become the Pirate King!"

Moria chuckled as he searched through the cemetery.

Since escaping from the Sabaody Archipelago, he has been waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback.

His first goal was to recapture the terror schooner.

However, as they approached the Devil's Triangle, they unexpectedly encountered a ship sailing out from it... On board were the former members of the bandit gang who were secretly meeting with Sig.

Moria followed at a distance, not daring to get close, and followed them to Char Island.

"The fact that Sig's old men have come to this remote island at this time must mean something's up..."

Moria immediately thought of Sieg, who had just died.

So he decided to try his luck at the cemetery on the island.

After a quick glance around, Moria suddenly stopped.

"Found it! Sig's grave really is here, and his name is even written on it openly!"

Moria couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

But upon closer inspection, doubts arose in his heart.

The grave in front of me, the tombstone is new, and it does indeed bear Sieg's name.

Suspiciously, the ground in front of the tombstone was covered with weeds, and they were quite lush, as if they had been growing for more than ten years without ever being tended or trimmed.

"Is the grass on Sig's grave already this tall?"

Chapter 344 Golden Emperor Tesoro

In the cemetery, seeing the lush grass growing on Sieg's grave, Moria had a bad feeling.

No matter how you look at it, this strange scene is abnormal.

"Could it be that Sig's corpse was exceptionally nutritious, almost like fertilizer, which is why the grass grew so fast and so abundantly?"

After thinking for a moment, Moria started digging.

But as he dug, his expression became even stranger.

The dug-up grave contained only an empty coffin.

"Was I wrong? Is this grave a fake? Is the real Sig buried somewhere else?... Or is it that Sig never died at all?"

Moria narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

..........

On the vast, blue sea, a fleet of merchant ships sailed.

Sig was lounging on a beach chair on the deck, lazily sunbathing.

"I've never been this relaxed when I was the bandit king... It's so nice, I don't have to think about anything."

Sig cleared his mind and felt like he was on vacation.

"Mr. Higuma, are you settling in well these past few days?"

A portly, bald businessman walked over and tried to strike up a conversation with a smile.

Sieg's reputation for defeating a $50 million bounty hunter and escorting a group of people to a naval base to collect the bounty had gradually spread locally.

Therefore, when Sieg suggested taking a ride to the Sabaody Archipelago, the merchants agreed without much hesitation.

In this great age of piracy, pirates are everywhere. With a bounty hunter like Sig on the ship, these merchants can live a more peaceful life.

Sieg continued to lie there, lazily chatting with the businessman beside him.

"By the way, what kind of business do you do? Do you make money?"

"If there's money to be made, I'll quit being a bounty hunter and join your line of work."

Sieg said casually.

However, this was just a casual remark; he had no desire to actually be a businessman and travel around.

“Mr. Higuma is joking... We are just small business owners, ordinary merchants who transport and sell local specialties between various islands.”

"Our group of merchants mainly sells fruits that are specialties from various islands," the bald merchant said with a smile.

In the Grand Line, the islands have unusual climates, with the four seasons fluctuating wildly. There are winter islands covered in ice and snow all year round, and summer islands covered in tropical rainforests. This presents a great business opportunity for these merchants.

However... in this great pirate era, there are just too many pirates.

Even ordinary caravans had to spend a lot of money to hire a large number of bodyguards, guards, and mercenaries to protect the safety of their goods.

"Specialty fruits..."

A thought suddenly struck Sieg, and he asked:

"Could it be a Devil Fruit?"

The bald businessman paused for a moment, then chuckled and said:

"Mr. Higuma is joking. Devil Fruits are worth over 100 million, extremely rare, and easily coveted by pirates or other forces. They are very dangerous goods."

"We're just a small caravan of legitimate businessmen; how could we possibly sell Devil Fruits?"

Sig said casually, "Yeah, I don't want to get involved in any more troublesome Devil Fruit stuff."

He had previously acquired Devil Fruits, but that was before he changed his identity.

The remnants of the bandit group have now retreated to the Thriller Bark, and with Crocodile by their side, they are able to protect themselves.

The current Sigurd isn't very interested in Devil Fruits... unless they're the particularly powerful kind.

Sieg's nonchalant reaction, however, caught the bald businessman's attention.

These traveling merchants were adept at reading people's expressions and demeanor. From Sigurd's tone, it seemed that he didn't care at all about the Devil Fruit with a market value of over 100 million.

"Could this bounty hunter have a story, and his true strength be greater than we imagined?"

Seeing Sieg's cold and stern face, the bald businessman became suspicious and his attitude became even more attentive.

Perhaps... Sieg's ability to defeat a $50 million bounty criminal doesn't mean his strength is only at the $50 million level...

While the two were chatting, someone jogged over:

"Chief, a sailboat has appeared at 5 o'clock..."

"Oh? Is it a pirate ship?" Sig interjected, frowning slightly.

The bald businessman glanced unconsciously at Sieg on the recliner, feeling a little nervous.

He took the binoculars from his subordinate, walked to the railing, and looked into the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, saying:

"It's a ship from the Gold Merchant Guild... You didn't even look carefully before you spoke..."

“Mr. Higuma, don’t worry, the people on the other side are businessmen just like us... Speaking of which, I’ve had dealings with them before.”