I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"What a rare instance of heroes recognizing heroes! It's a pity we're too weak to witness this great battle in person!"

"Wait... what you just said, you..." Sig was getting a little anxious.

"We understand that this is a secret that cannot be told."

"Just like that guest last time, we know nothing. We don't even know what the Revolutionary Army is!"

Sieg put a hand to his forehead, speechless for a moment.

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

At the Windmill Village Wharf, next to the naval warships moored.

"Alright! Ready to set sail? Military matters are urgent, we must return to the Grand Line immediately!"

The old man, holding a bag of rice crackers, shouted in a loud voice.

"Vice Admiral Garp, you'd better take a look at the condition of our warship before you say that..."

The sergeant glanced helplessly at the rear of the warship, where a large area of ​​charred and damaged marks indicated that it had just been the site of a major naval battle.

"The journey to the Grand Line is long, and if this warship is not repaired soon, it will be difficult to reach its destination on time as originally planned."

The officers were all somewhat worried.

While Garp's method of accelerating the warship's movement with his cannonballs was indeed effective, it also caused considerable damage to the warship itself.

If they were to continuously use cannon fire to accelerate during the long journey back to the Grand Line, even this top-tier warship belonging solely to the Navy Headquarters would likely suffer significant damage.

Sailing a half-damaged warship on the Grand Line is practically suicidal.

"I see."

Garp stretched his limbs and laughed heartily:

"It seems I'll have to step up my efforts and get serious. Prepare the ammunition—"

Upon hearing this, all the navy personnel present froze.

"You're saying we have to do it again?"

"And this time, Vice Admiral Garp will have to put in even more effort..."

Some people even recalled the scene from back then and leaned on the railing to vomit.

Garp's crew of marines are, after all, soldiers from the Grand Line. They can adapt to the various abnormal weather conditions of the Grand Line, but what happened a couple of days ago still left many with psychological trauma.

“Vice Admiral Garp, what I meant by being unable to reach the destination is that this warship may not be able to withstand that kind of... high-intensity sailing.”

"The voyage to the Grand Line is too long, and prolonged use of this high-intensity navigation method is taking a toll on the warships..."

The sergeant wiped his sweat and explained.

"Ok?"

Garp's eyes widened: "Didn't I tell you to repair the warships?"

At this point, the naval officer's face darkened.

"Lieutenant General Garp, this is Windmill Village, just a small place."

"If we want to repair our warships, we need to go to the capital of the Kingdom of Goa, or a nearby naval branch."

"The capital of the Kingdom of Goa? No way."

Garp refused outright.

He had no liking for that so-called most beautiful country in the East China Sea.

"Let's go to the nearby naval branch."

Ultimately, Garp gave the order, setting the warship sailing once again.

Chapter 33 What kind of king do you want to be again?

A day in the life of Higuma, the bandit king of the East Blue Mountains, begins with sleeping until he naturally wakes up.

The first thing he did upon waking was to glance at the walls of the wooden house.

The large hole that Kapu made yesterday has been repaired, with large pieces of wood nailed in.

Upon seeing this wall, Sieg's lips curled into a slight smile.

Garp is really gone.

Ever since he got drunk the day he traveled through time, Sig had been constantly on edge, fearing Garp's arrival. He even planned to remain a recluse in the mountains until Garp left.

The objective has now been achieved, and the crisis has been resolved.

Sig wasn't without curiosity about the world, nor did he lack the desire to travel to various places and explore the Grand Line.

However, because of Garp, he decisively chose to listen to his inner voice.

It's different now.

"From this day forward, the wheels of history begin to turn, and the journey of a legendary generation will commence..."

"After all, I am a strongman recognized by the Navy hero Garp. I once fought an earth-shattering battle with Garp and emerged unscathed."

Sieg read the narration to himself, a surge of pride welling up within him.

With a thought, a virtual panel quickly unfolded in front of him.

After being visited by Dragon and others from the Revolutionary Army, as well as Garp, Sigurd's KING character card compatibility has increased to 61%.

According to the system's description, there are two ways to improve compatibility: role-playing and practicing skills.

As for the specifics, the system doesn't offer much description or exploration.

However, after experiencing these incidents, Sieg has figured out his own experience.

The act of acting is not just about putting on a dramatic performance in front of a mirror; it also requires an audience, and who that audience is has a lot to do with it.

For example, Higuma's compatibility with Shanks, Dragon, Garp, and others increases much faster than when he acts in front of his own subordinates.

Sig is quite concerned about compatibility, since the system doesn't provide many hints. In the future, new character cards may be related to the compatibility of the KING character card.

Just as I was pondering this, a commotion arose outside the cabin.

"For the glory of the Mountain Bandit King!"

"For the glory of the Mountain Bandit King..."

Hearing the neat slogans outside the wooden house, Sieg's expression suddenly became complicated.

Ever since Garp's visit yesterday, a large group of bandits, led by the most dashing bald guy, have been working up a frenzy, vowing to train hard and become subordinates worthy of the Bandit King...

"Putting everything else aside, having these proactive subordinates is better than having a bunch of lazy bums under your command."

Thinking about it this way, Sieg was also somewhat infected by the enthusiasm of his subordinates.

Stepping out of the wooden house, Sig looked with some satisfaction at the bandits gathered outside.

The bald man seemed to intend to train these bandits in a naval manner.

The two hundred or so bandits outside the gate lined up in a row, chanting slogans in unison, which was quite a sight.

"For the glory of the Mountain Bandit King!"

Hearing the neat chants, Sieg's expression suddenly changed, and he had a bad feeling.

He seemed to hear a child's voice amidst the neat chanting.

After looking carefully in the direction of the sound, Sieg was completely shocked.

Among the bandits wearing headscarves, Luffy, wearing a straw hat, stood out like a chicken among cranes.

Every time a slogan is shouted, Luffy excitedly raises his fist and waves it.

"Our king is destined to lead the mountain bandits of the four seas to rise up and correct this erroneous Great Pirate Era!"

"The dawn of the great mountain bandit era is about to arrive! For the glory of the Mountain Bandit King!"

Sig gasped, immediately stopping the chanting, lifting Luffy from the crowd, and running to give a buff to the bald man standing at the front.

"What's going on? What did you say to Luffy?"

Sieg became serious and asked in a deep voice.

"Boss..." the bald man said, covering his head in protest.

"We're doing our daily routine of chanting slogans, and this child joined in on his own initiative..."

Sig was slightly taken aback and looked at the little Luffy in his hand with surprise, only to see him grinning with a big smile.

So he just thought it was fun... he was just joining in the fun.

Sig glanced at the large bump on the bald man's head, paused for a moment, and then said:

"Consider this buff as something I gave you in advance."

Bald man: "....."

However, Sieg still felt something was amiss.

Luffy was just joining in for fun this time, but if he gets influenced by what he sees and hears over a long period of time and develops even the slightest thought of becoming the bandit king... then he'll really get crushed by Garp.

After thinking for a moment, Sieg spoke:

"From now on, we need to change our slogans too. Absolutely no slogans related to the Mountain Bandit King, understand?"

The bandits were slightly taken aback, looking somewhat bewildered.

This time, the bald man was the first to react:

"I get it now! Boss, you mean that shouting out a slogan about becoming a bandit king is just empty talk!"

"True dreams are not something you shout out; we just need to keep that one goal deep in our hearts."

The bandits all seemed to awaken from a dream, and they all sighed with emotion:

"The boss is indeed the boss; even a simple sentence contains so much profound meaning."

"Boss, we will follow you to the top of the world!"

Sieg raised his hand to his forehead, abandoning the idea of ​​continuing to communicate with these men.